(Re-)imagining social work in the Anthropocene

Abstract

The present and imminent consequences of the climate crisis require social work to reorient and re-imagine itself within the Anthropocene. The increased cognisance of interconnectivity and socioenvironmental issues has rapidly expanded what is most commonly referred as environmental social work. However, environmental social work is heavily underexplored, particularly in its practice implications. This research emanates from this practice gap by creating student placements and exploring their potential in expanding the field of environmental social work practice. By creating environmental placements, social work can begin flagging new visions for the profession. A critical realist conception of structure and agency framed the creation of environmental student placements. The premise for the research is that structural conditions (educational, organisational, professional norms and practices) have resulted in a limited application of environmental social work, but student agency can change these conditions through structural elaboration. Critical realism, along with the morphogenetic sequence, the dialectic method and phenomenology, guided the development of this thesis. Coupled with these theoretical frameworks is an emphasis on social change and emancipation. The results showed that environmental placements were consciousness-raising experiences for students, profoundly affecting their thinking and practice. The students went from no understanding of environmental social work to actively pursuing the area or incorporating an ecological lens into other practice areas. Similarly, these placements made organisations and other professions aware of the potential of environmental social work. Despite the consciousness-raising, there remained some ambiguity about environmental social work for the students. This ambiguity indicates the formative stage of the field and the lack of institutional and educational support. All the participant groups were critical of the absence of environmental curriculums in social work courses. They advocated for a revamp of social work education that incorporates ecological thinking, focuses on values, and integrates Freire’s pedagogical framework. A critical and reoccurring implication from the participants’ narratives was the need for an epistemic rupture and paradigm shift that begins to account for the environment in social work’s value base. The thesis argues that a philosophical reorientation is needed to cultivate ecosocial transition. Rather than a preoccupation with new skills, participants urged for a paradigm shift, where the values of values of interconnectivity, nonhuman agency, community work, interdisciplinarity and First Nations knowledges are embedded into the profession. Environmental social work must focus on a rupture that seeks to rebuild a new social imaginary. The challenge of the Anthropocene necessitates a collective transformative change that can reorganise political–socio–economic life. Social workers as change agents and advocates have a significant role in fostering this transition.

Date of Award	2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University
Supervisor	Rimple Mehta (Supervisor), Jim Ife (Supervisor), Tonia Gray (Supervisor) & Jennifer Boddy (Supervisor)