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The knowing, being, and doing of environmental social work

Abstract

As climate change and its associated impacts grow in frequency and severity, particularly among marginalized communities, social work professional organizations have called upon practitioners to engage with environmental issues. Informed by the transformative ecosocial work model, this mixed methods study explored: (1) How do social workers engage with environmental issues across practice methods (personal, interpersonal, community, organizational, and policy)?, and (2) How are social workers’ ontological (being) and epistemological (knowing) commitments associated with environmental social work practices (doing)? Online surveys of social workers in three U.S. states (n = 264) revealed that, among those engaged with environmental issues, 72 percent used interpersonal practice methods, often limited to referrals, followed by organizational practice methods (15 percent), policy practice methods (12 percent), and community-based methods (10 percent). Regression analysis found that ontological and epistemological commitments had limited associations with practice methods. Perceiving that environmental issues influence clients’ mental and physical health was associated with organizational and community methods, respectively. Among covariates, practice levels (micro, mezzo, and macro) were variably associated with specific methods, and rural settings correlated with policy practice. Our analysis suggests that social workers’ engagement with environmental issues is typically not associated with pro-environmental values and beliefs but rather constrained by organizational challenges including insufficient resources.

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Posted in: Journal Article Abstracts on 09/16/2026 | Link to this post on IFP |
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