Environmental Justice in Social Work Education: Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards

Social work organizations have urged the profession to identify and address issues related to environmental injustice. Based on this call to action, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) has developed Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) that require accredited social work education programs to integrate content related to environmental justice. Focusing on Master of Social Work (MSW) faculty members in the United States and its territories, this quantitative study explored how they operationalize the environmental justice EPAS in social work education. The findings suggest a link between faculty’s characteristics and their operationalization of environmental justice in social work education, which informs faculty’s alignment with professional standards, as well as their influence on social work education and practice