Social Work Students and Lifestyle Changes for Resource Conservation

Dr. Marita Flagler & Dr. Richard FlaglerShippensburg University, PA, USA

Problem StatementSustainability “involves taking a global perspective” (p. 7) which encompasses amongst other things, restrained use of natural resources and levels of consumption by people in the economically developed countries both for the sake of the people living in the rest of the world and that of future generations (Cahill, 2002).

Problem Statement (cont.) In the last two decades, the social work

profession, with its central person-in-environment paradigm, has shown an ever increasing interest in sustainable development (Kemp, 2011; McKinnon, 2008) as an area of social action and community organizing (Hoff & Polack, 1993) directly linked to basic concepts of social justice (Carrilio, 2007) and human rights (Cahill, 2002).

Problem Statement (cont.) Engagement of social workers in the

economically developed countries in local and global social action for resource conservation, sustainable development and protection of the environment is predicated on: their understanding and acceptance of the

need for major lifestyle changes their willingness to participate in promoting

these changes amongst their peers and their communities.

Are we preparing a future generation of social workers that is ready to be engaged in promoting environmental sustainability?

Research Questions (1) Are social work students aware of the impact

of their lifestyle of unrestrained use of natural resources and high level of consumption on the world resources and the environment?

(2) Are these students ready to make lifestyle changes that reduce their own use of natural resources to benefit sustainable development?

(3) Are the social work students willing to promote the necessary lifestyle changes in their communities by being involved in community organizing and social action?

Methods Design: mixed

Quasi-experimental: Pre-test, post-test Focus groups (3, N=36)

Participants SW students (N=37) General Ed Students (N=22)

Instruments Pre Test & Post Test Quiz (true, false, not sure) Attitude scale (5-point scale) Open ended questions for focus groups

Data collection IIRB approval, informed consent, in class, SW students: research class, 45 minute educational

workshop GE students: beginning and end of Environmental Bio course Focus groups notes

Data processing SPSS Identification of themes

Results: LifestyleItem Mean n %

I ride my bike as frequently as I can 1.65 2 0.05

I carpool as often as I can 3.78 27 0.73

I leave the water runnin when I brush my teeth

2.24 6 0.16

I drink bottled water because it is convinient.

3.46 21 0.57

I always leave the computer plugged on, even when I am not using it.

3.84 27 0.73

Results: Awareness of Life Style Impact

Pre-Test SW Quiz Mean: 13.19/20, SD=3.81 (66%, D) E.Bio Quiz Mean: 13.45/20, SD=2.45 (67%, D) Difference not statistically significant

35% of SW students do not know that major cause of air pollution in the USA is transportation.

32% of SW students do not know that paper and packaging are the major part of American solid waste.

41% of SW students do not know that burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal provide the majority of electricity.

51% of SW students are not aware that composting helps in reducing carbon footprint.

32% of SW students are not aware that buying locally grown food reduces carbon footprint.

86% admit that “my lifestyle may cause waste and /or overconsumption.”

Results: Awareness of Life Style Impact

Post-test: Education matters SW Quiz Mean: 7.3/10 (73%, C), T-TEST, pretest-posttest,

p=0.025

E.Bio Quiz Mean: 8.2/10 (82%, B),T-TEST, pretest-posttest, p=0004

Focus groups Little awareness, little attention paid Need education

Results: Attitude Towards Lifestyle Changes

Item Mean n %I am willing to ride my bicycle to reduce air pollution

2.94 20 0.54

I don’t want to change my regular light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs because they are too expensive.

2.21 5 0.14

I am willing to make changes in my lifesyle to help resource conservation.

4.21 33 0.89

Knowledge about the protection of the environment needs to be required as part of liberal arts education.

4.02 29 0.78

Results: Attitude Towards Lifestyle Changes

Focus groups:o It’s got to be done; we cannot afford to

be selfish.o Some changes are not difficult, like

using reusable water bottles.o Change in society’s attitude and support

is needed to impact student lifestyle changes.

Results: Willingness to Promote Lifestyle Changes

Item Mean n %

I am willing to help encourage Shippensburg students to use the bus.

3.54 23 0.62

I am only one person; my actions can’t really help stop carbon build-up.

1.48 0 0

I am willing to work on the increase of bike riding around town

2.59 14 0.38

I am willing to educate others on the needs to conserve water.

3.78 21 0.57

All members of the community need to be educated about resource conservation and the protection of the environment.

4.27 33 0.891

Results: Willingness to Promote Lifestyle Changes

Focus groups: Social workers need to be involved; it is

important for the community. There are many way to be involved at

the university and the community, we need to become active.

Implications for Practice More education is needed to bring about

awareness ; part of the required courses?

Infusion of sustainable development content may be well received by students

Students may enjoy participating in service learning projects related to sustainable development.

List of References Cahill, M. (2002). Environment and social policy. In Pete

Alcock (Ed.) Environment and social policy (pp. 1-17), New York, NY: Routledge

Carrilio, T. (2007). Utilizing a social work perspective to enhance sustainable development efforts in Loreto, Mexico. International Social Work, 50(4), 528-538.

Hoff, M. & Polack, R. (1993). Social Dimensions of the environmental crisis: Challenges for social work. Social Work, 38(2), 204-211.

Jones, P. (2010). Responding to the ecological crises: transformative pathways for social work education. Journal of Social Work Education, 46(1), 67-84

Kemp, S. P. (2011). Recentring environment in social work practice: Necessity, opportunity, challenge. British Journal of Social Work, 41(6), 1198-1210

McKinnon, J. 2008. Exploring the nexus between social work and the environment. Australian Social Work, 61(3), 256-268. doi:10.1080/03124070802178274