Cultivating Connections: Climate Justice and Transformative Social Work

While the WHO considers climate change (CC) the greatest challenge facing humanity in the 21st century, the latest International Panel on Climate Change report recognizes that vulnerable and marginalized communities who have historically contributed the least to CC are disproportionately affected, reinforcing a cycle of precarity and inequality and calling forth social work (SW) interventions. The ever-increasing complexity and devastating impacts of CC surpass the limits of current SW training thus placing intense pressure on social workers to respond to situations for which they are unprepared. 

Closing this gap in theory, education and practice (praxes) calls for an integration of climate justice (CJ) as a key concept. This partnership project takes up this challenge by supporting and equipping national (Canadian Association for Social Work Education) and international (International Association of Schools of Social Work, International Federation of Social Workers) associations in developing CJ skills and tools for social workers supporting their practice-readiness. Deploying a glocal pluriversal action-research design, this partnership positions SW as a key actor in advancing just, equitable, and sustainable responses to the climate crisis and the generated intersecting injustices.

The goal and objectives

The project cultivates knowledge, tools and skills at the intersection of CJ and SW, recognizing that transformative change must occur simultaneously at local and global (glocal) levels. Guided by the overarching research question - How does integrating CJ transform SW knowledge, pedagogy, and practice, glocally? -the research aims to identify and strengthen the ways in which SW knowledge, pedagogy, and practice are reshaped by CJ across diverse contexts, channelling upwards their global resonance and development. 

The project pursues three interrelated objectives to support CJ-aligned transformation in SW: 

1. Knowledge Transformation; 
2. Reinforced Pedagogy and Field Training; 
3. Enhanced Practice and Skills Development. 

The breadth and depth of the partnerships

This action-research project is a deliberate and concerted effort to support climate justice (CJ) as a key concept in social work (SW) and support its transformation across the associations work and through SW academics efforts. This partnership project will develop pedagogical and practice-oriented knowledge, skills and tools that will strengthen CJ efforts within these associations, enhancing their influence on social work education, training, and practice - globally and locally.

Meaningful engagement

The research activities are supported by leadership that is interconnected, reciprocal and mutually reinforcing. This project draws together international and national knowledge-developers (academics) and knowledge-brokers (partners) for knowledge-users (researchers, educators, practitioners, communities), recognizing that current tools, practices, and pedagogical approaches in social work have not kept pace with the urgent realities of the climate crisis. The need for concrete support and initiatives to address these evolving challenges and climate emergencies in real-world contexts is the essence of this engagement. These pressures are reshaping the roles of practitioners and educators, disrupting outdated pedagogies, and exposing the limitations of current knowledge and skill development. Ensuring that social work is equipped for today's realities requires a bold rethinking of practice and education requiring meaningful engagement, weaving a geography of hope and solidarity supporting a paradigm change.

This is an international research project.

Project owner: Sue-Ann MacDonald, École de service social, Université de Montréal