Serving the public good

This discussion foregrounds four key issues engaged by the articles presented in this special issue: the unique challenges and opportunities of environmental education evaluation, how to think well about the evaluation approaches and purposes that best match this domain, evaluation capacity building in environmental education and action, and accountability and activist pressures on contemporary evaluation. Environmental education evaluators are encouraged to consider positioning their work in service of the public good.     

Puberty Education in a Global Context: Knowledge Gaps,Opportunities, and Implications for Policy

Youth programs and policies provide opportunities for institutions and societies to support healthy adolescent development. Puberty education programs are universally important, as they provide crucial knowledge and skills to help youth and their caregivers navigate the physical, emotional, and interpersonal changes of puberty with positive outcomes. However, few puberty programs have been rigorously evaluated, resulting in a lack of evidence‐based knowledge and practice in this area. This review examines the status of research on puberty education and related programs and draws on the broader intervention literature and recent research findings on adolescence to identify program features that might improve program effectiveness. Implications for policy are also discussed. The need for rigorous program evaluation is emphasized throughout.     

网络环境下大学生思想政治教育研究

现代社会是一个信息化的时代,随着现代科技的进步、网络技术的广泛推广,网络对人们生活的影响作用越来越明显。大学生日益成为重要的网民,网络环境下,大学生思想政治教育不仅关系到大学生自身的发展,更关系到一个民族的进步。本文从网络环境下大学生思想政治教育研究的相关概念及起源和发展、面临的机遇和挑战及相应的对策三个方面进行了论述。我们应该充分利用网络环境,趋利避害加强大学生思想政治教育,提高大学生的综合素质,从而为中国特色社会主义现代化建设贡献力量。     

The role of consumer satisfaction in ensuring quality long-term care: opportunities and challenges

Consumer-satisfaction information can play a valuable role as one component among a broader set of publicly- and privately led activities to improve the quality of long-term care (LTC). However, measuring and using consumer-satisfaction information in LTC is not without its challenges. We start by defining the ways in which we use the term "consumer satisfaction" in this article. We discuss current and planned uses of consumer-satisfaction information in assuring LTC quality. We end by describing some of the key opportunities for broader use of consumer-satisfaction information and accompanying challenges to be addressed to make more effective use of this information in the effort to improve LTC quality.     

Environmental Justice Is a Social Justice Issue: Incorporating Environmental Justice Into Social Work Practice Curricula

Social justice education for social work practice is concerned with addressing issues of power and oppression as they impact intersections of identity, experience, and the social environment. However, little focus is directed toward the physical and natural environment despite overwhelming evidence that traditionally marginalized groups bear the burden of environmental problems. In this article, we discuss environmental disaster impacts on marginalized communities, presence of environmental justice in social work literature, and opportunities for integrating environmental justice into social work’s mandated disciplinary competencies. We conclude with an example of a module implemented in a foundation Social Justice for Social Work Practice course using place-based education principles as an illustration of concrete strategies for incorporating environmental justice into social justice curricula.     

Challenges and opportunities to eLearning in social work education: perspectives from Spain and the United States

ABSTRACT

eLearning has become an academic tool used to provide access to education for multiple segments of the population, which otherwise would have little to no access to it. While other academic disciplines integrated it into their curricula early in the digital revolution, in many countries, social work education is just beginning to address the opportunities and challenges web-based learning may bring to these programmes [Blackmon, 2013. Social work and online education with all deliberate speed. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 10(5), 509–521. doi:10.1080/15433714.2012.663672; Phelan, 2015. The use of eLearning in social work education. Social Work, 60(3), 257–264. doi:10.1093/sw/swv010]. This international collaborative research study seeks to better understand the challenges and opportunities faced by social work educators teaching at universities who are already using some form of eLearning in the United States and in Spain. A quantitative, non-experimental research design was employed. Results show that there are similarities as well as differences in the ways the two subsamples perceive the challenges and opportunities of eLearning. Findings reveal that there are some significant differences between the way the two subsample respondents perceived challenges and opportunities to eLearning. Recommendations for online social work educators and administrators are provided regarding overcoming challenges and capitalizing on opportunities applicable to the US, Spain, and the larger European and global contexts. Recommendations for further research and practice are also included.     

Challenges for environmental education evaluation

The articles in this special issue cover a range of practices in environmental education evaluation, from program evaluations to training and organizational impact. This article reflects on this collection and offers six recommendations on three broad themes that the issue's authors identify as shortcomings or opportunities for change: capacity building, program theory, and learning organizations.     

The educational experiences of young people with sickle cell disorder: a commentary on the existing literature

Sickle cell disorder (SCD) is a chronic illness that in England disproportionately affects marginalized ethnic groups, but has yet to feature extensively within educational or disability research. This review of existing literature makes the case for a sustained developmental research programme around SCD, disability and education. There are potentially life-saving decisions that could be made by teachers in caring for a child with SCD. The place of the school as a venue for health screening with respect to vision, hearing and dental care is also complicated by SCD. The lack of a formal school policy to address the combined episodic and longer term school absences correlated with SCD clearly disadvantages a group of pupils whose academic potential may already have been curtailed by teacher expectations based on their ethnicity. Both the physical and social milieu of the school could be adapted so that the environmental triggers of severe painful episodes associated with SCD are greatly reduced. Systems of pastoral care and health education elements of the school curriculum need to be attuned to the challenges and opportunities for learning that SCD raises. SCD may be considered as a resource for education across a range of national curriculum subjects, could bring an anti-racist dimension to subjects such as mathematics, biology, history and geography and could challenge a number of prevailing disabling and racist discourses in wider society. In short, SCD could be one bridge to more inclusive education for pupils of marginalized ethnic groups.     

Social work and interprofessional education: integration,intersectionality, and institutional leadership

Over the last decade healthcare policies and practices in the US have placed significant emphasis on healthcare integration, mental health parity, and implementation of team-based practice models to improve quality, safety, and affordability of service. With these incentives in mind, schools of social work have joined with national and international health education organizations to reduce disciplinary silos and increase shared learning opportunities across professions and programs. The social work profession has long supported collaborative practice however, students are rarely paired with others in the classroom or intentionally taught about counterparts’ roles and expertise. Social work leaders are also responsible for addressing the intersectionality between collaborative competencies and sociocultural factors. The 2015 EPAS and 2016 Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice create multi-level opportunities for social work educators to provide Interprofessional Education (IPE) innovation and leadership across common curricula and educational settings. The authors examine historic challenges to integrating IPE in social work curricula, provide three examples of IPE/social work initiatives in higher education, describe the intersectionality of the EPAS and the IPEC competencies, and identify institutional benefits associated with the integration of IPE in schools of social work culture and curriculum.     

Trends in higher education in Canada and implications for social work education

Canada, like other countries around the globe, is facing new challenges and opportunities with respect to post-secondary education. Trends in higher education in Canada include rising enrolments and falling revenues; a focus on enhancing employability of graduates through experiential and interactive learning; increased calls for accountability through the assessment of teaching and learning; and the rise of technology-enabled teaching and learning. Social work education is, in many ways, well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities presented by these trends due to the focus on case-based learning and practicum education, the focus on assessment of practice competencies as learning outcomes, and the long-standing commitment to teaching innovation and excellence. Nevertheless, meeting fiscal challenges and finding ways to exploit new technologies will require creativity and the development of an expanded body of research on social work education.     

Promoting behavioral change towards lower energy consumption in the building sector

Climate change and environmental issues have been increasingly in the forefront of the media and government agendas. However, despite much discussion and fanfare, little has been done in the way of serious commitment and clear course of actions since the adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 to bring carbon emissions to sustainable levels. To tackle the immensity of the climate change challenge, a paradigm shift in understanding is necessary to balance the course of global human development with energy demand and consumption patterns. Accounting for over 40% of global energy demand and more than 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, the building sector offers the greatest mitigation potential for reducing carbon emissions in both the short and long term, with positive implications for a range of associated sectors and industries. Promoting behavioral change among end-users for reduced energy consumption as well as encouraging the building industry to embrace sustainable design, low-carbon construction practices and materials, and renewable technologies, is fundamental to mitigating the impact of the built environment on planetary biospheres and preserving quality of life for generations to come. This paper starts by drawing attention to the building sector and related EU policy, outlining the challenges and opportunities for reducing energy consumption and carbon emission levels. Such policy provides the essential framework to engage stakeholders and allow supporting factors to foster progress in the sector. The paper contends that information on climate change has not led to significant improvements in meeting global targets and that what is needed is behavioral change among individuals and society as a whole. On the basis of research project experiences and literature review, it puts forth and explores five key elements contributing to behavioral change for reduced energy consumption and lower carbon emissions in the building sector, focused on: information and education; financial incentives and energy services; modern technologies and sustainable design; social and community norms; and biophilia (contact with the natural environment). The paper suggests opportunities for further research and concludes with recommendations for policy-makers and related stakeholders.     

Evaluation capacity building in the nonformal education context: Challenges and strategies

Policymakers’ demand for increased accountability has compelled organizations to pay more attention to internal evaluation capacity building (ECB). The existing literature about ECB has focused on capacity building experiences and organizational research, with limited attention on challenges that internal evaluation specialists face in building organizational evaluative capacity. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a Delphi study with evaluation specialists in the United States’ Cooperative Extension Service and developed a consensus on the most pervasive ECB challenges as well as the most useful strategies for overcoming ECB challenges. Challenges identified in this study include limited time and resources, limited understanding of the value of evaluation, evaluation considered as an afterthought, and limited support and buy-in from administrators. Alternatively, strategies found in the study include a shift in an organizational culture where evaluation is appreciated, buy-in and support from administration, clarifying the importance of quality than quantity of evaluations, and a strategic approach to ECB. The challenges identified in this study have persisted for decades, meaning administrators must understand the persistence of these issues and make an earnest investment (financial and human resource) to make noticeable progress. The Delphi approach can be used more often to prioritize ECB efforts.     

1998 MSSA PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: TECHNOLOGY,INNOVATION, AND HIGHER EDUCATION: THE ROLE OF SOCIOLOGY IN THE 21st CENTURY

Higher education is undergoing radical change as we move into the 21st Century. The challenges are both external and internal. Using a sociological perspective to consider these challenges can transform them into opportunities and place sociology in a leadership role in the process of change.     

Editorial

This article seeks to explore the contribution that doctoral education can make to social work, as a profession and an academic discipline. In doing so it explains current arrangements for approving doctoral education by the research council and describes different routes to acquiring a doctorate. This overview highlights that doctoral education provides both opportunities and challenges both to those undertaking it, and to university departments offering it.     

Urban ecosystem management: bringing science and policy together

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has many programs that directly affect urban ecosystems, and many more, such as the collection, interpretation, and dissemination of natural resource data, that affect rural and urban areas alike. The policy challenge is to bring the vast scientific resources of the Department to the urban decision maker in an effective manner. This requires teamwork on the part of federal agencies, which can be greatly improved by innovative programs such as the Urban Resources Partnership. In spite of the progress being made, there are many challenges and opportunities ahead as national policymakers seek to bring science and policy together in ways that assist local leaders and citizens in improving environmental quality and the quality of life in urban and suburban areas.     

Using Relationship Education Programs with Same-Sex Couples: A Preliminary Evaluation of Program Utility and Needed Modifications

Same-sex couples represent a group likely to benefit from relationship education, given the many unique challenges they face. However, it is unclear whether existing programs, predominantly designed for married heterosexual couples, are appropriate for use with same-sex couples. In this article we highlight the need for quality relationship education programs for same-sex couples and review the literature to identify unique needs of same-sex couples that may not be met by existing programs. We then describe a small survey of couple therapists and researchers conducted to provide preliminary information about whether same-sex couples are perceived to benefit from existing relationship education programs and whether modifications to program content are needed. Twenty respondents indicated that a core set of relationship education components were useful when working with same-sex couples, although the presentation of these components generally required modifications to remove heterosexist bias and to improve applicability to same-sex couples. In addition, several novel program foci were suggested (e.g., stigma management). Implications for the design and delivery of relationship education to same-sex couples are discussed.     

Sustainability and cities: a proposal for implementation of a sustainable town

This article presents a literature review on the concept of sustainability applied to cities and a proposal for transforming a town in the south of Brazil into a sustainable town. Improvements in energy, sanitation, waste and water conditions, as well as food, clothing, education and jobs generation were considered to enhance the citizen's quality of life and environmental protection.     

Sustainable landscaping programs in the United States and their potential to encourage conservation and support ecosystem services

Sustainable landscaping programs are voluntary initiatives that recommend a set of practices to improve the environmental quality of urban ecosystems by providing landscaping materials, guidelines, and educational resources. Our goal was to examine the recommendations and outcomes of these programs in the United States and their value for encouraging conservation practices in residential ecosystems. We conducted a comprehensive web search and identified 193 sustainable landscaping programs in the United States. Programs aim to increase native species richness, affordably manage stormwater runoff, and offer residents meaningful experiences with nature. Sustainable landscaping programs present many opportunities to engage people with local ecological knowledge and conservation practices, provide accessible spaces for environmental education, cultivate interdisciplinary research collaborations, and advance inclusion in conservation. However, assessments of their ecological value are rare, leaving many questions surrounding the benefits to biodiversity and water quality afforded by participation. Many programs also require investments in landscaping materials and certification fees that might limit participation by some households. Future work should examine how recommended practices influence urban biodiversity, identify and address barriers to participation, and generate social-ecological knowledge that can inform future programs.

     

The current state of evaluator education: A situation analysis and call to action

Education is critically important for the maintenance and growth of programme evaluation and its emergence as a profession. This position paper presents evaluator education as an initiative and provides a foundation for its evaluation. In it, the authors use Stufflebeam's Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) model to frame a review of the literature and practice. We follow this analysis of the current state of evaluator education in formal settings, with discussion of its implications, and directions for future research and action. Our analysis suggests that there is much work to be done to understand the needs for evaluator education, to delineate standards for quality in both education and practice, to identify the inputs and processes most effective for addressing those needs, and to document its ultimate impacts. The paper provides a call to action for improving the quality, consistency, and integrity of this important work.