ZELENI SOCIJALNI RAD I EKOLOŠKA SVIJEST IZ PERSPEKTIVE STUDENATA SOCIJALNOG RADA

Abstract

Social work students are an important segment of the future of the social work profession, therefore investing in their education brings multiple benefits to social work practice. The aim of this paper wasto gain insight into the level of environmental awareness of social work students as well as into their attitudes on green social work. A quantitative research was conducted with 349 participants, among whom there were the students of the bachelor’s and master’s degree program in social work and the students of the master’s degree in social policy and social work. The paper presents the key concepts which are the focus of this research: green social work, environmental awareness and the role of students. The results indicate that students are generally not familiarized with green social work during their studies and that more than half of the students have not heard of the term green social work at all. Environmentally friendly behavior is often present among social work students, but there is room for adopting a more favorable attitude towards water consumption and electronic devices, as well as paper products usage, recycling and the use of long-lasting products. The role of higher education in educating and awareness-raising among students about this issue is becoming a topic of interest for the development of curricula. Key words: green social work; environmental awareness; students