Reflecting on the Social Environment Dimensions of HB&SE

SUMMARY

This paper discusses the contributions of three studies of the Human Behavior and the Social Environment curriculum presented in this volume (Mulroy & Austin; Taylor, Mulroy, & Austin; Taylor, Austin, & Mulroy). A key theme across these theoretical and empirical pieces is that content related to social environment may not be coherently or consistently presented across courses. This finding is discussed in light of the general move toward contextualism in the social sciences in recent decades. Implications for social work pedagogy, research, and theory development are discussed.

Key Words:

• Human behavior and the social environment
• social work education
• contextualism