Social Science in Forestry Curricula: A Case Study of Colombia Forestry Programs

Abstract

Abstract:Tropical forest management depends greatly on complex social interactions. To understand the underlying human causes of deforestation and to plan forest management, it is of great importance to incorporate social science in the study of forestry. There is insufficient information about the incorporation of social sciences in undergraduate forestry programs. Foresters are well prepared in ecology, silviculture, forest measurements, and operational topics such as logging, but their knowledge of basic elements of social sciences is limited. This study explored the extent to which tertiary forestry education programs in Colombia include social science. It also examined students' perceptions of social sciences courses in the curriculum. About 10% of course credits are in economics, administration, and foreign language, courses on social science are listed as optional. A high percentage of current sophomore (fifth semester), junior, and senior students do not have clear knowledge of basic social research methods, although a majority have used social science techniques at some point in their academic careers.

What Are Foresters Taught? An Analysis of Undergraduate Level Forestry Curricula in Türkiye

“…Previous studies analyzing the undergraduate forestry curriculum [3,4] concluded that social sciences are not well represented. Yet social sciences seem well represented in Turkish forestry program curricula.…”

“…There are numerous studies on the assessment of forestry education and curricula. Forestry programs curricula in Colombia were assessed for their inclusion of social sciences [3]. Undergraduate curricula of Society of American Foresters (SAF) accredited forest programs in the USA were examined for their deficiencies of social sciences [4].…”

Global assessment of forest education

“…Generic competences have been recognized as insufficient for some time (Sample et al 2015;Rekola et al, 2017;Rekola et al, 2018;Villarraga-Florez, Rodríguez-Pineros and Martínez-Cortés, 2016;Lee et al, 2011). The results of this study suggest that some improvement has occurred in this area; however, generic competences are still at insufficient levels.…”

A Comparison of Forestry Continuing Education Academic Degree Programs

“…Studies across economies focus on Europe [20,29], and Brazil, China, and Finland [30]. Recent literature addresses new topics, including online forestry education [31][32][33], students' views on forestry education or participatory curricula development [30,34,35], internationalization of forestry education [2,36], social science in forestry education [37], declining enrolment in forestry education [38], women in forestry higher education [39], forestry higher education outcomes [40], and colonial legacies in forestry higher education [41].…”