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

Liz Farleidy Villarraga-Flórez, Sandra Rodríguez-Piñeros and Oscar Geovani Martínez-Cortés
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Liz Farleidy Villarraga-Flórez: Ingenieria Forestal, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Bogotá, Colombia
Sandra Rodríguez-Piñeros: Zootecnia y Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Chihuahua 33820, México
Oscar Geovani Martínez-Cortés: Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks St of 418, Toronto, ON M5S 3B3, Canada

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-10

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.

Keywords: undergraduate forestry curricula; social forestry; sustainable forest management; Colombian forest (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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