Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment

For Human Behavior in the Social Environment courses offered in departments of Social Work and Human Services at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Bestselling UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT, 8e looks at lifespan through the lens of social work theory and practice as it covers human development and behavior theories within the context of family, organizational, and community systems. Using a chronological lifespan approach, the text presents separate chapters on biological, psychological, and social impacts at the different lifespan stages with an emphasis on strengths and empowerment.

Charles Zastrow, MSW, Ph.D., is a professor in the MSW program at George Williams College in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. He previously taught in the Social Work Department of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Wisconsin, Dr. Zastrow has worked as a practitioner for various agencies, chaired social work accreditation site visit teams for the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), and served on the Commission on Accreditation of CSWE. He also is a member of the BPD board. A leader in social work education and a best-selling author, Dr. Zastrow has written four other textbooks: THE PRACTICE OF SOCIAL WORK, SOCIAL WORK WITH GROUPS, SOCIAL PROBLEMS: ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS, and UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT (with Dr. Karen Kirst-Ashman).

Karen K. Kirst-Ashman has been a full professor and former chairperson of the department of social work at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she has taught for 28 years. She has written six social work textbooks and numerous publications, articles, and reviews on social work and women's issues. Dr. Kirst-Ashman was a board member of the CSWE from 1998 through 2001 and has served as a CSWE accreditation site visitor. Certified as a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Wisconsin, she is a recipient of the Roseman Award for Excellence in Teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Dr. Kirst-Ashman earned her BSW in 1972, a MSW in 1973 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and PhD in social work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.