Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Social learning as a link between the individual and the collective: evaluating deliberation on social values

  • Special Feature: Original Article
  • Theoretical traditions in social values for sustainability
  • Published:
Sustainability Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The role of social learning in deliberative processes is an emerging area of research in sustainability science. Functioning as a link between the individual and the collective, social learning has been envisioned as a process that can empower and give voice to a diverse set of stakeholder viewpoints, contribute to more adaptive and resilient management decisions and foster broader societal transformations. However, despite its widespread use in the context of participatory management of natural resources, the empirical properties of social learning remain understudied. This paper evaluates the role of social interaction and social capital in achieving transformative learning in discussions about social values. We employ a longitudinal design involving three consecutive surveys of 25 participants of an expert workshop focused on social values, as well as approximately 12 hours of transcribed audio and video recordings of participant interactions. Our mixed methods approach demonstrates the potential of using changes in social networks and definitions of social values that emerge from qualitative coding as indicators of social learning. We find that individuals with a weaker conceptual understanding of social values are more likely to change their definitions of the concept after deliberation. Though slight, these changes display a shift towards definitions more firmly held by other group members.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Argyris C, Schön DA (1978) Organizational learning: a theory of action perspective. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Armitage D, Marschke M, Plummer R (2008) Adaptive co-management and the paradox of learning. Glob Environ Change 18(1):86–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armitage D, Berkes F, Dale A, Kocho-Schellenberg E, Patton E (2011) Co-management and the co-production of knowledge: learning to adapt in Canada’s Arctic. Glob Environ Change 21(3):995–1004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura A (1977) Social learning theory. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura A (2018) Toward a psychology of human agency: pathways and reflections. Perspect Psychol Sci 13(2):130–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barber WF, Bartlett RV (2005) Deliberative environmental politics: democracy and ecological rationality. MIT Press, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentley Brymer AL, Wulfhorst JD, Brunson MW (2018) Analyzing stakeholders’ workshop dialogue for evidence of social learning. Ecol Soc 23(1):42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F (2009) Evolution of co-management: role of knowledge generation, bridging organizations and social learning. J Environ Manage 90(5):1692–1702

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu P (1986) The forms of capital. In: Richardson JG (ed) Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. Greenwood Press, New York, pp 241–258

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown TC (1984) The concept of value in resource allocation. Land Econ 60(3):231–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown G, Kyttä M (2014) Key issues and research priorities for public participation GIS (PPGIS): a synthesis based on empirical research. Appl Geogr 46:122–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burt RS (2004) Structural holes and good ideas. Am J Sociol 110(2):349–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cash DW, Clark WC, Alcock F, Dickson NM, Eckley N, Guston DH, Mitchell RB (2003) Knowledge systems for sustainable development. Proc Natl Acad Sci 100(14):8086–8091

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chan KM, Guerry AD, Balvanera P, Klain S, Satterfield T, Basurto X, Hannahs N (2012) Where are cultural and social in ecosystem services? A framework for constructive engagement. BioScience 62(8):744–756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan KM, Balvanera P, Benessaiah K, Chapman M, Díaz S, Gómez-Baggethun E, Luck GW (2016) Opinion: why protect nature? Rethinking values and the environment. Proc Natl Acad Sci 113(6):1462–1465

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chan KM, Gould RK, Pascual U (2018) Editorial overview: relational values: what are they, and what’s the fuss about? Curr Opin Environ Sustain 35:A1–A7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins K, Ison R (2009) Jumping off Arnstein’s ladder: social learning as a new policy paradigm for climate change adaptation. Environ Policy Gov 19(6):358–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Culwick C, Washbourne CL, Anderson PM, Cartwright A, Patel Z, Smit W (2019) CityLab reflections and evolutions: nurturing knowledge and learning for urban sustainability through co-production experimentation. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 39:9–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cundill G, Rodela R (2012) A review of assertions about the processes and outcomes of social learning in natural resource management. J Environ Manage 113:7–14

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daniell KA, White I, Ferrand N, Ribarova IS, Coad P, Rougier JE, Perez P (2010) Co-engineering participatory water management processes: theory and insights from Australian and Bulgarian interventions. Ecol Soc 15(4):11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diduck AP, Raymond CM, Rodela R, Moquin R, Boerchers M (2019) Pathways of learning about biodiversity and sustainability in private urban gardens. J Environ Plan Manag. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2019.1633288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dietsch AM, Teel TL, Manfredo MJ (2016) Social values and biodiversity conservation in a dynamic world. Conserv Biol 30(6):1212–1221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dietz T (2013) Bringing values and deliberation to science communication. Proc Natl Acad Sci 110(Supplement 3):14081–14087

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dietz T, Ostrom E, Stern PC (2003) The struggle to govern the commons. Science 302(5652):1907

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dryzek JS (1990) Discursive democracy: politics, policy, and political science. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer AP, Vance-Borland K, Burnett KM, Hummel S, Creighton JH, Johnson SL, Jasny L (2014) Does the social capital in networks of “fish and fire” scientists and managers suggest learning? Soc Nat Resour 27(7):671–688

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Folke C, Hahn T, Olsson P, Norberg J (2005) Adaptive governance of social-ecological systems. Annu Rev Environ Resour 30(1):441–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frantzeskaki N, Kabisch N (2016) Designing a knowledge co-production operating space for urban environmental governance—Lessons from Rotterdam, Netherlands and Berlin, Germany. Environ Sci Policy 62:90–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodin RE (2017) The epistemic benefits of deliberative democracy. Policy Sci 50(3):351–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodin RE, Niemeyer SJ (2003) When does deliberation begin? Internal reflection versus public discussion in deliberative democracy. Political Studies 51:627–649

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gould R, Pai M, Chan K, Muraca B (2019) He ʻike ʻana ia i ka pono (It is a recognizing of the right thing): how many indigenous worldview informs relational values and social values. Sustain Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00721-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graesser AC, Langston MC, Baggett WB (1993) Exploring information about concepts by asking questions. Psychol Learn Mot 29:411–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graesser AC, Li H, Forsyth C (2014) Learning by communicating in natural language with conversational agents. Curr Dir Psychol Sci 23:374–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grainger D, Stoeckl N (2019) The importance of social learning for non-market valuation. Ecol Econ 164:106339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter MS (1973) The strength of weak ties. Am J Sociol 78(6):1360–1380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guest G, Namey EE, Mitchell ML (2012) Collecting qualitative data: A field manual for applied research. Thousand Oaks, California

    Google Scholar 

  • Hahn T, Schultz C, Folke C, Olsson P (2008) Social networks as sources of resilience in social-ecological systems. In: Norberg J, Cumming G (eds) Complexity theory for a Sustainable Future. Columbia University Press, NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Irvine KN, O’Brien L, Ravenscroft N, Cooper N, Everard M, Fazey I, Kenter JO (2016) Ecosystem services and the idea of shared values. Ecosyst Serv 21:184–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kates RW, Clark WC, Corell R, Hall JM, Jaeger CC, Lowe I et al (2001) Sustainability science. Science 292(5517):641–642

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kendal D, Raymond C (2019) Understanding pathways to shifting people’s values over time in the context of social-ecological systems. Sustain Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0648-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenter JO (2016) Shared, plural and cultural values. Ecosyst. Serv 21:175–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenter JO, Hyde T, Christie M, Fazey I (2011) The importance of deliberation in valuing ecosystem services in developing countries—evidence from the Solomon Islands. Glob Environ Change 21:505–521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.01.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenter JO, O’Brien L, Hockley N, Ravenscroft N, Fazey I, Irvine KN, Church A (2015) What are shared and social values of ecosystems? Ecol Econ 111:86–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenter JO, Reed MS, Fazey I (2016a) The deliberative value formation model. Ecosyst Serv 21:194–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenter JO, Bryce R, Christie M, Cooper N, Hockley N, Irvine KN, Raymond CM (2016b) Shared values and deliberative valuation: future directions. Ecosyst Serv 21:358–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenter JO, Jobstvogt N, Watson V, Irvine KN, Christie M, Bryce R (2016c) The impact of information, value-deliberation and group-based decision-making on values for ecosystem services: integrating deliberative monetary valuation and storytelling. Ecosyst Serv 21:270–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2016.06.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenter JO, Raymond C, van Riper CJ, Azzopardi E, Brear MR, Calcagni F, Christie I, Chrisite M, Fordham A, Gould RK, Ives CD, Hejnowicz AP, Gunton R, Horcea-Milcu A, Kendal D, Kronenberg J, Massenberg JR, O’Connor S, Ravenscroft N, Raymond IJ, Rawluk A, Rodríguez-Morales J, Thankappan S (2019) Loving the mess: navigating diversity and conflict in social values for sustainability. Sustain Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00726-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulundu I (2012) In pursuit of participation: tracking the influence of local action for sustainable development. Lotz-Sisitka, HB (ed.). Views on Social Learning Literature: A monograph for social learning researchers in natural resources management and environmental education, Environmental Learning Research Centre, Rhodes University/EEASA/SADC REEP, Grahamstown

  • Levin DZ, Cross R (2004) The strength of weak ties you can trust: the mediating role of trust in effective knowledge transfer. Manage Sci 50(11):1477–1490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Dietz T, Carpenter SR, Alberti M, Folke C, Moran E, Ostrom E (2007) Complexity of coupled human and natural systems. Science 317(5844):1513–1516

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lundmark C, Matti S, Sandström A (2014) Adaptive co-management: how social networks, deliberation and learning affect legitimacy in carnivore management. Eur J Wildl Res 60(4):637–644

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manfredo MJ, Bruskotter JT, Teel TL, Fulton D, Schwartz SH, Arlinghaus R, Sullivan L (2017) Why social values cannot be changed for the sake of conservation. Conserv Biol 31(4):772–780

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall C, Rossman GB (2006) Designing qualitative research. Sage Publications Inc, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Massenberg JR (2019) Social values and sustainability: a retrospective view on the contribution of economics. Sustain Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00693-w

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCrum G, Blackstock K, Matthews K, Rivington M, Miller D, Buchan K (2009) Adapting to climate change in land management: the role of deliberative workshops in enhancing social learning. Environ Policy Governance 19(6):413–426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McPherson JM, Smith-Lovin L (1987) Homophily in voluntary organizations: status distance and the composition of face-to-face groups. Am Sociol Rev 52(3):370–379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Medema W, Furber A, Adamowski J, Zhou Q, Mayer I (2016) Exploring the potential impact of serious games on social learning and stakeholder collaborations for transboundary watershed management of the St Lawrence River Basin. Water 8(5):175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merriam BS, Caffarella SR (1998) Learning in adulthood. A comprehensive guide, 2nd edn. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Muro M, Jeffrey P (2008) A critical review of the theory and application of social learning in participatory natural resource management processes. J Environ Planning Manage 51(3):325–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O'Connor S, Kenter JO (2019) Making intrinsic values work; integrating intrinsic values of the more-than-human world through the Life Framework of Values. Sustain Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00715-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E (1990) Governing the commons: the evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom E (2009) A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems. Science 325(5939):419–422

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pahl-Wostl C, Craps M, Dewulf A, Mostert E, Tabara D, Taillieu T (2007) Social learning and water resources management. Ecol Soc 12(2):5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pahl-Wostl C, Tàbara D, Bouwen R, Craps M, Dewulf A, Mostert E, Taillieu T (2008) The importance of social learning and culture for sustainable water management. Ecol Econ 64(3):484–495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascual U, Balvanera P, Díaz S, Pataki G, Roth E, Stenseke M, Maris V (2017) Valuing nature’s contributions to people: the IPBES approach. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 26:7–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pellizzoni L (2001) The myth of the best argument: power, deliberation and reason. British J Sociol 52:59–86

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Plieninger T, Dijks S, Oteros-Rozas E, Bieling C (2013) Assessing, mapping, and quantifying cultural ecosystem services at community level. Land Use Policy 33:118–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prell C, Hubacek K, Reed M (2009) Stakeholder analysis and social network analysis in natural resource management. Soc Nat Resour 22(6):501–518

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pretty J, Ward H (2001) Social capital and the environment. World Dev 29(2):209–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam RD (2000) Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. In Culture and politics Palgrave Macmillan, New York, pp 223–234

    Google Scholar 

  • Ravenscroft N (2019) A new normative economics for the formation of shared social values. Sustain Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0652-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rawluk A, Ford R, Anderson N, Williams K (2019) Exploring multiple dimensions of values and valuing: a conceptual framework for mapping and translating values for social-ecological research and practice. Sustain Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0639-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raymond CM, Kenter JO (2016) Transcendental values and the valuation and management of ecosystem services. Ecosyst Serv 21:241–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raymond CM, Kenter JO, Plieninger T, Turner NJ, Alexander KA (2014) Comparing instrumental and deliberative paradigms underpinning the assessment of social values for cultural ecosystem services. Ecol Econ 107:145–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raymond CM, Kenter JO, Kendal D, van Riper CJ, Rawluk A (2018) Call for papers for “Theoretical traditions in social values for sustainability”. Sustain Sci 13(2):269–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed MS, Evely AC, Cundill G, Fazey I, Glass J, Laing A, Stringer LC (2010) What is social learning? Ecol Soc 15(4):r1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reich RB (1985) Public administration and public deliberation: an interpretive essay. Yale Law J. 94(7):1617–1641

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reyers B, Nel JL, O’Farrell PJ, Sitas N, Nel DC (2015) Navigating complexity through knowledge coproduction: mainstreaming ecosystem services into disaster risk reduction. Proc Natl Acad Sci 112(24):7362–7368

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rist S, Chidambaranathan M, Escobar C, Wiesmann U, Zimmermann A (2007) Moving from sustainable management to sustainable governance of natural resources: the role of social learning processes in rural India, Bolivia and Mali. J Rural Stud 23(1):23–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodela R (2011) Social learning and natural resource management: the emergence of three research perspectives. Ecol Soc 16(4):30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodela R (2013) The social learning discourse: trends, themes and interdisciplinary influences in current research. Environ Sci Policy 25:157–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rokeach M (1973) The nature of human values. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Schroeder H (2013) Sensing value in place. In: Stewart W, Williams D, Kruger L (eds) Place-based conservation: perspectives from the social sciences. Springer, The Netherlands, pp 131–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Schusler TM, Decker DJ, Pfeffer MJ (2003) Social learning for collaborative natural resource management. Soc Nat Resour 16(4):309–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz SH (1994) Are there universal aspects in the structure and contents of human values? J Soc Issues 50(4):19–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott J (1988) Social network analysis. Sociology 22(1):109–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steyaert P, Jiggins J (2007) Governance of complex environmental situations through social learning: a synthesis of SLIM’s lessons for research, policy and practice. Environ Sci Policy 10(6):575–586

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umemoto K, Suryanata K (2006) Technology, culture, and environmental uncertainty: considering social contracts in adaptive management. J Plan Educa Res 25(3):264–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Riper CJ, Kyle GT (2014) Capturing multiple values of ecosystem services shaped by environmental worldview: A spatial analysis. J Environ Manag 145:374–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Riper CJ, Kyle GT, Sutton SG, Barnes M, Sherrouse BC (2012) Mapping outdoor recreationists’ perceived social values for ecosystem services at Hinchinbrook Island National Park Australia. Appl Geogr 35(1–2):164–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Riper CJ, Wallen KE, Landon AC, Petriello MA, Kyle GT, Absher J (2016) Modeling the trust-risk relationship in a wildland recreation setting: a social exchange perspective. J Outdoor Recreation Tourism 13:23–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Riper CJ, Thiel A, Penker M, Braito M, Landon AC, Thomsen J, Tucker CM (2018) Incorporating multi-level values into the social-ecological systems framework. Ecol Soc 23(3):25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Riper CJ, Winkler-Schor S, Stamberger L, Keller R, Braito M, Raymond C, Eriksson M, Golebie E, Johnson D (2019) Integrating multi-level values and pro-environmental behavior in a US protected area. Sustain Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00677-w

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vinke-de Kruijf J, Pahl-Wostl C (2016) A multi-level perspective on learning about climate change adaptation through international cooperation. Environ Sci Policy 66:242–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wal M, De Kraker J, Offermans A, Kroeze C, Kirschner PA, Ittersum M (2014) Measuring social learning in participatory approaches to natural resource management. Environ Policy Gov 24(1):1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webler T, Kastenholz H, Renn O (1995) Public participation in impact assessment: a social learning perspective. Environ Impact Assess Rev 15:443–463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenger E (1999) Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The social values expert workshop was supported by the Valuing Nature Programme, funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) under grant reference NE/M005410/1. We also thank the Great Lakes Fishery Commission for providing personnel support (contract: 2018_VAN_44076) that made this research possible.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Max Eriksson, Carena J. van Riper & Ben Leitschuh

  2. Environmental Science Program, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA

    Amanda Bentley Brymer

  3. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Andrea Rawluk

  4. Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Christopher M. Raymond

  5. Ecosystems and Environment Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Christopher M. Raymond

  6. Department of Environmental and Resource Economics, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Christopher M. Raymond

  7. Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, York, UK

    Jasper O. Kenter

Authors
  1. Max Eriksson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carena J. van Riper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ben Leitschuh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Amanda Bentley Brymer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Andrea Rawluk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Christopher M. Raymond
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jasper O. Kenter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carena J. van Riper.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Handled by Dave Kendal, University of Tasmania, Australia.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 16 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Eriksson, M., van Riper, C.J., Leitschuh, B. et al. Social learning as a link between the individual and the collective: evaluating deliberation on social values. Sustain Sci 14, 1323–1332 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00725-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00725-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation