Applying transdisciplinary sustainability transitions research in international social work doctoral training

Figures & data

Table 1. The pre-established research themes of the ASTRA ESRs.

Target groups/ Thematic Research groups	People with a migration background	Young people in precariousness	Vulnerable communities
Environmental Sustainability Transition	The use of the public natural environment as a means of inclusion	Natural environment as a resource for sustainable well-being	Food poverty and food waste; sustainable housing
Economic Sustainability Transition	Impact of transnational female caring economy	Capability of circular economy to enable social inclusion; Sustainable impact of social inclusion programmes	Ecosocial innovations and solidarity economy; Democratic participation in economic structures
Social Sustainability Transition	SW in communities facing forced migration due to environmental crises	Participation of young migrants in rural environments; Sustainable impact of labour integration centres; Contributive justice in ecosocial inclusion projects	Role of participatory SW practices for sustainable urban communities; SW programmes cultivating sustainable local communities

Table 2. Emerging themes reflecting interconnectivity between environmental, economic and social sustainability transition.

A. Nature as an indispensable base for all life	B. The essential political and economic embedding of the issues of sustainability	C. Human-caused unsustainability connects to the violation of human rights	D. Sustainability transition interconnects with my own lifestyle	E. Striving towards contributions to the practice of social work
… Realizing that all living things including human beings are part of nature; and our survival depends on other human and nonhuman members of the ecosystem. Realizing that ecosystem resources are finite therefore all living things must live within boundary limits. Realizing the interconnection between the environment, economic and social dimensions of life. Data 6.	Some challenges to sustainability include capitalism, neoliberalism, devaluation of indigenous perspectives, fragmentation of humans from nature because of urbanization, a shift to individualism. The root causes of sustainability are power and resources—who gets what and who decides it. Data 4	It is obvious that human beings are the biggest threats to the ecosystem as well as biggest victims. Talking about victims, I have learned that the poor and vulnerable disproportionately suffer more for the environmental crises. Data 11	From the summer school, I learned many new concepts that are essential for my personal and professional life. Some of these include: details about environmental drivers; ecological footprint calculation; the concept of wicked problems; the snowflake model of distributed leadership; and commercial bank money. Data 2	The final question that puzzled me was about establishing a clear connection between social work and ecological issues. During the summer school, it was reported that many social workers found it difficult to associate social work with ecological aspects. However, after reflecting on it based on the discussions of the summer school, I tried to make a clear association. Data 2
I was still occupied with the thoughts from yesterday and I generally wondered about who has to be educated about the importance of nature, the interconnections between humans and nature and the need to live sustainably? Data 9	In my opinion, the ecological crisis, that could turn out to be the ultimate one for the humanity and most of the life on Earth, is not only interconnected with but actually stems from the dominant political and economic organization of society. Data 5	I think that among the human-caused factors, war and politically created and sustained socioeconomic inequalities are major drivers of (un)forced migration between and within countries. However, these two drivers are strongly interconnected with other environmental factors like natural disasters that could be non-anthropogenic,but have increasingly been the consequence of human-caused global warming, as scientists warn. Data 5	It is becoming abundantly clear to me that systems are fragile and unravelling slowly. This relates to how I see the intersection of economic, environmental, and political systems that have white supremacy, colonization, capitalism, and individualism embedded into them. I have the lingering question of what we can build to replace these harmful systems. Data 11	Social work needs to break through its bubble. Or in other words, the idea that science grows when combining with others is true for social work as well. Data 3
There is a growing disconnection of people from the nature which is leading to lack of knowledge and awareness about nature; social alienation and exclusion; diseases and over consumption of natural resources (…). There is a need to shift towards local and regional food systems and for making use of indigenous knowledge and for that approach need to be changed from top-down to bottom-up approach. Data 8	However, in order for inequalities to be tackled on a global level a very different economic approach to the dominant one is needed. (…) At the same time, there is also the trilemma between inequalities, growth and climate change: to get out of inequalities we need growth and globalization but to tackle climate change we should rather limit globalization and world exchanges and transport. Data1	One way to make such an association is by emphasizing the link between the third mandate of social work (scientific-based intervention and ethical foundations like human rights) and issues of sustainability. Based on this, it is easy to understand why social work should be interested in ecological/sustainability issues. Data 2	(…) regarding my personal lifestyle. In the past, I was not that conscious about ecological and sustainability issues. The summer school made me rethink and reflect on my individual actions and the impact I have on sustainability. Data 2	What I missed in this first ASTRA summer school was more input from the part of social work. I would like to have seen more in terms of theory, but even more, applied practice in the direction of eco-social work. Nonetheless, I think my knowledge and perception regarding integrated approach on sustainability issues were enriched. Data 1
The first and most important that I learned is that it made me reconsider my life’s core principle, which was primarily human-centered …). Now, I realize that the natural order of things is that the ecosystem/biosphere, which is the basis of human life, comes first. Humans and their social and economic (…) are just part of the ecosystem. Accordingly, the focus should be on ecological justice. Data 2	A more pluralistic economic system that ensures balance in the economy, such as the social cooperative economy, with mutual societies and non-profit businesses, could probably be a radical solution to the misalignment of returns and rewards, in economy, society, and environment. But it needs to be clarified what has to offer, how, and with which tools it could be measured, as well as the clear-cut role of social work towards that direction. Data 13	The pathways to human well being requires collaboration, cooperation and dialogue among different stakeholders and there is no single pathway to solve complex problems, combination of social, environmental and economic lenses is needed. The 2030 agenda also highlight the importance of social, economic and environmental lenses. Data 8	In as much as personal choices matter in the quest for sustainability, it may be counter-productive to approach issues from this prism. Personal choices smack of going back to the same discredited capitalism that places self-interest over others. A collective action which targets the various dimensions of sustainability appears more sustainable. Data 6	… for me this question is strongly connected to another one: On which level should social work operate regarding these issues? (…)in my opinion it should not happen on a micro-level but on a meso- and macro-level. I want to stress the following understanding of social work in general but when we talk about environmental issues alike: I see social workers as social change agents who should tackle the social, economic and the environmental challenges especially on the meso and macro levels of practice, that means to take part in policy making, advocacy in community organizing and functioning as multiplicators for actors from civil society. Data 9