Abstract:

The world contains several acknowledged risks and fears (see for instance Faludi, 2005; 2018) characterized by for instance global warming (Aleixandre‑Tudo et. al. 2019), threats to biodiversity in natural ecosystems (Tilman et al. 2017), fear of nuclear bombing (Rendall, 2022), a decline of full democracies (Economic Intelligent Unit, 2021), and an increase of inequity (Global Inequality Data, 2020), etc. An overall consensus within the research community today is that that the major challenges the world currently faces are intersected and in need of sustainable strategies, to build more robust and lasting platforms for change.

Two such ideas that have been developed to handle acknowledged risks and fears for alternative futures are innovation and sustainability. In the article we will explore how these ideas and conceptions enter society as a promise on how to correct deficits, give hope for interventions and how it creates specific grids for how to act. In the following it is important to remember that the notions of innovation and sustainability instantaneously act as an articulated societal desire and goals for human development as well as they are recognized as specific techniques for how to intervene in nature and society.

In relation to this, the purpose of the paper is to contribute to both a broadening and a deepening of knowledge about the meaning and usefulness of innovative learning in relation to social innovation and social sustainability. This is done through a literature-review of peer-reviewed articles from four different disciplines asking the following questions:

1. How are the articles defining innovative learning in relation to social sustainability – including the relationship between these concepts?
2. How is the importance of innovative learning described in the articles?
3. Are there any differences and/or similarities between these descriptions? If so, how can these similarities and differences be understood?
4. What are the implications of these descriptions for practice?

In order to contribute to both broadening and deepening knowledge about the meaning and usefulness of innovative learning in relation to social sustainability, a literature review is conducted in four different disciplines: Biology, Economics, Education and Psychology/Working Life. All these disciplines study individuals or social phenomena from various lenses. A literature review based strives to make clear, condense, evaluate, describe, and/or or incorporate the content of original research findings (Cooper, 1988). A scoping review places emphasis on a systematic scanning of publications within a selected research field (Schick-Makaroff et. al. 2016) and encourages group members to discuss and problematize the findings to avoid bias (Booth et. al. 2016). The literature review is analyzed in a systematic manner using a Thematic Content Analysis (TCA), which is structured in six phases.

Keywords:

Innovative learning, social sustainability, empty signifier, various disciplines, literature review, content analysis.