Exploring the relevance of sustainability values and principles : Impact of International Social Education (ISE) in a local context

First of all, many thanks to both reviewers for their detailed and intensive comments.

We are very aware that globalization and sustainability are very complex concepts and have tried to capture this complexity by introducing the term "glocal". This means that aspects of global awareness can be found and identified at a local level. Furthermore, we actually received rather positive descriptions in the responses of the students participating in the study. However, it was always possible for them to describe negative effects that were felt first-hand.

Regarding the accentuated demand for more in depth insight into the answers of the students we refer to our comprehensive data collection, which will be sent to all readers of the article on request. The other 'gaps' mentioned are not actually gaps, but reflect the possibility of arguing within the framework of a limited article. The missing bridge between the questions we asked the students on the one hand and the theoretical explanations on the other is well recognised. We intend to address these issues as part of a longitudinal follow-up study or in a follow-up article.

This article explores the relevance of sustainability in international social education (ISE). Our empirical data is based on a survey of 30 social work students from Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Sweden. Theoretically, we draw on Bronfenbrenner's theory of social ecosystems and Dewey's emphasis on democratic learning. We use a qualitative approach based on Strauss' Grounded Theory, which allows us to dig deep into the meanings of the students we interviewed. The interviewed students experienced more or less continuously that learning in an international context is learning with all senses, is a "24/7 learning", and is learning in another language (at least most of the time). The results of our survey underline that acquiring knowledge in an international context contributes to a comprehensive understanding of social work as a profession and to the formation of a broad and professional identity. This includes a broad range of critical and systemic thinking skills that enable enquiry, integration and holistic thinking, i.e. sustainability.

Dieser Artikel beschäftigt sich mit der Bedeutung von Nachhaltigkeit in der internationalen sozialen Bildung (ISE). Unsere empirischen Daten beruhen auf einer Befragung von 30 Studierenden der Sozialen Arbeit aus der Schweiz, Österreich, Deutschland und Schweden. Theoretisch stützen wir uns auf Bronfenbrenners Theorie der sozialen Ökosysteme und Deweys Betonung des demokratischen Lernens. Wir verwenden einen qualitativen Ansatz auf der Grundlage der Grounded Theory von Strauss, der es uns ermöglicht, tief in die Bedeutungen der von uns befragten Studierenden einzudringen. Ergebnisse: Die befragten Studierenden haben mehr oder weniger durchgängig die Erfahrung gemacht, dass Lernen in einem internationalen Kontext ein Lernen mit allen Sinnen ist, ein "24/7-Lernen" und ein Lernen in einer anderen Sprache (zumindest die meiste Zeit). Die Ergebnisse unserer Umfrage unterstreichen, dass der Erwerb von Wissen in einem internationalen Kontext zu einem umfassenden Verständnis der Sozialen Arbeit als Beruf und zur Bildung einer breiten und professionellen Identität beiträgt. Dazu gehört ein breites Spektrum an kritischen und systemischen Denkfähigkeiten, die Nachfragen, Integration und ganzheitliches Denken, d. h. Nachhaltigkeit, ermöglichen.