Social learning and resource management
Social learning theory suggests that people learn from one another through observation, imitation and modelling. This theory is often deemed the bridge between behaviourists and cognitive learning theorists because social learning includes attention, memory and motivation. The EU-funded project SLINNRM reviewed social learning literature for emerging trends and themes. Team members carried out an empirical study investigating the learning process in the real-world environment. After analysing in over 97 publications for how social learning is used in the real world, SLINNRM disseminated its findings through scientific publications. Trends emerged and interdisciplinary influences along with methodological choices were revealed. Active in the north-eastern part of Italy, SLINNRM conducted two case studies. The first investigated the role of social capital on the learning process in a common-pool regime. Common property regimes are arrangements different from private property or state administration that are based on self-management by a local community. The second case study involved observing the design of a management plan using a participatory process, social capital. The observation included an appraisal of the learning process. Experimental and reflective practices such as those reviewed in this study, show social learning as an interesting alternative for environmental and natural resource management.
Keywords
Social learning, resource management, natural resources, cognitive learning, learning process, social capital, common property regime, participatory process
