Social learning systems and Communities of Practice is a collection of classical and contemporary writing associated with learning and systemic change in contexts ranging from cities, to rural development to education to nursing to water management to public policy. It is likely to be of interest to anyone trying to understand how to think systemically and to act and interact effectively in situations experienced as complex, messy and changing. While mainly concerned with professional praxis, where theory and practice inform each other, there is much here that can apply at a personal level. This book offers conceptual tools and suggestions for new ways of being and acting in the world in relation to each other, that arise from both old and new understandings of communities, learning and systems. Starting with twentieth century insights into social learning, learning systems and appreciative systems from Donald Schön and Sir Geoffrey Vickers, the book goes on to consider the contemporary traditions of critical social learning systems and communities of practice, pioneered by Richard Bawden and Etienne Wenger and their colleagues. A synthesis of the ideas raised, written by the editor, concludes this reader. The theory and practice of social learning systems and communities of practice appear to have much to offer in influencing and managing systemic change for a better world. Social Learning Systems and Communities of Practice explores and synthesises four different traditions of social learning systems that separately have already influenced many individuals and groups in how they think about and facilitate learning and change whether through policy or practice. These traditions have not previously been brought together in a book The book brings together some potentially powerful ideas about social and systemic change and how people do andcan work and learn together for their mutually agreed purposes. The combination of classical and contemporary ideas sets it apart It is a reader that includes contributions from those leading the fields of ‘critical social learning systems’ and ‘communities of practice’, offering depth as well as breadth of insights It uses the language of ‘social learning systems’ as distinct from social learning or learning systems which appear elsewhere It approaches social learning from a ‘systems’ perspective, using a range of systems concepts and theories explicitly It draws examples from a wide range of domains of practice including government and public policy, sustainable development and natural resource management, cities, nursing and education INDICE: PART I Early traditions of social learning systems.- Government asa learning system.- Insights into appreciation and learning systems.- PART IICritical social learning systems – the Hawkesbury tradition.- The community challenge: the learning response.- Sustainability, social learning and the democratic imperative: lessons from the Australian Landcare movement.- Traditions of understanding: language, dialogue and experience.- Messy issues, worldviewsand systemic competencies.- PART III Communities of Practice.- Our world as aLearning System: a communities-of-practice approach.- Conceptual tools for CoPs as social learning systems: boundaries, identity, trajectories and participation.- Learning nursing in the workplace community: the generation of professional capital.- Graduate professional education from a community of practice perspective: the role of social and technical working.- Communities of practiceand social learning systems: the career of a concept.- PART IV Synthesis.- Managing systemic change: what future roles for social learning systems and communities of practice?
- ISBN: 978-1-84996-132-5
- Editorial: Springer
- Encuadernacion: Rústica
- Páginas: 247
- Fecha Publicación: 01/05/2010
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés