Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner (2020). Learning to Make a Difference. Value Creation in Social Learning Spaces, Cambridge University Press, ix + 279 pages

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.123734

Abstract

In their work, in their leisure time – yes, indeed in all walks of life – people interact with one another, have new experiences, come to know new things, and learn new things about their environment and the world they inhabit. But how? Philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, cognitive scientists, and many more have theorized this fundamental question and developed theories of learning. Thirty years ago, anthropology professor Jean Lave and cognitive scientist Etienne Wenger developed a social theory of learning that conceptualize learning as a process of situated cognition – legitimate peripheral participation – in communities of practice (Lave & Wenger 1991). This theory – and specifically the concept of communities of practice (CoP) that Etienne Wenger later explored in more detail (Wenger 1998) – have become an influential theoretical and analytical inspiration for researchers in education, organization studies, sociology, social-psychology, and the entire range of disciplines that are preoccupied with the study of social life and working life. (.....)

Now, 30 years after the introduction of the theory, one of its proponents and found- ers, Etienne Wenger-Trayner, together with his spouse Beverly Wenger-Trayner, propose a new – and in their view – more encompassing social learning theory.

 

Author Biography

Anders Buch, VIA University College

Researcher with special obligations, Centre for Quality of Education, Profession Policy, and Practice. E-mail:buch@via.dk

References

Heidegger, M. (1927/2010). Being and Time, New York: State University of New York Press.

Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning. Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press.

Rouse, J. (2015). Articulating the World. Conceptual Understanding and the Scientific Image, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Schatzki, T. (2002). The Site of the Social. A Philosophical Account of the Constitution of Social Life and Change, Pennsylvania: Penn State Press.

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice. Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press.

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Published

2021-01-04

How to Cite

Buch, A. (2021). Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner (2020). Learning to Make a Difference. Value Creation in Social Learning Spaces, Cambridge University Press, ix + 279 pages. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.18291/njwls.123734

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Section

Book Reviews