Social practice

Social practice is a theory within psychology that seeks to determine the link between practice and context within social situations. Emphasized as a commitment to change, social practice occurs in two forms: activity and inquiry. Most often applied within the context of human development, social practice involves knowledge production and the theorization and analysis of both institutional and intervention practices. Through research, Sylvia Scribner sought to understand and create a decent life for all people regardless of geographical position, race, gender, and social class. Using anthropological field research and psychological experimentation, Scribner tried to dig deeper into human mental functioning and its creation through social practice in different societal and cultural settings. She therefore aimed to enact social reform and community development through an ethical orientation that accounts for the interaction of historical and societal conditions of different institutional settings with human social and mental functioning and development. Social practice involves engagement with communities of interest by creating a practitioner-community relationship wherein there remains a focus on the skills, knowledge, and understanding of people in their private, family, community, and working lives. In this approach to social practice, activity is used for social change without the agenda of research. Activity theory suggests the use of a system of participants that work toward an object or goal that brings about some form of change or transformation in the community. Within research, social practice aims to integrate the individual with his or her surrounding environment while assessing how context and culture relate to common actions and practices of the individual. Just as social practice is an activity itself, inquiry focuses on how social activity occurs and identifies its main causes and outcomes.

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Publications associées (1)

Teaching under lockdown: the change in the social practice of teaching

Patrick Jermann, Roland John Tormey, Helena Kovacs

Due to the unprecedented situation caused by a global pandemic, the traditional way of teaching that is reliant on face-to-face interaction between teachers and students has been dismantled. This article looks into university teachers’ experiences of teaching under lockdown, with an intention to understand what the change meant in terms of social practice. The research follows a qualitative design, in which ten university teachers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Three themes interwoven with a common thread were identified through teachers’ reflections, including displacement, routine, and role. The common thread was identified as the interaction between teachers and students, and analysing the quality of this interaction led to understanding the social kernel of teaching as embedded in social practice, suggesting that physical dislocation demands teachers to recreate meaning in the new situation. This change has been seen as difficult, yet unpacking teachers’ perceptions provided valuable lessons for the future.

Springer2022