Look to the ravens
Reconceptualizing communities of practice into ecosystems of practice
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12526004 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David E K Smith (0009-0004-6943-7179, University of Pittsburgh, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 1348-1358 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-11 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Education Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1350-4622 • E-ISSN: 1469-5871 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13504622.2022.2086688 |
| OpenAlex | W4302926195 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 25 |
The academic idea of a community of practice—a group of people who come together to share and learn from one another—has been used to understand learning structures in a wide array of fields. This conceptual framework, however, is rooted in human exceptionalism, considering anything other-than-human to be a resource instead of an active and critical participant. Working to remove this anthropocentric language and better fit with Indigenous epistemologies, I propose to reconceptualize communities of practice to ecosystems of practice: communities of practice that consider other-than-human actors to be key participants in the situated learning process. I ground this definition through a case study of a Gwich’in hunting and fishing ecosystem of practice by showing clear inclusion of other-than-human members and highlighting their importance in educational processes. Actively redefining and reconceptualizing community of practice theory shifts overall cultural perspectives to better embrace other-than-human entities and fosters environmental empathy
Anthropocentrism · Community of practice · Empathy · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Indigenous · Nexus (standard · Pedagogy · Practice theory · Situated · Social science · Sociology · Innovative Education and Learning Practices · Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods · Psychology · Service-Learning and Community Engagement · Social Psychology · Ecology
Mind in Society
Innovation ecosystems
Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice
Internalism, Externalism, and the Architecture of Justification
Heavy Metal, identity and the social negotiation of a community of practice
The future begins today
Strategy as Practice
Muskrat theories, tobacco in the streets, and living Chicago as Indigenous land
Cognition in Practice
As We Have Always Done
Situated Learning
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |