Teacher Learning in a Community of Practice: A Case Study of ...

The following figure locates social theory oflearning:
Figure 3.2: Two main axes of relevant traditions
Theories of
practice
Theories of
social structure
Social theory
oflearning
Theories of
situated
experience
Theories of
identity
Learning is located at the intersection ofthe dominant intellectual traditions along two
main intersections (see Figure 3.2). The vertical axis reflects a tension between theories
that give primacy to social structure and those that give primacy to action. Learning as
participation is 'caught in the middle' and takes place through engagement in actions and
interactions in social contexts. Learning reproduces and transforms the social structure in
which it takes place (Wenger 1998).
The horizontal axis mediates between the poles ofthe vertical axis. Theories ofpractice
and identity constitute forms ofsocial and historical continuities and discontinuities.
Again, learning is 'caught in the middle'. " It is the vehicle for the evolution ofpractices
and the inclusion ofnewcomers while also (and through the same process) the vehicle for
the development and transformation ofidentities" (ibid.: 13).
While these two axes set the main backdrop for the theory, Wenger proceeds to refine the
model by including a further set ofintermediary axes.
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