Social Construction of Reality - Bad Request

Legitimation. Legitimation, the third and final social construction of reality
concept, produces new meanings that serve to integrate the meanings already attached to
disparate institutional processes” (Berger & Luckmann, 1967, p. 92). It takes place in
four phases and is important because it results, according to Berger and Luckmann, in the
“full integration of discrete institutional processes” (p. 96). Legitimation is grounded in
discourse and is built upon objectification and institutionalization. This concept is
important to the study because it raises the expectation that the resulting model could
function as a mechanism capable of integrating discrete philosophies and processes and
of uniting them under the umbrella of the three School District values: culture of
collaboration, integrity of action, and commitment to excellence.
There are four phases of legitimation. It is useful to think of these phases in terms
of sequential stair steps leading to the goal of a fully integrated organization. Full
integration is defined in this context as an organization whose processes work together to
ensure district values are reified. For this to be the case, individuals must come to
understand the value of “performing one action and not another” (Berger & Luckmann,
1967, p. 93-94).
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