Beyond social chit chat? Analysing the social practice of a mobile messaging service on a higher education teacher development course

Abstract

Mobile technology has become for many an essential aspect of everyday life. It has transformed how people interact and is widely adopted by social networks to facilitate communication, support engagement and build collaboration. With reference to Shove et al., (The dynamics of social practice: Everyday life and how it changes, 2012) three element social practice model and Wenger (Communities of Practice: learning, meaning and identity, 1998) community of practice framework, this “insider” research study analyses the norms, behaviours and attitudes of users of a mobile messaging service over a two-year higher education teacher training programme. It also examines the socio-technical interaction between the trainee teachers and the relationship between the mobile messaging application and other communicative practices. Overall, the findings from this research study suggest that although the concept of a community of practice is problematic, the WhatsApp practice positively shaped the experiences of the trainee teachers on their programme.