Lave and Wenger, Communities of Practice and Disability Studies

Abstract

The focus of this book is social theories and we may ponder what makes a theory social? Is it about the ability to study and interpret social phenomenon utilising a particular school of thought? Harrington (2005), in discussing the etymology of social theory, locates the origins within ancient Greek culture, in enabling them to make sense of lives and question meanings. In this chapter, we hope to do just that by truly embracing ‘the social’ of disability theory through communities of practice. We have a number of aims; first we outline a particular theoretical framework — communities of practice, which has received scant attention within disability studies. We present the framework in terms of its historical origins, and then its contemporary usage focusing on the uniqueness of its approach. Second, we link this social theory to the landscape of disability, unpacking how this approach offers possibilities. Third, we outline how the theory can be utilised in a distinct disability employment project. Fourth, we evaluate its potential within this project and further afield. We ask questions about policy and practice and whether this approach can be linked to disability activism. What can a theoretical concept titled communities of practice offer to the disability studies field? This theoretical offering engages directly with processes of inclusion and exclusion — how is disability understood or counted out? There has been little prior work which links communities of practice idea to disability studies (cf. Tobbell and Lawthom, 2005), but we argue that applying these ideas gives rich insight. Identity ownership and contestation has been a key issue for the disabled people’s movement and for those who stand inside and outside it. Unpacking how disabled people may come to understand and situate their own identity and that of others is key to this identity project (Giddens, 1991).