Ecologies of Practices

Abstract

This chapter proposes that a fruitful way to think about practices is to view them as living things. Thought of this way, practices are interdependent with one another, being connected in ‘ecologies of practices’. The key idea underpinning this approach is that practices themselves are embedded in ‘practice architectures’. This approach takes us beyond previous relational and ecological understandings of practices and offers a fresh perspective on the notion of ‘learning practices’. The value of these ideas is illustrated with findings from a current project involving a cluster of schools in rural Australia. This project is examining how practices of educational leadership, professional development, teaching and student learning connect with one another, with each influencing and being influenced by the others.