Define Social Practice

Define Social Practice: Understanding the Fabric of Human Interaction

Introduction:

Ever wondered why we do what we do? Why certain behaviors are considered "normal" while others are not? The answer often lies in the complex web of social practices that shape our lives. This comprehensive guide delves into the very essence of "social practice," defining it from various perspectives, exploring its key components, and demonstrating its profound impact on individuals and society. We'll unpack the theoretical underpinnings, explore real-world examples, and ultimately help you understand this crucial concept in a way that's both insightful and accessible. Prepare to unravel the intricate fabric of human interaction and discover the powerful forces that govern our daily lives.

What is a Social Practice? Defining the Term

The term "social practice" doesn't lend itself to a single, universally accepted definition. However, a common thread weaves through various interpretations: it refers to the routinized, recurring ways of acting, thinking, and interacting that are learned and shared within a particular group or community. This encompasses not only overt actions but also underlying beliefs, values, and understandings that inform those actions.

Think about it: brushing your teeth, greeting a colleague, attending a religious service, or participating in a political protest – these are all examples of social practices. Each involves a combination of:

Material Culture: The physical objects and resources involved (toothbrush, handshake, religious text, protest sign).
Know-how: The practical skills and knowledge required to participate effectively (proper brushing technique, appropriate greeting etiquette, religious doctrine, protest chants).
Meaning: The shared understandings and interpretations attached to the practice (hygiene, professionalism, faith, political activism).

These three elements are interconnected and mutually constitutive. You can't fully understand a social practice by examining only one aspect; you need to consider them all in their interconnectedness.

Different Perspectives on Social Practice Theory:

Several theoretical frameworks inform our understanding of social practices. Here are a few key perspectives:

Bourdieu's Habitus: Pierre Bourdieu's concept of "habitus" highlights the embodied dispositions, ingrained habits, and tastes that shape individuals' actions and preferences within a specific social field. Habitus is not simply learned behavior; it's a deeply ingrained system of perception and action that predisposes individuals to act in certain ways.

Practice Theory (Reconstituted): Anthony Giddens and others contributed to a reconstitution of practice theory, emphasizing the agency of individuals within social structures. This perspective acknowledges that individuals are not simply puppets of social forces but actively shape and reshape the practices in which they participate.

Sociomateriality: This perspective focuses on the dynamic interplay between human actors and non-human entities (objects, technologies, environments) in shaping social practices. It highlights how material culture is not simply a backdrop to social action but actively constitutes and transforms it.

Analyzing Social Practices: Examples and Applications

Let's illustrate the concept with some concrete examples:

The Social Practice of Coffee Consumption: This seemingly simple act involves material elements (coffee beans, grinder, machine, mug), know-how (brewing techniques, latte art), and meaning (social ritual, energy boost, taste preference). Different cultures have vastly different coffee practices, highlighting the embedded cultural values within each practice.

Online Social Media Practices: The rise of social media platforms has generated entirely new sets of social practices, including "liking" posts, sharing content, engaging in online debates, and curating an online persona. These practices involve digital technologies, specific platform protocols, and constantly evolving social norms.

The Social Practice of Healthcare: This involves intricate interactions between patients, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. Material culture includes medical equipment, medications, and hospital buildings. Know-how encompasses medical knowledge, procedures, and communication skills. Meanings encompass healing, care, wellbeing, and even power dynamics.

Understanding social practices is crucial in various fields, including:

Sociology: To analyze social structures, inequalities, and cultural change.
Anthropology: To understand diverse cultures and social organizations.
Marketing: To understand consumer behavior and develop effective marketing strategies.
Public Health: To design interventions to promote healthy behaviors.
Education: To understand how learning takes place within specific social contexts.


The Power and Limits of Social Practice:

Social practices shape our identities, influence our beliefs, and determine our opportunities. They can be powerful tools for social change, but they also reproduce inequalities and reinforce existing power structures. Critically analyzing social practices allows us to understand how they both enable and constrain human agency. Identifying the underlying assumptions and power dynamics embedded within practices is crucial for promoting social justice and equity.


Conclusion:

Defining "social practice" is a complex undertaking, but it's a crucial task for anyone interested in understanding the human experience. By examining the interplay of material culture, know-how, and meaning, we can uncover the intricate mechanisms that shape our actions, beliefs, and interactions. This understanding empowers us to critically evaluate existing practices, challenge inequalities, and consciously participate in shaping a more just and equitable future.


Book Outline: "Understanding Social Practices: A Comprehensive Guide"

Introduction: Defining social practice, its importance, and the scope of the book.
Chapter 1: Theoretical Frameworks: Exploring Bourdieu's habitus, Giddens' practice theory, and sociomateriality.
Chapter 2: Components of Social Practice: A detailed analysis of material culture, know-how, and meaning.
Chapter 3: Analyzing Social Practices: Case studies from diverse contexts (e.g., healthcare, education, online interactions).
Chapter 4: Social Practice and Social Change: How practices reproduce inequalities and can be leveraged for transformative action.
Chapter 5: Methods for Studying Social Practices: Ethnographic research, interviews, discourse analysis, and digital methods.
Conclusion: Recap of key concepts, implications for research and practice, and future directions.


(Note: The detailed content for each chapter would require a separate substantial document.)



FAQs:

1. What is the difference between a social practice and a social norm? Social norms are the unwritten rules of behavior within a society, while social practices are the actual recurring actions and interactions that embody those norms.

2. How can social practices be changed? Social change often involves challenging existing practices, introducing new ones, and shifting the meanings associated with them.

3. What role do power dynamics play in social practices? Power dynamics often shape who participates in a practice, how it is performed, and the meaning attributed to it.

4. How do social practices relate to identity formation? Our participation in social practices shapes our sense of self and belonging.

5. Are social practices always positive? No, social practices can perpetuate inequalities, discrimination, and harmful behaviors.

6. How can we study social practices effectively? Employing a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is crucial.

7. What is the role of technology in shaping social practices? Technology both transforms existing practices and creates entirely new ones.

8. Can individual agency influence social practices? Absolutely; individuals actively participate in, modify, and even resist social practices.

9. How do social practices evolve over time? Social practices are dynamic; they change in response to social, technological, and environmental factors.


Related Articles:

1. The Role of Habitus in Shaping Social Practices: Explores Bourdieu's concept of habitus and its influence on individual behavior.
2. Social Practice Theory and its Applications: Provides a broader overview of practice theory and its application across different disciplines.
3. Material Culture and the Constitution of Social Practices: Focuses on the significance of material objects in shaping social interactions.
4. The Social Practice of Online Communication: Examines the unique characteristics of online social practices.
5. Social Practice and Social Inequality: Analyzes how social practices reproduce and reinforce social inequalities.
6. Methods for Studying Social Practices: Offers a detailed guide to different research methods.
7. Social Practice Theory and Education: Explores the relevance of practice theory to educational research and practice.
8. Social Practice and Public Health Interventions: Discusses how an understanding of social practices can improve public health outcomes.
9. The Evolution of Social Practices Over Time: Analyzes the factors that contribute to the transformation of social practices.


  define social practice: The Dynamics of Social Practice Elizabeth Shove, Mika Pantzar, Matt Watson, 2012-05-17 Everyday life is defined and characterised by the rise, transformation and fall of social practices. Using terminology that is both accessible and sophisticated, this essential book guides the reader through a multi-level analysis of this dynamic. In working through core propositions about social practices and how they change the book is clear and accessible; real world examples, including the history of car driving, the emergence of frozen food, and the fate of hula hooping, bring abstract concepts to life and firmly ground them in empirical case-studies and new research. Demonstrating the relevance of social theory for public policy problems, the authors show that the everyday is the basis of social transformation addressing questions such as: how do practices emerge, exist and die? what are the elements from which practices are made? how do practices recruit practitioners? how are elements, practices and the links between them generated, renewed and reproduced? Precise, relevant and persuasive this book will inspire students and researchers from across the social sciences. Elizabeth Shove is Professor of Sociology at Lancaster University. Mika Pantzar is Research Professor at the National Consumer Research Centre, Helsinki. Matt Watson is Lecturer in Social and Cultural Geography at University of Sheffield.
  define social practice: Sociology and Complexity Science Brian Castellani, Frederic William Hafferty, 2009-10-03 By now, most academics have heard something about the new science of complexity. In a manner reminiscent of Einstein and the last hundred years of physics, complexity science has captured the public imagination. ® One can go to Amazon. com and purchase books on complexification (Casti 1994), emergence (Holland 1998), small worlds (Barabási 2003), the web of life (Capra 1996), fuzzy thinking (Kosko 1993), global c- plexity (Urry 2003) and the business of long-tails (Anderson 2006). Even television has incorporated the topics of complexity science. Crime shows ® ® such as 24 or CSI typically feature investigators using the latest advances in computational modeling to “simulate scenarios” or “data mine” all p- sible suspects—all of which is done before the crime takes place. The ® World Wide Web is another example. A simple search on Google. Com using the phrase “complexity science” gets close to a million hits! C- plexity science is ubiquitous. What most scholars do not realize, however, is the remarkable role sociologists are playing in this new science. C- sider the following examples. 0. 1 Sociologists in Complexity Science The first example comes from the new science of networks (Barabási 2003). By now, most readers are familiar with the phenomena known as six-degrees of separation—the idea that, because most large networks are comprised of a significant number of non-random weak-ties, the nodes (e. g. , people, companies, etc.
  define social practice: Critique as Social Practice Robin Celikates, 2018-05-08 Can critical theory diagnose ideological delusion and false consciousness from above, or does it have to follow the practices of critique ordinary agents engage in? This book argues that we have to move beyond this dichotomy, which has led to a theoretical impasse. Whilst ordinary agents engage in complex forms of everyday critique, it must remain the task of critical theory to provide analysis and critique of social conditions that obstruct the development of reflexive capacities and of their realization in corresponding practices of critique. Only an approach that is at the same time non-paternalistic, pragmatist, and dialogical as well as critical will be able to realize the emancipatory potential of the Frankfurt School tradition of critical theory in radically changing social circumstances. The translation of this work was funded by Geisteswissenschaften International – Translation Funding for Humanities and Social Sciences from Germany, a joint initiative of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the German Federal Foreign Office, the collecting society VG WORT and the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publisher & Booksellers Association)
  define social practice: Some Social Practice Ellen Mueller, 2020-07-13 This book started as a compilation of a series of zines created to introduce students to the field of social practice. This book expands and adds to each of these zines while compiling all of the history examples into a single timeline for easy reference.FEATURESA list of exercises for in and out-of-class useA sample syllabus, adaptable to 10 and 15-week termsChallenging discussion questionsCharts to explain intersecting fields of study and spectrums in the fieldSocial practice book listTips for effective social practice
  define social practice: Genocide as Social Practice Daniel Feierstein, 2014-05-14 Genocide not only annihilates people but also destroys and reorganizes social relations, using terror as a method. In Genocide as Social Practice, social scientist Daniel Feierstein looks at the policies of state-sponsored repression pursued by the Argentine military dictatorship against political opponents between 1976 and 1983 and those pursued by the Third Reich between 1933 and 1945. He finds similarities, not in the extent of the horror but in terms of the goals of the perpetrators. The Nazis resorted to ruthless methods in part to stifle dissent but even more importantly to reorganize German society into a Volksgemeinschaft, or people’s community, in which racial solidarity would supposedly replace class struggle. The situation in Argentina echoes this. After seizing power in 1976, the Argentine military described its own program of forced disappearances, torture, and murder as a “process of national reorganization” aimed at remodeling society on “Western and Christian” lines. For Feierstein, genocide can be considered a technology of power—a form of social engineering—that creates, destroys, or reorganizes relationships within a given society. It influences the ways in which different social groups construct their identity and the identity of others, thus shaping the way that groups interrelate. Feierstein establishes continuity between the “reorganizing genocide” first practiced by the Nazis in concentration camps and the more complex version—complex in terms of the symbolic and material closure of social relationships —later applied in Argentina. In conclusion, he speculates on how to construct a political culture capable of confronting and resisting these trends. First published in Argentina, in Spanish, Genocide as Social Practice has since been translated into many languages, now including this English edition. The book provides a distinctive and valuable look at genocide through the lens of Latin America as well as Europe.
  define social practice: Materiality and Social Practice Joseph Maran, Philipp Stockhammer, 2014-01-31 Materiality and Social Practice investigates the transformative potential arising from the interplay between material forms, social practices and intercultural relations. Such a focus necessitates an approach that takes a transcultural perspective as a fundamental methodology and, then a broader understanding of the inter-relationship between humans and objects. Adopting a transcultural approach forces us to change archaeology's approach towards items coming from the outside. By using them mostly for reconstructing systems of exchange or for chronology, archaeology has for a long time reduced them to their properties as objects and as being foreign. This volume explores the notion that the significance of such items does not derive from the transfer from one place to another as such but, rather, from the ways in which they were used and contextualised. The main question is how, through their integration into discourses and practices, new frameworks of meaning were created conforming neither with what had existed in the receiving society nor in the area of origin of the objects.
  define social practice: Social Practice Art in Turbulent Times Eric J. Schruers, Kristina Olson, 2022-06 This book analyzes social practice art that has a political agenda. Contributing scholars define this practice, provide historical context, and consider contemporary social practice art that addresses the current volatile political context.
  define social practice: Outline of a Theory of Practice Pierre Bourdieu, 1977-06-02 Through Pierre Bourdieu's work in Kabylia (Algeria), he develops a theory on symbolic power.
  define social practice: Strategy as Practice Gerry Johnson, Leif Melin, Richard Whittington, 2007-08-02 This is an analysis of what managers actually do in relation to the development of strategy in organisations.
  define social practice: Everyday Information Practices Reijo Savolainen, 2008 In general, information practices are viewed as tools that people use to further their everyday projects. Essentially, people's information practices draw on their stocks of knowledge that form the habitual starting point of information seeking, use, and sharing. To judge the value of information available in external sources like newspapers and the Internet, people construct information source horizons. They set information sources in order of preference and suggest information seeking paths, such as first check the net, then visit the library. Everyday Information Practices draws on interviews with environmental activists and unemployed people during 2005 and 2006, exploring the practices of information seeking by focusing on the ways in which the participants monitored everyday events and sought information to solve specific problems. The book shows that everyday information seeking practices tend to be oriented by the principle of good enough. Overall, the role of routines and habits is more significant than has earlier been assumed. Thus, everyday information seeking practices tend to change quite slowly.
  define social practice: The Philosophy of Social Practices Raimo Tuomela, 2002-10-24 This is a systematic philosophical and conceptual study of the notion of a social practice. Raimo Tuomela explains social practices in terms of the interlocking mental states of the agents; he shows how social practices (for example customs and traditions) are 'building blocks of society'; and he offers a clear and powerful account of the way in which social institutions are constructed from these building blocks as established, interconnected sets of social practices with a special new social status. His analysis is based on the novel concept of shared 'we-attitudes', which represent a weak form of collective intentionality, and he makes instructive connections to major topics and figures in philosophy and the social sciences. His book will be of interest to a wide range of readers in philosophy of mind, philosophy of social science, psychology and sociology, and artificial intelligence.
  define social practice: Ethical Issues in Social Work Richard Hugman, David Smith, 2002-09-09 It has always been recognised that the practice of social work raises ethical questions and dilemmas. Recently, however, traditional ways of addressing ethical issues in social work have come to seem inadequate, as a result of developments both in philosophy and in social work theory and practice. This collection of thought-provoking essays explores the ethics of social work practice on the light of these changes. Ethical Issues in Social Work provides up to date critical analyses of the ethical implications of new legislation in community care and criminal justice, and of trends in social work thought and policy, such as managerialism, user empowerment, feminism and anti-oppressive practice. This study provides important and stimulating reading for social work students and their teachers, and for all practitioners and managers who are concerned about the ethical dimensions of their work.
  define social practice: Sociology in Social Work Practice Peter R. Day, 1987-08-07 All social work activity is influenced by the society in which it takes place. It is therefore inescapable that understanding sociology should help social workers to make a more effective contribution to people's welfare. The different perspectives which constitute sociology are examined and the book analyses the ways peoples' lives are powerfully influenced by social forces and 'social problems'. It is argued that sociology should help social workers to examine their assumptions and value judgements and develop their capacity to be questioning and discriminating about their methods and the policies which affect them and their clients.
  define social practice: Groupwork Practice for Social Workers Karin Crawford, Marie Price, Bob Price, 2014-12-01 Working with families, carers, groups and communities is something all social work students must prepare for. Written to guide you through these varied and complex groupwork situations, this book explores the knowledge, skills and values required for groupwork practice. Divided into two parts, the first provides an understanding of groupwork, its concepts and contexts, while the second takes you step-by-step through groupwork practice, from planning and preparation, to starting out, facilitating and finally ending work with a group. Different service contexts including work with children, with users who have learning disabilities, in mental health settings, and more, are covered throughout the book, with case studies, activities and reflective opportunities helping you to understand the complexities of these contexts. This text is a comprehensive and contemporary guide to groupwork in social work today.
  define social practice: The Handbook of Community Practice Marie Weil, Michael S. Reisch, Mary L. Ohmer, 2013 Encompassing community development, organizing, planning, & social change, as well as globalisation, this book is grounded in participatory & empowerment practice. The 36 chapters assess practice, theory & research methods.
  define social practice: Social Practices Theodore R. Schatzki, 1996-09-13 This book addresses key topics in social theory such as the basic structures of social life, the character of human activity, and the nature of individuality. Drawing on the work of Wittgenstein, the author develops an account of social existence that argues that social practices are the fundamental phenomenon in social life. This approach offers new insight into the social formation of individuals, surpassing and critiquing the existing practice theories of Bourdieu, Giddens, Lyotard, and Oakeshott.
  define social practice: What We Made Tom Finkelpearl, 2013-01-15 In What We Made, Tom Finkelpearl examines the activist, participatory, coauthored aesthetic experiences being created in contemporary art. He suggests social cooperation as a meaningful way to think about this work and provides a framework for understanding its emergence and acceptance. In a series of fifteen conversations, artists comment on their experiences working cooperatively, joined at times by colleagues from related fields, including social policy, architecture, art history, urban planning, and new media. Issues discussed include the experiences of working in public and of working with museums and libraries, opportunities for social change, the lines between education and art, spirituality, collaborative opportunities made available by new media, and the elusive criteria for evaluating cooperative art. Finkelpearl engages the art historians Grant Kester and Claire Bishop in conversation on the challenges of writing critically about this work and the aesthetic status of the dialogical encounter. He also interviews the often overlooked co-creators of cooperative art, expert participants who have worked with artists. In his conclusion, Finkelpearl argues that pragmatism offers a useful critical platform for understanding the experiential nature of social cooperation, and he brings pragmatism to bear in a discussion of Houston's Project Row Houses. Interviewees. Naomi Beckwith, Claire Bishop, Tania Bruguera, Brett Cook, Teddy Cruz, Jay Dykeman, Wendy Ewald, Sondra Farganis, Harrell Fletcher, David Henry, Gregg Horowitz, Grant Kester, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Pedro Lasch, Rick Lowe, Daniel Martinez, Lee Mingwei, Jonah Peretti, Ernesto Pujol, Evan Roth, Ethan Seltzer, and Mark Stern
  define social practice: Advances in Social Simulation 2015 Wander Jager, Rineke Verbrugge, Andreas Flache, Gert de Roo, Lex Hoogduin, Charlotte Hemelrijk, 2017-03-16 This book highlights recent developments in the field, presented at the Social Simulation 2015 conference in Groningen, The Netherlands. It covers advances both in applications and methods of social simulation. Societal issues addressed range across complexities in economic systems, opinion dynamics and civil violence, changing mobility patterns, different land-use, transition in the energy system, food production and consumption, ecosystem management and historical processes. Methodological developments cover how to use empirical data in validating models in general, formalization of behavioral theory in agent behavior, construction of artificial populations for experimentation, replication of models, and agent-based models that can be run in a web browser. Social simulation is a rapidly evolving field. Social scientists are increasingly interested in social simulation as a tool to tackle the complex non-linear dynamics of society. Furthermore, the software and hardware tools available for social simulation are becoming more and more powerful. This book is an important source for readers interested in the newest developments in the ways in which the simulation of social interaction contributes to our understanding and managing of complex social phenomena.
  define social practice: Social Development James Midgley, 2013-11-13 Walking through social development’s key theoretical principles and practice strategies, this book shows how it promotes peoples’ wellbeing not only in the Global South, where it first emerged, but in the Western countries as well. It covers: Definitions and an historical evolution of social development Key theoretical debates around social well-being, human rights and social justice Social development practice such as human capital interventions, community development and cooperatives, asset building, employment creation policies and programmes, microenterprises and social planning among others Future challenges; global poverty, international aid and trade, and global inequality, conflict and injustice. Complete with international examples drawn from around the world, Social Development: Theory and Practice demonstrates how social development theory translates into practical application. This book is essential reading for students in development studies, social policy, public administration and social work, and for policymakers and development practitioners everywhere. James Midgley is the Harry and Riva Specht Professor of Public Social Services at the School of Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley.
  define social practice: Mapping the Terrain Suzanne Lacy, 1995 In this wonderfully bold and speculative anthology of writings, artists and critics offer a highly persuasive set of argument and pleas for imaginative, socially responsible, and socially responsive public art.... --Amazon.
  define social practice: The Practice of Eating Alan Warde, 2016-01-19 This book reconstructs and extends sociological approaches to the understanding of food consumption. It identifies new ways to approach the explanation of food choice and it develops new concepts which will help reshape and reorient common understandings. Leading sociologist of food, Alan Warde, deals both with abstract issues about theories of practice and substantive analyses of aspects of eating, demonstrating how theories of practice can be elaborated and systematically applied to the activity of eating. The book falls into two parts. The first part establishes a basis for a practice-theoretic account of eating. Warde reviews research on eating, introduces theories of practice and constructs eating as a scientific object. The second part develops key concepts for the analysis of eating as a practice, showing how concepts like habit, routine, embodiment, repetition and convention can be applied to explain how eating is organised and coordinated through the generation, reproduction and transformation of a multitude of individual performances. The Practice of Eating thus addresses both substantive problems concerning the explanation of food habits and currently controversial issues in social theory, illustrated by detailed empirical analysis of some aspects of contemporary culinary life. It will become required reading for students and scholars of food and consumption in a wide range of disciplines, from sociology, anthropology and cultural studies to food studies, culinary studies and nutrition science.
  define social practice: Modern Societal Impacts of the Model Minority Stereotype Hartlep, Nicholas Daniel, 2015-01-31 The model minority stereotype is a form of racism that targets Asians and Asian-Americans, portraying this group as consistently hard-working and academically successful. Rooted in media portrayal and reinforcement, the model minority stereotype has tremendous social, ethical, and psychological implications. Modern Societal Impacts of the Model Minority Stereotype highlights current research on the implications of the model minority stereotype on American culture and society in general as well as Asian and Asian-American populations. An in-depth analysis of current social issues, media influence, popular culture, identity formation, and contemporary racism in American society makes this title an essential resource for researchers, educational administrators, professionals, and upper-level students in various disciplines.
  define social practice: Education for Socially Engaged Art Pablo Helguera, 2011 Education for Socially Engaged Art is the first 'Materials and Techniques' book for the emerging field of social practice. Written with a pragmatic, hands-on approach for university-level readers and those interested in real-life application of the theories and ideas around socially engaged art. The book, emphasizing the use of pedagogical strategies to address issues around social practice, addresses topics such as documentation, community engagement, dialogue and conversation, amongst many others.
  define social practice: Social Science Research Anol Bhattacherjee, 2012-04-01 This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.
  define social practice: Contemporary Social Work Practice: a Handbook for Students Barbra Teater, 2014-04-16 This exciting new book provides an overview of fifteen different contemporary social work practice settings, spanning across the statutory, voluntary, private and third sectors. It serves as the perfect introduction to the various roles social workers can have and the numerous places they can work, equipping students with the knowledge, skills and values required to work in areas ranging from mental health to fostering and adoption, and from alcohol and drug treatment services to youth offending. Each chapter provides: An overview of the setting, including the role of the social worker, how service users gain access to the service and key issues, definitions or terms specific to the setting Legislation and policy guidance related to the specific setting The key theories and methods related to the setting Best practice approaches and the benefits and challenges of working within the setting Case examples illustrating the application of the information to practice Social work students will find this an invaluable handbook that they will refer to time and again throughout their education and into their assessed and supported year of employment. Contributors: Mark Baldwin, Jo Bell, Jenny Clifford, Jill Chonody, Clare Evans, Benedict Fell, Alinka Gearon, Issy Harvey, Caroline Hickman, Tony Jeffs, Debbie Martin, Malcolm Payne, Justin Rogers, Sue Taplin, Barbra Teater, John Watson, Michele Winter. It is an excellent student introduction to this diverse profession. Full of information that provides a thought provoking read. Andrew Ellery, Social Care Professional This book really is an excellent resource for social work students at an introductory level and for preparation for placement levels. It provides a comprehensive overview of a range of service user groups as well as specific issues such as domestic violence, homelessness and substance use. Each section is structured around the policy and legislative context and includes comment on theory, challenges and anti-oppressive practice with case examples to aid learning. The focus on the settings within which social work is practiced is particularly welcome and provides an essential companion to introductory books which look more at values, professional behaviour and skills. The range of different settings covered provides excellent preparation for students about to start a placement. The sections on rehabilitation of offenders and self-harm highlight topics that are often given less attention but may well be encountered by students on placement. I will certainly be including this book as essential reading for students on introductory and practice preparation modules. Allan Rose, Social Work Lecturer, Brunel University, UK
  define social practice: Social Construction and Social Work Practice Stanley L. Witkin, 2011-11-22 Social construction addresses the cultural factors and social dynamics that give rise to and maintain values and beliefs. Drawing on postmodern philosophies and critical, social, and literary theories, social construction has become an important and influential framework for practice and research within social work and related fields. Embracing inclusivity and multiplicity, social construction provides a framework for knowledge and practice that is particularly congruent with social work values and aims. In this accessible collection, Stanley L Witkin showcases the innovative ways in which social construction may be understood and expressed in practice. He calls on experienced practitioner-scholars to share their personal accounts of interpreting and applying social constructionist ideas in different settings (such as child welfare agencies, schools, and the courts) and with diverse clientele (such as resistant adolescents, disadvantaged families, indigenous populations, teachers, children in protective custody, refugee youth, and adult perpetrators of sexual crimes against children). Eschewing the prescriptive stance of most theoretical frameworks, social construction can seem challenging for students and practitioners. This book responds with rich, illustrative descriptions of how social constructionist thinking has inspired practice approaches, illuminating the diversity and creative potential of practices that draw on social constructionist ideas. Writing in a direct, accessible style, contributors translate complex concepts into the language of daily encounter and care, and through a committed transnational focus they demonstrate the global reach and utility of their work. Chapters are provocative and thoughtful, reveal great suffering and courage, share inspiring stories of strength and renewal, and acknowledge the challenges of an approach that complicates evidence-based evaluations and requirements.
  define social practice: Methodological Reflections on Practice Oriented Theories Michael Jonas, Beate Littig, Angela Wroblewski, 2017-02-16 This volume presents a comprehensive overview of methodological issues and empirical methods of practice-oriented research. It examines questions regarding the scope and boundaries of practice-oriented approaches and practice theory. It discusses the potential advantages and disadvantages of the diversity resulting from the use of these approaches, as well as method and methodology-related issues. The specific questions explored in this volume are: What consequences are linked to the application of a praxeological perspective in empirical research when it comes to the choice of methods? Is there such a thing as an ideal path to follow in praxeological empirical research? What relationship is there between qualitative and quantitative approaches? What differentiates practice-based social research from other perspectives and approaches such as discourse analysis or hermeneutics? The contributions in this book discuss these questions either from a methodological point of view or from a reflective perspective on empirical research practices.
  define social practice: The Logic of Practice Pierre Bourdieu, 1990 Our usual representations of the opposition between the civilized and the primitive derive from willfully ignoring the relationship of distance our social science sets up between the observer and the observed. In fact, the author argues, the relationship between the anthropologist and his object of study is a particular instance of the relationship between knowing and doing, interpreting and using, symbolic mastery and practical mastery—or between logical logic, armed with all the accumulated instruments of objectification, and the universally pre-logical logic of practice. In this, his fullest statement of a theory of practice, Bourdieu both sets out what might be involved in incorporating one's own standpoint into an investigation and develops his understanding of the powers inherent in the second member of many oppositional pairs—that is, he explicates how the practical concerns of daily life condition the transmission and functioning of social or cultural forms. The first part of the book, Critique of Theoretical Reason, covers more general questions, such as the objectivization of the generic relationship between social scientific observers and their objects of study, the need to overcome the gulf between subjectivism and objectivism, the interplay between structure and practice (a phenomenon Bourdieu describes via his concept of the habitus), the place of the body, the manipulation of time, varieties of symbolic capital, and modes of domination. The second part of the book, Practical Logics, develops detailed case studies based on Bourdieu's ethnographic fieldwork in Algeria. These examples touch on kinship patterns, the social construction of domestic space, social categories of perception and classification, and ritualized actions and exchanges. This book develops in full detail the theoretical positions sketched in Bourdieu's Outline of a Theory of Practice. It will be especially useful to readers seeking to grasp the subtle concepts central to Bourdieu's theory, to theorists interested in his points of departure from structuralism (especially fom Lévi-Strauss), and to critics eager to understand what role his theory gives to human agency. It also reveals Bourdieu to be an anthropological theorist of considerable originality and power.
  define social practice: Cross-cultural Practice Karen V. Harper-Dorton, 2007
  define social practice: Constructing Childhood Allison James, 2017-03-14 This text provides a critical analysis of the social construction of childhood and children's agency. Through an interdisciplinary synthesis combining social theory, social policy and the empirical findings of social science research, it bridges the current gap between theory and practice, offering an incisive theoretical account of childhood that is grounded in substantive areas of children's lives such as health, education, crime and the family. This furthers understanding of the impact of policy on children's everyday lives and social experiences.
  define social practice: Analysing Discourse Norman Fairclough, 2003 The book is an essential resource seeking to analyze real texts and discourse.--BOOK JACKET.
  define social practice: Numeracy as Social Practice Keiko Yasukawa, Alan Rogers, Kara Jackson, Brian V. Street, 2018-05-01 Learning takes place both inside and outside of the classroom, embedded in local practices, traditions and interactions. But whereas the importance of social practice is increasingly recognised in literacy education, Numeracy as Social Practice: Global and Local Perspectives is the first book to fully explore these principles in the context of numeracy. The book brings together a wide range of accounts and studies from around the world to build a picture of the challenges and benefits of seeing numeracy as social practice ̶ that is, as mathematical activities embedded in the social, cultural, historical and political contexts in which these activities take place. Drawing on workplace, community and classroom contexts, Numeracy as Social Practice shows how everyday numeracy practices can be used in formal and non-formal maths teaching and how, in turn, classroom teaching can help to validate and strengthen local numeracy practices. At a time when an increasingly transnational approach is taken to education policy making, this book will appeal to development practitioners and researchers, and adult education, mathematics and numeracy teachers, researchers and policy makers around the world.
  define social practice: The Practice Turn in Contemporary Theory Karin Knorr Cetina, Theodore R. Schatzki, Eike von Savigny, 2005-06-20 This book provides an exciting and diverse philosophical exploration of the role of practice and practices in human activity. It contains original essays and critiques of this philosophical and sociological attempt to move beyond current problematic ways of thinking in the humanities and social sciences. It will be useful across many disciplines, including philosophy, sociology, science, cultural theory, history and anthropology.
  define social practice: Homeless Youth of Pakistan Muhammad Naveed Noor, 2021-08-17 While homeless young people (HYP) are typically perceived as irresponsible and morally suspect individuals who lack essential social skills to navigate their lives, this book offers an alternative and more positive perspective. It demonstrates that HYP improvise with resources available on the streets to improve their social and financial status, although they experience significant social structural constraints. This ground-breaking text provides an analysis of social processes that contribute to young people’s homelessness, their engagement in sex work, their establishment of intimate partnerships, and sexual practices which may increase their risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The book demonstrates how the ongoing social and financial instability and insecurity neutralises HYP’s knowledge of HIV/STIs, and how financial considerations, fear of violence by clients, and social obligations in intimate partnerships contribute to their sexual risk-taking. The author argues that the conventional approach of promoting health through raising awareness regarding HIV/STI prevention may continue to bring less than promising outcomes unless we focus on how structural and contextual conditions operate in the backdrop and produce conditions less conducive for young people. Included in the coverage: factors that contribute to youth homelessness factors that shape sexual practice a Bourdieusian analysis of youth homelessness and sexual risk-taking a health promotion approach that can potentially reduce youth homelessness and their risk of HIV/STIs Homeless Youth of Pakistan: Survival Sex and HIV Risk will attract undergraduate and postgraduate students, and researchers interested in exploring issues such as youth homelessness, sexual risk-taking, and HIV/STIs.
  define social practice: The Nexus of Practices Allison Hui, Theodore Schatzki, Elizabeth Shove, 2016-12-06 The Nexus of Practices: connections, constellations, practitioners brings leading theorists of practice together to provide a fresh set of theoretical impulses for the surge of practice-focused studies currently sweeping across the social disciplines. The book addresses key issues facing practice theory, expands practice theory’s conceptual repertoire, and explores new empirical terrain. With each intellectual move, it generates further opportunities for social research. More specifically, the book’s chapters offer new approaches to analysing connections within the nexus of practices, to exploring the dynamics and implications of the constellations that practices form, and to understanding people as practitioners that carry on practices. Topics examined include social change, language, power, affect, reflection, large social phenomena, and connectivity over time and space. Contributors thereby counter claims that practice theory cannot handle large phenomena and that it ignores people. The contributions also develop practice theoretical ideas in dialogue with other forms of social theory and in ways illustrated and informed by empirical cases and examples. The Nexus of Practices will quickly become an important point of reference for future practice-focused research in the social sciences.
  define social practice: Communities in Action National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Health and Medicine Division, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, Committee on Community-Based Solutions to Promote Health Equity in the United States, 2017-04-27 In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.
  define social practice: Technoliteracy, Discourse, and Social Practice: Frameworks and Applications in the Digital Age Pullen, Darren Lee, Gitsaki, Christina, Baguley, Margaret, 2009-09-30 This book provides a unique and important insight into the diverse approaches to, and implementation of, technoliteracy in different contexts, presenting the significance and value of preparing students, educators and those responsible for information technology to use IT effectively and ethically to enhance learning--Provided by publisher.
  define social practice: Language and Literacy in Social Practice Open University, 1993 Compiled for use in the Open University MA course E825. The 15 articles sample the ideas over the past decade on the importance of social factors in language and literacy development. They include theoretical and ethnographic accounts, cross-cultural and historical perspectives, and explorations of the political aspects and the discourses within which language and literacy are discussed. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
  define social practice: The Constitution of Social Practices Kevin McMillan, 2017-10-02 Practices – specific, recurrent types of human action and activity – are perhaps the most fundamental building blocks of social reality. This book argues that the detailed empirical study of practices is essential to effective social-scientific inquiry. It develops a philosophical infrastructure for understanding human practices, and argues that practice theory should be the analytical centrepiece of social theory and the philosophy of the social sciences. What would social scientists’ research look like if they took these insights seriously? To answer this question, the book offers an analytical framework to guide empirical research on practices in different times and places. The author explores how practices can be identified, characterised and explained, how they function in concrete contexts and how they might change over time and space. The Constitution of Social Practices lies at the intersection of philosophy, social theory, cultural theory and the social sciences. It is essential reading for scholars in social theory and the philosophy of social science, as well as the broad range of researchers and students across the social sciences and humanities whose work stands to benefit from serious consideration of practices.
  define social practice: Social Work Practice With Older Adults Jill M. Chonody, Barbra Teater, 2017-11-08 Social Work Practice With Older Adults by Jill Chonody and Barbra Teater presents a contemporary framework based on the World Health Organization’s active aging policy that allows forward-thinking students to focus on client strengths and resources when working with the elderly. The Actively Aging framework takes into account health, social, behavioral, economic, and personal factors as they relate to aging, but also explores environmental issues, which aligns with the new educational standards put forth by the Council on Social Work Education. Covering micro, mezzo, and macro practice domains, the text examines all aspects of working with aging populations, from assessment through termination.