Social Practice Perspective Research Articles

Not in the file: How competency committees work with undocumented contributions.

Competence committees (CCs) centre their work around documentation of trainees' performance; undocumented contributions (i.e. informal, unrecorded material like personal judgements, experiential anecdotes and contextual information) evoke suspicion even though they may play a role in decision making. This qualitative multiple case study incorporates insights from a social practice perspective on writing to examine the use of undocumented contributions by the CCs of two large post-graduate training programmes, one in a more procedural (MP) speciality and the other in a less procedural (LP) one. Data were collected via observations of meetings and semi-structured interviews with CC members. In the analysis, conversations were organised into triptychs of lead-up, undocumented contribution(s), and follow-up. We then created thick descriptions around the undocumented contributions, drawing on conversational context and interview data to assign possible motivations and significance. We found no instances in which undocumented contributions superseded the contents of a trainee's file or stood in for missing documentation. The number of undocumented contributions varied between the MP CC (six instances over two meetings) and the LP CC (22 instances over three meetings). MP CC discussions emphasised Entrustable Professional Activity (EPA) observations, whereas LP CC members paid more attention to narrative data. The divergent orientations of the CCs-adding an 'advis[ing]/guid[ing]' role versus focusing simply on evaluation-offers the most compelling explanation. In lead-ups, undocumented contributions were prompted by missing and flawed documentation, conflicting evidence and documentation at odds with members' perceptions. Recognising other 'red flags' in documentation often required professional experience. In follow-ups, purposes served by undocumented contributions varied with context and were difficult to generalise; we, therefore, provide deeper analysis of two vignettes to illustrate. Our data suggest undocumented contributions often serve best efforts to ground decisions in documentation. We would encourage CC practices and policies be rooted in more nuanced approaches to documentation.

A Social Practice Perspective of Ireland's Lobster Cultural Food Heritage

The research examines integrating the Slow Food Movement (SFM) with Ireland's lobster industry, emphasising preserving local culinary heritage as crucial for Sustainable Food Systems. This heritage includes both tangible elements, like agricultural practices and intangible ones, such as traditional food preparation. Slow food aims to protect these traditions from the homogenisation of food production. Using Social Practice Theory, the research analyses lobster consumption in Ireland, underscoring its symbolic importance in Irish culture to develop a novel framework adapted from the Social Practice Framework. The study combines qualitative interviews and secondary data analysis to explore lobster's role in Irish culinary heritage and its potential for promoting sustainable seafood consumption. Results from the study highlight the critical role of Irish lobster fishing communities in maintaining cultural food heritage, with traditional practices contributing to ecological and economic sustainability. The SFM influences lobster consumption, supporting sustainable and culturally important food practices. This research underscores the intricate link between tradition and sustainability, suggesting a model to balance cultural integrity with sustainable practices, contributing to a more culturally informed and environmentally conscious food consumption approach.

A qualitative meta-synthesis of carers' perceptions of factors influencing preschool children's oral hygiene practices-A social practices perspective.

This study comprises a synthesis of published qualitative studies from developed countries on the perspectives of carers regarding the oral hygiene toothbrushing practices of preschool children, through the lens of social practice theory. A search of the following electronic databases was conducted for all available years: MEDLINE, EMBASE and Global Health using the Ovid platform; Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source (DOSS), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Scopus. Included qualitative studies reported primary caregivers' perceptions of oral hygiene practices (focusing on toothbrushing) in preschool children (0-5 years old) in developed countries. A thematic synthesis of the qualitative findings was undertaken for the results of each study. Eleven articles were included in this meta-synthesis. The focus of this paper was toothbrushing practices. A conceptual map of toothbrushing as a social practice was developed. Key findings included practice elements (meanings, competences, and materials), spatial and temporal aspects, and barriers and facilitators to performance. The application of a social practice lens to published qualitative research on the oral hygiene of preschool children provided insights into the meanings and competences related to toothbrushing, as perceived by primary caregivers. However, it also revealed limited information on material, spatial and temporal aspects of toothbrushing practices, indicating the importance of considering social practice theory as a framework in future research to address this gap. Furthermore, exploring toothbrushing in connection with related social practices has the potential to increase understanding of factors influencing oral health in preschool children.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Transition to Sustainability Trajectories: An Activity-Based Conceptual Analytic Framework

As the road to environmental and social sustainability is tied to large-scale systemic transitions, inevitably, sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship should be considered in their context. In this paper, we investigate how entrepreneurial opportunities develop in trajectories of sectoral transitions to sustainability. We adopt a social practice perspective and, based on insights from sectoral systems of innovation, socio-technical systems and activity theory, we develop an activity-based template/framework to represent sectors and their inherent dynamics in a structured and holistic way. The framework allows for the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities in the contradictions that emerge during transitions in the activities of sectors due to internally developed inconsistencies and/or external interventions. Hence, plausible narratives of the anticipated business futures can be constructed. It also surfaces the role of learning and knowledge creation, i.e., innovation, in resolving contradictions, thus creating value and stirring transitions in the direction of sustainability. The case study of the transition of the automobility sector to sustainability is used to test the framework proposed.

On (not) being literate enough: The literacy experiences and literacy programme needs of people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness

AbstractThis paper is focussed on literacy and the literacy experiences of people who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness. Drawing on 23 in‐depth interviews with people who have lived experience of homelessness in Sydney, Australia, the paper examines literacy, literacy needs and interest in literacy programmes from a social practice perspective of literacy. Amartya Sen's (1999) capability approach is drawn on to examine the multidimensional barriers that impede access to literacy. Our findings show literacy needs and how literacy is understood and valued in the lives of people with lived experience of homelessness. We show the ways that spatial and temporal conditions enable and create (im)possibilities for the realisation of literacy as a capability. We also discuss how the capability is imagined to fit into existing worlds, as both an instrumental tool, as well as for personal satisfaction and broader participation in social life. Our interviewees also point to the possibilities of literacy learning and programmes supporting the realisation of other capabilities, emphasising the prospects of achieving multiple capability realisations through program design. We show how the findings bear out the principles of a social practices pedagogy in adult literacy programmes.

How can ridesharing be facilitated in car dependent practices? Insights from carless participants in organized leisure

This paper contributes a hitherto overlooked perspective on leisure practices-as-entities, and as performed by the carless, to understand and facilitate the conditions for related shared mobility. It identifies how organized car dependent leisure practices can be performed more sustainably by means of ridesharing. Applying a social practice perspective, car use is viewed as bundled with leisure practices. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 25 carless practitioners of scouting, orienteering, and children’s soccer in Sweden, we seek to determine the procedures and frictions of ridesharing, and how it can be facilitated. The findings show that ridesharing occurs and is mediated by digital tools in all three studied practices. Notable variations and sources of friction relate to whether ridesharing is collectively or individually coordinated, which is connected to the meanings and competences of the leisure practices themselves. The paper illustrates that, to facilitate ridesharing, competences beyond the management of digital tools are needed. More concretely, the promotion of ridesharing as part of a more formalized exchange within clubs and associations for organized leisure is suggested. Carless performers of car dependent practices illustrate potential “proto-practices” beyond the private car.

IN THE TRENCHES: A FINANCIAL SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE PERSPECTIVE ON THE PERSISTENT LEGACY OF POVERTY IN THE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT OF SOUTH AFRICA

Widespread socio-economic challenges such as high levels of poverty and unemployment continue to plague South Africa. Owing to the nature of social work service delivery, social workers often serve the most vulnerable populations. However, it seems that social workers remain metaphorically in the trenches in the war on poverty, meaning that tangible evidence on the progress of poverty alleviation due to the direct involvement of social workers is meagre in social development. This article argues for the integration of a financial social work practice perspective into South African social work service delivery as a potential means of facilitating more efficient social development. The article is conceptual in nature and draws on the principles of theoretical adaptation. It posits social developmental theory as the dominant theoretical paradigm, and financial social work as the practice perspective. Analysis will highlight the current gaps in social developmental practice, and the appropriateness of financial social work to address it. The discussion aims to activate scholarly discourse on financial social work in South Africa and beyond, and to firmly position this practice perspective within sustainable social development. Keywords: financial capability, financial literacy, financial social work, practice perspective, poverty, social development, unemployment

Exploring Chinese higher vocational college teachers’ perceptions of reading and teaching reading in English

The current article presents the findings of a qualitative study which focused on six Chinese higher vocational college teachers’ evolving understandings of reading and teaching reading in English through a three-month teacher professional learning programme. Methods of data collection included questionnaire, professional learning conversation, classroom observation and reflective practice. Results showed that a skill-based view was the mainstream understanding of reading and teaching reading in English. Through the teacher professional learning programme, however, there was a shift in the participants’ perception from a skill-based to a social-practice perspective of reading and teaching reading in English. Accordingly, the focus of teaching shifted from language to language and content integrated instruction with criticality development as a key component. The findings indicated that higher vocational college teachers were capable of weaving between a skill-based and a social-practice perspective of language and literacy practices while highlighting the need for cultivating a social-practice perspective in order to develop higher vocational college students as whole persons as locally grounded and globally minded citizens with critical minds. A more significant implication was that it was possible to empower higher vocational college students by enlightening teachers through a systematic teacher professional learning programme.

Chinese older adults' social media use: a study of WeChat from a social practice perspective

PurposeResearch into older adults' use of social media remains limited. Driven by increasing digitalisation in China, the authors focus on Chinese older adults (aged 60–75)’ use of WeChat.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a qualitative interpretive approach and interviewed Chinese older adults to uncover their social practices of WeChat use in everyday life.FindingsBy using social practice theory (SPT), the paper unfolds Chinese older adults' social practices of WeChat use in everyday life and reveals how they adopt and resist the drastic changes in Chinese society.Originality/valueThe study contributes to new understandings of SPT from technology use by emphasising the dynamic characteristics of its three elements. The authors synthesise both adoptions and resistance in SPT and highlight the importance of understanding three elements interdependently within specific contexts, which are conditioned by structure and agency.

“That's not feasible without a car”: An exploration of car-dependent practices

In this study, we adopted a Social Practice perspective to unpack which practices are strongly connected to car driving and why that is the case. Through focus group research with car owners in the city of Ghent (Belgium), we explored how strongly practices are locked into car driving and what interventions are required to reduce the car dependence of the observed practices. We found that car-dependent practices are still abundant even in a city that offers ample opportunities for non-car modes. Our study classified the car-dependent practices into five groups: cargo, caring, maintaining social relationships, leisure and commuting. However, some practices could not be placed under a single heading, illustrating that many trips are messy and unpredictable. Consequently, a continuum of car dependence will be necessarily multidimensional and varies along different axes. Not all identified practices were considered equally car-dependent. We distinguished between (1) practices that do not depend on the practice of car driving, (2) practices that do depend on car driving but not on private car ownership, and (3) practices that require strong reorganisation or risk disintegrating without car driving. For urban residents, car dependence of practices occurs mainly at the level of occasional practices and practices outside the urban area. But also for practices inside the city, we noticed a predisposition towards car use, driven by a desire towards flexibility, autonomy and comfort. Revealing how car-dependent practices bundle and exploring the elements that constitute them is imperative for identifying potential avenues for policy interventions.

From elements to policies: A Shovian social practice perspective on pathways to facilitate daily E-bike commuting

The rise of pedal-assisted bicycles (e-bikes) has the potential to contribute to reducing ubiquitous automobility and its negative externalities on the global climate, mobility justice and the quality of urban life. But what makes this new practice so successful in recruiting new practitioners? What policies can ensure that e-bikes are used in a wide range of situations, thus substituting as much car driving as possible - or even reducing the number of cars? The study focuses on commuting as this use case frequently entails the main obstacles to e-biking in daily routines (e.g., sweat, weather, transporting children or goods). The analysis is primarily based on interviews with practitioners and initially provides a thorough depiction of the practice elements (meanings, materials and competences) involved in e-bike commuting. It furthermore elicits key drivers of and barriers to daily e-bike commuting, points to a number of elements that are important to overcome these barriers and develops two tangible policy approaches to foster the substitution of e-biking for car driving.

Three tensions in governing energy demand: A social practice perspective on Nordic urban interventions

Affecting future urban energy demand will play a significant role in mitigating climate emissions. While the literature has amply focused on the outputs of successful urban climate governance, there has been less focus on the organisational challenge that affecting energy demand will represent. By foregrounding the work practices of civil servants engaging with these issues, this study offers new insights into the possibilities and constraints of affecting energy demand. Inspired by work on social practice theory applied to organisations, it maps the tools, materialities and identity-related dynamics that affect civil servants' work. Empirically, the paper builds on interviews, document analysis and field notes taken in ten Nordic cities. The paper finds that the local agency for governing urban demand is contingent on navigating three tensions: (1) broadening the benefits of climate measures beyond carbon emissions, (2) challenging often politically attractive technologies, and the associated range of actors seen as relevant and (3) clarifying the role and responsibility of municipalities in relation to intervening in citizen's energy demand. By identifying the organisational tensions that civil servants face, the paper helps to understand the challenges encountered in advancing a local climate agenda, and the novel forms of agency that organisations can mobilise.

Understanding interventions as social practices: How a school-based mental health intervention for migrant adolescents in Denmark interacted with context

The rise of school-based mental health interventions calls for an understanding of how such interventions interact with context as well as analytical tools for examining these interactions. This article explores how learners and teachers in two classrooms for newly-arrived migrant adolescents in Denmark (one urban, highly diverse classroom and one small-town classroom mainly serving youth who had fled armed conflict) experienced and implemented the same teacher-led, classroom-based intervention differently. Based on participant observations and interviews with three teachers and 12 learners, we draw on practice theory to disentangle how the same intervention came to life differently in the two classrooms. First, there were important differences in how teachers and learners in the two classrooms made sense of their participation in the intervention, reflecting the different life situations and psychosocial needs of the learners. Second, local ways of structuring educational practices (weekly schedules, expectations about homework, and different local educational policies) critically shaped intervention experiences and implementation. Third, the possibility of establishing a safe social space during the intervention depended on the stability of existing social relationships and conditions for teachers’ relational work in the classrooms. To aid analyses of how school-based interventions interact with classroom practices, and to help identify ways of consolidating interventions with their contexts, we propose future avenues for examining school-based mental health interventions in context from a social practice perspective.

Back to the Future: “De-Transition” to Low-Car Cities

Current urban mobility systems in Europe, characterized by high car mobility shares, have negative environmental and health impacts but struggle to mitigate these for fear of sacrificing accessibility. Ironically, before the car mobility transition (in the 1950s and 1960s in Western countries and the 1990s in Eastern Europe), most cities were accessible by walking, cycling, public transport, and by the few cars there were. Through a longitudinal case study of a medium-sized urban area in Clermont-Ferrand, France (1950–2022), this paper explores the potential to ‘de-transition’, i.e., to reverse the urban transition process towards ‘accessible, low-car cities’ by reshaping infrastructures to constrain car use whilst accommodating walking, cycling, and public transport. We answer the following questions: To what extent can cities reverse the urban car mobility transition? How could such a process be further encouraged? Our analysis adopts a social practices perspective and uses a mixed-methods approach by combining semi-structured interviews, a survey, and a document analysis. On the one hand, our findings highlight the difficulty of an urban modality shift to car alternatives: (1) the limited reach of public transformation networks (in Clermont-Ferrand, the tramline); (2) the fact that many feel unsafe or assume they need excellent health conditions to cycle, which is associated with leisure and sports; and (3) strong convictions concerning the usefulness of vehicle ownership, which is believed to maximise comfort. On the other hand, based on a historic analysis, we offer practical recommendations to de-transition to low-car urban areas: (1) the creation of an extensive regional tramway network; (2) the development of a full cycling network; and (3) the promotion of an extensive car-free city centre.

Primary caregivers’ perceptions of factors influencing preschool children’s oral health: social practices perspective—a protocol for qualitative metasynthesis

IntroductionThe role of primary caregivers in setting the foundation for a child’s oral health throughout life is well recognised. Due to the dominant behaviour-based approach, research to date has mainly...

Knitting for conservation: a social practice perspective on a social and behaviour change communication intervention

We critically reflect on a conservation project in the Ecuadorian Amazon that was designed to promote biodiversity conservation among lowland indigenous communities involved in eco-tourism initiatives by teaching them how to knit a particular set of local animals. We use interpretive qualitative research and draw on social practice theory to examine the ways that participants’ engagement with new knitting in participatory knitting workshops changed the understanding of environmental conservation and social entrepreneurship within an eco-tourism context. Eventually, the intervention pushed participants to adopt new and difficult-to-sustain conservation and entrepreneurial practices. The introduction of these new practices and a focus on a specific list of local species turned animals into commodities and created unsustainable connections with new materials and a disconnect between local and traditional know-how.

Taking Aging Parents on Holiday: A Social Practice Perspective

Family travel with aging parents has emerged as a growing market in China. This study applies social practice theory to examine family travel practices and related sociocultural factors. Qualitative interviews with 23 families were conducted to identify parents’ and adult children’s subjective experiences of intergenerational differences and action logics throughout the trip. The findings reveal that, because of urban-rural distinctions, the two generations have differing travel habits, preferences, and capabilities, which foster interdependency but also induce tensions. Influenced by reciprocal filial piety, both generations feel obligated to make compromises and gratify the other’s needs to fulfill their desirable prospects of family travel. The urban-rural distinctions are gradually resolved as the ongoing negotiations unfold. This study advances existing research by integrating the zooming-in and zooming-out lenses of practice theory to highlight the interplay between family travel practices and wider social structures.

Wellbeing as an emergent property of social practice

Wellbeing in buildings is often approached by practitioners and researchers as the aggregate result of individual interactions between building occupants and building features. This sum-of-the-parts approach, however, ignores the ways in which broader social (<em>i.e</em>. sense of ownership and belonging) and symbolic (<em>i.e</em>. what it means to be ‘well’ in a specific culture at a particular place and time) components of wellbeing influence occupant experience of the built environment. A social practice perspective on wellbeing in buildings is proposed that accounts for these elements. Beginning with discussions of how wellbeing has been assessed and the foundations of social practice theory, it is suggested that occupant wellbeing is emergent not just from individual interactions with building features but also from broader social and symbolic elements. <em><strong>Policy relevance</strong></em> A social practice perspective on wellbeing in buildings has implications for both the assessment of wellbeing and the role of wellbeing in the building design process. Integrating social and symbolic elements into measures of wellbeing pushes assessment beyond the typical focus on comfort and spatial experience (indoor environmental quality). These more nuanced assessments may in turn shape how wellbeing is addressed in building design, construction, and management.

Strategizing in pluralistic organizations: extending theoretical frames to include disrupted contexts

Strategy work in pluralistic organizations has been investigated from different perspectives, including Actor-Network Theory, Conventionalist Theory, and the social practice perspective. However, these perspectives have been used to understand and influence strategy work in “business-as-usual,” rather than disrupted contexts. There is a challenge in understanding practices and processes that underpin the strategy work of pluralistic organizations facing disrupted contexts. This paper uses a narrative literature review to suggest the “improvised order” perspective for studying such strategy work by synthesizing and connecting three theoretical concepts: (dis)order, space, and bricolage. The improvised order perspective offers a complementary lens to the literature on strategy work in pluralistic organizations by showing the complexity of navigating between disorder and order, transforming space, and bringing to the fore practices required for strategy work in disrupted contexts. This paper also offers a set of propositions, which can stimulate future research on strategy work in pluralistic organizations facing disrupted contexts.

Understanding the young middle-class Chinese outbound tourism consumption: A social practice perspective

There is a research gap focusing on the outbound travel of middle-class Chinese—a segment widely considered the major fuel behind China's outbound tourism boom. Drawing on a social practice perspective, this study deconstructs the travel of young middle-class Chinese to Chiang Mai to identify the patterns and mechanisms of their outbound tourism consumption. Data were collected via ethnographic fieldwork, retrieval of online travelogues, and post-trip interviews. Research shows that the young middle-class Chinese seek quality travel experiences facilitated by mobile technology, yet they remain price-sensitive. Their consumption also features a strong aesthetical dimension. They pursue relaxation and personal pleasure through travel and are content with superficial cultural experiences. Nevertheless, they show a high level of cross-cultural sensitivity. The study argues that the interplay of China's socio-economic life, destination attributes in relation to China, China's socio-technological context, and socio-cultural norms of the young generations underlies the young middle-class Chinese outbound tourism consumption patterns.