Participation & Reification – Clear Definitions and the Link to Educational Support

     My (very old) Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary provides short definitions of reification and participation that I found very clear and helpful:

Reification - to regard (something abstract) as a material thing

Participation – the state of being related to a larger whole

     When I look at these two simple but poignant definitions it is clear to me why Wenger chose these two words as his descriptors for the processes at work within a community of practice. People coming together in mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and a shared repertoire, the three dimensions of a community of practice as suggested by Wenger (1998), clearly are involved in something that is larger than them and intertwined with others. They are, through their participation, contributing to a larger whole. Subsequently, when people are together as part of a larger whole they are creating the shared history of meaning which is how things that are meaningful to the group become reified. It is the shared understanding of abstract things as material that contributes to linking people together in the community. Wenger (1998) spends a significant amount of time in his book Communities of Practice – Learning, Meaning, and Identity describing reification and participation. They are important concepts to review and consider in order to deepen our appreciation of communities of practice as complex functioning units in and of themselves.

     As discussed in class, communities of practice function productively when there is an complementarity between participation and reification. A community of practice which is governed by too many rules and regulations can be viewed as dictatorial in that there is little room for members of the group to create new meanings or alter existing practices. Conversely, a community of practice which is almost fully participatory and holds few reified ideas can be viewed as chaotic with little order or communal construction.

It is interesting to me to contemplate how a community of practice can navigate their path to create the most advantageous mix of participation and reification without ever thinking about it in terms of these concepts. Although the individuals may never know these words to describe their group and what they do, they are still actively involved in the process. People in communities of practice are negotiating new meaning, challenging reified ideas, and creating updated normalcy as part of the course of doing regular business.

     For example, in the nursing profession (like many other professional bodies) there is an enduring assessment and discussion of what it means to be competent. The word competent is reified to mean capable and knowledgeable to be able to do all the duties and activities prescribed for a Registered Nurse. A competent Registered Nurse in 2011, however, would look quite different in terms of their skills and abilities than a Registered Nurse in 1950. Both are deemed competent at the point in time but what defines competence has changed significantly. So, the term competent has remained reified for many years in the nursing profession but new meanings to support the understanding of it have been negotiated by the members of this community of practice. The educational community which supports the education of nurses has been required to respond to the increasing demands of nurses to complete more complex clinical procedures and take on a leadership role within health care teams. The scope of practice for a Registered Nurse has become broader and deeper creating higher expectations when measuring competence. Nursing educators have had to take direction from the regulatory body for the nursing profession (influenced by the health care sector) to re-create curriculum to meet new and increasing expectations. As educators, this has meant the need to adapt to considerable change and formulation of new ways of teaching and opportunities for learning which have not been explored before. It is a responsibility and challenge for educators to ensure that today’s Registered Nurses are competent as defined by the community of practice.

     Few people are likely familiar with the terms community of practice, and reification and participation in this context. However, as discussed above, all people in communities of practice are involved in these processes as part of their everyday interactions with others. As an educator involved with a community of practice it is beneficial to understand how communities operate and what conditions foster an environment for negotiating meaning and collaboration within the group. Supporting an environment where there is complementarity of participation and reification creates an opportunity for growth but with stability and order within the community.

References

Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary. (1963). Thomas Allen Limited, Toronto: Ontario.

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.