Article2003

On Becoming a Witch: Learning in a Marginalized Community of Practice

Sharan B. Merriam · Bradley C. Courtenay · Lisa M. Baumgartner

94 citations0/0 files storedAdult Education Quarterly

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Innovative Education and Learning Practices Adult and Continuing Education Topics Organizational Learning and Leadership

Abstract

Much learning in adulthood is informal, social in nature, and firmly embedded in the life context of the learner. It takes place in social groups engaged in a common practice. One model for considering the learning that takes place in social groups is Wenger's notion of communities of practice. In a community of practice, learning, practice, and identity development are intertwined. The purpose of this study was to investigate learning in a marginalized community of practice—that of witches. Twenty witches belonging to several different covens, or communities of practice, were interviewed. Data analysis revealed (a) a trajectory of participation representing movement from the periphery to the center of the group; (b) learning in practice that is experiential, that combines formal and intuitive knowledge, and that is spread across the group; and (c) an identifiable process of identity development in becoming a witch. To some extent, the marginality of the community shaped the group's learning and practice.

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References

1994Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation.1968The Discovery of Grounded Theory; Strategies for Qualitative Research 1998Basics of qualitative research : techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory 1991Situated Learning 1999Communities of practice learning, meaning, and identity 1990Qualitative evaluation and research methods 1998Communities of Practice 1998Qualitative research and case study applications in education

Cited by

2007The Transition of Adult Students to Higher Education: Legitimate Peripheral Participation in a Community of Practice?2005Community building, emergent design and expecting the unexpected: Creating a quality eLearning experience 2009“Communities of Practice” as an Analytical Construct: Implications for Theory and Practice 2009Transition to postgraduate study 2010Mature and younger students' reasons for making the transition from further education into higher education 2012Knowledge construction in an outsider community: Extending the communities of practice concept

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