As discussed earlier, experiences of participation within the multiple CoP to which we belong change and adapt throughout the course of time. Wenger comments ‘…in the pursuit of enterprises we engage in all sorts of activities with complex bodies that are a result of millennia of evolution. Still in the end it is the meanings we produce that matter.’ (p.51) Understanding this in reference to student experience in SFC suggests that the most important aspect is the meanings that the students construct surrounding their educational environment as it is these that will influence their participation. Accordingly, those students who are ‘successful’ (in terms of high achievement) are able to access teaching and curriculum and become a full and recognised member of the SFC community, engaging in the desired practices expected from their teachers in order to succeed. However, the meanings produced by the students hold the key to their ability to ‘successfully’ participate in their SFC community because without meaningful learning there can be no understanding and without understanding there can be no meaning. This suggests that it is not enough to look at the knowledge and skills which constitute the students’ learning curriculum or the instructional methods which they engage within the classroom. More importantly it is the meanings that the students construct around their learning experiences which influences the nature of their
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participation within their SFC and educational community and which in turn shape their learning trajectories.
For example, a teacher produces a handout with bullet-point instructions on how to structure and write an essay; in doing this the teacher aims to produce a tool to aid and guide their students. Some students who have experienced ‘success’ previously in their ability to utilise their knowledge, use this alongside the handout and are able to attempt the essay. However, for some, who have not, for whatever reason, been able to positively experience the production of an essay, the handout is meaningless. They do not have the ability to draw upon the knowledge and skills they have made in class and apply it to the essay question. This is not a mere matter of intelligence or ability, but a matter of meaning. For these students the production of an essay is not a meaningful enterprise; some will seek further help in an attempt to try whereas others will see it as a pointless objective finding means of distraction to prevent them from what they perceive as a meaningless and unachievable task. The response and completion of the essay task will influence the students’ level of participation and thus their educational progression.
Wenger (1998) states that meaning is located and understood in the ongoing emergent negotiation of meaning which is understood to be historic, dynamic, contextual and unique. This involves the dual processes of participation and reification, which relate to the social experience of membership in multiple CoP. Participation refers to more than the mere presence in a community; it relates to all the activities of mutual recognition in which people engage in within a social context such as competitive acts, confrontation and co-operation. Furthermore, participation is transformative, shaping both the experience and meaning of the individual and the community of practice.
The concept of reification refers to the process of giving form to aspects of human experience and practice by producing concrete and fixed forms such as artefacts, tools and procedures, around which the negotiation of meaning becomes organised. Reification is more than objectification because, although the artefact or procedure itself is important, more important still are the attendant meanings which surround the reification.
For example, within the focal SFC of this research, disciplinary procedures were in place to enable teaching staff to enforce desirable behaviour in relation to student conduct in class and ability to follow the college rules such as arrive to lessons on time, hand in homework on time etc. Failure to meet behavioural standards is decided by the teachers and depending on the severity of the student’s shortcoming they would be placed on a disciplinary stage. These
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stages were given a numerical position with stages one and two serving as a warning; three and four indicating a major cause for concern with student behaviour monitored closely by their teachers and senior management team. Finally, stages five and six notified parents and encourages their involvement in the resolution, with stage six usually entailing a suspension or full exclusion.
Despite the disciplinary procedure’s aim to create order and maintain standards it served to be a confusing and frustrating concept for students due to the meanings attached to the stages and thus the reification. Students attached different meanings to the disciplinary stages and being placed on a stage one or two was of little significance to them. However, as the disciplinary outcome was decided by the teacher, in cases of what they believed to be severe misconduct, stages one and two could be passed over and students could be placed on stages three and four or higher. This would serve as a source of conflict if the student disagreed with the decision made by the teacher. This example serves to highlight how, in the case of this college, student participation and therefore practices within their college community was influenced by the prospect of being placed on a disciplinary stage. Whilst the implementation of these disciplinary stages constitutes an important practice within this SFC setting, the meanings which underpin the procedure are as much a part of the reification as the actual behaviour of the students.
As discussed above, the dual process of participation and reification together form the negotiation of meaning. The reified processes and objects not only shape participation but are also a source of identity hence, through the process of negotiation of meaning, meaning and identity become inextricably linked (Wenger, 1998).