Investigating knowledge construction in organisational and educational contexts : a social constructivist perspective

Even for those who embrace a constructivist paradigm there has been a reluctance to examine critically the nature of what is constructed or the manner in which the constructive processes in which learners engage can be related to the processes through which knowledge building is collaboratively undertaken. This paper presents a conceptualisation of knowledge and the process of knowledge construction from a social constructivist perspective and identifies a number of issues that present a challenge when investigating knowledge construction within organisational and educational contexts. The paper extends an ongoing debate regarding the nature of the knowledge construction process and concludes by identifying important methodological implications which can serve as guidelines for researchers and practitioners. Although unplanned, the authors acknowledge that the paper exemplifies the outcome of a collaborative knowledge sharing process. As individuals with similar research interests the authors extend networks across diverse sectors within an educational organisation in order to enhance personal and theoretical understandings of collaborative knowledge construction.