Theorising educational transitions: communities, practice and participation

Transition in education benefits from an established and wide ranging literature which includes transition into education and transition between educational institutions, for children and adults alike. Much of the literature provides rich, descriptive material which serves to illuminate the experiences of those managing the transitions or those undergoing the transitions. However, we would argue that transition is an under-theorized phenomenon and as such meta-understanding and frameworks for intervention are lacking. In this paper we use the community of practice literature to explore the underpinning psychology and sociology of transition with particular reference to learner identity and shifting knowledge frames. Moreover, we argue for a more politicised understanding of participation and employ ecological theory to explore the systemic processes which influence individual trajectories in education and beyond. We conclude by arguing for an ethnographic approach to transition research to address the ontological imperatives which emerge from this proposed theoretical perspective