Knowing in practice: re-conceptualising vocational expertise

The following re-conceptualisation of vocational expertise is premised on reconciling contributions from cognitive psychology with those from social and cultural theories of thinking and acting. Relations between the individuals acting and the social practice in which they act are proposed as bases for knowing and performance - knowing in practice. Domains of knowledge are held to be products of reciprocal and interpretative construction arising from individuals engagement in social practice. rather than being abstracted disciplinary knowledge or disembedded sociocultural tools. The construction of the individuals' domains of vocational practice is constituted reciprocally through their participation at work. Some implications for curriculum are also proposed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.