Social construction as process: some new possibilities for research and development

Abstract

Here we outline one variant of social constructionism - one that emphasises social ontologys as constructed in ongoing co-ordinations of act and supplement. We stress that such processes may be constructed both in written and spoken words, in non-verbal actions and artefacts. Relational processes often construct persons and worlds in either/or relations, however ‘both/and’ also is possible. We explore some ‘new’ both/and possibilities in various areas of practice showing, for example, that research: can be viewed as construction; does not have to strive to enact the standard view of science, and; instead might construct inclusive, multilogical, and heterarchical relations constructing "power to" go on in new ways. Whilst social constructionist arguments do not demand any particular methods or relations, we suggest that there are good reasons why approaches of the sort described might be of value, might be more ecological, in todays ‘fast’, postcolonial, multi-cultural worlds.