Skill acquisition within a (more-than-human) community of practice: A study of beekeeping in Punjab, India

Understanding learning processes involved in sustainable rural transitions requires theories that recognise learning as a complex, socio-ecologically situated phenomenon. Communities of practice theory provides a socially embedded account of learning processes. It suggests that joining communities of practice and developing an identity as a practitioner provides a motivational and pedagogical framework within which learning can occur. Yet, we contend that understanding the complex situational factors at work in acquiring skills requires attention be paid to identities and relations beyond those currently recognised in communities of practice theory. Through a study of beekeepers’ skill acquisition in the Indian Punjab, we show how practitioners mobilise diverse identities that are relevant to learning, motivation, and belonging and not only their identities as (aspiring) practitioners. In Punjab, gendered, religious, and caste-inflected identities are particularly important. We also show that the communities in which learners are embedded consist not only of human practitioners but involve an array of entities and forces that enable, constrain, and share in learning and practice. For beekeepers, learning is a deeply social and ecological process, involving and conditioning human and nonhuman contributions.