Ecologies of practices

In this chapter, we explore the idea that practices can be understood as living things, and that they are interdependent with other practices to which they are connected in 'ecologies of practices'. Others like Gherardi (2009) have also discussed practice theory taking an explicitly relational and ecological perspective, although perhaps without much elaboration of what taking an 'ecological' perspective entails. Viewing practices as living entities may challenge ways of understanding 'learning practices'. We draw on findings from a current project involving a cluster of schools in rural Australia in which we are investigating how practices of educational leadership, professional development, teaching and student learning connect with one another, each influencing and being influenced by the others.