Building a mosque. Reification and situated learning at the core of an immigrant community of practice

Abstract

This paper presents partial results of a broader investigation and focuses on describing a process of reification that took place at the heart of an immigrant community in Sant Mateu (Castelló, Spain), and that crystallised through the construction and management of a mosque. The theoretical framework draws on social learning theories, with a particular focus on situated learning and communities of practice. Regarding the method, the study follows an ethnographic, qualitative approach. We present the fieldwork procedures (participatory observation, interviews and focus groups) and analytical procedures (content analysis) followed in the research. The results recount the process this immigrant community followed to build the mosque, and the meanings for the community of the process followed and its culmination. Finally, the discussion and conclusions characterise this immigrant community as a community of practice where situated learning processes arise.