Ujima & Communities of Practice

The task of blogging about what we have learned and discussed in class has led me to examine more closely the principles of Kwanzaa  and how they relate to communities of practice.  In particular, Nguzo Saba’s third principle known as Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) which is described as ‘to build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems, and to solve them together’ (Karenga, 1963). 

This particular principle, which focuses on coming together as a unit, although straightforward enough, presents unique challenges in all that it encompasses.  The principle of Ujima assumes that individuals will come together collectively, that they will share a common bond and that they will work together in harmony in an effort to solve any problems and/or confront any obstacles that may or may not affect them directly.  Of fundamental importance is the notion of family in this principle, which does not simply imply one’s genetic relatedness, but implies an interconnectedness of all community members.  It both reinforces and stresses the importance of the community and the family as a whole.  The success and/or failure of one or the other of these components are the responsibility of the whole unit.  This type of community building among individuals and/or groups, which no doubt can be extremely beneficial , requires a type of social interaction that will build feelings of trust and which will help to promote the practice of reciprocity among community members. 

The Ujima principle promotes both learning and social change and strives to provide a moral and social pathway where group members can help to shape family and community identities and attachments.  This particular concept is not foreign and/or new.  Research on the evolution of cooperative alliances (Buss, 2004) reiterates the fact that humans can benefit by engaging in cooperative exchange.  Consequently, group living and survival is a human adaptation which has evolved over time.  It is interesting that throughout evolution, humans have tended to form cooperative alliances (Buss, 2004) where groups worked together to achieve a common goal – a sentiment and goal echoed in the Ujima principle.  This process of aligning and recognizing the importance of family and community and the social participation among group members definitively represents a community of practice. 

As I mention in my previous blog (The Role of Identity in Communities of Practice) Wenger’s social learning theory emphasizes four vital components necessary for social participation - meaning, practice, community and one’s identity.  Wenger emphasizes that learning happens through participation in a group and that learning occurs in the relationships between people.  The very spirit and central theme underlying Ujima is reflected in Wenger’s (1999, p. 125) indicators that a community of practice has formed and which includes the following:

1)      Sustained mutual relationships – harmonious or conflictual

2)      Shared way of engaging in doing things together

3)      The rapid flow of information and propagation of innovation

4)      The absence of introductory preambles, as if conversations and interactions were merely the continuation of an ongoing process

5)      Very quick setup of a problem to be discussed

6)      Substantial overlap in participants’ descriptions of who belongs

7)      Knowing what others know, what they can do, and how they can contribute to an enterprise

8)      Mutually defining identities

9)      The ability to assess the appropriateness of actions and products

10)  Specific tools, representations, and other artifacts

11)  Local lore, shared stories, inside jokes, knowing laughter

12)  Jargon and shortcuts to communication as well as the ease of producing new ones

13)  Certain styles recognized as displaying membership

14)  A shared discourse reflecting a certain perspective on the world

Author Michael Tomasello (1999, p. 509) hypothesizes that human beings, unlike other primates, exhibit a species unique form of social cognition.  This unique form of social cognition is evident in the way in which human beings transmit skills – a process he calls the rachet effect.’  The rachet effect is one in which we have the capacity to build skills over the course of our  development and where these skills are ultimately passed on from generation to generation – learning is dependent on others and is culturally mediated (Tomasello, 1999).  One of the main differences in cultural transmission among humans is ‘identification.’  Basically humans are able to learn from each other and thus are able to identify with others and their intentions and sometimes their mental states. 

Thus the very nature of knowledge assumed by the Ujima principle both implies and reinforces from one generation to the next , the importance of family and community which demonstrates a type of cultural transmission or social interaction – a rachet effect.  Members are taught to identify with and support the family and the community as a unit and any individual and/or unit’s success or failure in turn becomes dependent upon the other.  Ujima’s underlying message to collectively work and learn together will only work to promote positive social change if individuals are aware of, and have a strong sense of identity.  This goes hand in hand with Bracher’s concept of identity which fundamentally examines the role of identity and how learning or the failure to learn is often the key problem underlying social problems (Bracher, 2006).  

According to Wenger (1999) a community of practice can be described as one in which people come together to engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain or endeavour.   The process of learning throughout one’s life involves an assortment of communities of practice and an important part of one’s life experience includes the social context in which one lives.  It is obvious that the underlying principles of Ujima which stresses the importance of family and community is as relevant today as it was when it was first created.  What is also becoming increasingly important is the socialization of our youth – how can we help to nurture our youth in their development and in their sense of moral understanding and obligation towards family and community.  What is crystal clear is that learning begins in the family and expands outward.  Educators are being forced to reassess the traditional views of lifelong learning and its impact.

If one were to incorporate and successfully practice this particular principle as it relates to lifelong learning within the African Nova Scotian community the following should exist:

·         a  goal and collective response to the very real educational challenges we face today in an effort to ensure the next generation is instilled with a strong sense of identity, the essence of family and community and all that it entails;

·         an awareness among community/group members of the importance of maintaining and sustaining relationships in an effort to work collectively;

·         a desire to engage and cultivate our youth;

·         a desire to promote civic responsibility within the African Nova Scotian community - the Ujima principle.

References

Bracher, M. (2006). Radical pedagogy: Identity, generativity, and social transformation.

            New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Buss, D. M. (2004). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. Boston: Pearson

Education Inc.

Tomasello, M.  (1999). The human adaptation for culture. Annual Review of Anthropology,

28, 1, 509-529.

Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. New York:

Cambridge University Press.