Social Constructionism: A Sociological Analysis

Social constructionism originated as an attempt to come to terms with how reality is constructed, and knowledge is produced (Galbin, 2014). Its roots are connected to disciplines such as the ethnomethodology, sociology, anthropology, and psychology (Kham, 2013), and the works of Immanuel Kant, Berger and Luckman, Schutz, and Kunh, among others (ibid). In turn it acknowledges the influence of Mead, the originator of symbolic interactionism (Andrews, 2012). It may be defined as a perspective which believes that human life exists as it does due to social and interpersonal influences (Gergen, 1985). Its interest lies in interpreting the social influences on society and individual life. It assumes that, how the world is perceived is bound to certain historical, political, and cultural contexts (Kazooba, and Muller, 2014,

Also, Korsgaard (2007) indicates that knowledge is produced in social processes and the legitimacy of the knowledge also comes from the social processes in which it is created and then brought into action. Meaning is shaped to respond to the unique characteristics and needs of the local context. These social processes include communication and sharing of ideas among members of a certain group (Jha, 2012). In this case it could be concluded that the knowledge on human rights that both the teachers and students demonstrate in this study could be a result of the social processes that occur within their contexts, moreover, the differences or similarities in how they perceive human rights and bring it into action may be accounted for by the influences of the social context. Social interactions play an important role in what becomes knowledge for the individual hence what reinforces the principle of social constructionism that knowledge is socially constructed by and between the people who experience