The idea for this book originated at NCA's Summer Institute 'Catching Ourselves in the Act: A Collaborative Planning Session to Enrich our Discipline through Social Constructionist Approaches'. The conference provided the opportunity to interact with like-minded others to discuss how social construction approaches influence, or should influence, our work. Another goal for the conference and for this book is to promote social construction approaches within the discipline. We need to look forward by focusing on how the social construction perspective transforms our own work. When we teach, how can we best clarify the social construction principles we believe in, and how can we convey the passion we feel for this approach? How can we insure that our research practices are faithful to constructionist principles? What practices can we, or must we, adopt to remain faithful to these principles. Together, the chapters in this volume address such questions with the intention of helping us take the next step forward. This book extends the conversation about social constructionism approaches and invites others to participate in that conversation.
