Jean Lave is an anthropologist whose work challenges the assumption that learning is primarily a cognitive process occurring inside individual minds. With Etienne Wenger, Lave developed the theory of situated learning, arguing that learning occurs through legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice — not through abstract instruction alone.
Core ideas
- Situated learning: knowledge is inseparable from the social and material contexts in which it is produced and used. Learning to be a tailor, a midwife, or a mathematician means participating in the practices of tailors, midwives, or mathematicians — not absorbing decontextualized rules.
- Legitimate peripheral participation: newcomers learn by participating at the margins of a community of practice, gradually taking on more central roles as they develop competence through engagement.
Notable works
- Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation (1991, with Etienne Wenger)
- Cognition in Practice (1988)