APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY: Change at the Speed of Imagination, SECOND EDITION

The Theoretical Basis for Appreciative Inquiry

Social Constructionism

Appreciative Inquiry is, in its essence, rooted and grounded in the theory of social constructionism. As practitioners of Appreciative Inquiry it is essential that we have a working knowledge of the theory, its impact on our beliefs about social knowledge, and how it plays out in theories about how organizations change. Understanding social constructionism gives us a basis for the scientific research (much of it done in the current paradigm’s pure science method) that points to the power of images and the way we use them to create our own realities and even our own futures. We believe that only through a solid grounding in these concepts and theories will practitioners have ...