Working with Family and Community Resources in Educational, Social and Mental Health Contexts

Human beings are in a constant process of dialogue with the world around them, so the individual and society are very closely interlinked, and influence one another mutually. Society provides the lens through which its members view and interpret the world, so knowledge is rooted in social interaction. We construct our own realities through language, through exchanges with others (Freedman, 1996). This means that ideas, concepts and memories arise from social exchanges and are channelled by language, and that individuals can only develop a sense of identity through continuous exchanges with others.