A theory of knowledge construction systems

Abstract

Abstract This paper considers the problem of knowledge integration, and proposes a theory of knowledge construction systems, which consists of three fundamental parts: a knowledge construction system, a structure–agency–action paradigm, and evolutionary‐constructive objectivism. The first part is a model of collecting and synthesizing knowledge, the second relates to necessary abilities of actors when collecting knowledge in individual domains, and the third comprises a set of principles to justify collected and synthesized knowledge. The paper starts with a brief introduction of our basic systems approach, called ‘informed systems thinking’, followed by a summary of our proposal: a theory of knowledge construction systems. The paper then explains its three fundamental parts, with a special emphasis on the types of knowledge integration, and finally gives a detailed explanation of the theory with an example. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.