Reviving praxis: stories of continual professional learning and practice architectures in a faculty-based teaching community of practice

Abstract

Lave and Wenger’s conceptualisation of communities of practice (CoPs) has had a profound impact on the way many think about learning at work. In universities, CoPs have the potential to meet the continuing professional learning (CPL) needs of academics in ways that formal structured programmes cannot. However, participating in CoPs can be a disempowering experience, depending on the way power is exercised within and outside of the community. Using narrative methods here, we explore the nature of CPL in a faculty-based teaching community of practice, paying particular attention to the links between the individual and extra-individual. Although all 15 CoP members interviewed for this study spoke of becoming more innovative and confident teachers since joining the community, noteworthy differences emerged in their descriptions of their engagement. Long-term and new members’ stories were qualitatively different: old-timers told stories of praxis, of personally transformative CPL that involved them in collective action in the wider socio-cultural context of teaching, while newcomers spoke of a more individualistic and pragmatic approach focused on professional survival. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.

Keywords:

• Communities of Practice
• continuing professional learning
• professional development
• academic practice
• teaching practice
• narrative analysis

Notes

1. Okri, B. (1997). A way of being free. London: Phoenix Paperbacks.

2. Although the T-CoP strives to foster democratic relationships, the power of the wider hierarchical environment of the university to shape perceptions and behaviours of its members must be acknowledged. Therefore we see value in noting the position of participants. However, as will become clear in the second reading of the data, it is the length of time spent as a member of the T-CoP rather than formal position that is associated with a sense of agency and ‘voice’.