Communities of practice in higher education: contradictory narratives of a university-wide curriculum reform

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the experiences of scholars in a universitywide curriculum reform in one public research university. The focus is on the intentions and dynamics that shape the curriculum process in the local communities of practice. The data, comprised of interviews with twenty-five scholars, are examined as experience-centred narratives of curriculum change.Two distinct types of narrative-dialogical and reproductive-are found to reflect how the curriculum change was negotiated. In further analysis, Wenger's dimensions of communities of practice, namely, mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire, are used as a conceptual framework to identify the intentions and dynamics behind the narratives. The following dimensions emerged: (1) intending to cross borders versus maintaining prevailing traditions and positions; (2) attempting to find shared goals versus delaying or discontinuing the process; and (3) having enough curiosity to familiarise oneself with the unfamiliar versus deprecating and rejecting it.

Change agency as a way of promoting pedagogical development in academic communities: a longitudinal study

“…The academic context of CoPs has also been referred to as 'teaching and learning regimes' (Trowler & Cooper 2002) that consist of discipline-specific traditions and norms that guide shared pedagogical practices. In this study, the CoP model is applied in reference to both informal working groups and formal organizational units with features of mutual engagement, a joint enterprise and a shared repertoire (see also Annala & Mäkinen 2017). As noted by Harman and Harman (2003), sensitivity towards these cultural systems is particularly important in a context of university mergers.…”

“…The role of negotiation and dialogue has been highlighted especially in a context of curriculum reforms that involve all academics in pedagogical development work beyond their own courses (Louvel 2013;McGrath 2017). For example, Annala and Mäkinen (2017) found that academics could influence organization-wide curriculum reform by mobilizing their collegial networks, identifying local development needs and negotiating ways of implementing strategic organizational change initiatives in their local discipline-specific CoPs. Based on the findings, they suggested that future research should focus on identifying what kinds of CoP fundamentally direct pedagogical development in higher education (Annala & Mäkinen 2017).…”

“…For example, Annala and Mäkinen (2017) found that academics could influence organization-wide curriculum reform by mobilizing their collegial networks, identifying local development needs and negotiating ways of implementing strategic organizational change initiatives in their local discipline-specific CoPs. Based on the findings, they suggested that future research should focus on identifying what kinds of CoP fundamentally direct pedagogical development in higher education (Annala & Mäkinen 2017). This study complements previous research by identifying pedagogical development activities at the interfaces of two distinct academic CoPs: pedagogical and discipline-specific communities (see also Warhurst 2006).…”

“…In the face of organizational transformations in higher education, pedagogical development is increasingly seen as a shared endeavour of all academic community members (Annala & Mäkinen 2017) rather than a task limited to formal organizational change agents (see Caldwell 2003;Harman & Harman 2003), such as professional developers, department heads, deans, or rectors. While previous studies have acknowledged the role of academics as 'informal change agents' (Doring 2002; McGrath 2017) and identified collegial dialogue in cross-community networks as a source of academic development (Mårtensson 2014), less is known about how academics' pedagogical and discipline-specific community memberships contribute to their work as change agents.…”

Learning To Teach In The NZ ITP Sector: Lessons From Literature

“…However, the growing number of studies, mainly from the compulsory and Higher Education (HE) contexts, that explore the cultivation of CoPs for teacher learning present conflicting messages. Some researchers question the overly collegial view of CoPs and argue that much of the research ignores the potential for relationships to influence negatively or inhibit learning (for example Annala & Mäkinen, 2017). However, others find that CoPs can promote collaboration, reduce isolation and support engagement (Patton & Parker, 2017;Retna & Ng, 2010;Viscovik, 2005).…”