Communities of practice in the school workplace

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.*Related content and download information correct at time of download. Robert-Jan SimonsCentre for Teaching and Learning, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands AbstractPurpose -The first aim of this study is to explore to what extent communities of practice occur in the school workplace. The second aim is to explore the relation between communities of practice and diversity in composition of teacher teams. Design/methodology/approach -Quantitative as well as qualitative data were gathered from seven teacher teams in a school for secondary education. Questionnaires and observation instruments were used to measure and analyze teacher teams' collaborative activities and diversity in composition.Findings -Data suggest that communities of practice actually occur in the school workplace, but to a moderate extent. Also, communities of practice are related to four of the five diversity attributes that were investigated.Research limitations/implications -The current study is a snapshot measurement of communities of practice. Future research is recommended to focus on the development of communities of practice in the school workplace by including longitudinal measurements. Practical implications -Implications for teachers and administrators include follow-up activities aimed at stimulating and sustaining communities of practice as well as taking diversity considerations in team composition into account. Originality/value -Studies suggest that a community is a promising context for embedding collaboration into the culture of the school. However, empirical research that focuses on communities in the school workplace seems largely absent. This study provides insight in the occurrence of communities of practice from two perspectives: the perception of community members and the observation from outsiders.

Communities of practice: A means to support occupational therapists’ continuing professional development. A literature review

“…Wasko, Teigland and Faraj () reported that for this reason several researchers have opted not to use the term CoP and treated it with caution because of the limited clarity on it. The terms network of practice, network of improvement or network of design have instead been used depending on the specific purpose of the created group (Brouwer, Brekelmans, Nieuwenhuis & Simons, ).…”

The challenges of novice primary school heads in Mauritius

“…However, when there is a dysfunction of such relationships, the school leader is likely to fail. Novice school heads may suffer from professional isolation, whereby they do not get any support and collaboration from other school stakeholders, and therefore they become depressed [34]. According to Kelly and Saunders [35], novice school heads experience professional loneliness during the first three years of headship because of their lack of experience and incompetency to do networking with others.…”

Living the Flourish Question: Positivity as an Orientation for the Preparation of Teacher Candidates

“…The concept of community has been well-researched in education framed within perspectives of ethics, professionalism, inquiry, inclusion, among others (Brouwer et al, 2012;Furman, 2004;Little, 1990;Louis & Marks, 1998;Redding & Thomas, 2001;Strike, 2007;Wenger, 1998). From a sociological perspective, researchers indicate that we often build community in schools because we are drawn to work and live together in ways that help us to make deeper meaning of our lives (Block, 2009;Brown & Hannic, 2008;Rifkin, 2011;Vanier, 2003).…”