Public servants’ workplace learning: a reflection on the concept of communities of practice

Gau, Wen-Bing

doi:10.1007/s11135-011-9605-z

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The study of CoPs originates from different epistemic understandings. Descriptive studies (Gau, 2013;Gabbay and le May, 2004;Cirella et al, 2018;Lave and Wenger, 1991) have approached CoPs as an emergent and self-organising phenomenon. Conversely, studies with a prescriptive perspective (Iaquinto et al, 2011;Ng and Ang, 2007;Pyrko et al, 2017) have approached CoPs as arrangements that can be deliberately developed to support organisations.…”

Section: Theoretical Background 21 Collaborative Practices and Communities Of Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a Taiwanese PSO, employees with interdependent tasks interacted in a CoP, which resulted in mutual learning and led to the development of shared practices (Gau, 2013). The CoP was developed as official business to bring together employees who shared similar interests, and the CoP's informal and relaxed atmosphere was conducive for sharing knowledge and developing a shared practice.…”

Section: Impact Of Communities Of Practice On Public Sector Organisationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Amayah (2013) confirmed that organisational goals in public organisations are generally more difficult to measure and more conflicting than in private organisations, and they are affected by political influences. Gau (2013) stated that in public organisations, specific labour divisions can act as disincentives for knowledge sharing. Furthermore, the public sector is not a single organisation but rather is highly diverse, and thus, CoP development and functioning can vary according to some specific contextual factors that characterise the organisational setting in which it takes place (Massaro et al, 2015).…”

Section: Impact Of Communities Of Practice On Public Sector Organisationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Improving public sector knowledge sharing through communities of practice

Jørgensen

Edwards

Scarso

et al. 2020

VJIKMS

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Purpose This paper aims to study the impact of intentionally developed communities of practice (CoPs) on knowledge sharing and practice improvement in an administrative public sector organisation (PSO). Design/methodology/approach A case study approach was used to analyse the impact of the CoPs intentionally developed by four different teams at a Danish PSO. The study applied a CoP development framework suggested by the literature to develop the CoPs. Findings Three out of the four CoPs were successfully developed, and they positively affected knowledge sharing and practice improvement. CoP participants engaged in conversations to explore individual ways of working, share knowledge and ultimately improve practice. Standardisation and boundary spanning were identified as contextual factors influencing the CoP activities. Research limitations/implications The findings verify the framework and contribute to a better understanding of the factors affecting the development of CoPs that positively impact knowledge sharing and practice improvements in a PSO context. Practical implications The study provides operations managers in PSOs with a framework for developing CoPs to improve work performance through better knowledge sharing among employees. Originality/value The paper provides case study evidence for the relevance of CoPs in PSO settings and highlights the necessity of investing resources in employee knowledge-sharing interactions.

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Section: Theoretical Background 21 Collaborative Practices and Communities Of Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Impact Of Communities Of Practice On Public Sector Organisationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Impact Of Communities Of Practice On Public Sector Organisationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Improving public sector knowledge sharing through communities of practice

Jørgensen

Edwards

Scarso

et al. 2020

VJIKMS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, because the older adults engage in shared practices over time, most leaders, including A1, D1 and E1, mentioned that their members know clearly about what role they should play as soon as they enter the classroom without being told what to do. Gau (2013b) used official tasks as an example to suggest that a CoP, which is formed by participants' free will, may need particular compulsory shared practices to continue positive communications. This is because the intensively shared practice fuels ongoing communication while the communication facilitates people's mutual understanding to develop organizational routines.…”

Section: Using Shared Practice To Improve Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to Construct Shared Repertoire in Older Adults’ Communities of Practice

Gau

2016

J Adult Dev

Self Cite

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A community of practice is an important mechanism to integrate participants' learning and knowledge. However, little research has discussed the concept of shared repertoire within a community of practice, to say nothing of looking at this concept from the angle of older adults' learning. In order to close the gap, this article tried to indicate key elements of forming a shared repertoire within the context of older adults' communities of practice. The researchers explored older adults' interactions within Chinese music groups in Taiwan by using qualitative approaches, including the semi-structured interview method and the observation method. Five Chinese music groups in the southern Taiwan area were visited, while a total of 20 interviewees were recruited. The researchers interviewed four persons in each musical group, namely the leader, two old-timers and a newcomer. The findings supported Wenger's arguments about shared repertoire and contribute to gerontology education. The arguments highlighted the importance of leadership and shed light on the relationship between particular structured and unstructured learning behaviors. Some keys about facilitating older adults' communities of practice were also identified in this research.

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Research and application of situated teaching design for NC machining course based on virtual simulation technology

Meng

Guo

2020

Comp Applic In Engineering

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As virtual simulation technology can display three‐dimensional materials as well as their dynamic cutting process and the learners’ motivation is enhanced in the situated learning environment, a virtual‐situated learning system for numerical control (NC) machining course is proposed to explore the learning effectiveness of learners when combining virtual simulation technology and the situation learning theory. This study aims to use the concept of embedding NC machining simulation system and the situated learning into a real situation to improve the learners’ situated thinking ability and innovative literacy. The features of the system include (a) the learning activities and contents that are planned and designed using the key factors of situated learning based on the specific teaching contents and objectives, (b) combining virtual objects with a real environment using virtual simulation technology to provide a project‐based learning situation for learners, and (c) probing into the specific methods of implementing situated teaching design in NC machining course. To assess the acceptance of the proposed system, an independent sample t‐test was then applied to evaluate the learning achievement of learners. The results show that the research scale is highly reliable and that all assumptions made are valid. In addition, the effect of the situated teaching was investigated through questionnaire survey. The experimental results suggest that the virtual‐situated teaching design has significant positive impact on improving the students' learning efficiency and performance skills and indicates that the participants were attracted to and willing to use the system, which directly enhances their incentive to actively learn and promote learning achievement.

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Public servants’ workplace learning: a reflection on the concept of communities of practice

Cited by 7 publications

References 25 publications

Improving public sector knowledge sharing through communities of practice

Improving public sector knowledge sharing through communities of practice

How to Construct Shared Repertoire in Older Adults’ Communities of Practice

Research and application of situated teaching design for NC machining course based on virtual simulation technology

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