You say it, we say it, but how do we use it? Communities of practice: A critical analysis

Abstract

Objectives As educational theories are increasingly used in medical education research there are concerns over how these theories are used, how well they are presented and what the authors intend. Communities of practice (CoP) is one example of an often‐used theory and conceptual framework. This paper presents a critical analysis of how CoP theory is used in medical education research. Methods A critical literature analysis was undertaken of articles published between 1998 and 2018 in eight internationally recognised medical education journals. From a total of 541 articles, 80 articles met the inclusion criteria and were analysed and mapped according to various patterns of use. Results We discerned five categories of use, two misleading and cosmetic, off target and cosmeticising, and three functional, framing, lensing and transferring. A considerable number of articles either misrepresented the point of communities of practice or used it in a cosmetic fashion. The remainder used the theory to frame an ongoing study in relation to other work, as a lens through which to design the study and collect or analyse data, or as a way of discussing or demonstrating the transferability of the findings. Conclusions We conclude that almost half of the reviewed articles did not offer a functional and rigorous definition of what is meant by CoP; instead, they used it in a potentially misleading or cosmetic manner. This study therefore calls on editors, reviewers and authors alike to increase clarity and quality in the application of CoP theory in medical education.

New landscapes: Thinking beyond community in the conceptualisation of online medical education

“…They demonstrate that the use of this theory was commonly either misrepresentative or cosmetic and raise the important issue of ‘theory dropping’. Just a couple of decades ago, medical education scholars were making impassioned cries for increased use of theory, but this study suggests that the pendulum may, in some ways, have overswung.…”

“…In this issue of Medical Education, Bransen et al report on a study in which they interviewed clinical students about their perceptions of learning. 1 The authors demonstrate that students progress through three interrelated shifts during their clerkships in an intricate interplay between self-regulated learning (SRL) and co-regulated learning (CRL). They conclude that: 'workplace learning, including development of SRL, always occurs in interaction with others, and that student SRL always involves engagement in CRL.'…”

“…In this issue of Medical Education , McGrath et al scrutinise a collection of papers that explicitly use the popular theory of communities of practice (CoP). They demonstrate that the use of this theory was commonly either misrepresentative or cosmetic and raise the important issue of ‘theory dropping’.…”

“…Aside from the broader issue of theoretical misappropriation, McGrath et al's paper also prompts a re‐examination of the specific notion of community within medical education scholarship. For example, much of the work on community carries a fundamental assumption that community is universally positive: the explicit focus on teamwork, communication and interdisciplinary learning within medicine promotes a belief that community is categorically and universally desirable and constructive.…”

The Importance of Theory to Inform Practice – Theorizing the Current Trends of Clinical Teaching: A Narrative Review

“…It also creates a common discourse through which teaching can be discussed and negotiated and a platform on which research about education can be grounded [10,12,18]. However, some reports have shown that learning theories are still not well articulated in clinical teaching and that educators and clinicians are not formally trained on their application in the clinical context [3,7,9,20,22,23].…”