Purpose: This paper aims to explore the relationship between the contemporary forms of manufacturing rationalization and the reproduction of communities of practice (CoPs) centred on tasks and craft. Building on critical literature highlighting the tensions between CoPs and rationalization, this paper aims to develop a nuanced account of how CoPs…

Research on the improvement of learning shifted from a focus on the learner as individual to the concept of sociocultural learning in communities of learning, communities of practice or learning cultures during the 1990s. A similar shift in the focus of the development of a single construct of individual musical creativity to socially situated…

Much research in the area of pre-service teacher (PST) identity formation has focused on the mentoring relationship between PSTs and their supervising teachers. While this is important to identity formation, interaction with peers is another area that needs to be examined. Using Wenger's matrix as a theoretical framework, this study aimed to…

This study was designed to explore how the electronic learning community (eLC) process at an established state virtual high school (SVHS) supported new and veteran online high school teachers through the communities of practice (CoP) framework. Specifically, this study focused on the institutionally-driven nature of the eLC process, using Wenger's…

To fully understand teaching presence and its implications for the intellectual climate of an online classroom it is necessary to explore the phenomenon from the perspective of the instructors who experience it. Informed by the theoretical perspective of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model, the actions, intentions and perceptions of instructors…

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate whether the formal and informal learning patterns of community health-care nurses changed in the wake of a reform that altered their work by introducing new patient groups, and to explore whether conditions in the new workplaces facilitated or impeded shifts in learning patterns. Design/methodology/approach:…

The purpose of this study was to identify knowledge construction patterns in a local learning community. Observation, documents, and semistructured interviews were employed to collect data. Twenty learners were interviewed. Data were analyzed inductively using the constant comparative method. Five major patterns--radiation, circulation,…

Neo-liberal educational policies that are being implemented globally work to foster competition among schools and teachers, as well as among children. In this situation, teachers must often come to accept the dominant representations of curricular policy developed by higher authorities. In this study, a case study design is used to describe how…

Students experience a wide array of special needs, from diagnosed disabilities to cultural and linguistic barriers to traumas. Schools around the world and across public and private sectors struggle to provide optimal opportunities to learn for students experiencing special needs. Moreover, schools typically engage in these efforts in isolation…

This paper reports on the results of a research study conducted in two colleges of further education in Scotland and Wales. The aim of the study was to begin to understand the ongoing effects of initial lecturer education programmes. Using the accounts of respondent lecturers and detailed documentary analysis, an accurate picture of the…

Drawing on a presumption that a Community of Practice (COP) can add significant value to the situated learning development of adults in any context, this paper exposes and analyses the challenges faced in facilitating the development of a COP involving part-time work-based researchers. Using an empirical case example involving a collaborative…

This study focuses on the impact of a sustainability leadership development program (SLDP) designed to develop staff members as leaders who encourage sustainability practices within institutions of higher education (IHE). Using the framework of community of practice (CoP), we explored the program's contribution by interviewing 16 staff members who…

This article is based on a research and development project conducted in one upper secondary school in Norway. The participating teachers have been part of a three year longitudinal study, and the findings in the present study are from their third and final year of a professional development study. The aim of this study was to find out how…

Teacher turnover is a critical issue for the public education community because it influences student performance, school climate, and employee morale. In a large urban school district in the northeastern United States, the turnover rate has been high; teacher morale is low, and teacher participation in the school community is lacking. The purpose…

Studies of professional development have examined the influence of school-based approaches on in-service teacher learning and change but have seldom investigated teachers' job-embedded learning processes. This paper explores the dynamic processes of teacher learning in school-based settings. A qualitative comparative case study based on the…