Establishing a community of practice : from outsiders to insiders

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Authors

Van Rensburg, Gisela H.
Botma, Yvonne
Heyns, Tanya
Coetzee, Isabella M.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

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Publisher

IFE Center for Psychological Studies

Abstract

A shared interest in scholarship of teaching and learning between three academics/ researchers stimulated the establishment of a community of practice. The spontaneous formation of the group developed into a formal and functioning CoP. The aim of this article is to explore the transformation of a group of nursing academics who started as outsiders in a support group to becoming insiders in a community of practice. A single intrinsic longitudinal case study design within a theory of action was used to illuminate and explicate the experiences of participants during the development (analytical frame) of a community of practice (object). Four themes were identified from the four construct bins, namely shared domain of interest, informal network, formal work group and community of practice. A true sense of belonging with concrete academic and research-related outcomes and a shared vision statement and values and beliefs clarification for sustainability characterizes the flourishing group.

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Keywords

Community of practice, Informal network, Formal work group, Collaboration

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Van Rensburg, GH, Henys, T, Botma, Y & Coetzee, IM 2016, 'Establishing a community of practice : from outsiders to insiders', Gender and Behaviour, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 1028-7039.