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Learning Value and Identity Formation: Social Learning and the Graduate Studies Experience

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Implementing Communities of Practice in Higher Education

Abstract

Students and early career academics in higher education face many challenges, including working in isolation, feeling like an imposter, and, for students, having difficulty completing their degree. Researchers and theorists have suggested that the social learning theory supports the process of becoming (developing new or stronger identities), and assisting individuals as they navigate their path towards gaining competency and confidence in their practice. The concept of a community of practice is a social learning approach that has been argued to nurture the learning needs and identity formation of the members, and has the potential to address some of the issues faced by students and early career academics in higher education. This chapter shares the accounts and findings from two cases that explored the implementation and assessment of communities of practice in higher education settings. Both studies employed a value creation framework, which is intended to promote and assess value creation within communities and networks. The cases differ substantially and the results showcase how the framework can be useful in various ways in settings with diverse parameters. This chapter critically reflects upon certain concepts of the theory as they relate to the graduate and postdoctoral studies experience and provides practical recommendations for those who wish to establish communities of practice within higher education settings.

The original version of this chapter was revised: The erratum to this chapter is available at DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-2866-3_28

An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2866-3_28

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A new version of the VCF is in development. It includes two more cycles: Enabling and Strategic. Also reframing value is now being renamed transformational value.

  2. 2.

    The reporting of Case 1 has borrowed heavily from an article published in the journal Transformational Dialogues (Bertram et al. 2014). Readers are directed to this paper for details about the methods and the CoP.

  3. 3.

    Academic ranks in most Canadian universities, for tenure track positions are: Assistant professor, Associate professor (is combined with tenure at our university), and Full professor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, 125 University Private, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada

    Diane M. Culver & Rachael Bertram

Authors
  1. Diane M. Culver
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  2. Rachael Bertram
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Correspondence to Diane M. Culver .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

    Jacquie McDonald

  2. University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

    Aileen Cater-Steel

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Culver, D.M., Bertram, R. (2017). Learning Value and Identity Formation: Social Learning and the Graduate Studies Experience. In: McDonald, J., Cater-Steel, A. (eds) Implementing Communities of Practice in Higher Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2866-3_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2866-3_16

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  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-2866-3

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