Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Doctoral Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Media Communications

First Advisor

Dr. rer. nat. Trevor Hogan

Second Advisor

Dr. Ann Wilson

Abstract

This thesis explores the establishment of a framework and card-based toolkit to support the facilitation and sustainment of Communities of Practice (COPs), with a particular focus on COPs in the education domain. COPs have been present in various sectors, such as healthcare, business, finance, and education, for over three decades. These communities bring together individuals who share common problems, concerns, or areas of expertise, aiming to improve their practices collectively. However, there is a lack of understanding regarding the best approaches to facilitating, developing, and sustaining COPs over time. To address this gap, four empirical studies were conducted. These studies involved revisiting the structural elements of COPs, exploring teacher-student communication and collaboration, developing an iterative seven-stage framework and accompanying card-based toolkit, all of which were tested and validated with various educational COPs. The research involved case study design and a series of methods including semi-structured interviews and co-design workshops with educational communities across second-level, third-level, and informal educational settings. The findings demonstrate that engagement with the framework facilitated meaningful discussions among COP members, while the use of the card-based toolkit enabled participants to interpret and define their COP effectively. The toolkit fostered communication and collaboration, assisting community members in establishing the purpose, goals, and strategies of their COP. Moreover, the inclusive language of both the framework and toolkit encouraged unbiased discussions among members, ensuring that everyone had a voice.

In summary, the development of the iterative seven-stage framework and card-based toolkit bridges the gap between the conceptual framework and practical implementation of COPs, offering a tangible and accessible approach to creating and sustaining COPs. The results of the research highlight the effectiveness of the framework and toolkit in generating meaningful discussions, fostering communication and collaboration, and empowering all COP members to actively contribute to the community's development and evolution. While this thesis makes significant strides in helping to better understand the workings of COPs and how they can be supported into the future, there are several opportunities for future work. One avenue for expansion involves augmenting the card-based toolkit with an interactive journey map, providing a dynamic visualization of the COP's growth and development. Additionally, the incorporation of digital probes could enable the collection of richer and more detailed information about COP dynamics, facilitating deeper insights into their functioning.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Access Level

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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