Teacher Learning in a Community of Practice: A Case Study of ...

Wenger explains that:
Defining a joint enterprise is a process, not a static agreement. It produces relations of
accountability that are notjust fixed constraints or norms. These relations are manifested
not as conformity but as the ability to negotiate actions as accountable to the enterprise
(Wenger 1998:82).
3.3.2.3.3 How is 'shared repertoire' a characteristic of practice as a source of
community coherence?
Over time, the joint pursuit ofan enterprise by its participants creates resources for
negotiating meaning. The elements of a shared repertoire ofa community ofpractice can
be very heterogeneous and could include "routines, words, tools, ways of doing things,
stories, gestures, symbols" that the community has developed over time and which have
become part ofits practice (Wenger 1998:83). It combines both reificative and
participative elements and includes discourse by which members create meaningful
statements about the world. The term 'repertoire' emphasises both the rehearsed character
ofthe shared resources and its availability for further engagement in practice. As a
resource for the negotiation ofmeaning, a repertoire of a community ofpractice reflects a
history ofmutual engagement. "Histories ofinterpretation create shared points of
reference but do not impose meaning" (ibid.:84).
While communities ofpractice provide a privileged context for the negotiation of
meaning, Wenger (1998) warns about romanticizing them. Shared practice does not itself
imply harmony or collaboration, in fact a community ofpractice may not necessarily be
an emancipatory force. He cautions
Communities ofpractice are not intrinsically beneficial or harmful. They are not privileged
in terms ofpositive or negative effects. Yet they are a force to be reckoned with, for better
or for worse. As a locus of engagement in action, interpersonal relations, shared
knowledge, and negotiations of enterprises, such communities hold the keys to real
transformation - the kind that has real effect on people's lives (ibid:.85).
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