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

hand, adopts a 'narrow' perspective in which relations ofparticipation are foregrounded
at the expense ofthe conventional teacher/learner dyad. It can be argued that many forms
oftraditional teaching have in fact been relatively successful in relation to learning
(Graven 2002). Simply discounting teaching in relation to learning in the school context,
where teachers have been traditionally viewed as 'masters' who need to structure the
curriculum in a manner that maximises learning, challenges the conventional notion of
face-to-face teaching as an efficient and effective way to enable learning. The traditional
teacher/learner dyad is in fact an area ofcontestation and ambiguity in South Africa.
C2005, the latest curriculum policy innovation, advocates a changed role for teachers by
introducing concepts of 'learner centredness', teacher as 'facilitator' and, teacher as 'co­
ordinator oflearning'. In some cases, teachers view this as a licence to abdicate their
fundamental responsibility, namely, that ofteaching. Harley and Wedekind (2004) assert
that in historically disadvantaged schools in particular, the trivialising ofthe traditional
teacherllearner dyad has displaced teachers and their pedagogy. They note that learner
centredness is likely to create a dissonance between how teachers have traditionally
practised their professions and the expectation ofnew curriculum policy.
The primary focus ofWenger's model is the community or group. It is the primary unit
ofanalysis. The model does not provide adequate tools or constructs to analyse the
learning trajectory ofindividuals within the community. While attention is given to the
concept identity, there is no framework to analyse how the transformation ofindividuals
occurs within a community. Furthermore, in a community ofpractice, there is likely to be
significant differences in the learning ofnewcomers and more experienced members. For
a community ofpractice to sustain its existence, the continued learning ofthe core group
of experienced members is important. Wenger's focus on the collective at the expense of
an analysis ofhow individuals learn in a community can be viewed as a significant
fracture in the model.
Wenger's community ofpractice framework as a vehicle for teacher learning assumes
that members ofa group who come together to learn by participation in the activities of
the community, do have substantial existing knowledge. It also assumes that members of
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