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

CHAPTER THREE
MY THEORETICAL POSITION AND AN INTRODUCTION TO
WENGER'S THEORETICAL/CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
3.1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose ofthis research study was to investigate Economic and Management
Sciences teachers' learning in a teacher learning community ofpractice, designed in
accordance with the principles ofsocial practice theory. This chapter begins by
presenting the theoretical orientation ofthis research study so as to create the context for
the theoretical framework that is later established. An explanation ofthe coherence
between the methodological orientation and the theoretical framework is presented. This
is followed by a discussion ofthe origin and development ofWenger's social practice
theory oflearning by examining his earlier work with Lave, namely, Situated Learning:
legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger 1991). An exposition ofthe crux
ofthe theoretical framework used in this research study, namely, Communities of
Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity (Wenger 1998), is provided together with an
outline ofWenger's most recent work with McDermott and Snyder, namely, Cultivating
Communities ofPractice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge (Wenger, McDermott and
Snyder 2002) in which the authors extend Wenger's 1998 work. A detailed account of
Wenger's theory is presented since it provides the theoretical and conceptual framework
for the analysis ofdata in Chapters Five, Six and Seven.
3.2 THE THEORETICAL ORIENTATION OF THE STUDY
In section 2.4 ofChapter Two, I introduced the concept 'symbolic interactionism' in an
attempt to locate the concept 'strategies'. Symbolic interactionist research involves
interpretative research that is concerned with how people see things and how' they
construct their meanings (Woods 1996). It is located in the qualitative paradigm.
Contextual factors play an important role in influencing teachers and teacher learning and
it is for this reason that a qualitative research study was considered to be most appropriate
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