The Art of Community ... What Principles and Practices do RTLB need to Develop an Effective Community of Practice?

Abstract

Communities of Practice (COP) have been used in schools and other educational institutions as a way of growing knowledge and managing change. This article centres on one professional inquiry with a group of Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) and using a strengths-based approach, explores the elements that increased the effectiveness of COP. Through semi-structured interviews, the participants discussed the elements of COP they had previously found to be effective and what had made them so. These conversations with RTLB highlighted that having a shared understanding across all stakeholders regarding the definition, purpose and intent of their COP was important to ensure their usefulness. Autonomy, flexibility, engagement of both the head and the heart, focusing on work, whakawhanaungatanga and ako were also found to be key components in ensuring the smooth running and effectiveness of the COP.