Communities of Practice and Legitimate Peripheral Participation: A Literature Review

Abstract

This article is a review of theoretical and empirical literature on Wenger’s community of practice (CoP) theory and Lave and Wenger’s legitimate peripheral participation. It is organized into four broad parts: (a) Characteristics of CoPs in Music Communities, Education, and Teacher Education; (b) Benefits and Challenges Faced by Members of CoPs; (c) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation; and (d) Implications for Music Education. The theories posit that individuals within a CoP learn through social interaction, inform one’s identity development, and that participation and practice within a community change over time. Implications include (a) novice music educators may want to have access to multiple music mentors, (b) veteran music educators may want to be open to novice educators’ ideas and actively recruit new teachers who bring different experiences and perspectives into the field, and (c) music educators may want to allow all music educators into decision-making processes within their districts.