Communities of practice in higher education: contradictory narratives of a university-wide curriculum reform

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the experiences of scholars in a university-wide curriculum reform in one public research university. The focus is on the intentions and dynamics that shape the curriculum process in the local communities of practice (CoPs). The data, comprising interviews with 25 scholars, are examined as experience-centred narratives of curriculum change. Two distinct types of narrative – dialogical and reproductive – are found to reflect how the curriculum change was negotiated. In further analysis, Wenger's dimensions of CoPs, namely, mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire, are used as a conceptual framework to identify the intentions and dynamics behind the narratives. The following dimensions emerged: (1) intending to cross borders versus maintaining prevailing traditions and positions; (2) attempting to find shared goals versus delaying or discontinuing the process and (3) having enough curiosity to familiarise oneself with the unfamiliar versus deprecating and rejecting it.