Creation of an instructional model in a community of practice and its impact on relationships between members

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Over the last two decades, communities of practice (CoPs) have been regarded as an effective approach for teachers’ professional learning within physical education (PE) literature. There has been increasing academic interest in the instructional model approach as a way to overcome the limitations of traditional PE pedagogies. However, despite PE teachers’ positive attitudes towards instructional models, they have been found to have some difficulties employing them. Fortunately, some studies have identified positive impacts of sharing the same instructional model in the CoP on teachers’ professional learning. Yet, while the improvement in teachers’ teaching practice, which could be regarded as the outcome of participating in a PE-CoP that shares the same instructional model, was identified in previous studies, a question of ‘which detailed aspects in terms of sharing the instructional model can contribute the outcome’ has not been answered. Furthermore, it is necessary to explore that how sharing the same instructional model is connected with other areas of the CoP at a theoretical level. This study examines a CoP created in 2003, in which a professor developed an instructional model and secondary school PE teachers implemented the model in their respective schools in South Korea. We chose this CoP as a case study because it lasted over 10 years, and members shared the same instructional model. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore aspects of sharing the same instructional model in the CoP and its impact on the relationships between members. Methods: Eight secondary school PE teachers and a professor participated in this study. Data were collected through 58 individual interviews with the teachers and the professor, a focus group with teachers, and 41 observations (37 PE lessons and 4 CoP meetings). A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data. Findings: A shared instructional model created in the CoP effectively helped members to form a strong bond, which ensured the sustainability of the CoP. However, a limitation was that the professor, who originally developed the instructional model, was too heavily involved in decision-making, which weakened the teachers’ autonomous professional learning. Hierarchical relationships between the professor and teachers in the CoP were partly rooted in cultural aspects in South Korea. Although the PE teachers understood the importance and influence of the professor, they hoped that he would return to taking on a facilitator role. Conclusions: This study indicates that creating and cultivating a PE-CoP with a shared instructional model can help in making strong bonds among members and sustainability of the CoP. Two different roles of the professor and its impact on relationships between members and teachers’ autonomous professional learning was also discovered. However, further research is needed to explore the dynamics of teachers’ empowerment and the role of cultural aspects, which might influence the relationships among the CoP’s members.