Abstract
This article provides a reflective critique of the process undertaken to pilot the Carnegie Community Engagement Framework in Ireland between 2015 and 2016. Of particular interest to the authors is the cultural specificity of employing a US-centric self-assessment data capturing tool in a heterogeneous Irish context. Taking the reader through from conception of the idea to its execution and post-pilot reflections, we examine the cultural appropriateness and translatability of the tool to Irish higher education. To frame the discussion of the process, we employ the concept of a community of practice, as defined by Wenger (1998). This was adopted to promote a culture of collaboration in an ever-growing neoliberal system that promotes competition between institutions, rather than facilitating their co-construction of knowledge. In the analysis, we demonstrate how forming this community of practice allowed for a cohesive assessment of the challenges and opportunities that arose through the pilot process. This was particularly important since each participating institution had different motivations for engaging with the pilot. Reflecting with some distance, we consider the value that comes from operating as a community of practice, as well as some shortcomings that we identified as specific to this pilot.
Highlights
The purpose of this article is to provide a reflective critical analysis of the process of piloting the Carnegie Community Engagement Framework within the Irish higher education culture and context
In our effort to create the type of community of practice, about which many scholars theorise, we identified some shortcomings in their approach, in relation to the possibility of conflict arising within the community due to imbalance of power and the implications that can have on individuals, their higher education institutions and the wider community of practice
By joining the Irish Carnegie Framework Pilot project in 2015–2016, the participating higher education institutions made a commitment to the systematic embedding of community engagement in their institutional practices and consolidation of a national group of pioneers that would drive the shared values promoted through this process
Summary
The Irish Carnegie Community Engagement Classification Pilot: A Critical Analysis on Culture and Context from a Community of Practice Approach.
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