The role of online communities of practice in developing blended teaching knowledge and practice during a digital transformation in higher education

ABSTRACT Academic identity influences disciplinary contributions and professional development of individuals within those disciplines. Little is known about academic identity within the social work discipline. This paper presents the results of a modified systematic international literature review to investigate academic identity in social work, nursing and allied care professions. Papers (138) were initially retrieved for screening, 40 met the final inclusion criteria for review. Limited social work academic identity literature was identified, with only four papers specifically focused on social work. Results highlighted numerous barriers to establishing a distinct academic identity, with a multitude of challenges in transition from practice to academia and its dual identities of practitioner and scholar. The process of academic socialization requires adequate institutional preparation, collegial support, sense of community and relationality, and not least time. We discuss four key themes from this literature (1) temporality and dynamic nature of developing academic identity in the academy, (2) role of professional work culture and communities of practice, (3) legitimacy, visibility and dichotomies of professional, disciplinary and academic knowledge and skills and (4) strategic imperatives for supporting transitions for the helping professions. The implications for social work academic identity development, social work education and social work knowledge are discussed.

ABSTRACT Valuing Relational Inquiry over time, this study invites consideration of the learning made possible through community-centric engagement. Drawing on a small Australian study, this paper demonstrates the power of practitioner inquiry as a change agent in educational settings and the benefits of inclusive participation in professional learning. Drawing on the perspectives of participants from a suburban public school in Victoria and two suburban preschools in New South Wales, the study highlights both the power of individual voices and the strength of the collaborative. Survey data offers participant profile information, while analysis of project summaries gives colour and depth to participant inquiries undertaken by individuals or small teams. Combining adult learning and professional development (term used in some citations), this exploration highlights the power of co-researching topics of personal and professional interest in sites valuing provocations, persistence and pedagogical growth. Supported by face-to-face input with whole teams, workshop facilitation, and online feedback, ideas were developed over time. This part of the study extends earlier research demonstrating the entanglement of communities of practice and community-centric thinking. Building on previous work and blending ‘lived experience’ with learning communities, individual voices strengthen data on the power of collaborative thinking for educational change.

Purpose The research analyses the role of coworking spaces in urban and social regeneration. The purpose of this study is to investigate how coworking can integrate environmental sustainability, social cohesion and economic innovation, positioning itself as a driver of circular economy practices and sustainable local development. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a qualitative and exploratory approach, based on three focus groups conducted at Coworking Gottifredo in Alatri (Italy). The investigation explored coworkers’ perceptions of the space as a catalyst for social innovation, collaboration and community participation. The qualitative approach allowed for a deeper understanding of users’ experiences and of the relational and cultural dynamics that characterise coworking as a social ecosystem. Findings The results show that Coworking Gottifredo operates as a community-based ecosystem integrating entrepreneurial, cultural and social dimensions. It fosters the creation of social capital, learning within communities of practice and the shared creation of value. In the case analysed, coworking emerges as a potential catalyst for the regeneration of peripheral urban areas, when supported by local networks and participatory forms of governance. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by examining a coworking case in a small urban context, interpreted within a regenerative and sustainability-oriented framework. Coworking spaces are presented as laboratories of social innovation and territorial resilience, capable of supporting the twin ecological and digital transition through participatory practices and community-based governance models.

ABSTRACT In teacher education, it is common for student teachers to spend an extended period visiting a mentor teacher to learn about professional teacher work; i.e. work placement education (WPE). During WPE, mentors and student teachers engage in mentoring conversations. These conversations focus on the student teachers’ progression. The aim of the current study is to investigate what mentor teachers focus on as part of transferring their professional knowledge in mentoring conversations during WPE. Situated learning was used as a theoretical framework. In the study, recordings were made of mentoring conversations with three teachers who mentored two student teachers each. The analysis resulted in three themes: (a) clear instructions; (b) managing pupils’ use of materials; and (c) identifying pupils’ individual needs. All themes are related to how the mentor teacher’s view of teaching was communicated in a community of practice from mentor to student teacher.

Virtual communities of practice in health and social care: Early outcomes from a developmental evaluation in Quebec.

People with dementia and their carers often face barriers during diagnosis and accessing post-diagnostic care, causing avoidable inequalities in health outcomes. Without any previous synthesis to date to help improve people with dementia's health outcomes, the aim of this systematic review was to identify and synthesise existing solutions to increase equity in dementia diagnosis and care. A search was conducted across five databases in March 2025. All abstracts and full texts were independently screened by two researchers, with a third researcher sorting through any conflicts. Data were extracted by two public advisor researchers and reviewed by a senior research team member, who synthesised the data into solutions on individual, community, and system and infrastructure levels. Forty-three studies (42 from High Income Countries) comprising solutions from 13 countries, were included in this systematic review. The majority of studies focused on access to care, with most solutions centering on system-level change. Only one study was conducted in two middle-income countries. Evidence is diverse and minimal for most types of solutions, with a lack of cost-effectiveness data. There are clear indications for key solutions including dementia link workers, communities of practice and wider networks, as well as one-stop memory clinics providing same day diagnostic assessments in rural countries or regions. Whilst this review highlights a diversity in solutions, more research needs to be conducted that uses clear measurements of health and social care usage and health economics. Importantly, research needs to be undertaken across different countries, particularly lower- and middle-income countries.

Protecting the last communities of practice

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into higher education, instructors and institutions face urgent questions about its implications for teaching, learning, and scholarly practice as well as power, agency, and access. This study draws on a critical AI media literacy framework to analyze user-generated discussions in the two largest higher education subreddits on Reddit.com. Through thematic content analysis, I explore faculty perceptions, pedagogical tensions, and imaginative possibilities surrounding AI’s academic role in shaping the current and future landscape of higher education. Findings reveal that discussions of student cheating, AI policies, writing practices, and faculty labor are not merely technical debates but sites where surveillance regimes, accountability structures, and academic precarity are negotiated in real time. Ultimately, I argue that AI in higher education is not simply a technological shift but a structural transformation requiring deliberate, critically informed governance grounded in equity and human agency.

ABSTRACT Background There is little formal training on critical appraisal of published research during medical school and surgical training. Surgeons and trainees, however, are expected to read and appraise papers in order to practise evidence‐based medicine. The CRAMsurg Community of Practice and educational charity was created to address this gap in surgical education. Approach Online ‘journal club’ sessions are organised over Zoom on a monthly basis. A pair of trainees (one junior and one senior/mentor) present a paper, followed by a discussion moderated by a consultant and teaching on an aspect of appraisal or research methodology. Presenters have access to an e‐learning platform to support preparation. Sessions are recorded and published on www.cramsurg.org and on multiple online platforms (YouTube/Spotify/iTunes). The project supports a mentoring programme for medical students and for surgical trainees. Evaluation To date, 55 live sessions have been conducted, resulting in 184 YouTube videos (8000 views, 557.2 h of watch time) and 34 published letters to the editors. Six medical students and 45 surgical trainees have participated in the mentoring programme. The website had over 7000 pageviews. We collected 124 feedback forms from attendees, and the mean rating was 4.8/5 (SD 0.4). Implications CRAMsurg has modernised the concept of ‘journal club’ and developed programmes designed to introduce medical students and surgical trainees to critical appraisal and scientific writing. The CRAMsurg website is the largest freely available surgery‐related evidence‐based medicine and critical appraisal resource on the Internet.

ABSTRACT The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into social work education continues to have some resistance. Through a cross-sectional survey of social work instructors, we explore attitudes, barriers to, and characteristics of AI adoption, while addressing the unique ethical and professional considerations specific to social work education. Overall, our findings suggest a readiness paradox where high familiarity with AI coexists with moderate confidence in adaptation, creating thoughtful innovation while preserving core professional values. More specifically, the findings indicate that AI adoption in social work education is individually motivated, driven primarily by specific pedagogical or scholarly benefits; is policy influenced, shaped more by the clarity and perceived helpfulness of institutional guidance than by its mere existence; and is not socially driven, with adoption largely unaffected by perceived peer norms or visible professional trends. These findings reflect a landscape of isolated innovators rather than a coordinated movement, underscoring the need for strategies that can scale adoption. To move beyond scattered experimentation, institutions should prioritize creating opportunities for visibility, peer learning, and community-building, such as faculty showcases, peer-led workshops, and communities of practice, while also providing clear, supportive, and actionable policies.

This study examines the integration of social media platforms into teaching and learning within Ghanaian higher education. Guided by an interpretive phenomenological approach, the study explored instructors’ lived experiences across different institutional and disciplinary contexts. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 12 instructors from the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) and Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU). Findings reveal that social media adoption is uneven and shaped by institutional digital capacity, course requirements, and instructors’ pedagogical orientations. Platforms such as WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook are used to support collaborative discussions, extend communication beyond classroom boundaries, and enhance student engagement; however, concerns persist regarding access disparities, workload demands, and blurred professional boundaries. The study highlights that effective integration depends not only on platform availability but also on intentional pedagogical design, institutional support, and capacity-building. It recommends targeted professional development, clear policy direction, improved digital infrastructure, and the establishment of communities of practice to sustain meaningful and context- sensitive use of social media in instruction. The study contributes to ongoing discussions on digital transformation in Ghanaian higher education, offering insights into how social media can enrich teaching and learning when integrated thoughtfully and systematically.

Students of urban studies have long recognized cities as key sites, but also as critical actors , of global governance. However, they are only beginning to explore how cities’ infrastructural power can be translated into political influence and a distinct form of recognition within the exclusive fora of multilateral conferences and UN institutions. This research seeks to answer this question by applying a relational framework of global agency drawn from International Political Sociology. I mobilize event ethnography at climate COP28 in Dubai (2023)—where subnational governments gained unprecedented recognition, namely through the Local Climate Action Summit and the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships—to analyze how the Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) constituency to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which I define as a subnational community of practice , seeks recognition for itself and its members by deploying “hybrid” diplomatic practices that oscillate between “multilevel” diplomacy and transnational advocacy . By strategically balancing challenges to the centralized structure of multilateral diplomacy with advocacy practices that align with the UN’s binary distinction between “state” and “non-state” actors, the LGMA works to differentiate cities and other subnationals from “civil society” while promoting the redistribution of power and financial resources to the local level. This attempt marks a new phase in the historical mobilization of cities and city networks of great importance for urban studies: a shift from merely seeking “recognition” in global governance to advancing a progressive reform of the multilateral system into a genuinely “multilevel” structure that would empower subnationals as governmental actors and integral components of the “state.”

ABSTRACT This study examined the determinants of teachers’ motivation to engage in practitioner research in government secondary schools in Southern Ethiopia. The study used a descriptive survey research design and mixed methods to collect data concurrently. Data were purposively collected from 260 teachers, 10 principals, and 10 school-based supervisors through a questionnaire and interviews. The findings revealed low involvement (6.9%) in teacher-practitioner research. Factors that strongly correlated with teachers’ motivation to engage in practitioner research were: teachers’ position in school, workload, perception, research knowledge, and research culture. Results showed that perception, resources, research knowledge, and a supportive environment determine teachers’ engagement in practitioner research. However, a poor reward system and research culture create barriers for engagement in practitioner research. Therefore, school leaders should foster a supportive research culture by allocating time for teacher research and creating communities of practice to reduce burnout and promote professional development.

Canadian Organic Growers’ (COG) regenerative transition programing is building farmer focused communities of practice that support the reestablishment of healthy soils and healthy soil policies across the country. With the involvement of supply chain actors, organic farmers are taking a systems-based approach to change. Focused on leveraging soil health, they are establishing high functioning agricultural systems that contribute to a revitalization of economic, social and environmental development. Simultaneously, this extension model is underpinned by COG’s own national-level research which has identified the need for transition support for farmers and is aimed at initiating policy changes across the country. Through a focus on peer-to-peer knowledge transfer, the establishment of on-farm soil health benchmarks, the development of a farmer focused resource repository (the open access Regenerative Organic Hub hosted on www.cog.ca), and the delivery of knowledge sharing events, COG is providing farmer led communities of practices with the resources they need as they forge new roads into truly regenerative agriculture. This farmer-first model emphasizes peer to peer learning and encourages on-farm innovation. Ultimately, our programming and research seek to build landscapes of resilience that facilitate climate adaptation and mitigate the impacts fluctuating environmental conditions are having on the agricultural landscape.

Purpose The aim of this paper is to study the data management practices and perspectives of archaeological researchers in the Spanish region of Catalonia. Data management is becoming increasingly challenging for archaeological research as the data grow in volume and complexity. As a result, it is also a crucial issue and a priority for the discipline. Design/methodology/approach The data have been collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with Principal Investigators of archaeological research projects at Catalan research institutions (n = 14), analysed using a qualitative content analysis method with a mixed coding framework developed mostly with themes identified in the literature. Findings The findings show that current practices are based on a sensible DIY approach. The resulting systems work well for the projects’ data needs but are far from the best practices. A general lack of data literacy is evident from the answers of the interviewees and the practices described. Finally, the role of intervention reports is considered crucial, not only for knowledge creation and communication but also as data backups. Originality/value Few studies have been conducted on archaeology researchers’ data management practices, and even fewer have used interviews as a methodological approach. The focus of this analysis sheds light on the current situation of a clearly defined but insufficiently researched community of practice (archaeology researchers in Catalonia), and therefore assess its needs, challenges and future prospects.

As individuals grow and age, their engagement with various cultures and communities becomes integral to their well-being and identity. Beyond familial and ethnic heritage, cultures and communities provide spaces for learning, happiness, and character development, such as those formed around professional practices or personal interests. This article explores the concepts of culture and community, emphasizing “communities of practice,” where shared interests and collaborative learning foster growth. Within healthcare, the pandemic has reshaped the profession’s culture and societal expectations, presenting opportunities for physician leadership to navigate these shifts. By embracing change, healthcare professionals can influence evolving cultures, address workforce challenges, and redefine patient care standards to adapt to the future.

Loop, Swoop, and Pull: Promoting Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Pharmacy Education.

Redesigning a Serious Illness Conversation Guide: A Mixed-Methods Community-Engaged Revision Process.

ABSTRACT This study examines the career pathways and identity formation of early career researchers (ECRs) within higher education (HE) studies. We understand HE studies as a field of study in which HE is the object of the research. Addressing a significant gap in existing literature, our study investigates how individuals become researchers in HE studies and how social contexts shape their professional identities. Through a qualitative, biographical approach, twelve in-depth interviews with Austrian ECRs were conducted and analysed using hermeneutic and coding methods. By understanding ECRs’ trajectories from the theoretical perspective of communities of practice (CoP), this study sheds light on the dynamic interplay between the academic environment in the field of HE studies and the individuals’ biographical experiences. The analysis identifies four CoPs that particularly shape ECRs’ integration into HE studies and their identification as HE researchers: (1) undergraduate and graduate studies prior to the PhD, (2) the workplace, (3) research activities and (4) scientific networks. The results underscore the importance of addressing the barriers faced by those outside established academic networks and considering broader biographical factors that influence integration into HE research.