The concept of Communities of Practice (CoP) was first elaborated by Lave and Wenger (1991), underlining that learning is a social phenomenon and that it happens through the execution of tasks within a given community or context. These ideas are expressed in the commonly agreed definition of CoPs, proposed by Wenger, McDermott and Snyder (2002, p. 4), “as a group of people who share a passion or a concern and deepen their knowledge by interacting about it on an ongoing basis”. Thus, as a structure that facilitates the sharing and circulation of knowledge through practice, the CoP is defined as a learning promoter through situated action. In the I CO-COPE knowledge base, this key concept was highlighted along three dimensions: ethics and values, policies, and practice and measurement (Silveira-Maia et al., 2025).
Ethics and values dimension
Communities of Practice (CoP) embrace a set of values that are critical to fostering a supportive environment for collaborating with different professionals, students and parents in a participatory way.
These values are:
the assumption of not knowing which leads to creating a space of experimentation
trust in the ability of oneself and of others, and trust in the joint enterprise that is linked with valuing dialogue and power sharing
commitment to develop knowledge
These main values are confirmed in Mortier and colleagues’ study (2010), defining CoPs as a constructive process entailing:
an open attitude combined with flexibility to adjust to the environment;
a safe environment in which everyone can equally contribute to the construction of ideas allowing participants to learn from each other
commitment to successful inclusion by maintaining an effective support system and promoting a safe and positive atmosphere.
From this process of creating a safe space based on humility, flexibility and trust, the knowledge to be produced will be essential, practical, experimental and tailored to the needs and possibilities defined the agreed challenge.
Policies dimension
The building of a Community of Practice (CoP) is embedded in contextual learning which, although not expressing concrete political tendencies, follows political directions stated as collective forms of learning to reinforce sustainability and support for teacher efficacy (Silveira-Maia et al., 2023).
According to this understanding, establishing and working in a CoP can be seen as a strategy to respond to professionals’ continuous learning in inclusive educational contexts, particularly addressing the need of professional learning and support that takes place in a natural environment, is responsive to contextual needs and is characterised by professional collaboration and shared problem solving.
To enable this, institutional policies must be considered, as building a CoP implies creating time and opportunity for staff to learn and work with each other.
In result of a CoP, bottom-up innovation can take place as participants collaborate and create knowledge based on local narratives, recognizing the “unique ways in which they can move their practice forward” (Mortier, 2018, p. 329).
Practice and measurement dimension
A Community of Practice (CoP) is a flexible method which refers to the unique knowledge that results from the shared focus and practice, and continuous dialogue of the participants. Wenger’s and Wenger-Trayner's (2015) definition of CoP as a learning based in a social participation combines three key elements:
Domain: a common and shared interest that drives the Community of Practice
Community: relationships among members that enable them to learn from each other
Practice: members deepen their knowledge and skills by sharing resources, experiences, and strategies
Mortier (2018) refers to the fact that CoP can open new perspectives. Therefore, the following four basic competences of reflective practitioners are needed (Vandenbroeck 2012, p. 8):
the ability to look for (always provisional) solutions in contexts of dissensus,
the focus on meeting the other, the one we do not know,
the ability to co-construct knowledge with others (colleagues, parents, children), and
acting with a focus on change.
Click here to see a visualisation of all three dimensions.
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Watch the following video which summarizes the most important aspects of the CoP approach according to Wenger and Wenger-Trayner.
References
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mortier, K. (2018). Communities of Practice: a Conceptual Framework for Inclusion of Students with Significant Disabilities. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 24(3), 329–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1461261
Mortier, K., Hunt, P., Leroy, M., Van de Putte, I., & Van Hove, G. (2010). Communities of practice in inclusive education. Educational Studies, 36(3), 345–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055690903424816
Silveira-Maia, M., Neto, C., Sanches-Ferreira, M., Alves, S., Durães, H., Breyer, C., Vandenbussche, E., Boonen, H., Zacharová, Z., Ferková, Š., Schukoff, P., Unterreiner, S., & Teijsen, E. (2025). Mapping CoP for inclusion: a Knowledge Base. Instituto Politécnico do Porto. https://doi.org/10.26537/e.ipp.136
Silveira-Maia, M., Alves, S., Aguiar, T., Sanches-Ferreira, M., Beaton, M., Bethere, D., Boonen, H., Callens, S., De Vries, P., Edwards, T., Eerlingen, A., Lofthouse, R., Sergeant, S., Teijsen, E., Touw, H., Ulmane-Ozoliņa, L., Wilssens, M. (2023). Collaborative Learning for Inclusion Under a Magnifying Lens. Porto: Instituto Politécnico do Porto. https://proudtoteachall.eu/en/research-and-policy-recommendations/research-and-policy-recommendations-detail/book-collaborative-learning-for-inclusion-under-a-magnifying-lens?from=
Smith, S., Hayes, S., & Shea, P (2017). A critical review of the use of Wenger's Community of Practice (CoP) theoretical framework in online and blended learning research, 2000- 2014. Online Learning 21(1), 209-237. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v21i1.963
Vandenbroeck, M. (2012). Evidence-Based Practice, Professionalism and Respect for Diversity: A Tense Relation. Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education 6 (1), 1–20. https://www.pecerajournal.com/detail/26922
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wenger, E., McDermott, R. & William Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
Wenger, E., & Wenger-Trayner, B. (2015). Introduction to communities of practice. A brief overview of the concept and its uses. https://www.wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/
