Abstract
Sense of community (SoC) in communities of practice (CoP) seems to play a similar role to that of group cohesion in small groups: Both sustain participants’ knowledge sharing, which in turn substantiates the socio-cognitive structures that make up the CoP such as scholar identities, practical repertoires in research and teaching or relationships between colleagues. However, empirical evidence of relationships between SoC and other CoP variables is scarce. A correlation study among German and Romanian scholars (N = 136) investigates predictors and effects of the social component of SoC (SoC-S) in academia. A conceptual model is validated, displaying CoP members’ socio-emotional interpersonal knowledge as the strongest predictor of SoC-S and of knowledge sharing acceptance. Further, SoC-S significantly mediates the effect of time and centrality in CoP on knowledge sharing acceptance. The model explains a relatively large part of the variance of SoC-S (27 %) and of knowledge sharing acceptance (33 %). For academic practice, the study emphasizes the importance of SoC and interpersonal knowledge in academic communities as major factors of community building and knowledge sharing motivation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, S. J., Roch, S. G., & Ayman, R. (2005). Communication medium and member familiarity: The effects on decision time, accuracy, and satisfaction. Small Group Research, 36(3), 321–353.
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Akert, R. M. (2010). Social psychology (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Beal, D. J., Cohen, R. R., Burke, M. J., & McLendon, C. L. (2003). Cohesion and performance in groups: A meta-analytic clarification of construct relations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(6), 989–1004.
Berger, C. R., & Calabrese, R. J. (1975). Some exploration in initial interaction and beyond: Toward a developmental theory of communication. Human Communication Research, 1(2), 99–112.
Borgatti, S. P., Mehra, A., Brass, D. J., & Labianca, G. (2009). Network analysis in the social sciences. Science, 323(5916), 892–895.
Boylan, M. (2010). Ecologies of participation in school classrooms. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(1), 61–70.
Brewe, E., Kramer, L., & Sawtelle, V. (2012). Investigating student communities with network analysis of interactions in a physics learning center. Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research, 8. doi:10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.8.010101.
Buckley, S., & Du Toit, A. (2010). Academics leave your ivory tower: Form communities of practice. Educational Studies, 36(5), 493–503.
Chavis, D. M., Hogge, J. H., McMillan, D. W., & Wandersman, A. (1986). Sense of community through Brunswik’s lens: A first look. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 24–40.
Cho, H., Gay, G., Davidson, B., & Ingraffea, A. (2007). Social networks, communications styles, and learning performance in a CSCL community. Computers & Education, 49(2), 309–329.
Cigognani, E., Palestrini, L., Albanesi, C., & Zani, B. (2012). Social identification and sense of community among members of a cooperative company: The role of perceived organizational values. Journal of Applied Psychology, 42(5), 1088–1113.
Cohen, E. G. (1994). Restructuring the classroom: Conditions for productive small groups. Review of Educational Research, 64(1), 1–35.
Collins, A. (2006). Cognitive apprenticeship. In R. Keith Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences (pp. 47–60). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Dawson, S. (2008). A study of the relationship between student social networks and sense of community. Educational Technology & Society, 11(3), 224–238.
Diekamp, O. (2007). Interpersonales Wissen und kooperatives Lernen im virtuellen Seminar [Interpersonal knowledge and cooperative learning in a virtual seminar]. Berlin: Logos.
Diekamp, O., Kopp, B., & Mandl, H. (2008). Interpersonal knowledge in virtual seminars. In J. Zumbach, N. Schwartz, T. Seufert, & L. Kester (Eds.), Beyond knowledge: The legacy of competence (pp. 11–19). New York: Springer.
Dochy, F., Segers, M., Van den Bossche, P., & Gijbels, D. (2003). Effects of problem-based learning: A meta-analysis. Learning and Instruction, 13(5), 533–568.
Dornbusch, F., & Brenner, T. (2013). Universities as local knowledge hubs under different technology regimes. New evidence from academic patenting. Working Papers Firms and Region, No. R6/2013. Karlsruhe, Germany: Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, ISI Competence Center “Policy and Regions”. http://www.isi.fhg.de/isi-media/docs/p/de/arbpap_unternehmen_region/ap_r6_2013.pdf.
Eberle, J., Stegmann, K., & Fischer, F. (2014). Legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice—Participation support structures for newcomers in faculty student councils. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 1–29. doi: 10.1080/10508406.2014.883978
Fischer, F., & Mäkitalo-Siegl, K. (Eds.) (2011). Special Section II: Stretching the limits in help-seeking research: Theoretical, methodological, and technological advances. Learning and Instruction, 21(2):243–299.
Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Doubleday.
Gourlay, L. (2011). New lecturers and the myth of ‘communities of practice’. Studies in Continuing Education, 33(1), 67–77.
Gruenfeld, D. H., Mannix, E. A., Williams, K. Y., & Neale, M. A. (1996). Group composition and decision making: How member familiarity and information distribution affect process and performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 67(1), 1–15.
Henrich, K. J., & Attebury, R. (2010). Communities of practice at an academic library: A new approach to mentoring at the University of Idaho. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36(2), 158–165.
Hill, J. L. (1996). Psychological sense of community: Suggestions for future research. Journal of Community Psychology, 24(4), 431–438.
Huang, F., Finkelstein, M. J., & Rostan, M. (Eds.). (2014). The internationalisation of the academy. Dordrecht: Springer.
Janssen, J., Erkens, G., Kirschner, P. A., & Kanselaar, G. (2009). Influence of group member familiarity on online collaborative learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(1), 161–170.
Kim, H., & Hannafin, M. J. (2011). Developing situated knowledge about teaching with technology via web-enhanced case-based activity. Computers & Education, 57(1), 1378–1388.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning. Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, UK: University Press.
Lesser, E. L., & Fontaine, M. A. (2004). Vercoming knowledge barriers with communities of practice: Lessons learned through practical experience. In P. Hildreth & C. Kimble (Eds.), Knowledge networks. Innovation through communities of practice (pp. 14–23). London: Idea.
McMillan, D. W. (1996). Sense of community. Journal of Community Psychology, 24(4), 315–325.
McMillan, D. W. (2011). Sense of community, a theory not a value: A response to Nowell and Boyd. Journal of Community Psychology, 39(5), 507–519.
McMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 6–23.
Nistor, N. & Fischer, F. (2012). Communities of practice in academia: Testing a quantitative model. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 1(2), 114–126. doi: 10.1016/j.lcsi.2012.05.005.
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Overbaugh, R. C., & Nickel, C. E. (2011). A comparison of student satisfaction and value of academic community between blended and online sections of a university-level educational foundations course. Internet and Higher Education, 14(3), 164–174.
Paavola, S., Lipponen, L., & Hakkarainen, K. (2004). Models of innovative knowledge communities and three metaphors of learning. Review of Educational Research, 74(4), 557–576.
Pyhältö, K., Nummenmaa, A. R., Soini, T., Stubb, J., & Lonka, K. (2012). Research on scholarly communities and development of scholarly identity in Finnish doctoral education. In S. Ahola & D. M. Hoffman (Eds.), Higher Education research in Finland. Emerging structures and contemporary issues (pp. 337–357). Jyväskylä: University Press.
Robinson, D., & Wilkinson, D. (1995). Sense of community in a remote mining town: Validating a neighborhood cohesion scale. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23(1), 137–148.
Rovai, A. P., Wighting, M. J., & Lucking, R. (2004). The classroom and school community inventory: Development, refinement, and validation of a self-report measure for educational research. Internet and Higher Education, 7(4), 263–280.
Royal, M. A., & Rossi, R. J. (1996). Individual-level correlates of sense of community: Findings from workplace and school. Journal of Community Psychology, 24(4), 395–416.
Schmidt, H., & Moust, J. (2000). Factors affecting small group tutorial learning: A review of research. In D. Evenson & C. Hmelo (Eds.), Problem-based learning: A research perspective on learning interactions (pp. 19–52). London: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Shacham, M., & Od-Cohen, Y. (2009). Rethinking PhD learning incorporating communities of practice. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 46(3), 279–292.
Skelton, A. (2012). Teacher identities in a research-led institution: In the ascendancy or on the retreat? British Educational Research Journal, 38(1), 23–39.
Van den Bossche, P., Gijselaers, W. H., Segers, M., & Kirschner, P. A. (2006). Social and cognitive factors driving teamwork in collaborative learning environments. Team learning beliefs and behaviors. Small Group Research, 37(5), 490–521.
Weiss, A. (2009). Communities als Speicher und Quelle von Wissen. Eine empirische Untersuchung in der Praxisgemeinschaft der Fernfahrer [Communities as knowledge resource. An empirical study in a truck driver community of practice]. Unpublished M.A. thesis. München: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Chair of Education and Educational Psychology.
Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice, learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, UK: University Press.
West, R. E. (2009). What is shared? A framework for understanding shared innovation within communities. Educational Technology Research and Development, 57(3), 315–332.
Wombacher, J., Tagg, S. K., Bürgi, T., & MacBryde, J. (2010). Measuring sense of community in the military: Cross-cultural evidence for the validity of the brief sense of community scale and its underlying theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 38(6), 671–687.
Yang, Y. F., Yeh, H. C., & Wong, W. K. (2010). The influence of social interaction on meaning construction in a virtual community. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(2), 287–306.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Anna Maria August and Anamaria Dorgo for their contributions to data collection, and Jan Oliver Heymann for his support in statistical data processing. Also, the first author is grateful to the Department of Learning Science, Hiroshima University, Japan, for the visiting professorship during which this article was written.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nistor, N., Daxecker, I., Stanciu, D. et al. Sense of community in academic communities of practice: predictors and effects. High Educ 69, 257–273 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9773-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9773-6