Abstract
This paper theorizes the concept of “communities of praxis” (CoPrax) – helpful in designing and interrogating educational spaces. We use CoPrax to interrogate a new interdisciplinary major at a small research university, committed to activist scholarship and what Paulo Freire has called “transformational praxis.” This paper is both theoretical and empirical. Theoretically, we draw on and extend both the communities of practice (CoP) and communities of inquiry (CoI) bodies of scholarship, to develop the conceptual framework of a community of praxis and illustrate the affordances it provides in framing learning that occurs both within and beyond classrooms, complicates notions of expertise, iteratively embraces both action and reflection and embeds the process of learning within activist community engagement and the inherent uncertainty such positioning creates. Empirically, we employ the CoPrax framework to examine a recurring, high-leverage practice, “taking-a-turn.” This protocol-based practice leverages both uncertainty and community. Through an analysis of classroom dialogues during these taking-a-turn protocols and some reflective interviews, we make the case that a communities of praxis framework affords a more nuanced understanding of learning, identity, community, and practice with both theoretical and practical implications for social-justice oriented education, scholarship and activism.
Presenters
Eric De MeulenaereProfessor, Education, Clark University, Massachusetts, United States Sarah Michaels
Professor, Department of Education, Clark University, Massachusetts, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2022 Special Focus: Intercultural Learning in Plurilingual Contexts
KEYWORDS
Praxis, Learner, Coprax
