In the theory of

community of practice A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who "share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly". The concept was first proposed by cognitive anthropologist Jean Lave and educat ...

, an interdisciplinary field between

sociology of education The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes. It is mostly concerned with the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the expansion of ...

and

educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in ...

, the notion of a duality is used to capture the idea of the tension between two opposing forces which become a driving force for change and creativity. Wenger uses the concept of dualities to examine the forces that create and sustain a community of practice. He describes a duality as "a single conceptual unit that is formed by two inseparable and mutually constitutive elements whose inherent tensions and complementarity give the concept richness and dynamism" . Some compare the concept of a duality to that of

yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...

, i.e. two mutually defining opposites. The opposing entities in a duality need to be viewed from a perspective of balance rather than opposition. The term implies a dynamism, continual change and mutual adjustment as the tensions that are inherent in dualities can be both creative and constraining. identifies four dualities that exist in communities of practice: participation–reification, designed–emergent, identification–negotiability and local–global.

Participation and reification

The ''participation–reification'' duality is concerned with meaning. Meaning is created through participation and active involvement in some practice. Reification is a way of making an abstract and concise representation of what is often a complex and frequently messy practice, thus making it easier to share within the community. Because of its obvious links to

knowledge management Knowledge management (KM) is the collection of methods relating to creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieve organisational objectives by making ...

, the participation-reification duality has been the focus of particular interest in this field .

Designed and emergent

The ''designed–emergent'' duality focuses on time and captures the tension between pre-planned and emergent activities. Designers can plan an activity that is designed to achieve a particular purpose however, some activities emerge through interaction and participation of the community; these are unplanned and may be contrary to what the designers intended. These give participants the opportunity to (re)negotiate existing meaning. The designed–emergent duality is often mentioned in relation to the design of on-line learning environments e.g. .

Identification and negotiability

The ''identification–negotiability'' duality is concerned with "how the power to define, adapt, or interpret the design is distributed" . Identification is the process through which individuals build their identities. This can include not only how individuals perceive themselves but also their right to contribute to and shape the direction of a community as a whole. Thus, this duality serves to combine both power and belonging in the shaping of the community.

Local and global

The ''local–global'' duality concerns how one CoP relates to another. The challenge is to share local knowledge that meets the needs of a particular domain in a way that will be of relevance to others who are not involved in it. Wenger uses the notion of a

boundary object In sociology and science and technology studies, a boundary object is information, such as specimens, field notes, and maps, used in different ways by different communities ''for collaborative work through scales''. Boundary objects are plastic, in ...

brokerage A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be con ...

and boundary encounters to explain how individuals can establish relationships and learn from other communities.

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{cite book , last1=Wenger , first1=Etienne , author-link=Etienne Wenger , last2=McDermott , first2=Richard , last3=Snyder , first3=William M. , date=2002 , title=Cultivating Communities of Practice , edition=1st , publisher=Harvard Business Press , isbn=978-1-57851-330-7 , url=https://archive.org/details/cultiva_wen_2002_00_4759 , url-access=registration , quote=cultivating communities of practice. Knowledge management Educational psychology Emergence Dichotomies

Participation and reification

Designed and emergent

Identification and negotiability

Local and global

See also

Bibliography