Communities of practice: A brief introduction

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Date

October 2011

Authors

Wenger, Etienne

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Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

National Science Foundation (U.S.)

Abstract

The term "community of practice" is of relatively recent coinage, even though the phenomenon it refers to is age-old. The concept has turned out to provide a useful perspective on knowing and learning. A growing number of people and organizations in various sectors are now focusing on communities of practice as a key to improving their performance. This brief and general introduction examines what communities of practice are and why researchers and practitioners in so many different contexts find them useful as an approach to knowing and learning.

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Keywords

Communities of practice, Knowledge management

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