Breathing in, breathing out: the structure of conversational sense-making around equity in higher education teaching

• Published in: Teaching in higher education 2024-05, Vol.29 (4), p.876-895
• Main Authors: Buchanan, Rebecca, Herakova, Liliana, Hakkola, Leah, Ruben, Mollie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Communities of practice; Community of practice; Diversity equity & inclusion; equity; faculty development; Higher education; Professional development; Teacher education; teacher learning; University faculty
• ISSN: 1356-2517; 1470-1294
• DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2022.2034145

Research on communities of practice (CoP) focused on teaching have shown that they are valuable venues for collaborative sensemaking for practitioners. This article reports on a study examining how members of an equity focused CoP at a predominantly white institution in the United States co-constructed meaning around issues of equity through dialogue. Using discourse analysis of audio-recorded transcripts of three hour-long CoP sessions, analysis revealed a common pattern to the conversation, as members of the community made sense of abstract ideas related to equity by linking them to concrete experiences in their higher education classrooms, faculty meetings, and other experiences within academia. Findings also demonstrate that questions, both rhetorical and specific, were key in this sense-making process. Analysis indicates that communities of practice, which are situated in the relational practices within an institution, are well-suited for furthering equity-based work at universities.