Communities of practice in science education: a literature review from 1991 to 2018

This work presents a literature review about the use of concept of Communities of Practice in science education research in the last 27 years. Our investigation allowed us to draw the profile of the academic production on the subject in the area. In addition, we investigated which theoretical and methodological references were used in the research on CoP and which issues these studies address in relation to vocational training. Among the results of our review, we highlight the potential of CoP as an important alternative to promote the insertion and socialization of university students by promoting and improving the quality of relations between University and Society in both teacher and non-teacher professional education. Another important result of this review was the identification of two important gaps in academic production: (i) the lack of studies on vocational training at mid-level and (ii) the non-use of the seven principles proposed by Wenger and collaborators for the cultivation of Communities of Practice.

本研究针对近27年来科学教育研究中对实践共同体（Communities of Practice）概念的应用开展了系统文献综述。通过本次调研，我们得以勾勒该领域内相关学术产出的整体轮廓。此外，本研究梳理了实践共同体（CoP）相关研究中所采用的理论与方法论参考依据，并探析了此类研究围绕职业培训所探讨的核心议题。在本综述的各项研究结论中，实践共同体作为重要替代路径的潜力尤为突出：其可通过优化大学与社会间的互动关系质量，推动大学生的融入与社会化进程，且该路径适用于师范类与非师范类职业教育场景。本综述另一项重要发现为，当前学术研究存在两处显著空白：其一，针对中等层次职业培训的相关研究匮乏；其二，尚未有研究采用温格（Wenger）及其合作者提出的实践共同体培育七项原则。