External group coaching and mentoring: building a research community of practice at a university of technology
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Date
2013
Authors
Maritz, Jeanette
Visagie, Retha
Johnson, Bernadette
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Education, University of the Free State
Abstract
Globally, a clarion call has been made for higher education institutions to establish
creative and effective research capacity-building systems with the purpose of
developing a next generation of scholars. The training and skills development of a
researcher entail a process of increasing levels of participation in diverse communities
of practice. We argue that external group research coaching and mentoring could
provide a formative social context which negotiates the tensions of engagement. It
could also improve accountability and building of a shared repertoire inherent to a
research community of practice at a university of technology in South Africa. The
purpose of this qualitative single-case study is to evaluate the practical relevance
of the external coaching and mentoring programme in negotiating the tensions
inherent in building a research community of practice. The findings indicate that the
majority of students moved from a peripheral position of uncertainty and doubt to
one of mutual engagement. A handful of students’ participation remained peripheral
and, in some instances, became outbound. The ways in which the next generation
of scholars engaged with each other and with the world profoundly shaped their
identity. Rites of passage to membership of this research community of practice were
negotiated and an initial shared repertoire of resources was developed.
Description
Keywords
Community of practice, Coaching, Mentoring, Postgraduate, Research, Higher education, Development, Situated learning
Citation
Maritz, J., Visagie, R., & Johnson, B. (2013). External group coaching and mentoring: building a research community of practice at a university of technology. Perspectives in Education, 31(4), 155-167.