Enhancing Learning through Community Membership: Honours Students’ Perceptions of Community Membership and Its Impact on Learning

Abstract

This article looks at how membership of a community impacts learning for individuals. Community membership and learning have received much attention from scholars and practitioners alike (for example, in Wolfensberger, 2012; Inkelas, Jessup-Anger, Wawrzynski, & Benjamin, 2007; Wenger, 1998). Specifically, many studies have focused on learning communities and how membership in such a community can help individual learners achieve what they are pursuing (Gabelnick et al., 1990). Using Communities-of-Practice (CoP) theory (Lave & Wenger 1991; Wenger, 1998) as a theoretical background, this study sought to understand the perceived impact of community membership on learning. The ultimate goal is to put the benefits and drawbacks of this membership in the perspective of a close-knit group of students who exist within a large school community. This study has several objectives: