Perceptions of Community of Practice Development in Online Graduate Education.

Implementing Communities of Practice (CoP) in online learning is well documented (Gray, 2004; Wenger & Snyder, 2000), and is of particular interest to the LIS profession (Yukawa, 2010). Most of the students in school library programs are practicing teachers seeking to add the library science endorsement to their existing license. They are adults with busy lives, full-time jobs, and family and home commitments who welcome the opportunity provided by part-time distance learning options. This study found that students perceived CoP development to be possible in online part-time graduate coursework, although the barriers of time, commitment to CoP development, and technology issues persisted to defray the effectiveness of the CoP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]