Becoming Critical Communities of Practice in Pre-Kindergarten

Abstract

Communities of practice seek to support all members to move from the margins of education to the center. This study draws on data collected in one diverse universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) community in West Virginia over a 4-year period as a basis for considering home-school relationships. The findings indicated that while not yet a reality in the community due to persistent challenges, there is a deep interest among educators and diverse families to support their children's educations and to develop cross-cultural understandings. Given the current community context and the role of universal pre-kindergarten as a major pathway into K-12 education, this research found that it makes sense to pursue the development of communities of practice through induction, integration and investment strategies (Hong, 2011), with UPK serving as an important site for initial induction and integration.