ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the deployment of the CofP model in language in the workplace research. Past studies are critically reviewed to explore the affordances and constraints of positioning social aggregates of co-workers in this way. During the earliest applications of the notion of communities of practice in workplace research it became obvious that it can be a powerful theoretical model for examining both the actions of workplace participants and the social structures that they reproduce and resist. The critical review also reveals that a nuanced and layered understanding of ‘communities’ or ‘groups’ and their practices can further enrich research in language and the workplace as the field moves forward. Future directions are suggested as a way to expand understanding of communities of practice at work (and their frontiers), including research into educational workplaces. Original data is analysed and the findings suggest that classrooms can also be framed as workplaces in CofP-oriented research, with the relevance of polycentricity and timescales emerging in the findings.
