Building Communities of Practice

This chapter describes the process of building communities of practice in Rwanda through an initiative that started after a major change in language policy. The inclusion of English found expression in the geopolitical landscapes of globalizing forces, as English is seen as a language affording its speakers economic, political, and/or cultural capital in the global labor market. The attention that Association of Teachers of English in Rwanda received by the end of 2015, particularly for the amount of support the association was offering to teachers in rural areas, was not only a sign of success but also an indication of a greater need for advocacy through teacher empowerment. Professional development programming in Rwanda requires more than intrinsic motivation to learn on the part of teachers to be successful, because of both logistical and financial challenges.