Engineering Student Societies as Communities of Practice: A Qualitative Analysis of Communicative Practices

Abstract

Engineering communities of practice, whereby community of practice we understand groups of people with shared goals building knowledge amongst one another, have been studied for the past few decades.Research has focused on classroom and workplace contexts where these groups communicate.However, additional contexts where engineering communication occurs have been left out of the conversation.The purpose of this research is to identify an engineering community where communication occurs regularly and determine if this group is a community of practice.Through observations, document analysis, and interviews, this research concluded that university student engineering societies are communities of practice, that they engage in rhetorical situations, and implement genres in those situations.This paper outlines the process through which these communities work towards achieving their goals while considering the concept of communities of practice and the English for Specific Purposes genre perspective.

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