Barriers and motivations for participation in a community of virtual practice of Physical Education Teachers: the case of «(Re)Produce»

Abstract

The general purpose of this work is to identify the motivations and barriers that the participants of (Re)Produce, a virtual practice community of Physical Education teachers, pointed out to initiate their participation and to maintain it over time. The perspective is qualitative, using data collection instruments specific to the case study, such as interviewing participants at different levels of professional socialization, analyzing the texts produced on the platform and the personal diaries of several participants. Data refer to a great diversity of motivations for participation; among them, the possibility of transferring knowledge to the classroom, in the case of Physical Education teachers; or, for those participants in initial training, the enrichment derived from the contact with the experiences and knowledges of the experienced teachers. The most frequent barriers are the shortage of time to dedicate to (Re)Produce, the complexity and density of the texts produced in the platform and the fear and the feeling of inferiority in the case of the participants in initial formation or in the first years of teaching experience.