Communities of Practice for Distance Research Students in Australia: Why Do We Need Them and How Might We Create Them?

Abstract

The literature on best practice Higher Degree Research (HDR) supervision indicates that incorporation of candidates into communities of practice is an essential part of the process. This chapter reviews the literature and draws on the author's experiences as a part-time HDR student and as someone whose employment has involved providing support for HDR students, highlighting the problems and possibilities involved in incorporating distance students into communities of practice, and proposing a way forward for the Australian context which would provide an action research possibility.