Wenger, McDermott and Snyder's (2002) levels of participation were used to describe the level at which the teachers, students, parents and organizations are participating within the six elements of a school community as presented in Figure 2.3. Tilbury and Wortman (2004) explain that participation may take many forms with the involvement of stakeholders and varies from "consultation and consensus building to decision making, risk sharing and partnerships" (p. 51). Tilbury and Wortman (ibid) also add that some people “… view participation as simply a process where people have some level of involvement but no power to provide input or make decisions. In such cases, ‘participation’ may be little more than announcements telling people what’s already been decided, providing no opportunity for dialogue or decision making" (p. 51). Rahnema (1992) and White (2000) made similar observations and recognize that participation has political implications. For example, the political nature of participation manifests when individuals are manipulated to contribute to the operation of a project or programme in a way that involves a top-down approach. Brown (1996) claims that such a top-down approach to participation exercises power relations that are in favour of the objectives set by the developers of a project or programme rather than including the ideas of the participants.
Tilbury and Wortman (2004) argue that apart from participation as a form of manipulation, the true form of participation involves a collective effort amongst individuals in action planning and taking decisions through interactions. Tilbury and Wortman (ibid) point out that in this form of participation individuals are consulted to provide ideas or solutions to solve problems. Van de Fliert (2010) explains that this involves an organized communication between groups of people and the final decision is made after analysing the views and recommendations put forward by individuals. In the case of this research, teachers consult other adults and students to provide ideas on possible activities in response to environmental problems. Within this process of consultation, knowledge plays a vital role to facilitate the process of learning and in decision making (Tilbury and Wortman, 2004). Tilbury and Wortman (ibid) state that adults such as teachers and parents are seen as facilitators helping students to provide solutions and take action while they participate in decision making processes. As a result, students do not only develop the knowledge required to solve problems, but also develop skills in leadership to take action and become active participants in their particular context (Tilbury and Wortman, ibid) (see also Lotz-Sisitka,
Wenger, McDermott and Snyder (2002) elucidate that not all members in a community (in the case of this research: teachers, students, parents and local organizations) participate in the same way. Some members participate because they see the value of being part of the community, and others for the private connection and to develop their knowledge and skills based on their level of interest (Wenger et al., ibid). Wenger et al., (ibid) add that in all communities there is someone who serves as a 'coordinator'. In the case of this research, the school environment leaders are the ones responsible for the coordination of the Seychelles Eco-School programme at their respective schools (see Section 2.2.1). There are other people in the community, such as teachers, students, parents or organizations, who also take up leadership roles in order to support the coordinator of that community (Wenger et al.,
ibid).
Wenger et al., (ibid) state that there are five levels at which members in the community participate and these are 'core', 'active', 'occasional' 'peripheral' and 'transactional' levels - presented in Figure 2.3 below.
The 'core group' is the smallest group comprising people with leadership roles who participate strongly in discussions and projects because of their devotion and commitment to energize and care for the community in support of the coordinator (Wenger et al., ibid). Apart from this, the members in the core group also "identify topics for the community to address, and move the community along its learning agenda" (Wenger et al., ibid, p. 56). The members in the 'active group' are usually practitioners who also participate regularly in
Figure 2.4 shows levels of participation in a community of practice, (Adapted from Wenger-Trayner, 2011).
meetings or other activities but not often as the members in the core group (Wenger et al.,
ibid). The number of members in the active group is also fairly small. The 'occasional
group' comprise of members who only participate when a particular topic in the learning agenda of the community is of interest. They also participate when they have something to contribute to the community through activities or projects based on the domain of interest of the community.
The 'peripheral group' contains a large number of community members. The members in this group are passive participants as they usually observe the interaction taking place amongst members in the core and active group (Wenger et al., ibid). They are usually less committed to the community because they are either new to the community or because they do not have much to contribute to the practice of the community. However, the members in this group are also learning even if they are passive participants and could become networks of the practice they have observed by using it in a different context outside the community (Wenger et al., ibid). Lastly, as indicated in Figure 2.3, the 'transactional group' is located outside the four groups in the community because they are considered to be 'outsiders'. Their interest in the community is to interact with others within the community occasionally so as to gain access to resources such as art-work or tools produced by the community (Wenger et
al., ibid). They are usually interested in the community to obtain or provide services and
also contribute resources.
Wenger et al., (ibid) explain that some members in the core group can move across different levels because of a shift in topic in the community. In addition, some other reasons may be because members of the active group lose interest after a few months and decide to remain behind the scenes, whereas outsiders suddenly becomes fully involved because the community moves to topics that are of interest to them. The next section provides a review of some of the factors that enable and constrain the participation and learning of members in a community of practice.