A Framework of Environmental, Personal, and Behavioral Factors of Adult Learning in Online Communities of Practice

Adult learning is a complex phenomenon that takes place over an adult’s lifetime and is not limited to a particular age. It includes a set of activities to enhance life through improving skills, knowledge and capabilities. The foundational theories of adult learning, such as andragogy theory, place the individual adult centre stage and differentiate adult learning from formal learning. They also shift the focus from the individuals to the environment in which adult learning takes place. In line with this movement, online communities of practice (OCOPs) have evolved from being considered as online environments for learning to specialised forums that allow practitioners to collaborate around a project of mutual interest. The principles of adult learning are directly applicable to engagement in OCOPs because they include practical methods founded on the belief that adults are self-directed, autonomous learners and that learning is most effective when the environment plays the role of a facilitator, rather than being just a supportive and traditional setting for learning. However, how individual adults engage in OCOPs and benefit from them is not well understood. This paper draws on social cognitive theory to examine: how environmental, personal and behavioural factors shape engagement in OCOPs. To answer this question, twenty-one interviews were conducted with members of GitHub, a large online community of practice for IT professionals. The findings revealed that adults’ engagement in OCOPs involves project-based activities on mutual interests and willingness to help others. The findings also show that engaging in online communities does not only satisfy intrinsic, well-defined, expected outcomes and shape adults’ engagement, but also has an impact on adults’ lifelong learning achievements, such as professional experience and credit recognition. Based on these findings, a revised framework for adults’ engagement in OCOPs is presented and discussed.