Learning, leadership, and legitimacy: evaluating the impacts of communities of practice on education focused academic roles

Education focused (EF) academic roles are increasingly common, reflecting the rising importance of teaching and educational leadership in universities worldwide. Yet in research-dominated cultures, EF staff often face challenges related to workload, career progression, legitimacy, and belonging. This article examines how Communities of Practice (CoPs) can address these challenges, based on an evaluation of an institution-wide initiative at a research-intensive Australian university. Semi-structured interviews with 28 CoP members explored the perceived effects of CoPs participation on teaching, professional identity, and institutional culture. Findings show that CoPs enhanced teaching through peer exchange, fostered belonging by reducing professional isolation, and strengthened professional identity and supported career development by validating EF expertise. At the institutional level, CoPs increased the visibility of EF contributions, generated purposeful projects, and supported more inclusive approaches to student learning. Persistent inequities in workload, promotion, and resourcing, however, limited the extent of change achievable through CoPs alone. By bridging literatures on EF roles and CoPs, this study highlights their dual function: as engines of collegial learning and recognition, and as mechanisms whose transformative potential depends on systemic support. These findings provide practical guidance for universities to support EF academics, strengthen career pathways, and embed teaching excellence within academic cultures.