Micro-Communities of Practice for Inclusive Science Teaching in Multilingual Indian Classrooms

Abstract

Teachers face challenges in multilingual and multicultural classrooms, and often collaborate on problems. This study examines how middle-school science teachers collaborate to address linguistic and cultural diversity, through Communities of Practice (CoP) and Micro CoP (as one of the constructs) theoretical lenses. The subject of science teaching provides a uniquely demanding context: abstract concepts, technical vocabulary, and lab practices that amplify the challenges of multilingual and culturally diverse classrooms, since teachers must simultaneously translate specialized terms, simplify explanations across languages, and adapt examples or demonstrations to align with students’ varied cultural backgrounds and lived experiences. We present the findings of the semi-structured interviews with two science teachers from a public and a private school using the thematic analysis approach. Findings show that teachers’ collaboration enacted core CoP features. The key contribution of this study is an account of how micro-CoPs operate in diverse science classrooms in Indian urban contexts. Despite small-N, thick descriptions support transferability. Implications: design school-based learning that strengthens micro-CoPs, supports bilingual pedagogies, and recognises parents and external partners as routine collaborators.