Communities of Practice in Selected Public Universities in Kenya

Abstract

Universities in Kenya are mandated to produce quality, specialized and relevant education. This can only work when there is a well-established platform where they share the know-how. Universities in Kenya do not have communities of practice who prosper in an environment that has well laid down strategies and policies on how to share their knowledge. The objective of this study was to find out the existing knowledge sharing enablers and obstacles in selected public Universities in Kenya. The study adopted interpretive paradigm and descriptive design. Primary and secondary data was collected through interview and document analysis. The study established that although a lot of knowledge is being generated within the public Universities in Kenya, there is a lot of hoarding where knowledge creators do not share their knowledge with others. The study proposes a knowledge sharing model that can be adopted by public universities in Kenya to develop communities of practice.

Keywords: Communities of practice, Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge organizations, Universities, strategies