Self-Organized Communities of Practice in Physical Education

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was created in 1987 with the purpose of establishing standards for instruction for K-12 teachers within the U.S. The NBPTS was tasked with identifying and certifying teachers who met their standards. In the current article, we theorize on the potential avenues by which the NBPTS is currently establishing a Community of Practice (CoP) through its certification process. We examine pertinent literature and the certification process to support our theorization. In order to achieve this aim, Complexity Theory and Communities of Practice Theory serve as a lens for the explanation of CoPs among National Board Certification Candidates.