The National Plan for Higher Education in South Africa (Department of Education 2001) calls for the preparation of students who will be able to contribute towards transformation and "a common sense of nationhood" (Department of Education 2001, Sect. 2.6). In order to do this, emerging professionals need to gain experience of engaging with diverse groups, and gain confidence in engaging with difference. A useful way to achieve this is through participation in "communities of practice" (Wenger 1998, 2000; Lave and Wenger 1991), which facilitates reflexivity and investment in a learning process. Wenger (1998, 2000) argues that a community of practice involves mutual engagement in learning, and offers "an opportunity to negotiate competence through an experience of direct participation" (Wenger 2000, p. 229). McConnell (2006) and Lewis and Allen (2005) explore ideas of student learning in virtual or e-learning communities, where students interact in groups on a common project and develop a sense of identity and belonging, similar to Wenger's notion of communities of practice.