Agency in networks: Exploring relational agency and core–periphery structures in an online teacher community

While there is an increasing interest in studying communities as network structures, the relationship between individual agency and these structures remains underexplored. This study examines online teacher forums as informal Communities of Practice (CoPs), where participation produces patterns of knowledge sharing. Drawing on relational agency, this study combines Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA) to show how mutual learning is associated with CoP structure. The dataset comprises 67,071 posts across 8692 threads. Results show that central members engage more frequently in reflective, emotionally engaged, and pedagogically rich discussions, while peripheral members contribute predominantly to transactional exchanges. Although the effect sizes were modest, the findings were consistent with empirical literature. Methodologically, the study contributes a replicable approach for integrating structural and discursive analysis in large-scale online communities. Practically, sustaining CoPs requires fostering discursive conditions that support mutual learning, not simply frequent participation.