This article focuses on the relationship of the higher education (HE) (theoretical) component of the teaching qualification to the (practical) placement experience that student teachers undertake. This study approaches the data through the concept of 'community of practice' aiming to interrogate its usefulness as a theoretical idea that can illuminate the experience of student teachers. The participants are student teachers studying on a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, Post-Compulsory Education (PGCE PCE) for teachers of adult literacy course in the UK.