Extension and remodelling of teachers’ perceived professional space

ABSTRACT

This article examines the sociocultural shaping of teacher agency by focusing on how various conditions mediate teachers’ perceived professional space. Agency is understood from a sociocultural perspective as the mediated capacity to act, which is achieved and exercised in a professional space, and, consequently, shaped by the perceptions of this space. Based on thematic and interpretative analysis of interviews with Norwegian L1 upper secondary teachers, the article identifies several conditions that mediate the teachers’ perceived professional space: the exam, the curriculum, accountability demands, school leadership, colleagues, students, learning materials, and subject traditions and purposes. Two aspects of mediation are identified, what we respectively term extension and remodelling. Extension conveys how mediating conditions provide resources or constraints that contribute to expanding or narrowing the teachers’ perceived professional space. Remodelling, however, conveys how mediating conditions qualitatively transform the perceived professional space. Findings highlight the subject as a resource for teachers, and teacher agency as socioculturally shaped by the perceived size and character of professional space.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher agency
• professional space
• sociocultural mediation
• L1 teachers

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Øyvind Wiik Halvorsen

Øyvind Wiik Halvorsen is a Phd Candidate at the Department of Education at the University of Bergen, Norway. His main research interests are teacher agency, teacher professionalism, L1 teachers, and sociocultural perspectives on education and teaching.

Liv Eide

Liv Eide is Associate Professor at the Department of Education at the University of Bergen, Norway. Her main research interests are critical pedagogy, theories of Bildung, and subject didactics.

Marit Ulvik

Marit Ulvik is Professor at the Department of Education at the University of Bergen, Norway. Her main research interests are professional development and Bildung, including research on teacher educators, teacher education, newly qualified teachers, mentoring, action research, and teaching.