Student teachers’ experience of participating in a research and development project in Norway
Journal article, Peer reviewed
Published version
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Date
2023Metadata
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Original version
10.3389/feduc.2023.1100336Abstract
This study investigates student teachers’ experience of participating in a research
and development project named Learning, Assessment and Boundary-crossing in
Teacher Education (LAB-TEd). LAB-TEd is a tripartite collaboration project between
student teachers, practice teachers and university teachers from two universities
in Norway. Framed by cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), participatory data
analysis workshops, known as Change Laboratories, have been used to ensure
the relevance of the student teachers’ thesis work for professional development,
and to uncover obstacles and barriers to change. Recent research highlights that
teachers are typical participants in Change Laboratories implemented in teacher
education and schools. There are few studies that highlight student teachers
as participants in such interventions, and this may indicate that this is a field of
research that is important to investigate. The purpose of the article is to provide
insight about how student teachers’ experience participating in a research and
development project grounded in CHAT. The data material consists of qualitative
interviews with 34 student teachers. Findings from this study indicate that student
teachers experienced a development journey by participating in the project. The
following are the main findings from the study: The student teachers experienced
that their own drive and motivation went from self-interest as the driving force
for participation, to a more collective understanding. The student teachers first
experienced tripartite collaboration as non-existent, later to become tripartite
collaboration. The student teachers experienced how their role in the project’s
tripartite collaboration developed from serving as a communication link between
university and school, to becoming an actual participant. The student teachers also
experienced how their role in Change Laboratories changed from being voiceless
participants to becoming more equal partners in the project. The discussion
elaborates on the development journey that the participants experienced.