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Educating Future Teachers: Innovative Perspectives in Professional Experience pp 71–87Cite as

Boundary Objects and Brokers in Professional Experience: An Activity Theory Analysis

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Abstract

Professional experience (PE) is a key element in the preparation of future teachers. However, a growing number of researchers have raised concerns about the need to enhance the effectiveness of the professional experience in teacher education programs and have called for innovations that will enhance the current school-based experiences within these programs. In response to this call, there have been many innovations which have been implemented worldwide. Most of the innovations place emphasis on bridging the gap between theory and practice by enhancing the quality of school-based experiences, including the one we describe in this chapter. Within the scope of this chapter, we report the findings of a case study that explored the learning experiences of preservice teachers through professional experience. The focus of this chapter is to examine the boundary objects and brokers that assisted the preservice teachers’ boundary crossing between the university and school context. The innovation in this chapter is the novel use of activity theory to examine preservice teacher learning in professional experience.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported under the University of Sydney Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Scheme at the University of Sydney, Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Tony Loughland & Hoa Thi Mai Nguyen

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  1. Tony Loughland
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  2. Hoa Thi Mai Nguyen
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Correspondence to Tony Loughland .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

    Jeana Kriewaldt

  2. Central Queensland University, Noosaville, Queensland, Australia

    Angelina Ambrosetti

  3. University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Doreen Rorrison

  4. Queensland College of Teachers, Toowong, Queensland, Australia

    Ros Capeness

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Loughland, T., Nguyen, H.T.M. (2018). Boundary Objects and Brokers in Professional Experience: An Activity Theory Analysis. In: Kriewaldt, J., Ambrosetti, A., Rorrison, D., Capeness, R. (eds) Educating Future Teachers: Innovative Perspectives in Professional Experience. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5484-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5484-6_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

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  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-5484-6

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