School-based mentor teachers as boundary-crossers in an initial teacher education partnership

Teacher educators are constantly challenged to collaborate across organizational boundaries between higher education and schools. This study examines a school-university partnership in Norway where school-based mentor teachers are co-employed in short-term contracts as joint faculty, collaborating on subject development, co-planning, and co-instruction. The study is based on interviews with 11 school-based mentor teachers co-employed as joint faculty. A reflexive thematic analysis elicited three main perspectives on the participants' experiences: (a) professional dissonance; (b) professional contribution; and (c) professional growth. The analysis identified some of the complexities from working across organizational boundaries, as well as opportunities for innovation and professional growth.