Teachers' and school leaders' agency in relation to a project plan framed by cultural-historical activity theory

Purpose This article illuminates how school leaders and teachers receive, interpret and reshape researchers' predefined development plan, aiming to shed light on the conditions that appear to support teachers' and school leaders' opportunities to enact agency in school–university collaborative development work grounded in CHAT. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative single-case study was conducted as part of a year-long, whole-school intervention that involved a lead researcher, a co-researcher, 30 teachers and a school leader. A chronological narrative was developed from logbooks, debriefing dialogues and communication between the school leader and the lead researcher to trace how the predefined plan was taken up and adapted throughout the process. Findings The school leader played an active role in presenting, discussing and clarifying the plan with teachers and, in dialogue with the lead researcher, adjusting it in response to teachers' needs and input. This fostered broad involvement among the participants, who expressed a desire to continue the development work beyond the formal collaboration. Originality/value A predefined structure for development work is valuable, but it must allow school staff to adapt it to their local needs.