Professional agency in the stream of change: Understandingeducational change and teachers' professional identitiesKatja Vahasantanen*Department of Education, University of Jyv askyl a, Finlandhi ghli ghts Teachers' professional agency amid educational change is elaborated. Agency is multiform and temporal, and has social and individual resources. An agency-centered approach sheds light on educational change and teacher identity. Tools for supporting change and teachers' identity negotiation are presented. A relationship between agency and identity is conceptualized.arti cle i nfoArticle history:Received 2 December 2013Received in revised form30 October 2014Accepted 28 November 2014Available online 17 December 2014Keywords:Educational changeProfessional agencyProfessional identitySocio-cultural theoryTeacherVocational education and trainingabstractThe qualitative meta-study reported here investigated Finnish vocational teachers' professional agencyamidaneducational reform. Differenceswerefoundinteachers' agencyregardingtheirwork, theirinvolvement with the reform, and their professional identity. The manifestations of agency could remainstable or could change over time, and agency drew on various resources (e.g. teacher identity and theorganizational management culture). Thetheoretical conclusions encompass professional agencyasmultidimensional, largelyindividuallyvaried, temporallyimbued, andbothsociallyandindividuallyresourced. Based on thendings, an agency-centered approach is proposed as a means of understandingand supporting educational change and teacher identity negotiation. 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.1. IntroductionEducational change is a fact ofteachers' professional lives. Alleducationalorganizationsneedtoinnovateandtodeveloptheirpractices to keep pace with social and technological change, and torespond to economic pressures. In this situation, teachers need toadopt newprofessional roles, cultivate their professional identities,and incorporate new insights into their professional practices (Day&Kington, 2008; Hoekstra, Brekelmans, Beijaard, &Korthagen,2009). However,transformations in educational practices (H okk a&Etel apelto, 2014; Sugrue, 2008) and in teachers' identities(Korthagen, 2004; Lasky, 2005) do not occur easily: in fact, they areslow, and hard to achieve. To encompass the complexity of trans-formationprocessesasophisticatedlongitudinal examinationisneeded (Sugrue, 2008). This paper examines teachers' professionalagency in the course of a specic educational reform that changedvocational teachers' work to involve more professional tasksoutside the school. In so doing it seeks to shed light on teachers'professional identity negotiations and educational change, and tocontributetorecent discussionondevelopingeducational pro-grams(e.g. Hargreaves&Shirley, 2009; Peck, Gallucci, Sloan, &Lippincott, 2009).Professional agency has recently become a focus of internationalresearch in the elds of teaching and teacher education (e.g. Billett,2014; Kayi-Aydar, 2015; Lasky, 2005; M arz & Kelchtermans, 2013;Priestley, Edwards, & Priestley, 2012). Generally speaking, profes-sional agency refers to the notion that professionals such asteachers have the power to act, to affect matters, to make decisionsand choices, and take stances, for example, in relation to their work*Universityof Jyvaskyl a, Department of Education, P.O. Box35(Viveca483),40014, University of Jyv askyl a, Finland. Tel.: 358 40 805 3651.E-mail address: katja.vahasantanen@jyu..Contents lists available at ScienceDirectTeaching and Teacher Educationj ournal homepage: www. el sevi er. com/ l ocat e/ t at ehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.11.0060742-051X/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Teaching and Teacher Education 47 (2015) 1e12andprofessional identities (Etel apelto, V ah asantanen, H okka, &Paloniemi, 2013; Ketelaar, Beijaard, Boshuizen, & den Brok, 2012;Lasky, 2005; Lipponen&Kumpulainen, 2011). Takingthistheo-retical conceptualization as a starting point, the present paper looksat teachers' professional agency in the streamof educationalchangewithinFinnishinitial vocational educationandtraining.Moreprecisely, theinuenceof teachers, andtheirchoicesandactions, are examined in relation to three complementary compo-nents of agency, including (i) their own work, (ii) their involvementwith an educational reform, and (iii) the negotiation of their pro-fessional identity.In Finland, vocational education has traditionally been school-based, meaningthat vocational competencieshavebeentaughtmainlytostudentswithinvocational institutions. Similarlyinanumberof othercountries(e.g. France, Sweden, andtheUnitedStates), vocational educationandtheworldof workhavebeenviewedas somewhat disconnected(Barabasch&Rauner, 2012;Fejes&K ops en, 2014). However, inFinlandaselsewhere, recentreforms have aimed to break down the separation between schoolsandworkplaces, andtodevelopvocational studiesattheuppersecondary level to include more learning outside the school. Thus,over a three-year period of study (120 credits), it is envisaged thatthe learning outside the school should be worth at least 20 credits(six months). The mainresponsibility for providing vocationalstudieslieswiththevocational institutions. Comparedtoothercountries there are differences. For example, for Swedish students,theminimumdurationof theworkplacepracticumis15weeksduring three years, whereas in German-speaking countries, voca-tional studies are mostly completed in the context of an appren-ticeship. Duringtheapprenticeship, studentsspendasignicantamount of time within working life. This kind of program is basedon the liaison of companies, who function as training providers andas responsible bodies, and education and training institutes. As thetrend in many countries has been to reduce school-based teaching,teachers arerequiredtocross boundaries betweenschool andworking life. This involves themin multiple tasks notably related tostudents' workplace learning. Given their interaction across orga-nizational and professional boundaries, today's vocational teacherscan be described as border-crossers (cf. Akkerman & Bakker, 2011;Wenger, 1998).The purpose of this study was to investigate professional agencyin the context of change, incorporating various (not merely change-oriented) manifestations and resources relatedto agency. Thepresent paper further considers the temporal nature of agency, andits importance for individual teachers and social transformation. Toshed light on these issues, the qualitative meta-study presented inthis paper utilized previous studies to which the various authorshadcontributed(V ahasantanen&Billett, 2008;V ahasantanenetal.,2008; V ahasantanen&Etel apelto,2009, 2011;Vah asantanen,Saarinen, &Etel apelto, 2009). Themeta-studysynthesizedthemain ndings of the primary studies in order to constructcomprehensive knowledge on professional agency in the course ofchange. So far, empirical studies on teacher agency (including thestudiesunderlyingthismeta-studyandthestudiespresentedinSection 2) have examined agency mostly from a single perspective(e.g. involvement with educational reform), and cross-sectionally,i.e. in a specic situation within the reform.Inthisstudy, threecomponentsof professional agencywereintegrated, addressingprofessional agencyalsoas acontinuingphenomenon. The latter was possible due to the fact that the pri-mary studies were conducted at the different stages of an educa-tional reform. Thereformwasintroducedinasinglevocationalinstitution, and it was designed by managers on a top-down basis.As a consequence of this local reform, the workplace learning loadof students increased tremendously, fromthe national minimumto40e60credits, andteachershadtoundertakemoreprofessionalduties outsidetheschool inclose collaboration withworkplaces.Theprimarystudies werebasedoninterviews withvocationalteachers, and they applied different qualitative analytical methods,including narrative analysis, thematic analysis, and contentanalysis.Altogether, thepresent paper seeks toprovideanadvancedconceptualization of professional agency, and to argue for anagency-centeredapproach(involvingacombinationof differentcomponentsof professional agency, andapplyingalongitudinalperspective) as a means of understanding the complexity ofeducational change and the cultivation of teacher identity. Thus, inhighlightingthemanifestationsof professional agencywithinatemporal continuum, the paper seeks to offer new perspectives tounderstand the success and failure of educational changes, and onidentitytransformation. Thepractical implicationsincludesomemeasures by which leaders and practitioners may promoteeducational change and support teachers amid the changes.2. Professional agency amid changeTo gain a comprehensive picture of professional agency, teach-ers'professional agency amid educational change is here consid-ered fromthree perspectives. First of all, professional agency can beunderstood astheteacher's opportunitiesto inuence hisor herownwork(Ketelaaret al., 2012; Priestleyet al., 2012; Pyh alt o,Pietarinen, &Soini,2012). Thisincludes negotiatingthe contentsandconditions of one's work(includingreformpractices), andmaking decisions on one's ways of working. In terms of inuencingthe contents, design, and organization of educational change,teachers may be active participants, treated as persons whose ac-tions and opinions matter. However, although the idea of teachersas developmental agents has longbeencentral toeducationalthinking, acommonthemenowadaysisthatinmanycountries(such as Australia and the Netherlands) reforms are designed andimposedonatop-downbasis(seeBillett, 2014;Luttenberg, vanVeen, & Imants, 2013; Pyhalt o et al., 2012). In the absence of op-portunitiesforactiveparticipationandinuence, theagencyofteachers is reduced. One can ask what such subordinated agencymightmean, forexample, intermsof teachers' commitmenttoeducational changes and to organizations. There is also a need toexplore whether a top-down management style, which leaves littlespace for teachers' agency, mayactuallybe effective intrans-forming the educational landscape e since there is some evidencethat educational change can be difcult to accomplish whenteachers have abundant agency (H okk a &Etel apelto, 2014; Orton &Weick, 1990).A second perspective on professional agency encompasses thechoices and decisions made by a teacher concerning her/hisinvolvementwithaneducationalreformduringitsimplementa-tion. Implementing innovations is not a matter of straightforwardlyexecutingpolicies;rather, itinvolvesaprocessof sense-makingthrough which teachers make meaning from their work environ-ments, a process which in turn orients their decisions and actions(M arz & Kelchtermans, 2013). In the course of a reform, teachers'decisions and actions can be elaborated at least in two directions,i.e. in terms of (i) taking a position (i.e. a mental stance) towards thereform (Imants, Wubbels, & Vermunt, 2013; Luttenberg, Imants, &vanVeen, 2013), and(ii)engagingwiththereform, referringtopracticalactivitiesundertakenduringtheenactingofthereform(Ballet & Kelchtermans, 2008; M arz & Kelchtermans, 2013). Sinceteachers areoftenthepeoplemost directlyinvolvedinimple-menting educational reforms, if we are to understand thecomplexityandthesuccess of changes wemust examinehowteachers become involved in these two aspects via consciousK. V ah asantanen / Teaching and Teacher Education 47 (2015) 1e12 2stancesanddeliberateactivities. Sofar, astudyofPyh alt oetal.(2012) has argued that teachers' agency can be manifested in pro-active actions in line with the reforme but also in criticisms andresistance. Thisimpliesthatagencymaynotalwayshavepurelypositive connotations.Thirdly, professional agency is connected to the nature of pro-fessional identity amid changes. Professional identity can be seen asa work history-based constellationof teachers' perceptions ofthemselves as a professional actors. A teacher's professional iden-tityencompassestheindividual'scurrent professional interests,views on teaching and on the students' learning, and future pros-pects (Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004; Lasky, 2005; Sutherland,Howard, &Markauskaite,2010;van Veen&Sleegers, 2009). Theconnection betweenprofessional identity, agency, and changeemerges from the fact that educational change often requires therenegotiation of professional identity, inwhich process professionalagencyemerges as salient (Beijaardet al., 2004; Day, Kington,Stobart, & Sammons, 2006; Kayi-Aydar, 2015). This implies that itwill be necessary to investigate various forms of professionalagencyinseekingtounderstandhowprofessional identitiesarenegotiated.All of the above suggests that it will be necessary to elaborateprofessional agency if one is to understand the processes throughwhich change and continuity occur in educational settings and inprofessional identities. Althoughtherehavebeenanincreasingnumberof empirical studiesonteacheragencywithinareform(reviewedinthissection), theyhaveaddressedteacher agencymostly from a single perspective, relating to a particular period ofthereform. Hencethepresent paper will lookat professionalagency in terms of components that may be prominent at differentstages of the reform. These include (i) inuence on one's own work,(ii) involvement with the reform, and (iii) the negotiation of pro-fessional identity.3. Multidisciplinary theoretical notions on agencyTherearedifferentnotionsonhowagencyandstructurearerelated to each other, andon whichexertsmore power over theother. Within the literature, in its extreme forms agency is seen assubjects' freedomto act in accordance with their individual desires,regardless of social context, or else as something that is reduced oreliminated when subjects' actions are subjugated by social struc-tures (see Ahearn, 2001; Etelapelto et al., 2013). At a time of schoolreform, these oppositions can involve practitioners and researchersfocusing on the importance of agency at the expense of structuralaspectse or else,in theopposite case,structure may beseen asparamount, with no role left for actors in the transforming practices(Marz&Kelchtermans, 2013;Priestleyetal., 2012). Thestartingpoint in the present investigation was an acknowledgment of theroles of both the agentic actor and of structures, with at the sametime, a willingnessto usetheoreticalnotionsemergingfrom thesocio-cultural approach, the social sciences, andpoststructuralideas (see below).Thesocio-cultural approachconceptualizesteacheragencyasrelationally embedded across social circumstances, tools, andpeople(e.g. Kayi-Aydar, 2015; Lipponen&Kumpulainen, 2011).This means that what individuals believe, and how they think andact, is always shaped by historical and socio-cultural practices (seealso Wertsch, Tulviste, & Hagstrom, 1993). In the work of teachers,the relevant socio-cultural practices and suggestions include cur-riculumguidelines, cultural norms, andsocial directionsandre-sources(Lasky, 2005). Althoughthesocio-cultural approachhasfocusedmostlyonthesocial resourcesrelatedtoagency, recentsubject-centered socio-cultural approaches suggest a need tointegrate both the individual and the social contributionssurrounding professional agency, if we are to understand theremakingofworkpracticesandidentitiesatwork(Billett, 2011;Etel apelto et al., 2013).The temporal nature of agency has mostly beendiscussedwithin the social sciences. For Emirbayer and Mische (1998), agencyis a temporally embedded process of social engagement performedin the present, but informed by past inuences and habits, and alsooriented toward the future. In the context of educational change,Priestleyetal. (2012)havefurtherarguedtheneedtotakeintoaccount temporal dimensions in teacher agency. Furthermore, thenotions of Archer (2003) encompass variations in agency betweensubjects, and between different stages of their life course. Archerfurther suggests that it is useful to recognize structure and agencyasanalytically separablebutinterdependent, sincetheanalyticaldistinction makes it possible to analyze separately individual andsocial resources for agency.Agency has also been a topic in poststructuralist approaches toeducation. In these it is emphasized that agency cannot be isolatedfrom the dynamics of power. The role of power and culture comesto the fore when one creates discourses and practices with specicsubject positions; the subject's agency is then seen to lie in her/hisways of participating (involving e.g. resistance and adaptation) inthese educational discourses and practices (St. Pierre, 2000;Zembylas, 2003). Overall, although the specic individual re-sourcesrelatedtoagency(apartfrom forgender)havenotbeenfully dened, post-structural readings nicely emphasize the role ofpowere power which can be understood as existing in the orga-nizational managementcultureeandtheyfurtherpointtothesituational nature of agency.4. Aim and questions addressedThis paper seeks to illuminate Finnishvocational teachers'professional agency in the course of change. Recognizing thevarious important features of agency outlined above, it addressesthe following questions:1. How is the professional agency of teachers manifested?2. What kinds of individual and social resources are intertwinedwith teachers' professional agency?3. What kinds of temporal elements are related to teachers' pro-fessional agency?4. Whatistheimportanceofprofessional agencyforindividualteachers and for the transformation of social practices?For the purposes of this paper, the questions are addressed inrelation to three complementary components of professionalagency outlined.5. Methods5.1. Data and participantsThe meta-study presentedhere reanalyzeddata fromveempirical studies whichutilizedthesameempirical evidence(V ah asantanen & Billett, 2008; V ahasantanen et al., 2008;V ah asantanen &Etel apelto, 2009, 2011; Vah asantanenet al.,2009). The research questions of the meta-analysis wereinformedbytheexistingliterature. Theywereseenaslinkingtogether all theve primary studies so as to gain an elaboratedpicture of professional agency in the course of change. Thequestions inthe primary studies addressedthe individualcom-ponents of professional agency (e.g. involvement with aneducational reform). Therefore, individual analyses providedavariety of perspectives on teachers' professional agency.K. V ah asantanen / Teaching and Teacher Education 47 (2015) 1e12 3However, conductedas separatestudies,theydidnotprovideacomprehensivedescriptionof thephenomenaunderinvestiga-tion,i.e.a description that wouldbring together different man-ifestationsandresourcesofagency, itstemporalnature, anditssalienceat theindividual andsocial level. Thepurposeof thepresentstudywasthustocreateanewsynthesis:itsoughttopresent a comprehensive picture of professional agency, arrivedat via a meta-analysis of the main ndings of the primarystudies.The empirical data used in the primary studies were collected atdifferent stages of an educational reformin a vocational institution.The managers of the institution designed the reform. The main aimofthis local reform was to increase students' workplace learningoutsidetheschool. Withinthereformunder investigation, tenqualications (e.g. qualications inVehicle Technology and inRestaurantServices)were revised. Overall, there are53differentqualications(eachqualicationinvolvesatleast onestudypro-gram) within Finnish initial vocational education and training. Thereform was mandatory for the teachers. As the consequence of thereform, teachers had a greatly increased workload related toorganizing, guiding, and evaluating students' workplace learning.In addition, the teachers' tasks included guiding and liaising withworkers whowouldthemselves takeonatrainingfunctioneguidingstudentswithintheworkplacesduringtheirworkplacelearning periods.Thedataconsistedof interviewswithvocational teachers. In2006, sixteenteacherswereinterviewed, andfourteenof theseteachers were re-interviewed in 2007. The teachers (ten men, sixwomen) had an age range of 31e57 years, with teaching experienceof 4e30 years. The participants were selected on a voluntary basisout of thoseteacherswhowereat theforefront of theimple-mentationof thereform. Eachteacherhadaprofessional back-groundinaparticularvocational eldandtaughtforaspecicvocational qualication.It should be noted that in order to become legally qualied asteachersinFinnishuppersecondaryvocational education, per-sons who teach vocational subjects (such as the teachers in thisstudy) are required to have a higher education degree (or a lowerdegreewherenosuchlevel exists) inthe eldinwhichtheyteach, and a minimum of three years of work experience in theeldin question.This means that each teacheris aspecialist inonespeciceld. Theteachersmustalsocompletepedagogicalstudies (60 credits), which are provided by both traditionaluniversitiesanduniversitiesof appliedsciences. Thesestudies(1e3 years) include particularly basic studies in educationalsciences, vocational pedagogy studies, and teaching practice. Dueto these requirements for vocational teachers, Finnish vocationalteachers are well qualied.In therst stage of the data collection, interviews were used tocapturedataon(i) theteachers' professional development andcareer, (ii)theirsenseofprofessional identityandthenatureoftheirwork, (iii) thecontinuouseducationalreformsandthecur-rentcurriculumreform, (iv) theirworkcommunityandorgani-zation, and (v) their hopes and expectations for the future.Professional agencywas embeddedinall thesetopics. Thein-terviews varied in length from 75 min to 125 min. The follow-upinterviews varied from35 min to 80 min. These interviewsaddressed topics similar to therst interviews (such as teachers'professional identity, the organization, and future prospects);however, they focused particularly on what had happened to theteachers' worksincethepreviousinterviews. Theyalsocoveredtheinterviewees' currentperceptionsofthereformanditscon-sequences. All the interviews were of the narrative type(Riessman, 2008), i.e. theywereunstructured, insofarastherewere no prepared questions, even if the themes presented guidedthe interview. During the interviews, the interviewees wereencouraged to talk openly about themselves, their work, and theirwork organization.5.2. Data analysisA qualitative meta-analysis was applied in order to undertake arigorous secondary analysis of the primary empirical ndings(Schreiber, Crooks, &Stern, 1997; Timulak, 2009). Theprimarystudies had used the same empirical data, but had utilized a varietyof qualitativeanalytical approaches, includingnarrativeanalysis(e.g. Riessman, 2008), thematicanalysis(Braun&Clarke, 2006),and content analysis (Patton, 2002). The author of this paper was arst authorinall of theprimarystudies. Thestudieswereco-authoredbyvariousresearchersfromthreecountries, but onlyone of them acted as a co-author in more than one primary study.One could say that the different combinations of authors made itpossible to see the data from various perspectives. However,oneimportantlimitationof themeta-analysiswasthelackof morestudiesfromindependentresearchersusingdifferentsamples. Afurtherlimitationwasthattheintervieweeswereselectedonavoluntarybasis, whichmightdiminishtherepresentativenessofthe sample.Theanalysisofthemeta-studywasanempiricalandtheory-drivenexercise, butitwasalsointerpretive innature, sincedur-ing the analysis new categorizations and conceptualizations of theoriginal ndingswere arrivedat(Schreiber etal., 1997;Timulak,2009). Withinthemeta-analysis, theessential elements of thepreviousstudies(informedbythetheoretically-groundedques-tions) were extracted, coded and listed, and the main ndings werecompared and categorized. From this analysis, a newset of ndingswas abstracted. Moreprecisely, themeta-analysis involvedthefollowing phases, which were conducted in relation to eachresearch question. At the rst stage, the material was read carefullyin order to identify and code the mainndings and key concepts.The intention of this process was to labelndings in such a way asto assist later synthesis and conceptualization. After identifying thekey elements of the previous studies, they were listed, comparedandcategorized. Similarelementswereplacedwithinthesamebroad categorization, and categories were abstracted. For example,in the case of the second research question, therst step was toidentify the resources of professional agency in terms of inuenceon one's work,involvement with an educational reform,and thenegotiationof professional identity. All theresourcesrelativetothese three components of agency were listed and categorized inaccordance with their nature. At this stage, for example, the pro-fessional relationships withworkplace personnel were locatedwithinthecategoryofsocialresources, andprofessionalcompe-tencies were placed within the category of individual resources foragency. Here one should note that the focus in the primary studieshad been on the resources which the interviewees had indicated asbearing a relationship with their professional agency.Thecategorizationwas doneinorder tocreateanewandcondensed picture on professional agency, showing differences inits manifestations, its resources, its temporal nature, and its impact.This process involved forming syntheses as a foundation for generalclaims. The categories were linked to the research questions,including, for example, categories of weak or strong agency relativeto inuence on one's work. They should be understood as generaldescriptionsof phenomena, but asneverthelessincludingsomenuancedelements. Thendingswerepresentedtotheteachersinterviewed, and to the co-authors of the primary studies.The sections belowsummarize the main ndings fromthemeta-analysis with empirical extracts in the order of the researchquestions. The rst Section (6) covers how professional agency wasK. V ah asantanen / Teaching and Teacher Education 47 (2015) 1e12 4manifested in terms of (i) inuence on one's work, (ii) involvementwiththeeducational reform, and(iii)thenegotiationof profes-sional identity. Related to these components, the second Section (7)illustratesvariousresourcesforprofessional agency. Inasense,these offer explanations for the various manifestations of agencypresented in therst section, while the third Section (8) demon-strates the temporal nature of agency.The fourth Section(9) ex-plores the importance of professional agency for teachers and forthe transformation of social practices.6. The manifestations of professional agency6.1. Inuence on one's work: weake strong agencyThemeta-analysisshowedavarietyofmanifestationsofpro-fessional agencyintermsof inuencingtheteacher'swork. Tobegin with, the analysis revealed that the vocational teachers' workwas determined by social guidelines and by administrative regu-lations, and that the teachers experienced a lack of direct inuenceon the contents and conditions of their work at the community andorganizational levels (V ah asantanen et al., 2008; V ah asantanen&Etel apelto, 2011). Many of the important decisions concerning ed-ucation, resources, thecurriculum, andthecontentsofteachers'work weremadebytheadministrativebodyoftheorganizationwith insufcient opportunities for teachers to exert inuence. Oneteacherdescribedthiskindofweakagencyatwork, alongwithhopes for gaining more opportunities to exert inuence:Teachers ought tobeabletoparticipatemoreinthedecision-making process concerning their own work Let's say that thereis a lot of bureaucracy coming from above and that this determinesand denes an awful lot ofissues. So I feel that the organizationhere is keeping me on a leash. And this doesn't suit me very well asa person. I would want to decide about my own things more than itis possible here.All this is in line with recent discussion emphasizing that theworkof teachers is increasinglycontrolledbyexternal bodies(Lindblad & Goodson, 2011; Moos, 2009).The teachers also experienced a lack of extensive inuence onthe contents and conditions of the current educational reformin itsdifferent stages (V ahasantanen et al., 2008; V ah asantanen &Etel apelto, 2009, 2011). As one teacher put it:Teachers were simply and brutally been told to adopt the currentreform,which they must implement. No questions were asked, itwas just an order coming from above There were no opportu-nities to have an inuence on anything.Overall, theyfeltthatthereform wasplannedandorganizedmainlybytheadministration;theycouldnotparticipateinthiswork, andtheir opinionswerenot heard. Theanalysisthussup-portsthenotionsthatinthecontextof transformingeducation,teachersoftenperceivethemselvesaspassiveobjectswhoseac-tions are mainly regulated by external bodies, rather than as activesubjects whose opinions and ideas do matter (Lasky, 2005; Pyh alt oet al., 2012; van Veen & Sleegers, 2009). All this can be conceptu-alized as illustrating vocational teachers' weak agency concerningtheir work at the community and organizational levels.Despite this, at the individual level, the vocational teachers didappear to have a sense of strong agency related to their work. Thiswasmanifestedintermsofhavingampleopportunitiesto makedecisions about pedagogical issues. Indeed, the opportunities weresofar-reachingthatsometeachersmightwishformoresupportand for more precise guidelines:It would be important to have somebody, even a leader, for sharingthoughtsandcheckingpedagogical methods. ThenI couldhaveconrmation and approval or even some limits, at least something.Now when you are working alone without restrictions, you don'tknow if your teaching is OK.Furthermore, when the teachers guided the students' workplacelearning outside the educational organization and worked with therepresentatives of working life in boundary-crossing settings, theywereabletoexertactiveandstrongagency, intermsofmakingchoices about their ways of working (V ah asantanen et al., 2009).Examined in more detail, the choices of the teachers were seen asleading to various forms of work behavior. Altogether, teachers inboundary-crossingsettings werefoundtoexhibit vedifferentforms of agency, namely (i) restricted agency, (ii) multifacetedbalancingagency, (iii)situationallydiverseagency, (iv)relationallyemergent agency, and (v) extensive agency. In the case of restrictedagency, teachers were humble and uncritical, showing no willing-ness to advise the employees on ways of working, or to intervene inthe practices taught to students by employees, even if the practiceswere unsuitable. Conversely, teachers with extensive agency wereactiveandcritical participants intheir collaborationwithem-ployees andinguiding thestudents inthe workplaces, initiatingproposalstoimproveworkpracticesin workinglife. Thendingconcerning teachers' agency atan individuallevelisin line withnotions that the ways of working of teachers are not totally exter-nally imposed (e.g. Ketelaar et al., 2012). Thendings also drew apicture of the teachers' work as manifold in nature, since the pos-sibilities for teachers to inuence their work practices involved avery wide spectrum of activities and behavior.Overall, it appeared that in terms of inuencing their work, theteachers' professional agency was manifested to a lesser or greaterdegree, andthatitvariedfrom weaktostrong. Thisimpliesthatteachers canhave limitedagencyindevelopingeducationanddeterminingthecontents of their work, but maysimultaneouslyhavestrong agency concerning their ways of working on a practical level.6.2. Involvement with the reform: reservede progressive agencyAlthoughthevocational teachersdidnothaveextensiveop-portunities to inuence the contents and directions of the reform,the meta-analysis showed that they did not merely drift passivelyin the stream of educational change (V ahasantanen & Billett, 2008;Vah asantanen&Etelapelto, 2009, 2011). Onthecontrary, theyactively evaluated change and decided how to involve themselveswith the change e the kind of decision-making, according to Balletand Kelchtermans (2008), that safeguards teachers' agency.Even within a single, given reform, there was variation betweenvocational teachers in terms of taking positions towards the reformat its initial stage (Vah asantanen & Etelapelto, 2009). The positionswere resistant, inconsistent, andapproving. Theteachers witharesistant position were against the reform, positioning themselvesopenly as opponents of the reform. The approving teachers werepositively and enthusiastically inclined towards the reform,posi-tioningthemselvesaswholesalesupportersofthereform. Someteachersalsohadanambiguousresponsetothereform. Theseteachersexpressedconcernsandnegativecommentsabout thereform; aswell astheymentionedadvantagesandputforwardpositive opinions, but theycouldnot or didnot wishtake aconsistent position at that particular moment. As one teacher putit: It [my opinion on the reform] is ftyefty, impossible to gure outwhat it will bring. Thus, their positionwas inconsistent. Thesendingsconrmpreviousnotionsthat eachteacherislikelytorespond and position herself/himself individually towards a reformK. V ah asantanen / Teaching and Teacher Education 47 (2015) 1e12 5(Imants et al., 2013; vanVeen&Sleegers, 2006). Moreover, itshould not be assumed that an individual teacher's reaction to re-form willbeoneoftotalacceptanceortotalresistance(seealsoLuttenberg, van Veen et al., 2013).It was further observed that there were both continuities andtransformations in the teachers' positions towards the reform as itran its course (V ah asantanen & Etel apelto, 2011). For example, oneteacher remainedacritical performerovertime, whileanotherinitially resistant teacher became an enthusiastic supporter of thereform. By contrast, yet another initially enthusiastic teacher lostmotivationovertime. Thus, thendingsshowhowinitiallyre-form-enthusiastic teachers can be at risk of disillusionment (vanVeen&Sleegers, 2009), whileotherscanndpositive pathwaysthroughareformdespitetheir initial resistant positions. ThesenotionsarenotconsistentwiththestudyofLeeandYin(2011),which showed only unsuccessful journeys through an educationalreform, with teachers categorized as losing-heart accommodators,drifting followers, and cynical performers.Indiscussingteacher agency, itisnot only aquestionofhowteachers position themselves in relation to reforms, but also howthey act in engaging with reforms. Among the vocational teachers,there was tremendous variation in terms of engaging with the re-form (Vah asantanen & Billett, 2008). Their engagement strategiesvaried from active participation to passive accommodation. Teachersof theactiveparticipationtypeenergeticallyimplementedthereform. They did not accept the approaches and role-relatedways ofworking determined by the organization, seeking rather to renetheminnovativelytomakethemmoresuitableinpractice. Bycontrast, teachers who adopted the passive accommodation strat-egy merely adjustedandtoleratedthe social demands. Thoseteachers were ready to carry out their professional tasks, but sincetheirmainconcernwastheirpersonal well-being, theydecidedmerelytodotheirjobwithoutexcessiveinvestment. Additionalthree engagement strategies among the vocational teachersincluded professional development, a balancing act, and withdrawal.Teacherswiththeprofessionaldevelopmentstrategy were moti-vatedtocarryouttheirnewtasks, buttheyhopedprofessionaltrainingtoimprovetheirinadequate competenciesandhencetofulll the required duties. A balancing act involved active engage-ment with the reform, but also phases of partial retreat from thework(e.g. viaasabbatical period)toavoidtheexhaustion. Thewithdrawal strategy was manifested insuspicious engagement withthe reform, with probable disengagement fromthe reformand fromtheorganization. Alongfairlysimilarlines, Luttenberg, vanVeenet al. (2013) has identied four ways of making sense of mattersand of acting in areformcontext,including assimilation,accom-modation, toleration, and distantiation. Other studies have shownthat teachers' engagement can vary from adaptation to becoming areform generator (Brain, Reid & Comerford Boyes, 2006; Day, Elliot,& Kington, 2005).Overall, inlinewithPriestleyetal. (2012), themeta-analysisunderlines the notion that there is some scope for teachers'agency in the reform context, involving various forms of decisionsand actions. The positions towards and engagements with the re-formdiffered considerably among vocational teachers, suggesting avariety ofmanifestations ofagency. Animportant overall ndingand categorization deriving from the meta-analysis would be thatin terms of involvement with the reform, the teachers' professionalagency was manifested through stances and activities that variedfrom reserved to progressive. Here, reserved means that resistantpositions were expressed towards the reform, and that the teachersdidnot performmorethantheminimumactivitiesrequiredofthem. Progressive means that approving positions emerged, andthat a proportion of the teachers engaged actively and innovativelywith the reform.6.3. Negotiation of professional identity: maintainableetransformative agencyIntheinvestigationof professional identities, thevocationalteachers were found to have differing perceptions of themselves asteachers(V ah asantanenet al., 2008). Someteacherswantedtofocus on educating students or on teaching their subject within theeducationalorganization;someteacherswereorientedmoreto-wards collaboration (particularly with the representatives outsidethe school), while yet others wanted to do developmental tasks. In areform context, professional identity negotiation can be observedasaprocessin whichtheteacher'sexistingprofessionalidentityconfronts a designated identity,one that emerges from changingsocial suggestions (e.g. social expectations, guidelines, andde-mands; see Billett, 2006) pertaining to the teacher's work tasks andeducational practices(cf. Sfard&Prusak, 2005). Inthosecaseswhere the vocational teachers had been wholeheartedly orientedto teaching the students within the school, the teachers found thattheir identities conicted with the newsocial expectations derivingfrom changed educational practices (V ahasantanen et al., 2008). Atthe same time, some teachers' identities were in balance with thesocial suggestions experienced, particularly if their own orientationwas towards working outside the educational organization.Whenthevocationalteachers' existingprofessional identitieswere in close correspondence with the reformed social suggestions,they simply embraced the expected identity and exercised agencyby maintaining their identities (V ah asantanen & Etel apelto, 2011).In asituation where theteachers' existingprofessionalidentitiesand social demands were in conict, identity negotiations becomemore challenging, and the teachers exercised professional agencyindifferent ways. Someteacherswerereadytotransformtheirprofessional identities to correspond to the socially expectedidentityassociatedwiththereform. Thus, simultaneouslywithchanges in their work practices, changes occurred in their profes-sional views andinterests. However, other vocational teachersrefused to bridge the gap between their existing identity and so-ciallyexpectedidentity; inother words, theymaintainedtheiridentities, but were ready to carry out the professional tasks laiddownbythereform. Alongsimilarlines, Korthagen(2004) hasarguedthatteachers' identityislessopentorevisionthantheiractual behavior. Altogether, in line with some other authors(Akkerman& Meijer, 2011; Day et al., 2006), the study highlightsthe notion that the professional identity of teachers appears to be aphenomenon that can have some degree of stabilitye but whichnevertheless has the potential for change over time.An overall nding of the meta-analysis would be that in terms ofnegotiatingprofessional identity, professional agencywasman-ifested through activities ranging frommaintainable to trans-formative. Aneducational changecanchallengeteacherstore-negotiatetheiridentities, butitmayalsobeinsufcienttopro-duce a process of identity reformation. This emphasizes the natureof professional agency: a teacher's identity is always constructed inrelation to social context, but social demands alone are not enoughtochangeteachers' identitiesintheabsenceoftheirownactiveefforts and inuence (Beijaard et al., 2004; Day et al., 2006; Lasky,2005; Reeves, 2009).7. Individual and social resources for professional agencyThemeta-analysisrevealedvariousindividual andsocial re-sources for professional agency. As illustrated above, the vocationalteacherswereunabletoexert strongagencyconcerningeduca-tional reformpractices or the contents of their work. All theteachers shared this experience; there were no differences betweenthe teachers in relation to, for example,the extent oftheir workK. V ah asantanen / Teaching and Teacher Education 47 (2015) 1e12 6experience (V ah asantanen et al., 2008; Vah asantanen & Etel apelto,2009). Thus, themeta-analysissuggeststhatitwasthemanage-ment culture of the vocational institutions, with its powerful sug-gestions concerning the contents of the work and the curriculum,which narrowed teachers' professional agency; the individualbackgrounds of the teachers were of less importance in this respect.Whenthevocational teachersmadedecisionsontheirworkbehavior in boundary-crossing situations, their professional agencywaslinkedtohowtheysawtheirrelationshipswithworkplacepersonnel, andhowtheyviewedthemselvesinrelationtotheprofessional tasks determined by the school (V ah asantanen et al.,2009). Theexerciseof agencywas alsointertwinedwiththeirprofessional interests, professional competencies, andpreviouswork experiences. It is particularly clear that teachers' professionalcompetencies within their vocationaleld were essential, both asresources and (in the case of lesser competencies) obstacles for theexercise of agency (cf. Isopahkala-Bouret, 2010). Vocational teach-ers need a variety of professional skills and knowledge, includingthe ability to speak the same language (in terms of vocational eld-specic terminology) as the workers, in order to interact success-fullywiththemandtotransformworkplace practices. Inthisrespect, the exercise of agencyactively requires various tools,includinglanguage(Lasky, 2005). Tosumup, theimportanceofboth individual and social resources for professional agencybecame abundantly clear in boundary-crossing settings. In order tomake boundary-crossing optimal for individuals and for thedevelopment of workplace practices, teachers need to utilize theirprofessional competenciesandtocreateworkablerelationshipswith workplace staff.The meta-analysis further showedthat vocational teachers'involvement with the reform was imbued by both individual andsocial resources. First of all, vocational teachers' positions towardsthereform(atitsinitial stage)wererelatedto(i)theteachers'individualbackgrounds(includingcurrentperceptionsofprofes-sional interests and role, beliefs about the students' learning, viewsonthegoalsofeducation, priorworkexperiences, andexpecta-tions of their professional future) and (ii) various social affordan-ces, suchasthepracticesandtraditionsof thevocational studyprograms (V ah asantanen & Etel apelto, 2009). Notably professionalidentitye encompassingteachers' professionalinterestsandde-sires for the future e inuenced the exercise of agency in terms oftaking positions towards the reform. This notion is supported bypreviousstudies(e.g. vanVeen&Sleegers, 2006). However, theteachers' age, teachingexperience, andgenderwerenotdirectlyrelated to their reactions. This notiondiverges frompreviousndings (e.g. those of Hargreaves, 2005; Peachter, 2003). Althoughtherewerevariouspositionstowardsthereform, thevocationalteachers also shared similar views on the reform (V ah asantanen etal., 2008; V ahasantanen &Etel apelto, 2009). The teachers allstronglycriticizedthetop-downstyleofthereform, notingthatthere hadbeenno serious attempts totake intoaccount theopinions of teachers or to give them opportunities to inuence thereform practices.With regard to the teachers' engagement with the reform at itsinitial stage, the most salient aspects included concerns about theirpersonal well-being, their professional identity, their work perfor-mance, and the impacts of the reform on the students(V ah asantanen&Billett, 2008). The ndings here are inlinewiththeobservationthat it istheoverall relationshipbetweenteachers'identity and reform practices (Day et al., 2005) that inuences howteachers engage with reform directions.However,what emergedmore clearly here than in previous studies was the importance ofteachers' well-being for their full engagement. It was this that ledsome teachers to exercise their professional agency via a strategy ofpassiveaccommodation, i.e. astrategythatcouldpreservetheirpersonal well-being. As one teacher described her situation in thereform context:The new tasks [mandated by the reform] are wearing, although Ialso feel that they will give a new attraction towards the work. I'mlivinginasituationwhereI'mbalancingoutmyworkwithmyother life. I don't neglect my work, but I do it with minimum en-ergy.Actually I try to set a limit to putting in too many hours andtoo much effort into my work and to the issues that consume me. Inthis changing work situation, I try to do my work as well as I can,but I carry out my tasks so that I protect myself and my well-being.Withrespect toteacher identity, Beijaardet al. (2004) haveemphasized that its construction is a process of interpretation andre-interpretationofexperiencesderivedfrompractices(seealsoSutherland etal., 2010). The present study conrmsandextendsthis notion. Thecontinuities andtransformations invocationalteachers' professional identities and positions towards the reformwere grounded on their interpretations of their own experiencesand emotions during the reform(V ah asantanen &Etel apelto, 2011).These experiences and emotions were undoubtedly related to thestudents, to the teachers' work and the resources available for theirwork,and in particular,to the opportunities and constraints sur-rounding professional identity and/or the sense of agency (cf. Ballet&Kelchtermans, 2008; Lasky, 2005). For example, theinitiallyenthusiastic teacher changed her position to one of greater resis-tancebecauseofthenegativeimplicationsofthereformforherwork, with its restrictions on her professional identity and agency.Despite this,her actual professionalidentity did not change, andshe continued to maintain it. At the same time, the initially resis-tant teacher became an enthusiastic supporter of the reform; shetransformed her identity due to her emotionally-imbued positiveexperiences related to her work, and to the students' learning.In summary, a key nding emerging fromthe meta-analysis wasthat professional agency is bound up with both individual and so-cial resources. Overall, the ndingsalsosupport notionsof theimportanceof emotionsforteacheridentitynegotiation(Pillen,Beijaard, &denBrok, 2013; Zembylas, 2003) andinvolvementwith the reform (M arz & Kelchtermans, 2013; Schmidt & Datnow,2005).8. The temporal nature of professional agencyThe synthesis of the previous studies led to some notions con-cerning thetemporalnature of professionalagency among voca-tional teachers. First of all, agency was found to be intertwined withthe past, the present, and the future. This became clear in so far asthe teachers utilized resources from the past (work experiences),thepresent(e.g. professionalinterests), andthefuture(expecta-tionsforthefuture), forexample, whentheymadechoicescon-cerning their positions towards the reform. In other words,teachers' professional agency was related to the dynamic interplayofdifferenttemporaldimensions(cf. Emirbayer&Mische, 1998;Priestley et al., 2012).The temporal nature of professional agency also became clearwhen a vocational teacher reported that he had learned from hispast experiences that it was pointless even to try to inuence workand reform practices, since nothing would be gained by so doing(V ah asantanen&Etel apelto, 2011). Thisshowsthatpreviousex-periences canshapehowateacher acts inareformsituation.Furthermore, the teachers' experience of weak professional agencyin their work and in the reformwas stable over time, since they didnot feel that more opportunities for their agency would eventuallybecome available (Vah asantanen & Etel apelto, 2011).K. V ah asantanen / Teaching and Teacher Education 47 (2015) 1e12 7Theanalysisindicatedthatthemanifestationsofprofessionalagency emerged in specic temporal situations and moments. Forexample, teachers made choices on how to take positions towardsthe reform in its initial stage (V ahasantanen& Etelapelto,2009).However, these manifestations of agency could either change or bemaintained over time. Thus, the same teacher could have multipleand even contradictorypositions towardsthe reform at differentmomentse or, on the other hand, the positions could be more orless permanent (V ahasantanen & Etelapelto, 2011; cf. van Veen &Sleegers, 2009). Similarly, theteacherscouldexerciseagencyinboundary-crossing settings ina more or less uniformmannerthrough different situations and over timee or alternatively, themanner could vary, depending on the time that had elapsed and onhowthe situationdeveloped (V ah asantanenet al., 2009). Forexample, the teachers with restricted agency were passive actors allthetime, whiletheteacherswithrelationallyemergingagencystrengthened their work activities frompassive to active in so far asthey questioned employees' ways of working over time, once theirrelationships with the employees became more familiar. Oneteacher described the importance of the temporal dimension for hisagency and for collaboration with employees:Atthestart, whentheemployeesdonotknowyouoryourpro-fessional competencies in the vocationaleld, they patronize you.When you have shown your competencies over time, there are noproblems and collaboration works well and then you canquestion their ways of working.Overall, the meta-analysis highlighted the extent to whichprofessional agency and its manifestations were temporal, in twoways. First of all, the resources for agency seemed to be related tothe past, the present, and the future. Secondly, professional agencycould be seen as emerging in specic temporal moments and sit-uations;yetatthesametime, itsmanifestationswerefoundtodisplay features of both change and a degree of stability, over timeand situations.9. The importance of professional agency9.1. Agency and the individual teacherAs emphasizedabove, teachers' agencyplays a keyroleinnegotiating and reshaping professional identity. The analysisfurther revealed that the creation of diverse conditions for teachers'productive work in boundary-crossing settings seemed to berelated to the nature of their agency (Vah asantanen et al., 2009). Ontheonehand, bybeingtruly activeandenergeticintheirwork,teachers were able to productively fulll their professional duties.On the other hand, when teachers carried out their activities in ahumbleandpassivemanner, theydidnotimplementtheirpro-fessional tasks adequately. One example of this was a situation inwhichateacherwassupposedtodiscussastudent'sworkplacelearning with the employee within the workplace. At that momenttherewasagreatrush, andtheteachersimplydecidedtowaitaround without disturbing the employee. After 4 h he left withoutbeing able to carry out his task.The ndings further indicated that when the vocational teacherswere unable to inuence their work contents or to practice theirprofessional interests, doingwhat seemedmeaningful tothem,they became dissatised and lost commitment to the work orga-nization (V ahasantanen & Billett, 2008; Vah asantanen et al., 2008).Recently, other scholars have similarly emphasized the signicanceof teachers' agency, and/or the practice of identity for their satis-factionandorganizational commitment (Day&Kington, 2008;Hulpia,Devos, &van Keer,2011). Furthermore,the well-being ofmany teachers was found to be at stake at the initial stage of thereform (Vah asantanen & Billett, 2008). In particular, those teacherswhowereactiveindevelopingeducational practiceswerecon-cerned about their well-being. They were exhausted, mainly due tohaving too much work in conjunction with a lack of agency overtheir work, time, and social resources.Inits later stages, thereformtendedtopolarizevocationalteachers (V ah asantanen & Etel apelto, 2011). While some teachersseemedtoexperienceincreasedworksatisfactionandcommit-ment, for other teachers the reformseemed to have negative effectsontheiridentity, motivation, well-being, andsenseofmeaning-fulness at work(seealsoBallet &Kelchtermans, 2008; Day&Kington, 2008; Lasky, 2005). The situationwas positive (i) ifteachers had opportunities to practice their professional interests,(ii)if theywerewillingtore-negotiatetheiridentitiestocorre-spond with existing social suggestions, using their positive expe-riences and emotions as resources, or (iii) if they had the ability tobe exible and to adapt to changes despite negative experiences. Bycontrast,the greatest harm seemed to come when the social de-mandsimposedbythereformconicted withtheteacher'spro-fessional identities, at least incaseswhereteacherslackedthepowertoinuencethecontentoftheirwork, andfurther, whenthey did not have the willingness or resources to re-negotiate theiridentities(V ahasantanen&Etel apelto, 2011). Thus, oneteacher,whose professional identity commitments were relatedto devel-opment duties, but who found that she could not perform them inthe reform context, commented as follows:Since the autumn my motivation has disappeared. It's all I can do todrag myself to work I was so tired in the spring and to crown itall there were these psychotic cases among the students. So I wasjust sotiredthat I wascryingandtellingthemanagersthat Iwanted to do something other than teaching duties, developmentwork Andtheydidn'tlisten. Idon'tknowwhatIshouldhavedone, butinmyopinionthere'sdenitelysomethingwrongifaperson comes to their manager in tears and they say they just can'tgo on, and nothing happens. So I don't know what I should do. Isuppose I should have taken a long spell of sick leave myself.From the above a keynding emerges that professional agencyis closely related to a wide variety of phenomena at the individuallevel, including productive working and professional identitynegotiation. Furthermore, opportunitiestoinuenceworkprac-tices are important for teachers' organizational commitment, well-being, and work satisfaction.9.2. Agency and the transformation of social practicesAmanagement culture with strong control over vocationalteachers' workmighthavecertaindisadvantagesatan individuallevel (as illustrated above), while having advantages at a social level.This is suggestedby the situationinwhich ethroughstrongadministrativeregulations andteachers' weakagency eit waspossible to transform educational practices quickly (Vahasantanenet al., 2008; Vahasantanen & Etel apelto, 2011). The administrationcontinuouslyimposedchangesoneducational practices, andtheteachers experiencedthat theyhadnoreal opportunities tonegotiateor decline the directions laid down. One teacher described the pas-sive role of teachers in relation to the constant development work asfollowsThereisnootherstatebesideschange. Weareconstantlywaiting for the next demand for change. That is our destiny. A similarpoint was made by another teacher:The job of a vocational teacher e change is apparently here to stay. You have to be ready for changes in curriculum development,K. V ah asantanen / Teaching and Teacher Education 47 (2015) 1e12 8andformanyotherthings, practicalthingstoo. Itispointlesstostuggle against calls for change, it is not even possible.Despitethestressful situationsmentionedabove, onehastobearinmindthatthendingsareconsistentwithrecentargu-ments, to the effect that a tight management culture can supportthe creation and promotion of change (Millward &Timperley, 2010;Priestley, 2011).Although major changes in education may indeed be achievablewhenteachers haveonlyminor opportunities toinuencethecontentsof reform, theroleof teachersisseenassignicantindetermining the outcomes of change on a practical level (M arz&Kelchtermans, 2013). This study showed differences in how voca-tional teachers involve themselves with reform practices(V ah asantanen&Billett, 2008). It wasfound, forexample, thatteachersexhibitingpassiveaccommodationsought tocarryouttheirprofessional dutieswithoutexpendingtoomucheffort. Bycontrast, teacherswithactiveparticipationcreatednewwaysofworking and innovative educational practices, despite being unableto modify the overall conception of the reform. On the contrary, ithasalsosuggestedthat teacherscanredeneareform(Imantset al., 2013).Theanalysis further revealedthat dependingonits nature,teachers' professional agency in boundary-crossing situationscreated diverse conditions for transforming social practices(V ah asantanen et al., 2009). From the viewpoint of the organiza-tion, teachers' boundary-crossingwasuseful forthepurposesofdeveloping education, matching education better to theneeds ofworking life, and bringing new insights to the school fromworkinglife. Furthermore, a basis for transforming workplace practices wascreatedwhentheteachersquestionedtheworkingpracticesofworkplacepersonnel andstudents, andmadeproposalsfornewways of working (cf. Lipponen &Kumpulainen, 2011). However, notall the teachers exercised agency in a way that made a difference tothe existing practices of workplaces, in so far as they were unwillingto voice any criticisms (V ahasantanen et al., 2009; see alsoIsopahkala-Bouret, 2010).To sum up, a major overallnding concerned the importance ofteachers' professional agencyfor transformingeducational andworkpractices. Althoughit mayindeedbethecasethat majoreducational changes can be brought about through strong admin-istrative calls and external instructions, it nevertheless appears thatteachers' agency is a fundamental element for social trans-formationinterms of successfullydevelopingeducational andworking life practices.10. ConclusionsThe main ndings of the study concerning teachers' professionalagencyinthestreamof changearesummarizedinFig. 1. Thendings relatedtothetemporal manifestations of professionalagency are shown in the middle. Social resources related to agencyare illustrated on the left, and individual resources on the right. Atthe bottomof the gure various phenomena connected withmanifestations of professional agency at the individual and sociallevel are summarized.The fact that this study was conducted in the in a specic changesituation occurring within Finnish vocational education is bound toinuence the generalizability of thendings. However, in terms oftransferability (Patton, 2002; Riessman, 2008) one can suggest thatthendingsaretheoreticallyandpracticallyapplicabletoothereducational settings,since continuous change in work and in or-ganizations is a familiar phenomenon to many teachers all over theworld. Thendingsmayfunctionasapointofreferenceforre-searchers who are seeking to elaborate the complexity of educa-tional change and of professional identity negotiation in theprocessofchange. Leadersandpractitionerscanalsoutilizethendingsfordevelopingeducational practices(particularlyvoca-tional programsincountrieswheretheintegrationofworkandeducationis ontheagenda) andfor supportingteachers amidcontinuous changes. The theoretical and practical conclusions arepresented in the following sections. Future avenues for research arealso considered.10.1. Theoretical notions on professional agencyThis paper has explored professional agency as an entity madeup of three complementary components, namely inuence on one'sFig. 1. Summary of thendings: professional agency in the stream of change.K. V ah asantanen / Teaching and Teacher Education 47 (2015) 1e12 9own work, involvement with an educational reform, and the negoti-ationof professional identity. Relatedtothesecomponents, thendingsrevealedthemanifestationsofvocational teachers' pro-fessional agency as falling on a continuum between two extremes,namely(i)weak, reserved, andmaintainable, and(ii)strong, pro-gressive, and transformative. Thus, this study suggests that agencycannot be conceptualized merely in terms of causing change(Giddens, 1984); in fact, the conceptualization of professionalagency should include elements of both transformation andmaintenance, astheseapplytoidentitiesandsocialpractices. Inthis sense, this study supports current views, to the effect that (i)teacher agency in development work can be seen as proactive or asorientedto change; however, (ii) it canalso be practicedviaoppositional stances and less progressive actions (Priestley et al.,2012; Pyhalt o et al., 2012). The study highlights the fact that it ispivotal torecognizeall thedifferent manifestations of teacheragencyif oneistogainacomprehensivepictureof educationalchange and teacher identity.Contemporary theorizing conceptualizes teacher agency asclosely intertwined with social settings and with other people, andemphasizestheroleof social resourcesandtoolsforexercisingagency(e.g. Kayi-Aydar, 2015; Lipponen&Kumpulainen, 2011).This paper enriches these views, highlighting the notion that pro-fessional agencyisrelatedtobothindividual resources(e.g. theteacher'sprofessional identity,competencies,and workexperiences)and social resources (e.g. the management culture of the organizationand the teacher's professional relationships). According to Priestleyet al. (2012) teacher agency is temporal, being related to the past,the present, and thefuture(see also Emirbayer&Mische, 1998).Thepresentstudysupportsthisview: theindividual andsocialresources of teacher agencywereindeedrelatedtotheir past,present, andfuture. Alliedto this, professionalagency(involvingdecisionsandactionsrelatedtothereform) seemedtoemergewithinspecictemporalmomentsandsituations, andthemani-festations of agency could either remain stable or change over timeandsituations. Inother words, this studyadds tothecurrentliteraturebydemonstratingcontinuitiesandtransformationsinteacher agency overtime. Similarndings were obtained amongother professionals by Billett (2006).Thendingsindicatedthatthemanifestationsofprofessionalagency are signicant at the individual and social levels. Thend-ings underline the signicance of agency for teachers' workbehavior, organizational commitment, satisfaction, and well-beingat work. Furthermore, professional agencyemergesasafunda-mental element for the development of educational and workplacepractices e at least at micro-level e and for the (re-)negotiation ofprofessional identity. However, theanalysisalsorevealedthatacombinationofstrongexternalregulations, inassociation withalack of extensive opportunities for teachers' agency, may actuallyhave the potential to facilitate large-scale transformations ineducational practices. These ndings are relevant for the cultivationof educational change, but they also have implications in terms oftheneedtosupportteachersindealingwithachangingeduca-tional landscape.Takenas a whole, this studyoffers a fairlycomprehensiveperspectiveonteachers' professional agency. As far as canbedetermined, professional agencyshouldbeconceptualizedas(i)multifaceted and for the most part individually varied, (ii) temporalby nature, (iii) socially and individually resourced, and (iv) signi-cant for individual teachers and for the transformation (or main-tenance) of social practices. Concerning the relationship betweenagency and structure it is possible to argue, in line with Marz andKelchtermans(2013), that therelationshipisreciprocal; agencyseems to be continually mediated by and mediating of change. Theeducational reformwas amediatingentity, leadingteacherstopractice agency, for example, in terms of negotiating their identi-ties. At the same time, the teachers could both create and retardchange at the micro-level of their work, even if they could not in-uence large-scale change at organizational level. In a similar vein,Kayi-Aydar (2015) sees teacher agency as shaping and being shapedbythesocial context. Anothertheoretical conclusioninvolvesamutual relationship between professional agency and identity. Theexerciseofagencyforms professionalidentity andestablishes itsmaintenanceandtransformation; however, professional identitycan itself be viewed as a resource for agency. As demonstrated bythestudy, professional identitywasoneof themost importantlensesthroughwhichtheteachersmadedecisions, particularlyconcerning their positions towards the reform.10.2. Towards a program for change management and support forteachersThendings suggest that Finnish vocational teachers' agency islimited in terms of their work practices, and especially the contentsof educational reforms. Compared to Finnish primary and univer-sityteachers, this situationis deviant. Theselatter educationalsettings have not so far adopted to any great extent the kinds ofnew, strategy-oriented, managerial modelsandmarket-orientededucational policies that would narrow teachers' agency atwork(H okk a & Etel apelto, 2014; Sahlberg, 2011).The paper has a number of implications regarding how educa-tional practices and teachers' empowerment may be cultivated. Inrecognizing the negative implications of a lack of opportunities forteacher agency (including threats to teachers' organizationalcommitment), one can suggest that the leadership of educationalorganizationsshoulddomoretopromoteteachers' professionalagency, in preference to merely disempowering teachers or regu-lating their work (see also Ravitch, 2013). This applies also to re-formcontexts. Inglobal terms, vocational teachers' voiceshaveoften been marginalized within top-down initiatives in theeducational sectors (Billett, 2014). This study showed that althoughtop-down measures can be instrumental in achieving some majorchanges in educational practices, they can constrain the possibil-ities of change emerging from teachers' own experiences, and theoverall implications for teachers can be negative. From this situa-tion, one can argue for the need to nd a balance between teachers'agency and managerial initiatives. Opportunities should be avail-able for teachers' empowerment, so that teachers participateactively in planning and implementation processes (see alsoHargreaves&Shirley, 2009;Priestleyetal., 2012), viaopenandreciprocal dialogbetweenteachersandmanagers. Alongsimilarlines, Peck etal. (2009)haveemphasizedtheimportanceofcol-lective actions for the renewal of educational programs. Onepractical intervention to enhance educational changes collectively(amongteachersandadministrators)couldbethesettingupofdialogical workconferences(e.g. Kalliola&Nakari, 2007). Suchevents could help to promote collaborative and participatorydevelopment,by creatingdialogicalplatforms among variousac-torsinorganizations. Theguidelinesforsucheventsaimatpro-motingshareddiscussion, seekingthusto create a visionforthedevelopmentof theorganization. Theguidelinesfurtherseektoensurethat eachparticipant hasthesamestatusinthedialog,irrespective of ofcial positions,and that the work experience ofeach participant is valued and heard (Kalliola & Nakari, 2007). Thiskind of intervention would have the potential to increase teachers'ownership ofchanges, encouragingthemto takemore collectiveresponsibility for changes.Some further implications emerge regarding the construction ofvocational educational programs. AkkermanandBakker (2011)suggest that boundary-crossing involve the possibility forK. V ah asantanen / Teaching and Teacher Education 47 (2015) 1e12 10learning. The present study, too, showed that teachers' boundary-crossingisimportant for developingthepracticesof educationand of working life e this despite the fact that there were differentperspectives on the increased boundary-crossing (which occurredamongbothstudents andteachers) particularlywhentakingaposition towards the reform, depending, for example, on theteachers' specic vocational study programs. Undoubtedly, thedevelopmentof vocational educational programsshouldincludeefforts to integrate theory/education and practice/work if there is tobe a highly qualied workforce in the labor market (Billett, 2014;Fejes &K ops en, 2014). However, for sustainableintegrationewithfewernegativeimplicationsforteachersandforstudents'learninge the uniqueness of differentelds should be taken intoaccount. Instead of general guidelines for all the elds, there seemsto be a need to createeld-specic visions for study programs, forexample via dialogical work conferences, as suggested above. Forteachers, it takes much more time to guide individual students inworkplaces than to instruct many students in classrooms simulta-neously. Thisneedstobeacknowledgedincalculatingteachers'workinghours. Hereoneshouldnotesomeimportant researchndings on howmobile technology can be used as tool for coachingandcommunicatingwithstudents intheir various workplaces(Motta, Cattaneo, & Gurtner, 2014).Workingamidchangesis challengingfor teachers. Theyarerequiredtoassimilate newinformationandnovel educationalpractices, tonegotiatetheirprofessional identities, todeterminetheirresponsetothereform, andtoconsidertheirengagementstrategiesregardingthereform. Inthereformcontext, teachersshould be individually supported so that they can deal withchanging work conditions atvarious levels.In the present study,the teachers exhibited a variety of concerns, relating in particular totheperformanceof professional competencies, theirwell-being,andtheirprofessional identities. Thendingshighlightapartic-ular need to support teachers' agency in professional identity work,sinceteachers' identitiesareat stakewhenchangesoccur, andidentitiesdonoteasilychange. Attheinitial stageof areform,supporting identity work could include offering opportunities, so-cial dialog, and time for teachers to become aware of their trans-formed work roles, and to make sense of their views on the reforms(cf. Geijsel & Meijers, 2005). In the course of the reform, it wouldfurtherbeessentialtocreateopportunitiesforteacherstomakesenseof theiremotional experiences, sothat theycanndre-sources to redene their identities and their positions towards thereform, andmakethereformeffortspartof theirworking. Thiswouldbe especially important for teachers whohave initiallyresistedchange, since it couldwork towards a more positiveorientation (Zembylas & Barker, 2007).10.3. Future research avenuesUptonow, theliteraturehas not adequatelyaddressedtheimportanceof differentformsof teacheragencyforeducationalchange and for teacher identity in the course of specic reforms.The present study theorizes professional agency as a multidimen-sional phenomenon with individual manifestations e a phenome-non that is temporal in nature, and both socially and individuallyresourced. Hence, itoffersanuancedperspective, calledhereanagency-centeredapproach, for investigatingthecomplexitiesofchangeandof professional identitynegotiationinavarietyofeducational contexts. Hereit shouldbenotedthat quantitativesurveys will also be needed if one is to examine professional agencyandthetransferabilityof the ndingsacrossdifferent contexts.Furthermore, thefocusherewasonteachers' individual agency,althoughtoalimitedextentthepaperdidconsiderprofessionalagency at an organizational and community level. Furtherexamination could investigate teachers' collective agency, forexample, in terms of how teachers exercise agency together withtheir colleagues in order to modify professional practices (see alsoClegg, 2005;H okka&Etel apelto, 2014). Furthermore, emotionalaspects cannot be ignored in research on professional agency, sinceteachers' actionsanddecisionsarenotpurelyrational;afterall,emotions areat stake, for example, inthecaseof professionalidentity negotiation.In the primary studies, repeated interviews made it possible toreveal something of the manifestations of agency and its resourceswithin a temporal continuum; these are dimensions that are notrevealed by cross-sectional examination. Nevertheless, future workcouldgofurtherinaddressingthetemporal elementsofprofes-sional agency, utilizing a longitudinal research strategy. This couldoffer more information, illuminating for example the continuitiesandtransformationsinteachers' professional identityandpath-ways in a reformcontext. Multi-methodological approaches,including ethnographical approaches, could be used to capture thecomplex nature of professional agency. In that case, agency couldbe analyzed by focusing on (i) authentic actions in social practices(via observation), and (ii) the purposes of actions and the decisionsbeyondthem(viainterviews) (seealsoAhearn, 2001; Ketelaaret al., 2012).Thispapersuggestedsomeinterventionsthatcouldhelpin-dividuals and organizations to achieve change, through enhancingprofessional agency. In future it will be necessary tond new toolstosupporteducational organizationsincreatingsustainableandparticipative transformations, and to support teachers in thestream of change. The ideal would be that individual professionaldevelopment andschool development wouldgohandinhand(M arz & Kelchtermans, 2013). If teachers are not able to transformtheiridentitiesinlinewithchanges, theyarelikelytosufferinterms of their motivation and well-being. 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