Competing Policy Ideas in Classroom Practice: The Case of Student Group Work

Abstract

In this chapter, the policy–practice nexus is empirically studied by examining an example of student group work trajectory in the context of Norwegian classrooms. Research and policy highlight the importance of developing student collaboration skills in the school setting. At the same time, contemporary education is marked by a focus on the individual learner and the measurement of the learning outcomes of individual students. This chapter explores this apparent dilemma by contrasting the political and pedagogical ambitions related to desired outcomes of student group work with empirical actualisation of authentic student group work. A conceptual framework informed by discursive institutionalism and the theory of cooperation and competition provides a multilayered lens for exploring the policy–practice nexus and scrutinising how policy intent might turn out in practice. As such, the study can serve as an example of how policy ideas, the school as an institution and the agency of teachers and students interact in the complex field of educational practice.