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Those entering a new workplace often come with knowledge and skills relevant to the job they are employed to do; however, there will be site-based practices that they are unfamiliar with. Most of the learning about 'how we do things around here' occurs after a new role is commenced. This is certainly the case with novice Vocational Education and Training teachers. This paper considers what enables and constrains the learning of such new teachers. We use a particular form of practice theory, the theory of practice architectures, to focus on the arrangements that support the development of communicative learning spaces. At work, there are a range of spaces that are 'in-between' the personal and professional. We show how in-between spaces become communicative learning spaces where professional learning takes place. The development of communicative learning spaces is supported through arrangements that enable the intersection of the personal and professional, the sharing of stories, and the development of relational trust. The paper argues that while the fragile nature of in-between spaces means that formalising such arrangements can be counterproductive, approaches can be put in place to assist the development of communicative learning spaces.

Professional learning is increasingly understood as vital for the development of educators, and for the development of a strong educational system. We argue that the most essential purpose of professional learning is for the development of critical praxis. Critical praxis is related to action that is morally, socially and politically informed. This action is undertaken with an awareness of possible consequences together with the intention to make positive contributions to society and to humankind. Critical praxis in education is an intentional action (or associated reflexivity) informed by critical questioning related to the social, moral and political purpose of education. Critical praxis is tightly connected with learning experiences. This article looks at three examples of the development of critical praxis through professional learning, across three different educational settings. We explore the practice architectures that enable and constrain critical praxis in professional practice and identify three key themes in relation to the development of critical praxis: agency, power and relational trust. We argue that the potential power of professional learning is in supporting and developing the capacity to question institutionalised habits or educational practices that may be in conflict with values, purpose and moral intentions, in order to create positive change.

Purposeful and considered risk-taking can be an important aspect of early childhood education professional practice. Educator risk-taking can contribute towards the quality of education programs. Recent research shows that educators in high quality early childhood education services take a range of risks in their professional practice; yet we do not fully understand the conditions that make early childhood educator's risk-taking possible. This lack of knowledge potentially inhibits early childhood educators from taking the kinds of risks that support high quality early childhood education. This article examines a qualitative case study that investigated the conditions within three high quality early childhood education settings that enabled and constrained educators' risk-taking. By using the theory of practice architectures, we identify a range of cultural-discursive, material-economic and social-political arrangements that worked together to create the conditions for educators in the study to take risks in their professional practice. Through analysis of observations, interviews and documents, arrangements found within, and brought to, the participating services included a service philosophy that recognises the value of risk-taking, particular types of professional development, and trusting relationships between educators, educators and leaders, and educators and families. Findings from this study have implications for the early childhood sector and individual services in reviewing the arrangements that enable and constrain educators in taking the kinds of risks that contribute towards high quality early childhood education.

The theory of practice architectures is a useful theoretical, methodological and analytical tool for educational research. The use of the theory is emerging as germane in early childhood education research. This article explores concepts from the theory as applied in an early childhood education research project. The article focuses on the concept of "stirring in," a view of learning advanced by the theory of practice architectures. To describe and analyse the process of stirring in, the article draws on the experiences of the first author, a doctoral candidate, researching in early childhood education, her field of professional experience. Using key elements of the theory of practice architectures, this article discusses how both the experiences of being a doctoral candidate and researching her own profession were catalysts for being stirred in to the practices of a researcher. Coming to the research as an experienced early childhood educator, the doctoral candidate experienced tension between the practices of a researcher and her ingrained practices as an educator. This tension, combined with the 'doing' of data collection, contributed towards the doctoral candidate's stirring in to data collection practices. Authors of the theory of practice architectures argue that in the process of being stirred in to new practices, participants in the practices can experience a change akin to a transformation, what we describe as a sense of "becoming." In this article, we show how the doctoral candidate learned to put aside practices associated with her role as an early childhood educator and began to embrace practices associated with the role of researcher, initiating her sense of becoming a researcher. The purpose of the article is to build on previous work to demonstrate how the theory of practice architectures can be used to examine the process of being stirred in to new practices.

Based on an overview of the existing literature, this paper aims to provide a holistic and coherent conceptualisation and understanding of the complexity of educators' professional learning. First, the way in which professional development, professional learning and everyday learning have been configured in contemporary research is combined with an initial practice theory perspective. Consequently, we conceptualise professional learning as learning in and for professional practice. Subsequently, the theory of practice architectures, a practice theory developed in educational settings, is presented. Based on the authors' previous work, aspects of relatings, that is, the social space in which educators relate to each other in the mediums of power and solidarity, are highlighted. These include power, trust, recognition and agency. The paper ends by presenting a framework for understanding the complexity of learning in and for professional practice, consisting of two complementary perspectives: a site-based and time-bounded focus on professional action and an open-ended process of educators' professional and human growth. Brought together these perspectives enable an understanding of the complexity of professional learning in terms of praxis development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vocational Education and Training (VET) teachers often begin teaching without teaching qualifications, and much of their learning necessarily takes place in the workplace. VET teaching is recognised as complex and requiring a broad range of skills and capabilities. At the same time, support for VET teacher learning in the workplace has been limited and ad hoc, with little focus on what workbased arrangements might better support teacher learning. Drawing on a study of novice VET teachers, this paper highlights the importance of VET teacher learning in the workplace and considers the site-based arrangements that enable and constrain novice teacher learning. The paper argues that when practices that support learning are interconnected to form a trellis, teacher learning is better supported than when practices that support learning are isolated and do not interconnect with each other. The paper concludes that novice teacher learning in the workplace needs to be supported through a range of site-based arrangements, and that these will be most effective if they form a strong trellis of inter-related practices that support learning in the workplace.

Vocational Education and Training (VET) teachers often begin teaching with limited or no teaching qualifications, and necessarily much of their learning to be a teacher takes place in the teaching workplace. This paper considers what novice VET teachers learn in the workplace and what enables and constrains that learning. We argue that teachers learn to undertake their teaching role primarily in the same way as others in their teaching department undertake the role. The paper introduces the concept of three different groups of VET teachers whose learning is enabled and constrained in different ways: fringe teachers; favela teachers; and those who have an employment contract or are permanently employed. Using the theory of practice architectures, we show that teacher learning in the workplace is impacted by various site based conditions: including material arrangements; arrangements related to the use of VET language and of industry related language; and social-political arrangements.

This paper explores teacher learning. It focuses on access to 'communicative learning spaces' (a concept we coin and develop within this paper) and argues that the creation of such spaces can be a powerful enabler of teacher learning. We draw on the findings from three studies conducted in three different countries - Norway, Australia and Sweden. The studies focused on different stages of teacher learning - initial teacher education, the induction phase of teacher learning in the workplace, and the continuing professional learning of in-service teachers. The paper considers the features that characterise communicative learning spaces and their development. Using the theory of practice architectures we examine what enabled and constrained the development of these communicative learning spaces in each of the three cases.

Those entering a new workplace often come with knowledge and skills relevant to the job they are employed to do; however, there will be site-based practices that they are unfamiliar with. Most of the learning about 'how we do things around here' occurs after a new role is commenced. This is certainly the case with novice Vocational Education and Training teachers. This paper considers what enables and constrains the learning of such new teachers. We use a particular form of practice theory, the theory of practice architectures, to focus on the arrangements that support the development of communicative learning spaces. At work, there are a range of spaces that are 'in-between' the personal and professional. We show how in-between spaces become communicative learning spaces where professional learning takes place. The development of communicative learning spaces is supported through arrangements that enable the intersection of the personal and professional, the sharing of stories, and the development of relational trust. The paper argues that while the fragile nature of in-between spaces means that formalising such arrangements can be counterproductive, approaches can be put in place to assist the development of communicative learning spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional learning is increasingly understood as vital for the development of educators, and for the development of a strong educational system. We argue that the most essential purpose of professional learning is for the development of critical praxis. Critical praxis is related to action that is morally, socially and politically informed. This action is undertaken with an awareness of possible consequences together with the intention to make positive contributions to society and to humankind. Critical praxis in education is an intentional action (or associated reflexivity) informed by critical questioning related to the social, moral and political purpose of education. Critical praxis is tightly connected with learning experiences. This article looks at three examples of the development of critical praxis through professional learning, across three different educational settings. We explore the practice architectures that enable and constrain critical praxis in professional practice and identify three key themes in relation to the development of critical praxis: agency, power and relational trust. We argue that the potential power of professional learning is in supporting and developing the capacity to question institutionalised habits or educational practices that may be in conflict with values, purpose and moral intentions, in order to create positive change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vocational Education and Training (VET) teachers often begin teaching without teaching qualifications, and much of their learning necessarily takes place in the workplace. VET teaching is recognised as complex and requiring a broad range of skills and capabilities. At the same time, support for VET teacher learning in the workplace has been limited and ad hoc, with little focus on what workbased arrangements might better support teacher learning. Drawing on a study of novice VET teachers, this paper highlights the importance of VET teacher learning in the workplace and considers the site-based arrangements that enable and constrain novice teacher learning. The paper argues that when practices that support learning are interconnected to form a trellis, teacher learning is better supported than when practices that support learning are isolated and do not interconnect with each other. The paper concludes that novice teacher learning in the workplace needs to be supported through a range of site-based arrangements, and that these will be most effective if they form a strong trellis of inter-related practices that support learning in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores teacher learning. It focuses on access to 'communicative learning spaces' (a concept we coin and develop within this paper) and argues that the creation of such spaces can be a powerful enabler of teacher learning. We draw on the findings from three studies conducted in three different countries - Norway, Australia and Sweden. The studies focused on different stages of teacher learning - initial teacher education, the induction phase of teacher learning in the workplace, and the continuing professional learning of in-service teachers. The paper considers the features that characterise communicative learning spaces and their development. Using the theory of practice architectures we examine what enabled and constrained the development of these communicative learning spaces in each of the three cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent pandemic resulted in significant changes in workplaces that saw people come to live and work differently. What was previously experienced and understood to be the ‘workplace’, along with associated work practices, has shifted and the construct of the workplace has become multiple as more people work remotely. We propose that these changes have also shifted practices of working, providing significant insights into how learning may be happening, not in ‘workplaces’ but rather in reformed ‘sites’ of work. To explore changed work and learning practices in sites of work, we adopt the Theory of Practice Architectures to explore how workers in managing roles learned to practise their work differently in newly formed sites of work. This article provides evidence from semi-structured interviews with 12 managers during the changes wrought during the pandemic in Australia using the ‘Interview to the double’ approach. We highlight how the managers understood their changes in work and shows empirically how the concept of ‘workplace learning’ requires a reconceptualization of learning that rejects a focus on learning as defined by process and instead adopts a practice-based definition of learning as ‘coming to practice differently’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]