Since 2002 all student teachers (~3 000) at this University in Sweden have been introduced to the use of e-portfolios during their first compulsory course. These e-portfolios were initiated by the faculty board of teacher education, though the aims and design of these have changed over these years. During this period of time several different initiatives for the use of e-portfolio have been taken by individual teachers and teacher teams. In addition to the faculty board initiative, three examples were chosen for this study which include firstly the use of e-portfolios in mathematics courses, secondly their use in creative studies and thirdly in literacy courses. These initiatives all aimed to engage students in documenting and reflecting on their own learning, through ICT supportive formative assessment. The aim of this study is to illuminate how e-portfolio use has been introduced, developed and disseminated throughout teacher education at this particular university during the period 2002 – 2008. In doing so, the study should provide insights into the processes of construction and dissemination of e-portfolios. The questions arising from this study are as follows: - How may the development of e-portfolios be described and understood in relation to purposes and characteristics? - How may the dissemination processes of e-portfolios be described and understood? There are traditions of using different kinds of portfolios in teacher education courses in many different countries across the world (Dysthe & Engelsen, 2004; Strudler & Wetzel, 2005; Woodward & Nanlohy, 2004). Portfolios may be categorized into different genres depending on their purposes such as: learning portfolios through which students reflect on their own learning supported by teachers’ formative assessment, credential or accountability portfolios through which students are assessed summatively and marketing portfolios or showcases to demonstrate their accomplishments to future employers. (Barrett & Carney, 2005; Zeichner & Wray, 2001). There are no general agreements on these genres. Portfolios are like chameleons that shift their colors depending on their purposes and pedagogical design (Dysthe, 2003). In order to implement portfolios in an educational context there is a need to define what kind of portfolio the initiators are referring to since they have different purposes and characteristics (Barrett & Carney, 2005). The efforts in implementing e-portfolios are described in the literature. However, since the aim and design of portfolios vary widely, it is considered relevant to discuss the process of development and construction of portfolios along with the process of implementation.

Quantitative and qualitative methods have been be used in order to investigate the experiences of initiators and teacher educators in developing and disseminating e-portfolios and also the circumstances that influenced their ways of initiating and engaging in e-portfolios,. Narrative interviews, questionnaires, reports and evaluations constitute data for the study. The data were analysed in light of Bernstein’s classification and framing (1986, 1990, etc.) in order to illuminate the dissemination process of e-portfolios. Furthermore, theories of social construction (Berger & Luckmann, 1966; Wenneberg, 2001) were used to bring some understanding in the construction process of these e-portfolios in teacher education.

The paper presents a discussion of the different circumstances in which e-portfolios have been initiated, used and communicated in the context of teacher education. Furthermore this study will provide some insights into the underlying processes of construction and dissemination.