Despite increasing policy attention on teacher education across Europe there are still urgent calls to improve initial teacher education (ITE) (European Commission, 2015) within the context of broader educational reforms. This presentation focuses on ITE in Wales which has been under scrutiny (Furlong, 2015) within the context of systemic change of the national education system. There is an explicit expectation for ‘partnership working’ and ‘shared responsibility’ between university-based and school-based staff in the provision of ITE (Welsh Government 2018, OECD 2017). Methodology: The Shifting Sands Project addressed two research questions: What are the perceptions and experiences of staff working in ITE: • about their professional roles and responsibilities during a period of culture change? • about how changes in professional roles and responsibilities are negotiated? The data were collected from those involved in ITE, working in the university-school partnership of one accredited ITE provider, during two data collection points, in 2019 via semi-structured discussion groups and 2021 via online survey. In 2019, two external facilitators, using key questions provided by the researchers, recorded the discussions using a deliberately visual scripting method to enable the group members to see the points being recorded and add to them if they wished. This method was chosen to build trust and enable transparent and shared ownership of the data. The online survey then offered an anonymised space for participants to offer their responses. Theoretical framework: The study exists within a socio-cultural paradigm and data analysis was undertaken through a process of qualitative coding. It was informed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT, Engestrom 2000), which offered a framework to understand activity in systems undergoing change. We also drew from Emirbayer and Mische’s work (1998) on the ‘Chordal Triad of Agency’ in order to explore agency within CHAT’s subject mediating factor. Combining these two constructs allows us to gain a richer understanding of individual’s perceptions and experiences of change within a system undergoing culture change. Findings: The study findings make visible the processes, and experiences, of change and contribute to the understanding of, and theorising about, systems of professional learning through a period which might be perceived as enforced professional identity change for those involved in ITE. The discussion is set in the context of other countries where staff in universities and schools associated with ITE provision have seen their roles and responsibilities change. This has relevance internationally for countries engaged in teacher education reform.

Engestrom, Y. (2000) Activity theory as a framework for analysing and redesigning work. Ergonomics Vol.43, No. 7, pp. 960-974 Emirbayer M., & Mische A. (1998) What Is Agency? American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 103, No. 4, pp. 962-1023 European Commission, (2015) Shaping career-long perspectives on teaching: a guide on policies to improve Initial Teacher Education. https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/downloads/files/Shaping%20career-long%20perspectives%20on%20teaching.pdf Furlong, J. (2015) Teaching Tomorrow’s Teachers. Options for the future of initial teacher education in Wales. Report to Huw Lewis, AM, Minister for Education and Skills. OECD (2017) The Welsh Education Reform Journey: a rapid policy assessment. http://www.oecd.org/education/The-Welsh-Education-Reform-Journey-FINAL.pdf Welsh Government (2018) Criteria for the accreditation of initial teacher education programmes in Wales: Teaching tomorrow’s teachers. Welsh Government circular no: 001/2018 (Replaces circular no: 008A/2017) https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-09/criteria-for-the-accreditation-of-initial-teacher-education-programmes-in-wales.pdf