This comparative paper examines education policies across Swedish and Australian contexts relating to the world-wide teacher shortage with a focus on students who undertake a teaching role whilst simultaneously completing their university studies. Universities have responded to the teacher shortage by re-organising teaching and learning to accommodate these students working into the teaching profession. These ways of organising teacher education are described as “good examples of ways to combine theory and practice and by these means prepare students well for their work at school and in the classroom” (Swedish Government, 2020). There is an increased emphasis on the significance of work-based learning in enhancing students' preparedness for the workforce (McManus & Rook, 2021; Raelin, 2007). This has prompted a closer examination of the interplay between off-campus and on-campus learning (Caspersen & Smeby, 2021). Essentially, students encounter challenges in translating academic knowledge into practical, didactic knowledge (Nilsson, 2008) and face difficulties in applying their academic learning to solve real-world problems in new contexts (Ramsden, 2003).

Ongoing deliberations in higher education revolve around finding ways to support students in making successful transitions from university to the workforce. This discourse stems from an awareness of the disparities between these two environments, particularly the gap between university studies and the demands of the workplace (Biemans et al., 2004; Finch et al., 2007).

We provide insights from university lecturers about their perception of students´ learning when organising teacher education and educating student teachers in this way to address the teacher shortage. We consider how policy contexts have shaped and reshape practices and ponder the potential impact for the teaching profession. We also consider the resonances, and points of tension, across and within the different national settings, to assist us to understand the teaching and learning practices in universities.

Informed by the insights of Akkerman and Bakker (2011), the theoretical framework of boundary crossing helps conceptualize lecturers’ perceptions and the nature of WIL (Work-Integrated Learning) students' learning in relation to ricocheting between their work life as a teacher and their learning journey as a student. These students continuously cross the role boundaries between teacher and student hence the experiences of their lecturers through the boundary crossing framework is clearly relevant.  Viewing boundary crossing through this lens enables a detailed understanding of the specific contextual relationships required, particularly in assessing learning opportunities that necessitate collaboration between different institutions (Akkerman & Bruining, 2016). This perspective holds particular significance in professional education, where apprenticeships are recognised as valuable avenues for facilitating successful transitions between university and workplaces. The perception is that the differences between these educational contexts serve as sources for development (Tuomi-Gröhn & Engeström, 2003). Rather than dismissing boundaries between contexts, they can be leveraged in exercises to help students contextualise their knowledge in alignment with the collaborative demands of their work (Andersson, 2016).

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of boundary crossing in the teaching and learning environment of initial teacher education providers and to provide insights what this way of organizing teacher education entails. The following research questions have been formulated to achieve these aims:

-       What are university lecturers’ perceptions regarding student teachers’ learning who commence teaching prior to completing their university degree?

-       What is made possible or hindered through boundary crossing in this way of organizing teacher education (WIL)?

-       What are the resonances, and points of tension, across and within different national contexts?

This project is an Ethnographic study of the experiences (Mills & Morton, 2013) of university lecturers teaching student teachers undertaking early teaching contracts in Sweden and Australia. Ethnography is useful for understanding ways of working and living as it studies social behaviors, dispositions and interactions between people and their environments in particular fields (Mills & Morton, 2013). Participants in both Sweden and Australia were recruited through purposive sampling based on the purpose and needs of the study to address the research aim and questions (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Warren, 2002). The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of university lecturers who work with student teachers on a conditional teaching contract, therefore university lecturers who have taught these students, were recruited to participate in a semi-structured interview. In Sweden, six university lecturers volunteered, all women aged 41 to 74, had 5 to 25 years of teaching experience at the university and 5 to 28 years of experience as teachers in schools. They taught subject courses or courses in educational science. In Australia, three men and eight female university lecturers volunteered to participate in the study. Similarly, they were aged between 32 and 70, with varying experience teaching in universities and schools from 5 – 30 years. In both Sweden and Australia, university lecturers participated in a semi-structured interview. During the interviews, participants were asked questions about their perceptions of work-integrated students' learning opportunities within university courses. Intrapersonal-level questions focused on perceived differences between work-integrated students and regular program students in terms of learning opportunities and how work-integrated students approached their university studies. Interpersonal-level questions explored possibilities or barriers perceived in teaching work-integrated student teachers. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. In both countries, the researchers independently and carefully read the transcripts to identify patterns in the data, which were compared and coded into themes based on the overall research purpose (Fejes & Thornberg, 2019). The abductive procedure involved a continual back-and-forth between research data and theoretical considerations (Rinehart & Carlson, 2021). Data were organised by identifying common trends and specific findings related to the overall objective (Brinkmann & Kvale, 2015), resulting in a more transparent and securely founded analysis. The themes were not sorted in order of importance, and representative quotes from respondents were chosen based on recurrence in the data. The analysis process remained aligned with the study's aim, questions and theoretical framework (Brinkmann & Kvale, 2015).

Swedish initial teacher education lecturers perceive that a complex situation arises wherein they contemplate how learning for WIL students should be organised within campus courses. Some WIL students exhibit a deeper understanding of how academic studies can be put into practice, elevating university teaching to a higher level. These coordination processes create opportunities for more reflective and advanced learning. However, many WIL students tend to identify as ready teachers seeking hands-on material, viewing campus courses and university teachers as supportive resources. Australian initial teacher education lecturers spoke about an absence of unified practices where it was left up to individual course coordinators to determine how they re-organise their way of working to accommodate for the needs of these student teachers who were often in rural and remote locations and could not attend classes on campus. This was problematic as they had no guidance to base their practices. In both countries University lecturers spoke about student teachers’ loss of drive to engage in their university studies. They perceived that students considered themselves ´almost ready teachers’ so all they needed to do was complete the minimum to pass their degree. University lecturers considered that the culture of the school, or the praxis shock (Ballantyne & Retell, 2020), influenced the pedagogy of student teachers. The study argues for stronger collaborations between universities and schools to bridge the gap between theory and practice for student teachers. The current reactive approach should shift to proactive and holistic collaborative models, prioritizing the success and well-being of student teachers at the boundary between university and school settings. By adopting such models, student teachers can thrive in navigating these boundaries, rather than merely surviving. Passow and Passow (2017) emphasize the need to integrate real-world learning from Work-Integrated Learning into the curriculum for an effective educational arrangement.

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