Normalizing a Revised Division of Labor Between Teachers and Support Staff – Processes of Boundary Work

In Sweden, as in many other Western countries, the educational workforce has been reorganized to allow teachers to focus on teaching while peripheral tasks are delegated to support staff. Drawing on interviews with support staff, teachers, principals, and educational managers, this study examines how a new division of labor is enacted in schools. The findings show that support staff gain a more prominent role as relational experts but are simultaneously portrayed as ideal teacher substitutes, while teachers are defined as instructional experts. These boundaries, however, are continually negotiated, and relational work is often reassumed by teachers. The article demonstrates that implementing a new division of labor is a complex, ongoing process, requiring educational managers to recognize and actively engage with professional boundary work.