Relational Agency in Professional Practice: A CHAT Analysis

Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) is a useful framework for examin- ing learning to become a professional. This is particularly the case when professional practice is seen to be developed within specific institutional settings. However, new forms of practice are being required which call for a capacity to work with other practitioners and draw on resources that may be distributed across systems to support professional ac- tions. In this paper the concept of relational agency is described and illustrated with refer- ence to a series of research studies. It is argued that relational agency leads to an en- hanced form of professional agency and that there are implications for the development of CHAT.

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