Teachers as Relationship Brokers

In the course of their working lives, teachers are called upon to interact with a wide variety of individuals and groups. These include children, youths and adult learners; parents; administrators; auxiliary workers; and the wider community. The study participants’ strategies for the successful brokering of these complex and diverse relationships are analysed for clues to understanding how teachers understand, enact and evaluate the relational dimension of their work, as well as how they manage such relationships within a framework of professional conduct. The analysis is framed by conceptualising teachers&s; relationships as boundary objects and their brokerage of those relationships as boundary work, with boundary crossing contributing to teacher resilience.