Implementing artifacts: An interactive frame analysis of innovative educational practices

Innovative policies often enter schools as educational artifacts which teachers are expected to implement. Conceptualizing the interaction between teachers and artifacts as a process of interpretative negotiation, we use frame analysis to unravel the implementation practices of one exemplary artifact: the TraPS-file. This file aims at warranting continuity in educational care when students make the transition from primary to secondary school. Based on an artifact analysis and a qualitative multiple-case study, we identify three configurations in implementation: faithful use, selective use and extended use. The study adds further evidence to critically question the fidelity approach in the study of innovations.