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This paper will problematise the notion of distributed cognition in courses across cultural learning borders, by presenting a narrative case study of six learners' journeys to online learning. I will argue that although distributed cognition is a widely acceptable theory in e-learning, it is based on an assumption that the 'distribution' of cognition is reciprocal between toolmakers, texts and users, when perhaps, in certain instances, it excludes the life (and learning) world of local learners in the global, borderless environment. In these instances the cognition that is assumed to be distributed is, in contrast, 'contained' in the narrative-in-action that is familiar to the learners, whose situated knowledge is embedded and embodied in a non-global discourse (Henning et al., 2000).

This article gives a glimpse of the lifeworld of newly qualified teachers as they are introduced to the workplace. The inquiry that is reported was conducted on the premise that new teachers are especially vulnerable to attrition pressures. A case study research design was used to study a group often new 1 teachers in a single school environment. Components of cultural-historical and activity theory (CHAT) were employed as theoretical framework for this research, focusing on the tensions between the teachers and their new practitioner 'community', which was found to be a "pseudocommunity". The analysis of the data showed that novice teachers felt that they were not readily accepted in the professional 'community' of the school. The nature of micro socio-political relations within the school as institution and the positioning of novices within hierarchical structures inhibited their interaction with other teachers and contributed to their isolation. The authors conclude that new teachers are disempowered in the face of the lack of professional community values.

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