Commonsense reasoning says that quality teacher education relies on quality teacher educators. Yet, there is minimal attention to what teacher educators should know and be able to do. Unquestionably, teacher educators cannot teach what they do not know; but what should they know, and should they be prepared? This study of 293 teacher educators investigated the following: What do current teacher educators consider to be the foundation elements of their practice? How do they evaluate their own preparation in these areas? How can their experiences inform the preparation of teacher educators? We use Cochran-Smith and Lytle’s theorizing about “relationships of knowledge and practice” to understand knowledge essential to teacher educating (a term we use to differentiate teaching teachers from teaching students). Our findings reveal that practicing teacher educators often feel unprepared to assume their role but can offer helpful insight into how we should think deliberately about quality teacher educator prepar...

What Should Teacher Educators Know and Be Able to Do? Perspectives From Practicing Teacher Educators

In this article we address the question: ‘What sub‐identities of teacher educators emerge from the research literature about teacher educators and what are the implications of the sub‐identities for the professional development of teacher educators?’ Like other professional identities, the identity of teacher educators is a construction of various aspects or facets, which we prefer to call sub‐identities. We are interested to learn what sub‐identities might constitute the main identity of what we generically refer to as ‘teacher educators’ and, to achieve this, we set out to analyse the research literature relating to teacher educators to search for ways in which such sub‐identities might be explicitly or implicitly described. Based on the research literature we found four sub‐identities that are available for teacher educators: schoolteacher, teacher in Higher Education, teacher of teachers (or second order teacher) and researcher. We also found a view on teacher educators as teachers in a more generic w...

Teacher educators: their identities, sub‐identities and implications for professional development

This article reports a literature review of self-studies by beginning teacher educators examining their experiences of the transition from classroom teaching to teacher educator. The authors conclude that becoming a teacher educator involves several complex and challenging tasks: examining beliefs and values grounded in personal biography, including those associated with being a former schoolteacher; navigating the complex social and institutional contexts in which they work; and developing a personal pedagogy of teacher education that enables construction of a new professional identity as a teacher educator. This research provides beginning teacher educators with a reference point for understanding their personal and professional transition to university-based teacher education. It also provides teacher education faculty and administrators with key information about how the transition from teacher to teacher educator can be supported and enhanced within professional learning communities.

Understanding the Complexity of Becoming a Teacher Educator: Experience, belonging, and practice within a professional learning community

Teacher education communities of practice: More than a culture of collaboration

Research suggests that the development of a teacher educator identity is a central process in becoming a teacher educator. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the concept of teacher identity. However, teacher educator identity seems to be still under-researched. In this article, a review of literature on teacher educator identity is provided. Fifty-two research papers were analysed to identify challenges and tensions teacher educators experience during their induction, factors which influence the development of their professional identity, and the features that induction programmes should have. The findings suggested that new teacher educators generally develop negative self-views about their abilities and professional identities. Self-support and community support activities were found to facilitate teacher educators’ transition and enhance their identity development. Key features of academic induction were identified as acting as a learning community, cultivating supportive and profession...

Teacher Educators' Identity: A Review of Literature.

Understanding Teacher Educators’ Work and Identities

Becoming a Teacher Educator: Voices of Beginning Teacher Educators

This article presents the main domains that reinforced 11 novice teacher educators, as evidenced by their feedback regarding a one‐year programme implemented at an intercollegiate professional centre. The main argument posits that since the teacher educator plays a key role in the foundation of the teacher education profession, he/she must be an expert in the field. The study of the advantages and outcomes of a unique model of learning while working contributes to the definition of the requisite channels for the teacher educator’s effective induction and skilled specialisation. The contribution is divided into three main fields: building the professional self; being a member of a community of professionals; and enhancing professional practical skills. Our findings are corroborated when Association of Teacher Educators standards (2009)—which are regarded as milestones along the path to professionalism—are applied to them. Unique induction by means of learning with colleagues and guidance by expert teacher ...

Professional development of novice teacher educators: professional self, interpersonal relations and teaching skills

This research examines how faculty members in higher education collaborate with colleagues, their collaborative professional work, the nature of these collaborations, and the benefits they get from it. Research findings show that collaborations are perceived as one of the important components of academic and professional development. The findings indicate issues about the characteristics and nature of collaborations as well as about colleagues with whom faculty members prefer to collaborate, the ways in which they collaborate, the advantages of collaborations, and the important role that academic leaders and institutions play in encouraging collaborations.

Collaborating with colleagues for the sake of academic and professional development in higher education

The objective of this research is to identify the professional conceptions that guide teacher educators in their work with students, to learn about the nature of these conceptions and to distinguish among them. This aim is important because the conceptions formulated by those working in higher education guide their professional practice and affect their everyday conduct. Multidimensional categorical content analysis of the data shows that the conceptions can be characterized according to specific criteria. The research findings reveal three types of conceptions. The first conception is that the role of teacher-educators is to assist students in succeeding in their studies and to expand ties with them. The second conception is that teacher-educators should empower students and help them grow and construct their professional identity as teachers. The third conception is that in guiding their students teacher-educators should mediate between teaching theories and practices.

Leah Shagrir

Papers

Understanding Teacher Educators’ Work and Identities

Becoming a Teacher Educator: Voices of Beginning Teacher Educators

Professional development of novice teacher educators: professional self, interpersonal relations and teaching skills

Collaborating with colleagues for the sake of academic and professional development in higher education

Working with students in higher education – professional conceptions of teacher educators