This study is embedded within a larger research project which has explored teacher educator identities over several itterations of data collection both in ireland and international contexts.  Findings from teacher educator narratives in this study reflect the larger literature which indicates that teacher educators experience a marginalisation within the academy irrespective of their diverse institutional contexts. It further suggests that the traditional binarisation between theory and practice persists and that teacher educators find themselves in a crisis of legitimacy. On the one hand they are faced with issues relating to their status within the academy and on the other they need to claim credibility with student teachers based on their proximity to the classroom and practice. This paper makes a contribution to understanding student teachers' perceptions of the professional identities of teacher educators in initial teacher education in Ireland, While there has been some focus on teacher educator idemtities over the past decade, all of the research has been from the perspective of initial teacher educators themselves. Student teachers' views in this regard remain a secret garden. This gap in understanding warrants attention to enable us to complexify and construct a fuller account of professional identity. 

The conceptual framework for the research draws on sociological explanations of capital, identity, values and agency within the field of teacher education (Bourdieu, Kelthchermans, Murray). It draws from two fields, that of student teacher identity formation and teacher educator identity in order to explore and articulate tensions perceived by  teachers educators' regarding their values and current praxis.

 This study allows the researchers to analyse what student teachers believe is privileged and valued by their teacher educators. This  will provide further data for comparison with international literature and previous data sets gathers by the researchers.

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