The Present and the Future of Teacher Educators: A Review Of Literature On Teacher Educators Identities

Author(s):

Amélia Lopes(presenting / submitting)Leanete Dotta

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

10. Teacher Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

10 SES 05 A, Teacher Educators: Entrepreneurship and Identity

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-03

11:00-12:30

Room:

B217 Sala de Aulas

Chair:

Aileen Kennedy

Contribution

Studies on teacher educators have been developing in last decade and reveal a tendency to grow (Crook, 2012). The expansion of higher education and the awareness of the importance of teacher education to improve basic education led to a concern with teacher educators (Koster & Dengerink, 2001). Indeed, it came consensual that the professional development of educators deserves special attention (Cochran-Smith, 2003; Koster, Dengerik, Korthagen, & Lunenberg, 2008; Margolin, 2011).

The main factors motivating the studies on teacher educators concern the various nature and complexity of teacher educators’ role (Robinson, 2003); the need to “de-naturalize” the traditional perception on teaching in higher education (Smith, 2003), and the development of policies able to promote teacher educators’ professional development according to current education demands (Cochran-Smith, 2003). Since teacher educators contribute to the professional development of school teachers, a concern with the relationship between teacher education and teaching profession arises. Considering the diversified nature and complexity of school teachers’ role, teacher educators’ mission will be not limited to the expansion of theoretical knowledge, but includes practical knowledge and the development of cognitive and emotional aspects (Smith, 2003). In fact, theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge (Shulman, 2005; Tardif, 2002; Zabalza, 2004) must be constantly mediated by teacher educators (Korthagen, 2010). As teacher education is increasingly taken place in higher education institutions, it comes crucial to deepen the reflection on higher professional education assuring high level professional training, which implies new and nurturing metaphors of knowledge informing training processes and objectives. Therefore, research on the impact of teacher education policies on the effectiveness of teacher educators becomes essential to inform further decisions on teacher education.

This challenging agenda requires a consistent body of knowledge on teacher educators. Nevertheless research on teacher educators faces some specific difficulties, such as the various ways teacher educators are recruited in different countries, which is often associated with different educational and training systems. In fact, as stressed by Hamilton & Clandinin (2011), there is no universal definition of how and who can become a teacher educator. Adding to this there is the diversity of teaching profession itself and the various conceptual and theoretical benchmarks framing the studies on teacher educators.

This set of conditions associated with the prediction of a rise of studies on teacher educators over the next years makes it necessary to invest on reviewing the existing research studies. This paper will focus on the presentation and discussion of a review of literature on teacher educators published between 2000 and 2013, which was conducted aiming to organize and inspire future studies and publications, but also policy decisions on teacher education. Presentation and discussion will focus on the theoretical basis of the revised studies, special attention being given to theoretical frameworks concerning teacher educators professional identity, as they simultaneously considerer the impact of individual and contextual factors framing teacher educators’ positions and dispositions. In fact they bring together both biographical and contextual aspects of being a teacher educator (Dubar, 1997) and they allow to consider the context as an ecological system as it is defined by Bronfenbrenner (1979), i.e., as a system that includes interactions between the macro, medium, and micro levels, as well as the interactions among them.

Method

The review of literature refers to 191 complete articles compiled in accordance with the following stages and criteria: First stage: • research in EBSCOhost databases: Academic Search Complete, Education Research Complete, Educational Resource Information Center, and Teacher Reference Center • research in the ISI WEB database • keyword research: teacher educator in the title and higher education in “subject terms” • year of publication between 2000 and June 2013 • exclusion of articles whose title explicitly refers teacher educators in specific subject disciplines, such as science, sport, math, or the fine arts, among others • and organization of the articles in themes and subthemes. The described process resulted on the identification of 191 articles, which were analyzed according to a “paradigmatic analysis” (Polkinghorne, 1995). From this analysis, seven thematic groups of articles emerged. - “Practices and Knowledge”, which includes articles in which the authors discuss aspects connected with the way teacher educators think and represent specific themes, such as the relation between theory and practice, teaching, and knowledge; - “Curricula, Policies, and Reforms”, related to the knowledge educators have of the teacher education curricula and to the impact of curricular policies and reforms on teacher education programs; - “Professional Development”, embracing articles organized in subthemes as follows: “Teacher educators’ professionalism”, with articles on the development of the profession and the professionalism of teacher educators; and “Teacher educators training”; “Career Induction”, focusing induction programs for recently appointed teacher educators; and “Teaching/Research Relationship”, emphasizing the ways teacher educators conceive their role as teachers and researchers in higher education; and “Teacher educators identities”, with articles clearly use the concept of identity to reflect on teacher educators; “Educators and Technology”, comprising articles specifically dealing with issues connected with how teacher educators may develop their knowhow on technology; - “Multiculturalism and Diversity”, including articles about ethnic, gender, and cultural issues; “Ethical and Philosophical Issues”, related with ethic questioning and philosophical reflection around being a teacher educator; “School/University partnerships”, focusing the relationships developed between higher education institutions and schools Further analysis focuses on the articles grouped in the theme "Teacher educators Identities", taken it as a main category. This kind of analysis resulted in the identification of four subthemes as follows: 1- From an identity of school teacher to an identity of teacher educator 2- Research and teacher educators’ identities 3- Identities of teacher educators in a context of change 4- Identities of Teacher Educators and Interactive Processes

Expected Outcomes

Articles using the concept of teacher educators’ identities reveal mainly the tensions and conflicts in the process of identity formation, the identities required for teacher educators; and the favorable environments for identity development. Analysis varies according to the emphasis given to the diachronic (theme 1) or synchronic dimension of identity formation (theme 2) and, within the latter, according to the context levels (micro, meso, or macro) preferentially considered (in theme 3 there is a focus on the macro level). The theme 4 offers a more general approach to the process of identity formation, and focuses the interactions contributing to its promotion. Theme 1 puts the emphasis on continuities and discontinuities lived by teacher educators when entering and adapting to their role as teachers’ educators, the experiences of continuity and discontinuity being discussed with the concepts of self and identity. In the theme 2, it is the multiple nature of the same identity (dedicated educator or isolated researcher; openness to others or self-interest) that is focused, such as the ways a concrete contexts informs about what identities should be updated, invented, or hidden; the “situation” frames the analysis and the approach is clearly interactionist. In the theme 3, the conception of educators’ identity is associated with conceptions of teachers’ professionalism and teaching profession; in this approach, which focus on the macro level of analysis, political positioning is explicit, with a critical analysis of entrepreneurialism identities and an emphasis on teacher educators as agents able to give a new meaning to their role, notably reinventing the meaning of being a teacher educator in higher education.

References

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, M.A: Harvard University Press. Cochran-Smith, M. (2003). Learning and unlearning: The education of teacher educators. Teaching And Teacher Education, 19(1), 5-28. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X02000914 Dubar, C. (1997). A socialização: Construção das identidades sociais e profissionais. Porto: Porto Editora. Hamilton, M., & Clandinin, J. (2011). Unpacking our assumptions about teacher educators around the world. Teaching & Teacher Education, 27, 243-244. Retrieved from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0742051X10002003/1-s2.0-S0742051X10002003main.pdf?_tid=e4a95bee040311e2b7ed00000aab0f02&acdnat=1348242734_800f429508f1bbae384d20baccbc2cb1 Korthagen, F. (2010). How teacher education can make a difference. Journal of Education for Teaching, 36(4), 407-423, retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02607476.2010.513854 on 14.5.12. Koster, B., & Dengerink, J. (2001). Towards a professional standard for dutch teacher educators. European Journal Of Teacher Education, 24(3), 343-354. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=fe3f7342-8de8-4a0b-a793-ad2c4310a5b1%40sessionmgr111&vid=5&hid=126 Koster, B., & Dengerink, J. (2001). Towards a professional standard for dutch teacher educators. European Journal Of Teacher Education, 24(3), 343-354. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=fe3f7342-8de8-4a0b-a793-ad2c4310a5b1%40sessionmgr111&vid=5&hid=126 Koster, B., Dengerink, J., Korthagen, F., & Lunenberg, M. (2008). Teacher educators working on their own professional development: Goals, activities and outcomes of a project for the professional development of teacher educators. Teachers And Teaching: Theory And Practice, 14(5-6), 567-587. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=3827b248-72b4-4d7584fe-45c4062a4af0%40sessionmgr13&vid=56&hid=110 Margolin, I. (2011). Professional development of teacher educators through a “transitional space”: A surprising outcome of a teacher education program. Teacher Education Quarterly, 38(3), 7-25. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f343dd1a-8ff8-40f1-a2e8-adb1c1424a4e%40sessionmgr15&vid=28&hid=17 Polkinghorne, D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 8(1), 5-23 Robinson, M. (2003). Teacher education policy in South Africa: The voice of teacher educators. Journal Of Education For Teaching, 29(1), 19-34. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=fe3f7342-8de8-4a0b-a793-ad2c4310a5b1%40sessionmgr111&vid=7&hid=13 Smith, K. (2003). So, what about the professional development of teacher educators? European Journal Of Teacher Education, 26(2), 201-215. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=fe3f7342-8de8-4a0b-a793-ad2c4310a5b1%40sessionmgr111&vid=18&hid=13 Shulman, L.S. (2005). Conocimiento y enseñanza: fundamentos de la nueva reforma. Profesorado. Revista de currículum y formación del profesorado, 9(2), 1-30, retrieved from http://www.ugr.es/local/recfpro/Rev92ART1.pdf on 12.08.09. Tardif, M. (2002). Saberes docentes e formação profissional. 2ed. Petrópolis: Vozes. Zabalza, M. A. (2004). O ensino universitário – seu cenário e seus protagonistas. Porto Alegre: ARTMED.

Author Information

Amélia Lopes (presenting / submitting)

Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences University of Porto, Portugal

Leanete Dotta