Being a Teacher Educator in the University: The Identity Trajectories of Boundary-Crossing Academics
Author(s):
Pete Boyd (presenting / submitting) Kim Harris (presenting)
Conference:
ECER 2015
Network:
10. Teacher Education Research
Format:
Paper

Session Information

10 SES 02 B,

Paper Session

Time:
2015-09-08
15:15-16:45
Room:
208.Oktatóterem [C]
Chair:
Peter Gray

Contribution

This longitudinal research project investigates the identity trajectories of university lecturers in teacher education over a number of years. The study of such lecturers in professional fields, where there are strong partnerships with employers and end users of research, provides useful insight into contemporary academic work and identity (Clegg 2008; Smith & Boyd 2012). The quality and professional development of teacher educators is also an important concern for teacher workforce development in Europe and internationally (Snoek, Swennen & van der Klink 2011).

The first stage of the longitudinal project used semi-structured interviews to investigate the work and identity of 16 recently appointed lecturers in teacher education (Boyd & Harris 2010). They had previous experience as school teachers and between one and four years of experience in their higher education posts. The study is based in a case study Education department in a higher education institution which may be characterised as a ‘university of applied science’ in England. In common with academics in such institutions across Europe and internationally, the lecturers are experiencing an increasing expectation for developing research and researcher identity (Cochran-Smith 2003; Karagiorgi & Nicolaidou 2013; Chetty & Lubben 2010). The development of research and researcher identity has been shown to be a particular challenge for teacher educators internationally (Murray & Male 2005; Martinez 2008; Swennen, Jones & Volman, 2010). Our research project has informed a collaborative effort in the UK to enhance academic induction for teacher educators through an ongoing series of workshops organized by the Teacher Education Advancement Network (TEAN) and guidelines published by the Higher Education Academy (Boyd, Harris & Murray 2011).

Situated learning theory has provided a useful theoretical framework for analysing academic workplaces (Jawitz 2009).  From these perspectives the key unit of analysis is the social workplace group or groups in which the new lecturers gradually become a full member  as they interact with ‘old-timers’ within a community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998).  Informal learning is seen as the key to professional learning (Eraut, 2000) although more formal support such as taught courses may also contribute (Fuller et al. 2005).

In stage one of the current study the new lecturers’ transition to higher education roles involved them in reconstructing their multiple identities within their new workplace activities. As Wenger argues, there is a ‘profound connection between identity and practice’ (1998: 149). These academics may be seen to be learning in the ‘third space’ between university and schools (Williams 2014). In this second stage of the project the new lecturers have continued along their identity trajectories influenced by their boundary-crossing workplace context and communities. Wenger considers the identity ‘models’ provided by a community as ‘paradigmatic trajectories’ offered by established experienced members and argues that ‘exposure to this field of paradigmatic trajectories is likely to be the most influential factor shaping the learning of newcomers’ (1998, p. 156) and that it offers the ‘proposal of an identity’.

In stage one of our longitudinal study our analysis showed that as newly appointed university lecturers in teacher education the participants were seeking credibility as effective school teachers with their students (Boyd & Harris 2009). The new lecturers were highly motivated and immersed in teaching and supporting their student teachers. However an unintended effect of institutional emphasis on student evaluative feedback encouraged the new lecturers to maintain their existing identities as effective school teachers rather than embrace new identities as academics. This paper is reporting on stage two of the project, there are 9 lecturers remaining in the study sample who are still working as teacher educators in the case study department.

Method

This paper is based on analysis of nine interview transcripts with lecturers in teacher education who still work within the original department five years after the first stage of the longitudinal study. Clearly the sample is affected in terms of being a longitudinal study by the drop out of lecturers from the stage one group of 16. Of these two retired, two moved to other universities, one moved back to school and two declined. Of the nine lecturers contributing interviews in the second stage, their experience in higher education posts ranged from 5 to 9 years. Prior to appointment to higher education they had gained experience as teachers in schools of between 4 and 26 years with an average of 14 years. In the second stage interviews we asked respondents to bring two artefacts and to produce a simple network map. The idea was to use the artefacts and the network map as a focus for discussion in order to keep the discussion grounded. The use of such mediating objects is a useful strategy for making elicitation of ‘knowledge at work’ within an interview more likely (Eraut, 2000: 120). Firstly the participant was asked to bring hard copy of their curriculum vitae’ to the interview and asked to discuss it. Secondly the participant was asked to bring and discuss a session plan or a teaching resource for a recent taught session with student teachers. All of the participants brought a teaching resource, in one case it was a detailed handout and in the other eight it consisted of PowerPoint slides. Thirdly the participant was provided with a pen and a large blank sheet of paper. They were asked to think aloud as they were drawing a network map showing the significant contacts and networks that they were involved in within their work as a lecturer in teacher education. The audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed and together with the artefact data (CV, teaching resource, network map) subjected to a qualitative thematic analysis. The data analysis was informed by a situated learning framework, including the concept of identity trajectory, whilst also allowing themes to emerge from the data. A biographical slicing of the data was also completed to develop a sense of the trajectory of each individual lecturer. Care has been taken to maintain anonymity for the participants throughout the study and therefore biographies are reported in a generalised manner.

Expected Outcomes

Initial data analysis suggests that the teacher educators, feeling more established in their higher education roles, now appear to be focused on developing student teachers as critical thinkers who are able to evaluate policy and practice. Rather than seeking credibility as expert school teachers, which was a finding in the first stage of the project, the lecturers have moved on to seek credibility as scholars. They are engaging to different degrees with the research teaching nexus. Although they are engaging more with scholarship and the research evidence base in their field, not all of the lecturers were engaging with the idea of becoming a researcher. Despite expectations for research outputs within their institutional workplace and the wider sector, within their heavy workload many feel unable to prioritise research activity. Collaboration is highly valued by them, for example in planning teaching or co-authoring a chapter for a student text. In terms of external networking several of the lecturers were acting as school governors and they see this as important in keeping up to date with practice. Their links to academics in other universities were generally less well developed. In analysing the trajectory of each lecturer in turn we found that four of them were very focused on engagement with schools and teachers and we characterised these academics as building identity as ‘consultants’ who valued knowledge exchange highly. The other five of the lecturers were registered on their doctorate and in this way had made a commitment to develop a strand of identity as a researcher, we characterised this group as ‘academics’ with a more explicit acceptance of the norms of the higher education sector. The analysis is ongoing and in particular it is interesting and challenging to combine more familiar qualitative analysis of the transcripts with analysis of the artefacts.

References

Boyd, P., Harris, K. & Murray, J. (2011) Becoming a Teacher Educator: Guidelines for induction (2nd Ed.). ESCalate, Higher Education Academy: Bristol. Available at www.cumbria.ac.uk/tean Boyd, P. & Harris, K. (2010) Becoming a university lecturer in teacher education: expert school teachers reconstructing their pedagogy and identity. Professional Development in Education 36 (1-2), 9-24. Chetty, R. & Lubben, F. (2010) The scholarship of research in teacher education in a higher education institution in transition: issues of identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(4), 613-620. Clegg, S. (2008) Academic identities under threat? British Educational Research Journal, 34 (3): 329-345. Cochran-Smith, M. (2003) Learning and Unlearning: the education of teacher educators. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19 (1), 5-26. Eraut M. (2000) Non-formal learning and tacit knowledge in professional work. British Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 70, pp113-136. Fuller, A., Hodkinson, H., Hodkinson, P. & Unwin, L. (2005) ‘Learning as peripheral participation in communities of practice: a reassessment of key concepts in workplace learning’, British Educational Research Journal. 31 (1), 49-68. Jawitz, J. (2009) Academic identities and communities of practice in a professional discipline. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(3), 241-251. Karagiorgi, Y. & Nicolaidou, M. (2013) Professional development of teacher educators: voices from the Greek-Cypriot context. Professional Development in Education, 39 (5), 784-798. Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991) Situated Learning: legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Martinez, K. (2008) Academic induction for teacher educators. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 36 (1), 35-51. Murray, J. & Male, T. (2005) ‘Becoming a teacher educator: evidence from the field’, Teaching and Teacher Education, 21 (2),125-142. Smith, C. & Boyd, P. (2012) Becoming an Academic: The reconstruction of identity by recently appointed lecturers in Nursing, Midwifery and the Allied Health Professions. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 49 (1), 63-72. Snoek, M., Swennen, A. & van der Klink, M. (2011) The quality of teacher educators in the European policy debate: actions and measures to improve the professionalism of teacher educators. Professional Development of Education, 37 (5), 651-664. Swennen, A., Jones, K. & Volman, M. (2010) Teacher Educators: their identities, sub-identities and implications for professional development. Professional Development in Education, 36 (1-2), 131-148. Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Williams, J. (2014) Teacher Educator Professional Learning in the Third Space: implications for identity and practice. Journal of Teacher Education, 65 (4), 315-326.

Author Information

Pete Boyd (presenting / submitting)
University of Cumbria
Graduate School
Carlisle
Kim Harris (presenting)
University of Worcester, England

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