This paper will present the use of an innovative research methodology, living graphs, to capture and represent the life experiences and professional development of teacher educators in two universities in the UK and Greece. The objectives of the study were to analyse and compare the career experiences of teacher educators; in particular, to identify stages of development, landmark events and contextual factors affecting professional learning and academic identities. The study compares two European countries, is contextualised within European literature and uses a European theoretical framework.

Research questions included:

• What are the key landmarks in teacher educators’ professional and      academic development?
• How effective are living graphs as a methodological tool to      illuminate teacher educators’ experiences and development? 

There is increasing interest internationally in the re-conceptualisation of the role of teacher educators and in particular, their developing research identities (Korthagen et al., 2005; Swennen et al., 2010). Several researchers (e.g. Harrison and McKeon, 2010; Murray, 2008) highlight the dual transition that teacher educators make into university life and lack of induction into new roles. Swennen et al. (2010) identify four main roles or sub-identities which teacher educators may adopt, but these may differ across country contexts. They argue that teacher educators often have to transform themselves in order to take on certain identities, especially the researcher role.

The overarching theoretical framework used in the study is socio-cultural learning, in recognition that the specific contexts in which teacher educators work are of vital importance in the process of learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Eraut’s (2007) research on contextual and learning factors in the workplace is used to identify key factors affecting teacher educators’ professional learning and differences between contexts. Lave and Wenger's (1991) model of legitimate peripheral participation was useful for studying teacher educators' development over time.

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