Epilogue: Enhancing the profession of teacher educators

Abstract

The main purpose of this book is to act as a source for beginning teacher educators in their first years of teacher education. Every book has its limitations, and we are well aware of the fact that we have not covered all of the issues that are important for beginning teacher educators in this text. Of course, we also realise that a book can never replace formal induction and the informal support of colleagues; a book is a resource, not a solution. In this epilogue, we discuss what we have learned from the chapters as we have edited and assembled them and we reflect on the implications of this book for teacher educators. In so doing, we focus on the two main themes: the induction of beginning teacher educators and the professional development of teacher educators. We discuss three challenges for teacher educators, and we give examples of initiatives that might be useful for teacher educators. Finally, we offer some suggestions for future research.