A Process of Becoming: Continuing Change in the Practice of Teacher Educators

Abstract

This chapter joins the discussion of conceptual and pedagogical changes within the process of becoming a teacher educator. We consider it important to highlight two key points in order to enhance this discussion. On the one hand, the professional path to becoming a teacher educator is mediated by personal and professional experiences from long before the moment of becoming an academic in a teacher education program. As Kelchtermans (2009) observes, teaching is always enacted by someone who has a life story situated in the different contexts in which he or she has taught. Consequently, the research on the process of becoming a teacher educator ought to focus on how this process of professional development interacts with personal as well as work-related issues. Secondly, the professional development for those who become teacher educators involves not only changes in self-identity, but also the development of their professional knowledge and approaches to teaching itself. For instance, several studies have shown the complexities in developing a teacher educator's professional identity that is aligned with a pedagogy of teacher education (Dinkelman et al. 2006 ; Murray and Male 2005 ; Williams and Ritter 2010). In this regard, we agree with Loughran (2006) who states that teacher educators learn to teach not only from their practice, but also from their careful analysis of practice. Likewise, it is important to analyze the changes in teaching practices during the teacher educator's professional path because it contributes to both knowledge and practical suggestions for this qualifi ed workforce. This chapter focuses on sharing our insights about the conceptual and pedagogi-cal changes during an individual's professional path to becoming a teacher educator.