Elizabeth White

Being a Teacher and a Teacher Educator--Developing a New Identity?.

The shift towards school-led teacher education steered by the government in England challenges the ‘traditional’ model of experienced teachers leaving school and entering the higher education sector to become teacher educators. More teachers are undertaking the dual role of teacher and teacher educator, leading the professional learning of teachers. This paper investigates the perceptions of seven experienced teachers who take on the role of leading the development of subject knowledge of new and experienced teachers through a case-study approach. The findings reveal that leading professional development has an impact on the professional identity of these teachers. This new role has changed the way that they view themselves as teachers, and their practice as teachers, and for others it has contributed to their leadership role and career progression. Not all of the participants embraced an identity as a teacher educator. The findings are compared with teachers making the transition from school teacher to teacher educator in higher education institutions in the literature, to discover commonalities that could guide the planning of professional development opportunities. The research revealed insights into experiences of becoming a teacher educator; the impact on them as teachers and leaders; and how they see their own identities developing.

Developing an appreciation of what it means to be a school-based teacher educator

The nature of partnership between schools and higher education institutions is changing in many countries, with experienced teachers taking on more responsibility for teacher education whilst remaining in their school as teachers, rather than entering the higher education sector to become teacher educators. This research considers the perspectives of these school-based teacher educators (SBTEs) in England, exploring the impact that this role has on them, their student-teachers and their schools. Some benefits and challenges that they face in the dual role of teacher and teacher educator are revealed. The research takes an interpretive perspective, listening to the meanings being constructed by the participants through use of a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and a focus group of student-teachers who learned from these SBTEs. Possible impacts on student-teachers’ learning and implications for the development of high-quality teacher education are examined.

Working towards explicit modelling: experiences of a new teacher educator

As a new teacher educator of beginner teachers on the Graduate Teacher Programme in a large School of Education in a UK university, I have reflected on how I have been able to develop the effectiveness of modelling good professional practice to student‐teachers. In this paper I will present ways in which I have made modelling more explicit, how students have been given the opportunity to reflect on what they have learned and how they learnt it, and the responses of students to the modelling. By developing the effectiveness of modelling in combination with an open dialogue and reflective practice, I discovered that my students were able to articulate their learning more clearly.

An exploration of the development of academic identity in a School of Education

This paper explores the complex processes involved in the self-construction of academic identity in a UK School of Education. Building on seminal literature in this field and drawing on the research of four academics, it begins by discussing teacher educators’ varying perceptions of the need to re-configure their identity to meet the expectations of a twenty-first-century higher education workforce. The article proposes the formation of this identity to be a dynamic, career-long process. Diverse scaffolds for the development process are proposed, including opportunities for new teacher educators to be apprenticed into an academic role, the centrality of communities of practice and the importance of the supported development of academic skills such as writing for publication.

School Based Teacher Training : A Handbook for Tutors and Mentors

PART ONE: HOW TEACHER EDUCATORS DEVELOP THEIR OWN PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING The Professional Development of Teacher Educators - Elizabeth White and Joy Jarvis A Whole-School Approach to Professional Development - Mike Stevens Becoming a Teacher Educator: Developing a New Aspect to Your Identity - Joy Jarvis PART TWO: ASPECTS OF THE PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF TEACHER EDUCATORS The Pedagogy of Teacher Educators - Joy Jarvis and Elizabeth White Enhancing Professional Learning Conversations - Sally Graham How to Nurture the Development of Subject Knowledge for Teaching - Elizabeth White Providing the Right Mix of Support and Challenge - Phil Lenten Practical and Experiential Support for Trainees - Lynn Chapman and Bushra Connors Developing Your Practice through Engaging with Educational Literature - Lara Fuller, Hilary Taylor and Amanda Roberts Practice-Based Enquiry as a Basis for Change - Amanda Roberts and Hilary Taylor References Index