Susan E. Elliott-Johns

Different Voices, Many Journeys: Explorations of the transformative nature of the self-study of teacher education practices

This special issue presents nine research articles that explore the transformative nature of self-study of teacher education practices from a variety of international perspectives and in different sociocultural contexts. The Ninth International Conference on Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices held at Herstmonceux Castle in August 2012 offered a wide range of papers reflecting the transformative nature of self-study research and practice. A number of papers clearly underscored the many and varied contexts in which self-study is conducted and the importance of recognizing the role of self-study research in transforming teaching–learning processes and practice. Following the conference and further close readings of papers published in the conference proceedings, we invited a number of authors to consider revision and expansion of their papers into research articles for publication. As a result, the articles in this special issue offer international perspectives and thought-provoking insights on the transformative potential of self-study, as illustrated through ongoing inquiries and lived experiences of the contributors, all of whom are teacher-researchers seeking to understand and improve their continuously evolving practice and personal narratives of being and becoming teacher educators. Taken together, and in the words of Clandinin (2010), these articles suggest that:

Supporting One Another as Beginning Teacher Educators: Forging an online community of critical inquiry into practice

Four novice teacher educators working at different universities in the USA and Canada used online journaling and dialoguing combined with feedback from their students to explore their practice and new roles as teacher educators in new contexts. Their priorities included modeling critical reflection and enacting democratic practices. They chronicle their struggles and successes over the course of an academic year. The authors online community provided a viable and valued venue for self-study. Findings include insight into their taken-for-granted assumptions, how their instructional efforts were interpreted by others, and the impact that their collaborative efforts had on each researchers professional development. The authors include implications for universities and colleges regarding the format and structure of mentoring of junior faculty.

Leadership for Change in Teacher Education

Ova je knjiga zbirka od sedamnaest poglavlja što ih je objedinila i uredila dr. Susan E. Elliott-Johns, izvanredna profesorica na Sveučilištu Nipssing (Ontario, Kanada), istaknuta znanstvenica s profesionalnim interesom u istraživanju i praksi obrazovanja učitelja i vođenja u obrazovanju. Osnovna je ideja knjige prikazati svu složenost vođenja škola za obrazovanje kroz osobna i profesionalna iskustva predanih i kompetentnih pojedinaca. Autori pojedinih poglavlja problematiziraju ulogu dekana (voditelja u obrazovanju) u suvremenom obrazovanju učitelja ukazujući i na probleme njihove marginalizirane uloge. U uvodnom poglavlju Vodstvo za promjene u trenutnoj edukaciji učitelja: Zašto se usredotočiti na ulogu dekana u obrazovanju? (Leadership for Change in Contemporary Teacher Education: Why a Focus on the Role of Deans of Education?), autorica Susan E. Elliott-Johns pojašnjava kako je cijeli projekt bio usmjeren na voditelje fakulteta za obrazovanje učitelja diljem Kanade, poglavito na njihove vizije o suvremenom obrazovanju učitelja u vremenu trenutnih obrazovnih reformi navodeći da u obrazovnom kontekstu, gdje obrazovanje učitelja zauzima visoko mjesto, dekani u obrazovanju imaju značajnu ulogu jer oni nisu samo administratori nego su i voditelji promjena na svojim sveučilištima. Namjera je autorice posredovati iskustva dekana u obrazovanju kako bi ta iskustva pomogla drugima u boljem razumijevanju obrazovanja učitelja i njihove uloge u vođenju obrazovnih promjena.

The Long and Winding Road: Reflections on Experience of Becoming Teacher Educator

Nine years into my present role as a teacher educator in pre-service and graduate education programs at a small university in Northern Ontario, Canada, and after a successful career as a teacher and administrator in public school systems on both sides of the Atlantic, the opportunity to write this retrospective chapter has further illuminated how multi-faceted layers of knowledge and experience have contributed to the (still-a-work-in-process) development of my professional identity as a teacher educator.

Leadership for Change in Contemporary Teacher Education

The post-secondary education sector is currently experiencing significant transition and change as technological innovation, financial constraints, and shifting demographics (to name but a few significant factors) continue to create climates of uncertainty and precarity.