Teacher educators’ identities and work in England at the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first century

Abstract

This article reports on a recent study of teacher educators in England which aimed to explore teacher educators’ constructions of their own identities in the academic communities within two university schools of education. Findings show that teacher educators constructed repertoires of identities for themselves, deploying these to achieve credibility and recognition or to reflect personal change, depending on the particular context and ‘audience’. Many saw their foundational identity as once-a-school teacher, but entry into the university often triggered changes and the (re)construction of identity around practice as a teacher educator and research engagement. Findings also showed a diversity of identity constructions and resistances around the idea of research engagement and having an identity as an academic. These findings are discussed in relation to the rapidly changing and contested field of teacher education at the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first century.

Keywords:

• teacher educators
• identity
• teaching
• research
• academic work
• higher education

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by a Major Award from the Society for Educational Studies (SES). Our grateful thanks go to the Society for the support it provided with all stages of the study, including the dissemination of the findings.