 The beginning teacher
educator - shifting
identities
 Becoming a researcher
 case 1: Ethiopia
 case 2: UK
 Where to next?
Gill
Michael
 Mathematics/education
 Geophysics in industry
 Teacher professional
 Science education
development
 ‘Scholarly’ habits!
 An unconscious positivist
 A thwarted HoD
What is a
teacher
educator?
Sub-identities of teacher
educators (Swennen et al.,
2010):
 as school teachers
 as teachers in HE
 as researchers
 as teachers of teachers
“…there were not distinct
moments when we were only
researchers or only
practitioners…” (CochranSmith, 2005:219)
But I teach
teachers: there
is no time for
research!
“There’s a desperation for
people to do the
teaching…that’s the
emphasis…I suspect that a
lot of people have the desire
to do research…but they
find when they get here
there’s a huge teaching
load” (Griffiths et al.,
2010:253)
Why is it important
for a teacher
educator to be
research active?
Tanner & Davies (2009) found that being research active
influenced the practice of teacher educators in these ways:
1. improved knowledge of the literature impacting on
teaching
2. increased research capacity, confidence and skills
3. greater critical awareness
“To build a culture of reflective practice, research must be
an essential part of teacher professional development
from the outset” (ibid:386)(our emphasis)
I am surrounded by
researchers: they seem
to be working inside a
glass house. I can see
much of what they are
doing but cannot find a
way to join them.
Research? I would
love to be
researching but I
don’t have time!
Experienced teacher
educator
• researching your
own practice
(Mason, 2002) –
pedagogical
practice
Beginning teacher
educator
•
?
• ‘original research’
• “scholarship of
discovery” (Boyer et
al., 1994; in Boyd et
al., 2007:16)
Experienced
researcher/Professor
 “…impetus for
change/innovation through
deepening the participants’
understanding of social
processes and developing
strategies to bring about
improvement” (Noffke &
Somekh, 2005:91)
What’s the big
deal with action
research?!
 HE/ITE induction
 Tailored to needs of
teacher educators?
 Supporting engagement
with/in research
 Institutional support
 TEAN/ESCalate
 TERN (Murray et al., 2009)
- collaboration
 Sustained award-bearing
courses (HDP, PGCert, MA,
EdD/PhD,…)
 Bassey, M. (1999), Case study research in Educational Settings. Maidenhead: OUP
 Bekele, A. (2008), Application of Higher Diploma Training skills in classroom
instruction: The case of Education Faculty, Jimma University (Ethiopia), Ethiopian
Journal of Education & Society, 4(1), pp. 51-72
 Boyd, P., Harris, K. & Murray, J. (2007), Becoming a teacher educator: guidelines for
the induction of newly appointed lecturers in Initial Teacher Education, Bristol, HEA
ESCalate, available at http://escalate.ac.uk/3662
 Cochran-Smith, M. (2005), Teacher educators as researchers: multiple perspectives,
Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, pp. 219-225
 Griffiths, V., Thompson, S. & Hryniewicz, L. (2010), Developing a research profile:
mentoring and support for teacher educators, Professional Development in
Education, 36(1), pp. 245-262
 Holland, D., Lachicotte, W., Skinner, D & Cain, C. (1998). Identity and Agency in
Cultural Worlds, London, Harvard University Press
 Mason, J. (2002), Researching your own practice: the discipline of noticing,
Abingdon, Routeledge Falmer
 Munn, P. (2008), Building research capacity collaboratively: can we take ownership
of our future?, British Educational Research Journal, 34(4), pp. 413-430
 Murray, J. (2008), Teacher educators’ induction into Higher Education: work-based
learning in the micro communities of teacher education, European Journal of
Teacher Education, 31(2), pp. 117-133
 Murray, J. et al. (2009), Research and teacher education in the UK: building
capacity, Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, pp. 944-950
 Somekh, B. & Zeichner, K. (2009) Action research for educational reform:
remodelling action research theories and practices in local contexts, Educational
Action Research, 17(1), pp.5-22
 Swennen, A., Jones, K. & Volman, M. (2010), Teacher educators: their identities,
sub-identities and implications for professional development, Professional
Development in Education, 36(1), pp. 131-148
 Tanner, H. & Davies, S. (2009) How engagement with research changes the
professional practice of teacher-educators: a case study from the Welsh Education
Research Network, Journal of Education for Teaching, 35(4), pp. 373-389
 Tessema, K. A. (2006), Contradictions, challenges and chaos in Ethiopian teacher
education, Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 4(1)
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