On the Journey of Becoming a Teacher Educator

Abstract

As editors of, and contributors to this collection, we invite you to share in the personal and professional narratives of a diverse group of teacher educators, as they take you through their unique and thought-provoking journeys of professional becoming. This book arose from discussions of our own journeys from primary school teacher to teacher educator, coincidently in our own alma maters, where we undertook our initial teacher education, many years before. We met at the 7th Castle Conference, hosted by the Self Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Education Research Association (AERA) at Herstmonceaux Castle, East Sussex, England, in 2008. There we shared many similar experiences of being primary school teachers, eager to expand our intellectual and pedagogical horizons by undertaking graduate studies, culminating in a doctorate and moving into academia. Over the next 3 years or so, we maintained contact, including visits between our respective universities. As we shared our experiences, we discussed our professional learning as teacher educators, and the challenges and opportunities afforded by the transition from teacher to teacher educator. One outcome of these discussions is this collection of narratives from teacher educators who share their own varied and interesting professional journeys, and contribute meaningfully to the collective wisdom of the profession of teacher education. During our discussions we pondered the questions: What would we have wanted to know at the beginning of our transition into teacher education? How can we provide important insights into what it means to be(come) a teacher educator in times of political, economic, pedagogical and social change, that would be of value to others, particularly those starting out on their own journeys? The collection that follows is a response to those questions.