Being a Teacher Educator in Challenging Times (eBook)

Mike Hayler is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Brighton, UK. His research draws upon analytic autoethnography and life history methods to examine the education of teachers, the role of narrative in the construction of identity, and the development of pedagogy. These themes are closely related to his professional practice and informed by his experience as a classroom teacher, advisory teacher and teacher educator.

Judy Williams is a Senior Lecturer at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. She is interested in understanding the lives and work of teachers and teacher educators, and in utilising methodologies that explore teachers' lived experiences and professional learning.  She has researched the work of teachers, pre-service teachers and teacher educators in various contexts, including career transitions and engagement in international learning experiences. She also supports teachers in the development of their research careers.

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This book presents a duoethnographic exploration and narrative account of what it means to be a teacher educator today. Adopting a narrative approach, the book presents different personal, political and institutional perspectives to interrogate common challenges facing teacher education and teacher educators today. In addition, the book compares and contrasts the teacher education landscapes in Australia and the UK and addresses a broad range of topics, including the autobiographical nature of teacher educators' work, the value of learning from experience, the importance of collegiality and collaboration in learning to become a teacher educator, and the intersection of the personal, professional and political in the development of teacher educator pedagogies and research agendas. Each chapter combines personal narratives and research-based perspectives on the key dimensions of teacher educators' work that can be found in the literature, including self-study research. Readers will gain a better understanding of the processes, influences and relationships that make being a teacher educator both a challenging and rewarding career. Accordingly, the book offers a valuable asset for university leaders, experienced and beginning teacher educators, and researchers interested in the professional learning and development of teacher educators.