The formal and situated learning of beginning teacher educators in England: identifying characteristics for successful induction in the transition from workplace in schools to workplace in higher education

Source: European Journal of Teacher Education, Volume 31, Issue 2 May 2008 , pages 151 - 168

We present interview data from the early stages of a longitudinal study on the emerging professional, academic identities of five beginning teacher educators. We identify the main facilitators and barriers which support different types of professional learning. Barriers in the early stages include: a reliance on trial and error learning, inappropriate induction courses, poor mentoring and support structures and relatively few opportunities for collaborative work. Facilitators include: flexible induction programmes, learning conversations with key colleagues and personal experience of learning at Masters' level.

The data are discussed in relation to the described experiences of formal and situated (informal) learning. The positive impact of formal learning, as well as the capacity to 'fit in', show us that 'learning by participation' alone is an insufficient model to account for the complexities of becoming a teacher educator in new settings.