Towards the Re-Articulation of the Work of Teacher Educators in Higher Education Institutions in England

Source:  European Journal of Teacher Education, Volume 31, Issue 1 February 2008 , pages 17 - 34

In recent years, teacher educators in the Netherlands and the USA have developed professional standards for their occupational groups. These standards have been used to identify the professional expertise of teacher educators, to analyse their professional development needs, and to provide assessment mechanisms for accreditation. This article begins by outlining the impact of changes in pre-service work on teacher educators' work in England and arguing that a re-articulation of the work of this occupational group is needed.

 It then analyses the Dutch and American initiatives, and, drawing on discussions at the Association for Teacher Educators in Europe conference in 2005, debates the potential and relevance of drawing on these models for developing a similar framework with teacher educators in England. The article concludes that, whilst developing rigidly defined standards would be inappropriate, considering the intra-professional development of a broad professional framework would facilitate the identification and understanding of teacher educators' complex work, and provide a springboard for providing enhanced induction and professional development opportunities.