What Should Teacher Educators Know and Be Able to Do? Perspectives from Practicing Teacher Educators

Research Questions What do current teacher educators consider to be the foundation elements of their practice? How do they evaluate their own preparation in these areas? How can their experiences inform how the field prepares the next generation of teacher educators?

Research Design Convergent Parallel Design to Mixed Methods Four Procedures 1.Quantitative and qualitative data collected separately 2.Both data sets analyzed separately by distinct teams of researchers 3.Point of interface 4.Interpretation Conceptual Lens Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999): “relationships of knowledge and practice” Knowledge-for-practice Knowledge-in-practice Knowledge-of-practice

Data Collection Two Phases Phase 1: Online survey (quantitative) Phase 2: Follow-up semi- structured interview (qualitative) Sample Higher education faculty who self-identify as teacher educators 293 surveys (220 by females) Doctorates completed between Most identify as White (79.7%) Mean number of years in education is Only 11.3% had graduated with a degree in teacher education Most are either tenured (36%) or tenure-track professors (36%) Majority live in the U.S. (93.3%) Research emphasis A quarter (24.7%) work within IHEs that emphasize research 25.3% - IHEs with a low emphasis on research. 37.3% - IHEs with a moderate emphasis on research A majority spend most of their professional time teaching (64.0%)—average course load of 5 courses

Survey (Quantitative) Data 8 Domains of Teacher Preparation and Competence: 1.Theoretical knowledge 2.Content knowledge 3.Familiarity with research 4.Ability to conduct research 5.Interpersonal skills 6.Reflection 7.Professional activities 8.Multicultural subscale* (cut across the first 7) For Each Domain, Participants Rated: Degree to which their program prepared them How important they considered this domain to be

Interview (Qualitative) Data Data 20 interviews Conducted over the telephone, audio- recorded and transcribed Transcripts analyzed using an interplay of inductive and deductive coding (grounded theory) Content of Interviews: Respondents were asked to: Reflect on their doctoral preparation in relation to their current roles as teacher educators Evaluate their own preparation Identify key elements of their current practice Offer recommendations for preparing the next generation of teacher educators

Analysis of Interview Data and Findings 3 main sections 1.Preparation of current teacher educators 2.Elements foundational to the work of teacher educators 3.Recommendations for the preparation of future teacher educators 1. Preparation of Current Teacher Educators Three-fourths of the respondents fell into the profession Significant inconsistencies in experiences and opportunities within and across doctoral programs and colleges/universities No explicit development of teaching skills or pedagogies for teacher educating Separation of teacher education from research; flawed understandings of teacher education

Analysis of Interview Data and Findings 2. Elements Foundational to the Work of Teacher Educators Bridging knowledge and practice Self-directed, life-long learning Collaboration Negotiating multiple and conflicting agendas 3. Recommendations for Preparation of Future Teacher Educators Strong foundation of educational theories Knowledge about the field of teacher education Intentional mentorship/apprenticeship in teaching and research Mentorship around professional life in the academy

Post-hoc Quantitative Analysis 3 key interview themes based on interviewees’ reports that they: 1.Lacked practical teaching skills for the preparation of teacher candidates 2.Felt unprepared for their own professional socialization process 3.Had high levels of engagement in conducting research even though they described using research more so than doing research Confirmed thematic and discursive analyses of interview data

Discussion Knowledge-for-practice: Included theoretical and content knowledge but not the ‘why’ of practice New teacher educators arrive at the academy without preparation Deprofessionalization of teacher educators Knowledge-in-practice: A somewhat haphazard and dysfunctional process of learning through doing, sinking or swimming, trial by fire Perpetuation of knowledge-in-practice as personal, likely idiosyncratic, and contextually-specific Teacher educators sustaining the mythology of teacher educating as process without substance Knowledge-of-practice: Absence of pedagogical and research expertise specific to the work of teacher preparation Primary responsibility: teaching vs. research

Diversity Merryfield (2000): “Do today’s teacher educators have the knowledge, skills and commitments to teach for equity and diversity either locally or globally?” (p. 430) Our Findings: Practicing teacher educators do not feel they have adequate preparation for diversity More experienced teacher educators ranked multicultural issues less highly than those with less experience Unevenness in the field in terms of multicultural teacher education curriculum and understanding as well as teacher educators’ level of commitment to diversity or equity

Concluding Remarks Current context Regarding Teacher Educators Shortage of candidates for teacher education faculty positions Too many academics hired to do teacher education work are not necessarily prepared or qualified Minimal attention paid to formal preparation of teacher educators Regarding Teacher Preparation Scathing critique about poorly prepared teacher candidates Job of preparing teachers cast to open market (all manner of alternate provider) If teacher educators are ill-prepared in the work of teacher educating, and if that work is perceived as peripheral to the high status work of the university, they cannot be expected to design quality teacher preparation programs, envision innovation, conduct meaningful research in teacher education

Concluding Remarks Need for Teacher Educators to Reflect Upon Their Profession When we agree as a field on the need for a pedagogy of teacher education, we can begin to: Think more deliberately about quality teacher educators within the context of (inter)national dialogue on quality teachers and quality education Learn more about negotiating among competing political demands Adapt to and meet the needs of the changing context of teacher education Becoming a teacher educator is not a simple two-step process: from teacher to teacher educator Current policy climate has teacher educators increasingly on the defensive (mandates, threats of punitive accountability, additional regulations and standards for teacher certification) Context for teacher education changing and becoming all the more complex