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Against a rapidly changing policy landscape for teacher education, exacerbated by 'Brexit' in the UK, findings are presented from an electronic survey of 272 higher-education based teacher educators in England, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland about their experiences of, and priorities for, professional learning. While the data generated were mainly quantitative data, qualitative features were embedded within the survey design. Both types of data have been used to draw out complexities that emerge when exploring a professional group of educators responsible for the preparation of a future generation of teachers. The findings are presented and discussed in relation to the professional demographics of the sample, research expectations placed on them and teacher educators' priorities for professional learning. Given the unique occupational position of teacher educators, their importance in the quality of teacher education and the lack of formal focus on their professional development, our starting point for teacher educators' professional development lies in their practice situated and positioned within global, regional, national and local policy contexts.

A universal lack of attention to the professional learning needs of teacher educators is the driver for this study, which considers the most effective ways to support the professional learning of higher education-based teacher educators. At a time when many industrialised countries are engaged in systemic educational reform, this study provides an international and comparative needs analysis through a survey of 1158 higher education-based teacher educators in the countries participating in the International Forum for Teacher Educator Development: Belgium, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. Our results suggest that while teacher educators are only moderately satisfied with their professional development experiences, a strong desire exists for further professional learning. This desire, influenced by their professional context, relates to their current beliefs concerning "best practice" in teacher education, the academic skills required to further their professional careers and knowledge of the curriculum associated with their fields of expertise.

This article reports on a recent study of teacher educators in England which aimed to explore teacher educators' constructions of their own identities in the academic communities within two university schools of education. Findings show that teacher educators constructed repertoires of identities for themselves, deploying these to achieve credibility and recognition or to reflect personal change, depending on the particular context and "audience". Many saw their foundational identity as once-a-school teacher, but entry into the university often triggered changes and the (re)construction of identity around practice as a teacher educator and research engagement. Findings also showed a diversity of identity constructions and resistances around the idea of research engagement and having an identity as an academic. These findings are discussed in relation to the rapidly changing and contested field of teacher education at the beginning of the second decade of the twenty-first century.

Though teachers in schools are increasingly being asked to take responsibility for the education and training of prospective and practicing teachers, little empirical research has been undertaken into the support that they require to perform their duties effectively. This study provides an international needs analysis of the professional learning needs of this occupational group through a survey of 1680 school-based teacher educators (SBTEs) conducted in 12 countries. While the findings from this study reveal that most SBTEs receive some form of preparation for their role, they require that preparation to be more collaborative and target the pedagogic and research-related aspects of their work. The findings also indicate how much more needs to be done to recognise, address and support SBTEs’ learning needs in relation to the rapidly-changing socio-economic, cultural and technological contexts that underpin the work of all teacher educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against a rapidly changing policy landscape for teacher education, exacerbated by 'Brexit' in the UK, findings are presented from an electronic survey of 272 higher-education based teacher educators in England, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland about their experiences of, and priorities for, professional learning. While the data generated were mainly quantitative data, qualitative features were embedded within the survey design. Both types of data have been used to draw out complexities that emerge when exploring a professional group of educators responsible for the preparation of a future generation of teachers. The findings are presented and discussed in relation to the professional demographics of the sample, research expectations placed on them and teacher educators' priorities for professional learning. Given the unique occupational position of teacher educators, their importance in the quality of teacher education and the lack of formal focus on their professional development, our starting point for teacher educators' professional development lies in their practice situated and positioned within global, regional, national and local policy contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A universal lack of attention to the professional learning needs of teacher educators is the driver for this study, which considers the most effective ways to support the professional learning of higher education-based teacher educators. At a time when many industrialised countries are engaged in systemic educational reform, this study provides an international and comparative needs analysis through a survey of 1158 higher education-based teacher educators in the countries participating in the International Forum for Teacher Educator Development: Belgium, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. Our results suggest that while teacher educators are only moderately satisfied with their professional development experiences, a strong desire exists for further professional learning. This desire, influenced by their professional context, relates to their current beliefs concerning ‘best practice’ in teacher education, the academic skills required to further their professional careers and knowledge of the curriculum associated with their fields of expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Proposals made by the European Commission in 2007 led to the Education Council adopting, for the first time, a European agenda for improving the quality of teaching and teacher education. This article reports on a small-scale longitudinal interview-based study with teachers in England, Norway and Germany demonstrating that while opportunities for professional development are increasing in all three countries, dissatisfaction is expressed by most teachers in relation to its quality and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]