A cross cultural discourse on beginning teacher educators' experiences in Jamaica, England and the Middle East: Insights for leadership in teacher education

Increasingly teacher education is facing scrutiny regarding providing quality teachers who can contribute to quality educational outcomes. If countries are to reap quality outcomes from teacher education, then attention... [ view full abstract ]

Increasingly teacher education is facing scrutiny regarding providing quality teachers who can contribute to quality educational outcomes. If countries are to reap quality outcomes from teacher education, then attention must be given to those who prepare teachers for the task of teaching. As argued by Goodwin and Kosnik, (2013) “quality teacher education depends on quality teacher educators” (p. 334). Additionally, having quality teacher educators is dependent on quality leadership in teacher education institutions to provide the support necessary for teacher educators to effectively enact their roles. Through multiple case studies conducted in Jamaica, England and the United Arab Emirates, this study sought to illuminate the experiences of beginning teacher educators and the support mechanisms available to them in their institutional contexts as they transition from being classroom teachers to college/university teacher educators. The study therefore sought to answer two main research questions (1) How do beginning teacher educators describe their experiences as they transition from being classroom teachers to teacher educators? (2) How do beginning teacher educators describe the support mechanisms available in their institutional contexts? Data was collected through interviews of nine beginning teacher educators across the three countries. Preliminary findings, indicate that though the sociocultural contexts of the three countries differed, there were similarities in the experiences of the beginning teacher educators. Across the three countries beginning teacher educators depended on learning in ways which were often unstructured, solitary and dependent on individual endeavour. They experienced lack of confidence in their content knowledge for courses assigned, unavailability of appropriate support mechanisms for their professional development and the management of day-to-day job-related tasks and in some instances experienced age discrimination. The teacher educators also expressed that there were no well-defined policies in their institutions geared at supporting those transitioning into becoming teacher educators nor were they aware of any national policy that supports new teacher educators in their role. Based on the findings the authors argue in this paper for a formalized and systematic approach to how teacher educators transition from being first order teachers and for leaders in teacher education institutions to establish and implement policies that will ensure quality sustainable practices as teacher educators transition to becoming second order teachers. Therefore, this research seeks to contribute to a broader national and international policy environment and make a modest contribution to the literature.