Negotiating Identities in the Transition from Graduate Student to Teacher Educator

Learning to become teacher educators: Testimonies of three PhD students in China

“…First of all, in higher education institutions, a close link between teacher education programs and higher degree programs (e.g., PhD and EdD) can be established so that graduate students can gain opportunities to engage in teacher education practice, such as teaching pre-service teachers and collaborating with school teachers in classroom-based research (Viczko & Wright, 2010;Wilson, 2006). Teacher education programs/projects can also provide fertile soil for graduate students' research work, through which they can engage in the exploration, creation, and renew of knowledge about teaching and teacher education as shown in Rachel's project-based PhD study.…”

“…Furthermore, given the criticality of reflection in the participants' knowledge construction (e.g., through their academic writing) as indicated in this paper, it might be useful for PhD students to engage in reflective writing (e.g., reflective diaries/journals), action research, and self-study on their teacher education practice (Cochran-Smith, 2003;Viczko & Wright, 2010). By systematically inquiring into their own journeys of becoming teacher educators, they can foster their reflective abilities and enhance their sense of agency in grappling with various contextual challenges and seeking their continuous development in teacher education (Loughran, 2014).…”

“…One viable approach, suggested by many scholars (e.g., Cochran-Smith, 2005;Kosnik, et al, 2011;Viczko & Wright, 2010), is to provide graduate students who aspire to join teacher education with effective preparation and guidance in their situated higher degree programs where they can develop the crucial knowledge, skills, and attributes as qualified teacher educators (Loughran, 2014). For instance, Zeichner (2005) describes a series of doctoral courses at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a strong emphasis on cultivating new teacher educators.…”

“…The social theory of learning has offered powerful explanation for how individuals (e.g., teachers and teacher educators) engage in various social cognitive processes in order to achieve their learning in both Western (e.g., Viczko & Wright, 2010) and Chinese contexts (e.g., Trent, 2010). According to this perspective, learning does not take place in vacuum; instead it arises from people's social practice and interactions in their embedded communities of practice (Wenger, 1998).…”

“…These graduate students, who can be regarded as "pre-service teacher educators", learn how to practice teacher education through a wide range of teacher education activities (e.g., teaching and practicum supervision) in different higher degree programs housed in faculty/departments of (teacher) education or other related subject disciplines (e.g., Mathematics or English) in universities (Wilson, 2006). To date, scant attention has been paid to how graduate students learn to become teacher educators and what opportunities and obstacles are embedded in their learning processes (Viczko & Wright, 2010). There is also a paucity of research on what professional support and guidance is present or absent in their learning, and whether and how they are prepared to meet the various challenges as future teacher educators.…”