Teacher educators and their professional development

This chapter contextualises the book by outlining how and why teacher educators’ professional development is a central issue for education policy and practice internationally. The first section explores some changes in the work of teacher educators as an occupational group and the consequences for their professional development. The second section gives a brief overview of existing research in the field, identifying some key trends emerging from the literature from 2000 onwards and the ‘gaps’ in existing work. These include the need for a shared language to understand teacher educators’ professional development, and the need to move from ‘ad hoc’ initiatives to systematic and structurally embedded ones. The third section then outlines the work of the InFo-TED project in contributing new research and professional development initiatives. Chapter one finishes with an outline of all subsequent chapters presented in this book. This overview shows the ambition to compose an evidence-based book for guiding policy makers, academics, practitioners and all other stakeholders involved in providing professional development for teacher educators or in researching this area