Constructing new professional identities through self-study: from teacher to teacher educator.

In this paper, two beginning teacher educators discuss their experiences of professional learning and identity construction during the first years of their work as academics. The authors entered teacher education after working as classroom teachers but, as has been found by others in the literature, were provided with little formal preparation for this career transition. It appears from the literature, and from the authors' experiences, that there is little research into the professional development processes and needs of teacher educators, and that there is an assumption that competent, experienced school teachers will automatically become proficient teacher educators. In this paper, using a self-study methodology, the authors explore their experiences of constructing new professional identities as teacher educators. They use the analytical framework of 'communities of practice' as articulated by Lave and Wenger. The tensions and dilemmas inherent in being 'expert' teachers and 'novice' teacher educators are discussed, with particular focus on the complexity of developing professional connections with colleagues in the academic context, and on building new relationships with student-teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]