The Rocky Road: The journey from classroom teacher to teacher educator

Abstract

This paper examines the transition that classroom teachers experience moving into the academy as teacher educators, considering the change in professional identity and the subsequent alignment of situational and substantial selves. We outline the findings of a qualitative case study that utilised self-study and teacher narrative to explore the road travelled by a group of new teacher educators in a regional university in rural Australia. To frame our work we drew from theories related to teacher professional identity and career transition. The research explored patterns of experience between ourselves and the other participants that helped to explain the transition process for new teacher educators and allowed us to see our own experiences in new ways. The significance of the study resides in the fact that new teacher educators, as a group, have not been thoroughly researched and consequently are not well understood. The academic role is complex and the road from classroom teacher to teacher educator can be described as rocky. We conclude that it is important to recognise both the context and process of the transition in order to retain teacher educators in higher education.