ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a study investigating the career pathways and work experiences of teacher educators in Australia. It provides an overview of past and present contexts of teacher education in Australia, outlines the study and methodology, and discusses two key themes that emerged from analysis of the data. First, the entry of the participants into teacher education was often by accident rather than design and secondly, the participants held contested views of the knowledge required of teacher educators and the means by which that is gained. Teacher educators are a unique but often overlooked or devalued professional group with distinctive knowledge bases, pedagogical expertise, engagement in scholarship and/or research, and deep rooted social, moral and professional responsibilities to schooling. The chapter argues for clear career pathways in teacher education with relevant career incentives and close mentoring to help novice teacher educators plan for and achieve career goals.
