Stuck in the Middle With You: Teacher Educator Professionalism as Enacted in Supervisory Conferences

• In Event: Who Is Teaching Our Teachers? Teacher Educators' Identity, Positionality, and Responsibility

Abstract

This paper focuses on teacher educator professionalism as enacted in supervisory conferences. Theoretically, it draws on recent insights from positioning theory and framing to analyse what a teacher educator ‘may (not) do’ in the complex relationships with student teachers and mentors. Qualitative-interpretative analysis of audio-recorded observations of supervisory conferences and interviews with teacher educators, student teachers and mentors shortly after the observations, resulted in the identification and description of three dominant frames entertained in supervisory conferences: the outstanding teaching practice frame; the support-giving frame; and the school-university partnership frame. Within each frame, teacher educators are found to take up multiple positions, which potentially generates conflict within and across frames, hence strongly mediating the effectiveness -understood broadly- of the supervisory practice.

Authors

• Eline Vanassche, Kulak University

• Jean M.F. Murray, University of East London

• Geert Kelchtermans, University of Leuven