Teacher Educators as Members of an Evolving Profession focuses on the overall role of teacher educators who might be seen as leaders involved in the transformation of schools and schooling in a manner appropriate for the requirements of the 21st century. Teacher education is perceived in this book as a profession with unique characteristics. In the frame of this conception this book provides and discusses relevant professional issues: the professional identity of teacher educators, their role perception, and the characteristics of their vocational language. The pedagogy of teacher education is addressed and special attention is given to their professional development. The place of practice in this development process is considered. The contribution of research and academic writing as part of the professional development of teacher educators is emphasized. The book has two parts. The first part, Teacher educators: roles, identities, and discourses, deals with several aspects of being a teacher educator, among them their knowledge base, their professional language and their evolving roles. The second part of the book, The pedagogy of the professional development of teacher educators, provides insights into different modes of enacting processes of professional development of teacher educators.
About the Author: Miriam Ben-Peretz, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Israel. She has served as the Head of the Department of Teacher Education and Dean of the School of Education, University of Haifa. Her research interests are curriculum studies, teacher education, professional development and policy-making in education. Among her books: The Teacher-Curriculum Encounter: Freeing Teachers from the Tyranny of Texts (SUNY, 1990) and Learning from Experience: Memory and the Teacher's Account of Teaching (SUNY, 1995). Her latest book is entitled Policy Making in Education: A Holistic Approach in Response to Global Changes (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009). Received the Lifetime Achievement Award, Division B, Curriculum Studies, of the American Educational Research Association (1997). Recipient of the Israel Prize for Research in Education (2006). She is the recipient of the American Educational Research Association, Division K, Legacy Award and an Honorary Fellow of the Open University of Israel (2012). Sara Kleeman completed her PhD at the Institute of Education, University of London in 1999 and became the Head of the Elementary Teachers' Department at Oranim. She serves as the Head of the Center of Resource, Consultation and Training at Oranim Academic College and as a Coordinator of the Pedagogical Instruction specialization at the MOFET Institute. She is currently focused on the issue of professional development of teacher educators at Oranim and the MOFET Institute, as a researcher and lecturer. Rivka Reichenberg completed her PhD at the School of Education, Bar - Ilan University in Israel (1996). She has served as the Head of Special Education Department at Beit-Berl Academic College of Education, as a senior lecturer and researcher. Her research interests are teaching and teacher education, induction and professional development. She presently serves as the Head of the Pedagogical Instruction and Mentoring Specialization Program in Mofet Institute, focusing on the issue of professional development of teacher educators in the colleges and in the Mofet Institute as a lecturer and researcher. Sarah Shimoni, PhD, is a teacher educator and a counselor in research methods and academic writing. Dr. Shimoni is a lecturer at the Levinsky School for graduate studies and does editing work for the MOFET Publishing House in Tel Aviv, Israel. Her research interests are: teachers' and teacher educators' professional development, professional discourse and inclusion of children with learning difficulties in the general education system.