This article reports on the experiences of a mid-career teacher educator who spent a full semester supervising student teachers in schools. Adopting a self-study methodology, she and a critical friend collected and analyzed data, often in the form of reflection, on her experiences of third space and liminality. The time that she spent on the…

For decades, university supervisors of preservice teachers (PSTs) have been undervalued and ignored. Following neoliberal reforms, post-secondary institutions have outsourced PST supervision to contingent faculty, failed to provide professional development for supervisors, offered poor employment conditions, and overlooked PST supervision in…

A teacher supervising the school practice of student teachers is regarded as an expert who sets an example of good teaching to future teachers and chooses teaching practices that support pupils' cognitive and social development. This study examines the implementation of teaching practices and the interpretation of these practices by school-based…

"Affordances in the third space" is a concept that can improve teacher education and inspires supervisory innovations that can be empirically studied. An intentionally designed hyperdocument workspace fostered collaboration among the university supervisor and classroom mentor teacher and shifted the clinical environment in favor of…

Most professionalisation programmes to support teacher educators as research supervisors focus on the development of research skills. The methodology of practice-oriented research, in addition to a clear vision on the function, and purpose of student research often receives little attention. At the Amsterdam University of Applied Science, we…

Recent structural and conceptual changes to initial teacher education (ITE) in Ireland have impacted on the professional roles of many teacher educators. This study explores the perspectives and identity of seven placement tutors on the Professional Master of Education (PME) course in Maynooth University in relation to their role, past and…

Reflective practice has become the global prime educational trend expected of education practitioners but some teacher educators tend to stifle its development. It is strongly believed in critical pedagogy, the theoretical framework of action research theorists that reflective practice is inherent in an introspective disposition and is developed…

In response to the study and recommendations presented in the article "I Didn't See it as a Cultural Thing," written by Linda Griffin, Dyan Watson and Tonda Liggett, we explore three interrelated topics. First, we seek to problematize some of the assumptions in the study. We review some of the authors' approaches and assertions that seem…

Recent policy and scholarly reports, accreditation agencies' guidelines, and professional association efforts have called for teacher preparation programs to incorporate more frequent and rigorous clinical experiences. Directing three elementary and secondary education programs in two states, we recognized that one reason they--and perhaps other…

This research investigates a collaboratively constructed observation tool as it is implemented by teacher educators into their direct work with pre-service teachers in the classroom. Constructed by the group with the explicit intention of connecting university coursework with field experience, research examines adaptations made by practitioners…

Most teacher educators who work at institutes for higher vocational education have faced a new role since the European Community aimed to upgrade the general quality of education. Research tasks have been added as a new important core business for institutes that used to be mainly focused on education. Teacher educators therefore have to become…

Using Kegan's (1982, 1994) theory of constructive developmentalism, this study focused on the way in which the teacher candidates defined success in student teaching. The candidates differed in their personal epistemologies or what Kegan (1982) called orders of consciousness, which referred to the different ways an individual made meaning of…

Although classroom video is well recognized as a valuable reflective resource for student teachers, we know very little about how university supervisors' pedagogical practices are shaped by creating and using videos with their student teachers. This study explored how 12 supervisors developed greater stances of inquiry toward their practices as…

The study assessed teaching performance of 222 student-teachers from the Faculty of Education, Ekiti State University, posted to various secondary schools in Ekiti State for a six-week teaching practice during 2010/2011 academic session. The sample included 119 males, 103 females, 78 (300-Level) and 144 (400-Level) students. Data were collected…

Using theoretical conceptions of third space and hybrid teacher education, the authors engaged in a collaborative self-study of their practices as university-based teacher educators working in student teaching partnership settings. The authors sought to understand ways in which hybrid teacher educators foster and mediate relationships to work…