Constructions of caring professionalism: a case study of teacher educators

Abstract

This article investigates the professionalism of a group of women teacher educators working on initial teacher education (ITE) courses for intending primary school teachers in England. The article draws on data from an empirical study in the education departments of two universities. At the time of the research, these universities had just undergone major changes to the ways in which their ITE courses were organized and taught. The data show how the women teacher educators challenged these changes to their established ways of working and the implied threats to their constructions of caring professionalism. The article analyses how and why the changes affected the women’s senses of professionalism, drawing on Davies’ concept of gendered inclusion in professional life. It also discusses how and why these women’s form of professionalism developed within these institutional settings by identifying a cumulative convergence of discourses within the field of primary ITE.