Narrative pedagogies in cultivating teacher educators’ professional development

Abstract

This article focuses on the use of narrative pedagogies in teacher education from the perspective of teacher educators’ professional development. Narrative pedagogies emphasise the production of knowledge as a relational and shared process between teacher educators and student teachers. We reflect on three ways of employing narrative pedagogies: (1) writing stories using the method of empathy-based stories, (2) using drama and (3) sharing life experiences in groups. Based on these reflections, we discuss how these narrative pedagogies support professional development by inviting teacher educators to explore their positions and level of control regarding narratively grounded learning processes. We found that teacher educators often have to challenge their comfortable beliefs and views by implementing a ‘pedagogy of discomfort’. Implications for teacher education are also discussed.