Researcher or teacher-of-teachers: What affects the salient identity of Chinese university-based teacher educators

Abstract

University-based teacher educators' (UBTEs) identities impact their work, engagement, and professional development. While a deeper understanding of UBTE identity is emerging, how UBTEs value and reconcile different elements of professional identity is under-researched. This study examines 34 Chinese UBTEs' salient aspects of their professional identity. Two salient identities emerged and were distributed differently: a “teacher-of-teachers” identity prevalent in provincial normal universities and a “researcher” identity prevalent in first-class normal universities. Four ways these two identities interact are presented, describing how UBTEs negotiate a tension between “researcher” and “teacher-of-teachers” identities. This tension shapes UBTEs’ work and how teacher education programs function.