This book is a review of more than twenty years of international research on teacher educators. It offers a solid overview of what is known about the professional roles, professional behaviour and professional development of teacher educators. A systematic analysis of the focus, methods and data sources of 137 key publications on teacher educators make this book into an important reference work for everyone interested in the work of and research on teacher educators. There is a growing consensus that teacher educators largely determine the quality of teachers and hence, the quality of education. Through this book, Lunenberg, Dengerink and Korthagen provide not only insights into the various roles of teacher educators and the complexity of their work, but they also discuss building blocks for ongoing structured and in-depth professional development. The authors clarify that if we wish to take 'being a teacher educator' seriously, it is imperative that we build our understanding on research data. The book shows that although the number of studies on teacher educators is growing, the research in this field is still scattered. The authors highlight the need to create a coherent research programme on teacher educators and provide concrete suggestions for such a programme.

This book is a review of more than twenty years of international research on teacher educators. It offers a solid overview of what is known about the professional roles, professional behaviour and professional development of teacher educators. A systematic analysis of the focus, methods and data sources of 137 key publications on teacher educators make this book into an important reference work for everyone interested in the work of and research on teacher educators. There is a growing consensus that teacher educators largely determine the quality of teachers and hence, the quality of education. Through this book, Lunenberg, Dengerink and Korthagen provide not only insights into the various roles of teacher educators and the complexity of their work, but they also discuss building blocks for ongoing structured and in-depth professional development. The authors clarify that if we wish to take ‘being a teacher educator’ seriously, it is imperative that we build our understanding on research data. The book shows that although the number of studies on teacher educators is growing, the research in this field is still scattered. The authors highlight the need to create a coherent research programme on teacher educators and provide concrete suggestions for such a programme.

Foreword; Chapter 1. Introduction: Why This Book?; Context and background; Goals of this review study and research questions; Relevance for research; Practical relevance and relation to other developments; Chapter 2. Conceptual Framework; Teacher educator; Professional role; Professional behaviour; Critical features; Chapter 3. Method; Eight steps; The final database; Chapter 4. Results: Characteristics of the Profession; Six roles; Teacher of teachers; Researcher; Coach; Curriculum developer; Gatekeeper; Broker; Chapter 5. Conclusions and Discussion. Recommendations for Research and Practice; Summary and conclusions; A reflection; Recommendations; Chapter 6. The Dutch Case: Quality Improvement in the Profession of Teacher Educators; In co-operation with Saskia Attema-Noordewier, Janneke Geursen, and Bob Koster; Introduction; Professional standards and registration procedure; A knowledge base of teacher educators;A programme for teacher educators; The future of the Dutch case; Appendix: Overview of the Selected Studies and Their Characteristics; References; About the Authors.