A multi-perspective exploration of the development of academic identity in a School of Education

This paper explores the complex processes involved in the self-construction of academic identity in a UK School of Education. Drawing on the research of four academics, it begins by discussing teacher educators’ varying perceptions of the need to re-configure their identity to meet the expectations of a twenty first century Higher Education workforce. It proposes the formation of this identity to be a dynamic, career-long process. Diverse scaffolds for the development process are proposed, including opportunities for new teacher educators to be apprenticed into an academic role, the centrality of communities of practice and the importance of the supported development of academic skills such as writing for publication.