This book focuses on English teacher educators’ experiences concerning professionalization and teacher identity. The term professionalization, itself, can be problematized (Popkewitz, 1994), as it connotes adherence to realities to professional norms that are based within particular histories. Yet, teacher educators must confront how to mentor prospective teachers into the field and how changes to the field manifest changes to what it means to be a professional. In research about changes in English teacher education over the past twenty years, Pasternak, Caughlan, Hallman, Renzi and Rush (2017) presented five distinct foci of ELA programs that have evolved: 1) changes to field experiences within teacher education programs, 2) altered conceptions of teaching literature and literacy within the context of ELA, 3) increased adherence to standardization, 4) changing demographics of students in K-12 classrooms, and 5) increased expectations for use of technology within ELA. These foci impact how professionals in ELA are viewed both from inside and outside the profession and how they navigate these tensions in teacher education programs to define what it means to identify as an English teacher. Throughout the book, chapter authors articulate dilemmas that focus around professionalization and teacher identity, questioning what it means to be an English teacher today. While some chapters suggest methods for increased awareness of tensions within practice, other chapters approach professionalization and teacher identity by asking what the limits of methods classes and teacher education might be in preparing ELA teachers and supporting them to remain in the profession. Today’s political environment devalues teachers and teaching, a situation that has critics deriding the educational standards at institutes of higher education while concurrently lauding alternative programs that do not have to adhere to the same rigorous teacher certification requirements. English teacher educators are now being asked to design programs, soften requirements, and recruit and mentor teacher candidates to a profession that, in the past, certified more new English teachers than it could employ. The chapters in this book explore what it means to educate and be an English teacher educator under these conditions.

This book offers a holistic practitioner and research-based perspective on English Language Teaching and teacher education in difficult circumstances. In addition to extending the current conceptualization of ‘difficult circumstances’ in ELT to include the broader policy issues that may affect ELT in low-to-mid income countries, the book focuses on the challenges faced by practitioners and learners in contexts of confinement, conflict and special education. The chapters in this collection examine the challenges and problems that emerge from the complex current ELT environment, and present examples of contextualized inquiry-based strategies and interventions to address these challenges. Underlining the need to extend the boundaries of the discipline of ELT to include teaching-learning in less privileged contexts, this wide-ranging volume will appeal to students, scholars and practitioners of English Language Teaching.

Based on rapid advances in what is known about how people learn andhow to teach effectively, this important book examines the coreconcepts and central pedagogies that should be at the heart of anyteacher education program. Stemming from the results of acommission sponsored by the National Academy of Education,Preparing Teachers for a Changing World recommends thecreation of an informed teacher education curriculum with thecommon elements that represent state-of-the-art standards for theprofession. Written for teacher educators in both traditional andalternative programs, university and school system leaders,teachers, staff development professionals, researchers, andeducational policymakers, the book addresses the key foundationalknowledge for teaching and discusses how to implement thatknowledge within the classroom. Preparing Teachers for a Changing World recommends that,in addition to strong subject matter knowledge, all new teachershave a basic understanding of how people learn and develop, as wellas how children acquire and use language, which is the currency ofeducation. In addition, the book suggests that teachingprofessionals must be able to apply that knowledge in developingcurriculum that attends to students' needs, the demands of thecontent, and the social purposes of education: in teaching specificsubject matter to diverse students, in managing the classroom,assessing student performance, and using technology in theclassroom.

Opportunities and Challenges in Teacher Recruitment and Retention serves as a comprehensive resource for understanding teachers’ careers across the professional lifespan. Grounded in the notion that teachers’ voices are essential for understanding teachers’ lives, this edited volume contains chapters that privilege the voices of teachers above all. Book sections look closely at the particular issues that arise when recruiting an effective, committed, and diverse workforce, as well as the challenges that arise once teachers are immersed in the classroom setting. Promising directions are also included for particularly high-need areas such as early childhood teachers, Black male teachers, STEM teachers, and urban teachers. The book concludes with a call for self-care in teachers’ lives. Chapter contributions come from a variety of contexts across the United States and around the world. However, regardless of context or methodology, these chapters point to the importance of valuing and respecting teachers’ lives and work. Moreover, they demonstrate that teacher recruitment and retention is a complex and multifaceted issue that cannot be addressed through simplistic policy changes. Rather, attending to and appreciating the web of influences on teachers lives and careers is the only way to support their work and the impact they have on our next generation of students.

This volume addresses challenges that the field of English language teacher education has faced in the past several years. The global pandemic has caused extreme stress and has also served as a catalyst for new ways of teaching, learning, and leading. Educators have relied on their creativity and resiliency to identify new and innovative teaching practices and insights that inform the profession going forward. Contributors describe how teacher educators have responded to the specific needs and difficulties of educating teachers and teaching second language learners in challenging circumstances around the world and how these innovations can transform education going forward into the future. Paving the way for a revitalized profession, this book is essential reading for the current and future generations of TESOL scholars, graduate students, and professors.

This volume investigates the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic regarding teaching languages online. In this regard, it focuses on the effects of online/remote teaching on teachers and teacher educators, considering the challenges that they have faced, how they tried to deal with these challenges, and the opportunities that arose while teaching during the pandemic. The chapters include narratives by teachers working in different countries around the world, and present their first-hand suggestions for good practices and solutions. They also highlight various tools, techniques, and solutions specific to individual countries, but transferrable to other similar contexts around the world. The book will be a valuable resource for pre- and in-service teachers, and teacher trainers involved in teaching English as a Foreign and Second Language, and will be of interest to practitioners who wish to understand multinational perspectives on online teaching, and its challenges and opportunities.

Integrating Technology in English Language Arts Teacher Education investigates the technology practices teacher candidates in the US are being introduced to, how they are using these practices in classrooms, and how technology can be effectively integrated into English teacher education programs. By drawing upon findings from extensive longitudinal studies into teacher education programs in the US, this timely volume addresses critical themes relating to the integration of technology in education, including: • Teaching with technology • Technology for collaboration • Technology for individualized learning and assessment By analyzing the experiences of teacher educators and candidates, and offering detailed analysis of the content, practices, and skills being taught to pre-service English teachers, Pasternak examines the entities that drive or inhibit the adoption of technology into the secondary English language arts (ELA) curriculum. This volume will resonate with an international audience of post-graduate scholars and researchers interested in the fields of teacher education, English language arts, and the relationship between technology and classroom practice.