From Disciplinary Expertise to Teacher Identity: Rethinking Teacher Preparation in Research Universities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/89k8rc90Keywords:
Teacher Identity, Pre-Service Teacher Education, Research Universities, Disciplinary Expertise, Professional CommitmentAbstract
This conceptual paper reconfigures teacher preparation in research universities as a process of identity formation. Drawing on scholarship on teacher identity, teacher knowledge, school-based experience and reflective practice, it proposes that disciplinary expertise is a necessary but not sufficient foundation for becoming a teacher. Prospective teachers need to adjust their disciplinary knowledge according to the demands of learners and develop teaching judgement and a sense of responsibility. The three tensions of the change in identity are: disciplinary identity versus emerging teacher identity; high-achieving student identity versus novice teacher identity; and initial career attraction versus professional commitment. To help prospective teachers address the aforementioned problems, research universities can connect disciplinary study with long-term school-based practice, organised reflection, and participation in professional communities. Research universities, as the subject of this paper, have certain strengths in their disciplines, and more importantly, they also have the ability to inspire academically excellent students to take initiative in education.
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