Other definitions of teacher educators’expertise draw on the concept of‘pro-
fessional knowledge domains’rather than competences or standards. Goodwin and
Kosnik ( 2013 ) in North America, for example, definefive knowledge domains for
teacher educators: personal knowledge, autobiography and philosophy of teaching;
contextual knowledge and understanding learners, schools, and society; pedagog-
ical knowledge of content, theories, teaching methods, and curriculum develop-
ment; sociological knowledge of social diversity, cultural relevance, and social
justice; and social knowledge and skills including co-operation, working in
democratic groups and conflict resolution. Davey ( 2013 ) in New Zealand identifies
three broad areas of comprehensive and‘nested’propositional or content knowl-
edge as central for teacher educators: subject knowledge, including pedagogical
content knowledge; knowledge of a range of educational and pedagogical theories
and the ability to enact these through practice; and a working knowledge of schools,
schooling and the teaching profession in its national context.
Particularly notable here is VELON which, to complement its standards, has also
developed a web-based knowledge base, with the aim of supporting teacher edu-
cators infinding relevant literature to underpin practice and reflection (Lunenberg
et al. 2014 ). Ten domains are identified in all, starting with four core domains of
knowledge—the profession of teacher educator, pedagogy of teacher education,
learning and learners, and teaching and coaching—then two domains that focus on
programme-specific and subject-specific knowledge, andfinally four domains
offering an introduction to extended knowledge on the context of teacher education,
the organisation of teacher education, curriculum development and assessment in
teacher education, and research by teacher educators.
In a short section on professional development, the European Report (2013)
stresses the need for‘the constant updating of teacher educators’knowledge, skills
and attitudes’through a coherent continuum of professional development oppor-
tunities from initial training through systematic induction to further learning (p. 17).
Emphasis is also placed on the establishment of new ways of working in profes-
sional learning between stakeholders in order to overcome‘divides’between HE
and teaching staff.
Professional associations at national level are seen as crucial in taking forward
CPD initiatives. But, as the report emphasises, perhaps the most powerful influence
on teacher educators’professional learning is the provision made by the institutions
which employ them. This provision in the HEIs usually focuses around the three
key commonly defined areas of academic work—teaching, research and service to
the institution (this last area often encompassing management skills). As the report
states, there are, of course, a number of‘recurring problems’around this model:
‘insufficient funding, lack of incentives, few research opportunities in professional
development and little coordination between institutions’(p. 17). In addition, these
professional learning programmes often change, of course, as institutional priorities
and teacher education policies shift, as further sections of this chapter illustrate.
654 J. Murray et al.