Qualities of the professional English language teacher educator: Implications for achieving quality and accountability

Abstract

There is a growing body of literature about the qualities of professional teacher educators (TEs) and their impact on preparing professional teachers. However, English Language Teaching (ELT) research has fallen behind in this regard, despite the fact that different programs worldwide suffer from different limitations, due to certain aspects related to TEs’ qualities. This qualitative study investigates the qualities of the professional ELT TE and what implications such qualities have for achieving accountable and quality Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE). A form comprising a set of closed and open ended questions was distributed to 63 participants representing 23 countries. Findings and discussion have revealed that the professional ELT TEs are empowering educators and holders of strong disciplinary knowledge who pursue achieving social justice ELT education. The findings can be considered a milestone and have important implications for preparing professional English language teachers and achieving quality and accountability in SLTE.

Keywords

• professional
• qualities
• social justice education
• english language teaching
• teacher educators
• student teachers