STEM Teacher Educators’ Professional Practices and Challenges: A Cross-National Comparison

Abstract

Professional growth of STEM teacher educators remains an underdeveloped topic in educational research. In the current study, STEM teacher educators representing six countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and USA completed a survey, which addressed teacher educators’ professional trajectories, practices, and challenges they face to meet tenure requirements. This study utilized convergent mixed methods design applying survey research format and as such integrated both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. Descriptive statistics and meaning coding of the survey and interviews allowed identification of emerging themes in professional practices. The main findings suggest that there are common trends as well as country specific professional practices across professional trajectories reported by participants. The study results reveal that the lack of support during the teacher-to-teacher educator transition period was a common feature across the countries. It was also evident among participants that their professional journey begins with an assumption that as teacher educators they should primarily excel in performing teaching tasks.

Keywords

• Professional practices
• stem
• teacher educators

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