Abstract:

Generally, little is known about the work of teacher educators or how they conceive of their work, and this is particularly true of teacher educators who work in international contexts. To address that gap, this paper explores the conceptions of teacher education held by a group of teacher educators in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and Dubai, emerging centres of globalized education in the Lower Arabian Gulf. Taking a phenomenological perspective, the study investigates how the teacher educators conceive of and experience their work in context. Results reveal some common conceptions of teacher education, with reflective practice emerging as the primary shared conception. Participants also report a common teaching challenge in facilitating students’ learning of content knowledge through English as a second language. This study shines a light on the enactment of teacher education in a globalized, international setting.

Keywords:

Teacher education, conceptions of teaching, internationalized higher education.