On becoming/being a teacher educator in liberatory work

Abstract

    In this paper, I focus on the role of the teacher educator in education for cultural democracy and social justice work. I have been a teacher educator for many years and wanted to examine how one becomes a teacher educator, the personal, cultural and societal antecedents that shape such a role. Using a self-study and critically self-reflective approach, I interrogate my role in the context of the technocratic and bureaucratic control that threatens to extinguish the joy and liberatory potential of truly democratic education. I reflect on the processes of becoming a liberatory teacher educator and how this has translated into being responsible for teaching teachers how to teach. I conclude with some reflections on the challenges facing a teacher educator who wants to preserve joy and liberation of the human spirit in their profession.