Reflective Practices of Teacher Educators in Punjab: A Narrative Perspective

Abstract

Purpose of the study: Reflective practices are considered very important and influential for teacher training and professional development. This study was conducted by using a narrative perspective. The main aim of this study was to explore the role of reflective practices in building teacher educators’ professional lives. Their stories were explored to understand what is needed to become an effective teacher educator.
 Methodology: The current research involved six teacher educators from GCETs selected purposively as research participants. Semi-structured interviews were used as data collection instruments. Teacher educators who have a minimum of ten years of experience were interviewed. After gathering stories, the researchers build categories and themes from interview data. The narratives of teacher educators were reconstructed through analysis and discussion.
 Main Findings: The findings of the current research reveal that reflective practices can play a very effective role in the professional grooming of teacher educators. The effective use of reflective practice tools is significant in building these practices. It is implicated by the study findings that novice teacher educators and future teacher educators can learn from the experiences of experienced teacher educators.
 Novelty: This research will help the administration to know about problems that teacher educators face while using reflective practices. Future researchers can be helped to explore the ways that how the reflective practices-related challenges and problems can tackle. Moreover, how the reflective practices of school teachers and college teachers can be made more effective.