Am I a teacher educator?: search of self identity

This is an exploratory study which explains the process of development of self identity of teacher educators. Development of Teachers’ self identity is a complex process. Recently there has been an increasing interest in the concept of teachers’ identity. However, teacher educators’ self-identity seems to be still under researched. This attempt addresses the questions, who are the teacher educators? In what ways their identities develop? What is the role of pre-service education and workplace culture in development of professional identity in teacher educators? 18 teacher educators from different parts of North India were interviewed in this study having 8-16 years of experience. Findings of the research indicate that self identity of teacher educators developed in two different ways. Some teacher educators developed strong identities even before beginning their service (during pre service education) and have clear educational vision which helped them in the development of their identity as teacher educators. On the other hand, some teacher educator’s self-identities were not much developed in the starting of their career but their self identities gradually developed with their experiences, practice and professional development.