Teacher educators support the professional development of prospective and practising teachers. They perform a wide range of roles that might include:
- informally providing advice to early career teachers in a school setting
- delivering training to teachers within a ministry of education teacher development programme
- working as an e-moderator within a MOOC for teachers
- working as a tutor on a certificate or diploma level teacher qualification course in a private training institute
- overseeing professional development provision as a school principal or director of studies
- conducting academic research into teacher education in a university setting
- facilitating a community of practice made up of teachers working on a collaborative output
- working as an inspector or supervisor evaluating the competence and performance of classroom teachers
- formally mentoring undergraduate/postgraduate teachers-in-training.
Whichever role or setting you work in, the British Council can support you with your professional and career development. Our support is open to all and free of charge.
- Free online training course for existing teacher educators and those wanting to become a teacher educator in the future
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Take part in a free training course 'Helping teachers to learn' for teacher educators and those teachers considering becoming a teacher educator. Find out more.
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework for teacher educators
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We organise our work around the British Council’s CPD Framework for teacher educators which describes the kinds of knowledge, skills and approaches to professional development that teacher educators need to be effective in their roles.
- Learning pathway builder for teacher educators
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If you need a change from traditional expert-led approaches to professional development, the pathway builder is your answer. It's an eight-week programme that provides a structured framework, yet offers the flexibility for you to determine your focus and manage your schedule.
To guide you smoothly through this journey, please follow these systematic steps:- Familiarise yourself with the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework for teacher educators.
- Take the Teacher Educator Self-Assessment Tool (TESAT) and use the Profile Chart to record your strengths and the skills areas (professional practices) you’d like to develop further.
- Browse the list of curated resources and select the resources you think will best contribute to developing the areas you identified from the TESAT.
- Download the pathway builder template to record and reflect on how the resource will help you develop your skills and understanding as a teacher educator.
- At the end of the 8-week period, review the learning and reflection in your completed template, submit the Pathway Builder form and download your certificate.
If you’d like to follow a suggested pathway through our selection of resources we have a ready-made pathway for you to take.
We also run a programme with helpful email reminders to keep you on track. Find out when the next round will be.
Use this step-by-step infographic to help you build your learning pathway and show you how to receive a certificate of your learning. - Webinars for teacher educators
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Our teacher educator webinars are designed to provide professional development opportunities for you to develop professionally through interactive activities and opportunities to reflect and comment on key themes within teacher education. Join these monthly sessions to give you access to a global network of English Language Teaching experts, educators and trainers who are involved in supporting teachers.
See our complete webinar programme. Sign up for our next scheduled webinar or watch recordings of previous webinars for a teacher educator audience. - Monthly teacher educator newsletter
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We have a monthly newsletter covering current themes in teacher education and containing news and activity from the teacher educator network. Subscribe here.
- Self-assessment tool and profile chart
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Evaluate your current strengths and areas for development:
1. Answer the questions in our teacher educator self-assessment tool
2. Complete your teacher educator profile chart
3. Plan your learning pathway. Here is a completed example profile chart to help you.
Our self-directed learning resources are here for you to use in your learning pathway and are mapped against the CPD framework for teacher educators. These resources, produced by experts and practitioners from around the world, include articles, blog posts, webinars, conference recordings, practical tips, and guidance. - Skills recognition for teacher educators – the Assured Certificate in Teacher Education
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Assured Certificate in Teacher Education (ACTE) Brochure
Learning Pathways into the Assured Certificate in Teacher Education (LPACTE) Brochure - 'How to' guides for teacher educators
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We have produced the following guides aimed specifically at helping teacher educators in their work:
- How to support teachers online
- How to encourage teachers to engage with research
- How to support teacher motivation, identity and resilience
- How to support teachers in teaching English to learners with special educational needs and disabilities
Find our full collection of research and resource books in our publications section.