Developing a comprehensive profile of professional development and identity for English language teacher educators

Abstract

Despite the growing interest in researching English language teacher educators' (ELTEs) pedagogy, knowledge base, beliefs, and identity development, there is a lack of comprehensive frameworks that encompass these aspects holistically. This study attempts to develop a professional development profile for English language teacher educators by investigating how they define their profession, what professional characteristics and personality traits they possess, what roles and responsibilities they assume, and what constitutes the domains of a knowledge base. Additionally, it explores how they perceive their identities as educators and engage in professional development. The participants were 84 English language teacher educators from across Türkiye. Data were collected via face‐to‐face semi‐structured interviews and analysed thematically. At the end of this study, an integrated professional profile of English language teacher educators is provided, which includes insights into their professional identities. The profile has implications beyond Türkiye and might contribute to the broader understanding and enhancement of professional development for language teacher educators globally. As the study addresses a gap in the field, its outcomes are expected to contribute to the ongoing discussions and efforts to support teacher educators in their continuous learning and development.