Navigating times of change through communities of practice: A focus on teacher educators’ realities and professional learning

• DOI: 10.1016/j.tate.2025.104925
• Publication Date: 2025-01-08T05:22:15Z
• Authors: Keelin Leahy; Antonio Calderón; Niamh O'Meara; Ann MacPhail; Joanne O'Flaherty
• Keywords: Professional learning community; Faculty Development

Teacher education is influenced by the pervasive influence of neoliberalism. In this paper, we focused on a group of teacher educators, to examine if their participation in a community of practice influenced their realities and professional learning. Through a two-year period thirty-five online meetings were organised. The community of practice provided a collegial and supportive space, fostering professional learning through critical reflection, enabling teacher educators navigate feelings of fear and guilt. It could also be interpreted as an awakening from the unconscious silence prevailing in a neoliberal university to acknowledge its implications for teacher educators’ identity, pedagogy, and wellbeing.