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Teacher Educators’ Strategies for Continuous
Professional Transformation
Parbati Dhungana1, PhD, Sandip Dhungana2, Rejina KC3, Sarita Khadka2,
Madan Rijal2, & Anim Shrestha3
1Assistant Professor, Kathmandu University
2Lecturer, Kathmandu University
3Research Assistant, Kathmandu University
Corresponding Author: Parbati Dhungana, parbati@kusoed.edu.np
Abstract
Continuous professional transformation among teacher educators is generally
regarded as an ongoing process and often taken for granted in both discussion and
research. The purpose of this reflective paper is to explore strategies for continuous
professional transformation among teacher educators. For it, we (authors)
employed a longitudinal qualitative research design, reflective research approach.
We relied on qualitative data generated from 2022 to 2024 based on our, six
authors’ professional reflective experiences, discussions, observations, and
programs. We generated data texts from written reflections, documents, and meeting
minutes. Adapting thematic data analysis approach we explored nine themes of
continuous professional transformation among teacher educators such as engaging
in critical collaborative inquiry, nurturing diverse learners, sharing success and sad
stories, fostering intellectual growth and ethics, conducting research, monitoring
and mentoring, problem solving, pedagogical innovation, and continuous reflective
practices. The findings of our study revealed the collaborative inquiry, self-
reflection, and lifelong learning are essential for professional growth, enabling
educators to refine their practices in response to evolving educational needs. The
study also revealed the chief strategies for continuous professional development as
taking responsibility of given tasks, making contributions in collaborative tasks and
taking self-initiation. Our study recommends the potential implications of these
strategies as significant to the early career teacher educators who aspire for
continuous professional transformation in their university contexts.
Key words: Continuous professional transformation, longitudinal qualitative
research, strategies, teacher educators
Introduction
Educators usually initiate for their professional development (Van der Klink, et. al.,
2017). Continuous professional development of university teachers is considered as an
ongoing process (Dilshad et al., 2019). For many years, teacher educators have been
MANGAL RESEARCH JOURNAL Received: 31-08-2024 ISSN: 2773-7802
Volume 5, December 2024,
pp:
87-104
Accepted:
19-11-2024
looking only for transformative learning experiences for graduates and school students in
Nepali university context (Luitel & Wagley, 2017). Educators’ transformative
professional development might seem enough for individual educator’s consciousness,
growth, or development but not sufficient for collective, group/s, or social formation. For
social formation, continuous professional transformation seems to be vital. However, the
exploration of continuous professional transformation among teacher educators seems to
be overlooked.
Adult learners learn from reflective narratives of self and others and improve andragogy
to support teachers to improve their pedagogy. Andragogy teaching and learning involve
teacher educators to focus on solving evolving and emerging problems collectively
(Galbraith & Fouch, 2007). Besides, self-concept, experiences, readiness to learn,
motivation, and problem-centered learning are some of the major characteristics of
andragogy (Puruwati et al., 2022). Educators need to focus on the emergence of
collaborative, collegial partnerships, active learning and trust, respect and reciprocity
between the learners and themselves (Laws et al, 2009). Adults are mostly interested in
the learning of subjects that have immediate relevance and impact on their job or personal
life (Machynska & Boiko, 2020).Team based learning, case studies, and reflective
disclosure are some possible effective practices (Chavan & Khandagale, 2022). In Nepali
University context, critical-appreciative (Dhungana, 2021), participatory (Dhungana et
al., 2022) and joyful (Dhungana, 2023) have contributed in fostering educators’
transformative professional development.
At first glance, a one-time transformative learning experience for teacher educators may
seem sufficient, but it proves inadequate in the context of rigorous community
engagement within continuous professional development programs. Seemingly, it was the
call for continuous professional transformation. From rigorous engagement in community
based programs we sensed that teacher educators’ professional transformation plays a
vital role in influencing the learning of themselves, students, parents, colleagues, and
policy developers. Rather than seeking time, funding and study leave (Dilshad et. al.,
2019), we need to look for alternative and then engage in University-Community
partnership program of university (e.g., Continuing and Professional Education Program
(CPEP) run by the Continuing and Professional Education Centre (CPEC) of Kathmandu
University School of Education). CPEC started running school-based continuous
professional development programs since 2022 for teachers, as well as short courses,
project development and implementation initiatives, and collaborative programs. These
efforts involved teachers, teacher leaders, teacher educators, and policy developers, in
partnership with national and international educational institutions. Going beyond
conventional approaches to teaching and learning in the university and community
contexts, as educators of CPEC we fixed so many evolving and emerging professional
issues.
In short, transformative professional development/learning in graduates and teachers is
not enough as there is the need for continuous professional transformation among
educators for those who continuously and professionally engage in academia and
community with teachers and students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to
explore strategies for continuous professional transformation among teacher educators.
Methods
Intending to explore strategies for continuous professional transformation in teacher
educators, we six (authors) teacher educators of Kathmandu University School of
Education reflected three years' (from 2022 to 2024) professional learning experiences
adapting a qualitative research approach.
We adapted a longitudinal qualitative research design (Wood et al, 2024) to explore our
professional experiences within the university context as a qualitative research approach.
Six teacher educators were selected purposefully as we were the colleagues and also early
career teacher educators lived experiences were significant to explore ways of continuous
professional transformation. The longitudinal qualitative research design explored our,
so-called minoritied individuals’ everyday professional practices and lived experiences to
show transformative change within a university system (Wood et al, 2024).
We collected data texts using the methods such as personal reflective experiences,
discussions, observations, programs and professional practices as they generated our lived
experiences. The tools we used are written reflections, documents, and meeting minutes.
Adapting the living model of professional development (Dhungana, 2022), we conducted
weekly meetings on Mondays to share and reflect on asking the questions like: What
worked well and what did not? What did we learn? How could we improve what we were
doing? We used thematic analysis approach as we reflected on our written reflections,
documents, and meeting minutes and recognized patterns as themes. The nine themes
were the nine ways of continuous professional transformation among teacher educators.
They are engaging in critical collaborative inquiry, nurturing diverse learners, sharing
success and sad stories, fostering intellectual growth and ethics, conducting research,
monitoring and mentoring, problem solving, pedagogical innovation, and continuous
reflective practices which we elaborated in the findings and discussion section.
Results and Discussion
In the following sections we share our ways of continuous professional transformation.
Critical Collaborative Inquiry
Our journey through the Continuing and Professional Education Centre (CPEC) was
characterized by an ongoing cycle of learning through action and reflection on the
Continuing and Professional Educational Programs (CPEPs). As teacher educators, we
encountered evolving pedagogies, new technologies, and social shifts that required us to
continually adapt and innovate in our professional practices. Engaging in critical
collaborative inquiry, we navigated through initiatives such as school policy
development, curriculum enhancements, pedagogical innovation, and assessment
practices that fostered a responsive and adaptable teaching approach. This collective
experience underscored the need to remain flexible and open to change, allowing us to
refine our practices to meet the demands of an evolving educational environment. A key
aspect of our professional growth involved collaborative inquiry, which enriched our
knowledge base and broadened our perspectives on educational challenges.
For example, Author-6’s journey from engineering to education highlights the
transformative nature of professional inquiry. By blending engineering-based problem-
solving with critical, analytical, and collaborative skills, Author-6 found new ways to
make learning more engaging and relevant for students. This unique integration of skills
provided insights into how interdisciplinary experiences can be leveraged to enhance
teaching effectiveness.
Our collaborative inquiry focused on improving student retention in short courses at our
institution. Through engagement in professional learning communities, research
initiatives, and leadership roles, we explored diverse strategies to address student needs,
which subsequently informed our teaching practices and institutional policies. Such
initiatives illustrate how collaborative inquiry can serve as a powerful tool for
professional development, enabling educators to tackle complex educational issues with a
holistic approach.
Collaborative inquiry, self-reflection, and lifelong learning are essential for professional
growth, enabling educators to refine their practices in response to evolving educational
needs. Our narratives echo similar findings from studies on collaborative professional
inquiry (e.g., Drew et al., 2016; Priestley & Drew, 2017), reinforcing that educators who
embrace adaptability and reflection are better equipped to lead meaningful educational
change. This commitment to continuous improvement resonates with the work of Laws et
al. (2009), who emphasized community partnerships, active learning, and collaborative
inquiry as vital components for sustainable professional development.
Nurturing Diverse Learners
Within collaborative space engaging in diverse programs of CPEC provided opportunity
to meet diverse learners. Meeting with diverse learners and working with their needs we
could improve our pedagogical competences.
For instance, Author-3 commenced journey with a stereotypical lecture-based classroom
environment where she found teachers as protagonists in the traditional realm of the
classroom. Later, she tried to bring something new in the lecture-based approach but the
newness of her pedagogy put her into trouble. The people around her were not used to
what she wanted to incorporate in her teaching. Interaction with students was the heavy
noise of her classroom which was considered a mismanaged or uncontrolled class. Yet
she did not stop to experiment innovative pedagogies and surprise them from her
pedagogical interventions and that so-called noise of her classroom (classroom
interactions) with students provided invaluable insights to jump into diverse learning
styles and needs.
Our enhanced pedagogical competences began to nurture diverse learners that shifted our
role of teacher educators which became a transformative and enriching experience.
Diverse learners refer to the diversity in learning in terms of age, education, geographical
location, culture and level. Our continued collaborative journey nurturing diverse learners
contributed to the professional development of teachers that marked a crucial moment in
our career. In this ever- evolving and dynamic setting, we encountered a diverse array of
learners (professionals) who were seeking to enhance their skills, pursuing career
transitions, eagerness to learn for personal and professional growth. This context
challenged us to adapt to different strategies of teaching and learning so that it could
tailor to the unique needs of adult learners. Whenever we uttered our voice to narrate our
own story of this journey that really jolted down every essence of our journey from being
to becoming a teacher educator, detailing the challenges, ups and downs, growth, and
fulfillment encountered diversity along the way.
Valuing adult learners’ experiences support to connect their learning in their real contexts
(Machynska & Boiko, 2020). Accepting challenges, learning by best practices and
mistakes and adapting context-responsive approaches are vital to impact meaningful
learning of diverse learners. Diversity in the training process and diversity in the
individuals and groups improve the effectiveness of the programs (Hubbard & Romeo,
2012).
Sharing Success and Sad Stories
We shared our successes, failures, regrets and sadness in our informal meetings and
discussions and formal meetings. Further we reexamined or reflected what worked well
and what not well together with trainees that perhaps led us towards transformative
learning. Sharing success and sad stories became a culture of CPEC.
For instance, Author-4 was brought up and groomed by hearing the meaning of
transformation as metamorphosis, a transformation of one being into another and she
would see nothing and saturate where she stopped. She recalled her earlier days in
University where she started regretting herself for being a positive teacher educator. She
usually got an assignment where she needed to reflect her current teaching practices and
looked through it from various educational philosophies and theories. The initial days
were filled with regret and sadness as she figured out most of her teaching practices were
highly dominated with lecture based and facilitator centered.
Sharing regrets becoming vulnerable might sound unprofessional; however, it explores
strengths and areas of improvement collectively. Educators’ realization of their strengths
and limitations followed by better plans make TPD sessions more participatory and
participant centric (Dhungana, 2021; Dhungana, et al, 2022). The reflective narratives of
self and others can improve andragogy that supports teachers to improve their pedagogy.
Andragogy learning involves educators to focus on solving evolving and emerging
problems by connecting to the past experiences to the present context collectively
(Galbraith & Fouch, 2007).
Fostering Intellectual Growth and Ethics
We believed that we can be change agents by fostering our intellectual growth and ethics.
Connecting it into our educational practices, it advocated active participation or
engagement of individual (both learner and facilitator) in the creation of knowledge in a
collaborative and cooperative space. Once the assumption of knowledge as static body, it
had been resulting in content knowledge transmission from teachers to students in a
decontextualized environment. This means being ‘expect’ in content knowledge
imparting would be taken as the main concern of teacher for scoring good marks/grades
in tests.
For instance, the gradual transformation in Author-5 perception of education and
pedagogical practices led and made him aware about focusing on other dimensions beside
mere content knowledge delivery. Considering these aspects, continuous teaching
professional development (TPD) program gained its popularity among schools and much
in his practice. He was dedicated to play a vital role in preparing skillful teachers, and
their (teachers’) journey began with introspection. He engaged in reflective practice
critically evaluating teaching methods and their impact on learners. This self-evaluation
paved the way for continuous growth and development. Lifelong or continuous learning
was a fundamental principle of this journey.
We were committed to continually expanding our knowledge, skills and pedagogical
expertise in this field. Relying on this context, we attended various seminars, conferences,
and graduate programs (in-person/virtual) to keep up with the ever-changing field of
education. We were sure that that commitment ensured us to remain at the forefront and
informed of educational innovation and best practices which are still going on in different
parts of the world.
Human beings are the agents of change of ongoing society through its activities,
including the interrelated processes of being, knowing and doing (Stetsenko, 2015).
Intellectual engagement creates an empowering environment for excavating the inert
capacities and skills of teachers (Ghimire, 2019). The continuous transformative
professional development journey is dynamic process characterized by self-reflection,
refraction, lifelong learning, re/search, collaboration and values morality (Pitsoe &
Letseka, 2014).
Research
Research was another integral part of our journey. We assessed needs of different
teachers interacting, discussing with teachers, students, teacher-leaders and stakeholders.
Then we developed programs to enhance teachers’ pedagogical practices, foster an
environment of intellectual curiosity and evidence-based instructions.
For instance, Author-6’s engineering degree equipped him with the skill of systematic
analysis of educational techniques and tools. However, he was not much confident on his
pedagogy. Author-2 and Author-6 did a basic assumption analysis and came up with
evidence-based decisions that further helped his techniques. This empirical process
enabled them to identify weak points that needed improvement and the use of very
effective techniques to strengthen learning of the students, teachers and educators.
Our goal was to ensure education accessible and equitable for all. Additionally, some of
us had experience of textbook and teacher guide writing work under Curriculum
Development Center (CDC) of Nepal. However, implementation opportunity was not
possible for all (e.g. Author 1 and 6). Through CPEP we reached out to the teachers of
different part of the country and strongly advocated for effective implementation of the
curricula. We further introduced different innovative interdisciplinary approaches through
our pedagogical practices intending to facilitate 21st century learners.
Engaging in educational research (plan-act-observe-reflect to foster values) (McNiff,
2009) allows educators to explore status quo (particularly in their academic domain) and
best teaching methods that provides opportunity to exchange innovative, context-
responsive pedagogical new insights to the broader field of education. The
compartmentalized approach may not be fruitful for educational practitioners as
knowledge discourse and construction best occurs in a rich interdisciplinary environment
(Rijal, 2020). The exchange of knowledge, experiences, and innovative teaching
strategies in the process of research among the education professionals enhances
pedagogical values, knowledge and skills. For this, collaboration and networking are vital
aspects (Farrow et al, 2022). The collaborative networks provide valuable support and
inspire the cross-pollination of ideas.
Monitoring and Mentoring
Being teacher educators of CPEC, we worked at the grass root level in different schools
and among the teachers where every school evolved/sensed as a project/program for us
that contributed our continuous professional learning.
For instance, after the need assessment and with a planning of appropriate
workshop/session, Author 4 was responsible for mentoring and monitoring the activities
of teachers. The wealth of lived experience and experiential knowledge shaped him as
natural collaborator within his team and beyond in guiding and supporting teachers.
Additionally, self/peer evaluation and feedback were essential backup support for him to
foster his continuous learning.
Collecting teacher learners’ feedback at the end of the session, self-assessment, and even
feedback from peers were essential activities that we did. It was not only been helpful to
update our upcoming planning but also helpful to evaluate our own teaching performance
and to improve. Assessment focused on developing essential knowledge and skills,
guiding the refinement of teaching methods. For that, moral and value education was the
guideline. We sensed that teacher educators need to instill ethical principles and values in
the educators. We facilitate, recognizing that these values (e.g., core values of the
institution or individuals) would shape the character of our future teachers and students.
The professional development journey seems to be a rich textile of dedication, lifelong
learning, and commitment to fostering intellectual growth and ethics of future educators.
Feedback contributes to engage learners in critical self-reflection (Kobiela et al., 2023).
The journey marks by constant refraction, growth, and adaptation, and it profoundly
affects the quality of teacher preparation as well as the success of students and the entire
education system.
Problem Solving
Continuous exploration of emerging needs and strengths by designing and implementing
TPD programs with necessary mentoring and support enhanced teachers and teacher
educators learning experiences.
For instance, Author-6 began to think himself a problem solver which was a huge
transformation in his life—one in which there were moments of bewilderment and others
that were enriching for him. Coming from a civil engineering background, he gave the
educational field a different perspective. The academic training he had in engineering
gave him a strong background in logical reasoning, critical analysis, and specific skills.
These skills greatly influenced his facilitating role. He utilized engineering problem-
solving techniques to solve issues affecting learners; these included the development of
well-defined interventions targeting students who were lagging behind, or the
implementation of creative classroom practices that promoted student involvement in
exhibition. Another example in which he applied his engineering competencies was in the
case of project-based learning experiences, (e.g. developing paper using rice straw) where
he borrows from his experiences of engineering design methodologies to set tasks that get
students applying knowledge and skills to problems facing society.
Gradually our journey took us towards us as problem solvers. We nurtured critical
analysis, creativity, and collaboration on the part of the students. While at the same time
we continuously provided a new path for pedagogical innovation and authentic
assessment.
Time, funding and study leave might be constraints of professional development of
educators in one context (Dilshad et al, 2019), however, they can be an opportunity for a
continuous professional transformation. Educators working for more than office hours
without taking study leave for institutional growth may contribute to personal growth.
Working for common good, institutional and personal growth can be foundation for
continuous professional transformation in diverse contexts.
Pedagogical Innovation
Pedagogical innovation was another hallmark of our journey. Pedagogical innovation
refers to the innovative pedagogies that are context-responsive. Context-responsive
pedagogies work well in the particular context. Principles of constructivism especially
guided and prepared us in leading learning experiences where teachers and students
actively constructed their pedagogical knowledge and skills.
For example, with almost one and half decades of teaching experiences for students from
primary to undergraduate level, Author-5 realized that diversity among learners is a
fundamental consideration. He implemented differentiated, arts-based, project-based and
inquiry-based learning in a way that students and teachers were found encouraged to have
curiosity and explore topics of interest. He realized that opportunities given to students
and teachers to pose questions, gather information, and reach conclusions helped teachers
to gain better understanding and deepen their extent of critical thinking.
We tried to adopt new teaching methods and technologies, adapting to the changing
educational landscape. Whether integrating digital resources or adopting student-centered
strategies, we were at the forefront of educational innovation. Towards these ends,
inquiry-based learning, differentiation, and project-based learning are the pedagogical
strategies that we explored and used for further developing critical thinking, creativity,
and problem-solving ability. While developing professionally, we were drawn towards
developing curriculum frameworks that aligned with our approaches to student-centered
innovative pedagogies.
Through innovative pedagogies, in the context of higher education, educators enhance
21st century skills and innovative skills (Kivunja, 2014). Recognizing the individual
difference and unique needs of diverse student groups is a must to adapt new teaching
methods that can create an inclusive and culturally responsive learning environment
(Marenus, 2024) among teachers and educators.
Continuous Reflective Practices
Questioning the relevancy and context-responsiveness of teachers’ professional
development curriculum developed by the Nepal government (CEHRD, 2016), we
worked with Principals and Headteachers of community and institutional schools along
with teacher educators of CPEC. We developed school-based CPD curriculums, adapting
a participatory approach. In the process, we engaged in continuous transformative
professional development as we learned the following:
Author-1 connected teachers’ school-based continuous professional development
curriculum with the schools’ vision, mission, and goals, including values and skills that
the schools wanted to foster. Universities and schools have their visions, missions, and
goals, however, their activities were not aligned with their vision, mission, and goal. The
visions, missions, and goal were not living or continuously improved, addressing the
contextual needs and aspirations. Besides, she learned to analyze curriculums
(international, ECA, others) adapted by universities and schools. Effective
implementation of the CDC curriculum was the first stage. The second stage was to
develop school curricula through the classroom curriculum. The classroom curriculum
was an improved version of the lesson plan or project plan, which was a part of the
curriculum that included all the components of the curriculum.
Besides, we developed a curriculum framework and an ECA curriculum with teachers
and principals that align with the CDC curriculum framework, addressing the gaps. We
explored the possibilities of creating school-based innovative (integrated, participatory)
curricula to address the learner's needs and aspirations, making hidden curricula explicit
for the greater good (e.g., entrepreneurship). We learned to advocate for creating a
professional learning space for teachers for continuous professional development. It was
because we discovered that a school did not have a room where all teachers could sit for a
meeting. Another school had only chairs, not tables. Many schools did not have a culture
of teachers’ professional learning opportunities like conducting sessions in the school
and/or sending out of the schools for training and other professional opportunities. We
learned to see equal value in multiple pedagogies to implement the curriculums
effectively. We learned to integrate feedback and reflection into our professional
practices when we internalized the essence of formative assessment as a way of living
and aspiring for a better professional life. Facilitating and exploring students’ learning
goes side by side unless one should sit for summative assessment. ‘Teaching first and
testing next’ approach seems to blur by adapting formative assessment. We realized that
formative assessment is a way of living that can continuously be enhanced through
constructive feedback and critical self-reflection processes.
Disciplinary egocentrism creates the dualist discourse of disciplinary vs. interdisciplinary
that values one approach over another (Rijal, 2022). However, the equal value of context-
responsive approaches develops equitable approaches. Interdisciplinary approaches (e.g.,
STEAM) supports to teach integrated curriculum and other subjects like Social Studies,
Science, Nepali, English, and Mathematics by developing disciplinary, interdisciplinary,
and integrated projects. STEAM approach enhances problem-solving skills,
interdisciplinary collaboration, hands-on and project-based learning, including active
student engagement, authentic learning experiences, practical skills, and integration skills
(of multiple disciplines) of students (Bakhramovich & Ismatovna, 2023) and of teacher
and teacher educators. It helps in encouraging student engagement, following
interdisciplinary integration of students (Luo & Cong, 2024), teachers and educators. It
also develops research skills of teachers and educators (Choriyevna (2024). The integral
(non-dual) perspective contributes to teacher educators’ continuous transformative
professional development (Taylor et al. 2012).
In short, we were open to engage continuously in our transformative professional
development by contributing to university-based academic programs and community-
based short courses (e.g., courses on parental education, inclusive education, non-
teaching staff education, ECA education, AI in education), and other initiatives.
Reflections
The purpose of this study was to explore strategies for continuous professional
transformation in teacher educators. We, authors, explored the above mentioned nine
ways of continuous transformative professional development of educators. They are
engaging in critical collaborative inquiry, nurturing diverse learners, sharing success and
sad stories, fostering intellectual growth and ethics, conducting research, monitoring and
mentoring, problem solving, pedagogical innovation, and continuous reflective practices.
The nine ways may/not is a linear process and may/not different in the diverse contexts.
The nine ways evolves as a participatory, context-responsive framework for continuous
transformative professional development in teacher educators.
Figure1
A Framework for Continuous Professional Transformation
However, our continuous transformative professional development would not be possible
if we were unable to develop three strategies as pillars (see Figure-1) such as taking
responsibility for given tasks, making contributions in collaborative tasks and taking self-
initiation that contributed to our continuous professional transformation. A self-study
(Dhungana, 2021) and value-based research (Dhungana, 2023) might have contributed as
foundation for the development of the context-responsive strategies. Our continuous
professional transformation journey was not a linear but a cyclical, iterative and continual
as given in the Figure-1 that worked well in the context of Kathmandu University School
of Education which can be useful in other similar contexts.
engaging in
critical
collaborative
inquiry
nurturing
diverse
learners
sharing
success and
sad stories
fostering
intellectual
growth and
ethics
conducting
research
proble m
solving
pedagogical
innovation
continuous
reflective
practices
Taking
responsibility
Making
contributio ns
in
collaborative
tasks
Taking
self-initia tion
For instance, according to the Dean of Kathmandu University School of Education,
Higher education requires significant transformation. In developed countries, disruptive
technologies and evolving labor markets have prompted a discourse around the shift in
higher education. In transitional society like Nepal there are three major challenges of
working towards the shift in higher education. First, the system lacks resilience to
unprecedented external changes. Second, a loss of trust and confidence among the local
population has led to a disengaged environment of action and reflection. Third, the
tendency to seek external solutions has hindered the exploration of diverse internal
opportunities. (From the FaceBook wall of the Dean, Kathmandu University School of
Education, 13 October 2024)
Although the School of Education, Kathmandu University already embarked on the
journey of continuous professional transformative by initiating some of the core
components of education through CPEC including community engagement of educators
and maximizing job opportunities, the Dean continued seeking internal and external
opportunities. Such opportunities nurtured creativity, critical thinking, and innovation not
only among students (Bakhramovich & Ismatovna, 2023) but also among teachers and
teacher educators.
These strategies of continuous professional transformation in teacher educators created
multiple opportunities as we developed non/accredited training courses and programs that
we implemented. Further we developed assessment tools and teaching materials and also
organized exhibition, workshops and seminars. The opportunities engaged us in
continuous teaching, facilitating, learning and reflection that contributed to our
continuous transformative professional development as we developed academic, research,
and mentoring skills.
Being teacher educators was a continuous, transformational process that combined ethical
commitment, lifelong learning, critical self-reflection, and teamwork. It highlights how
dynamic professional growth is and how important it is to continuously evaluate oneself,
conduct research, and innovate. We modified teaching strategies to create inclusive,
culturally sensitive learning environments by adhering to these concepts. We made sure
that teaching methods were context-responsive as we gathered feedback from peers and
instructors and improved our programs and practices. The commitment to supporting the
ethical and intellectual development of aspiring teachers was what made this trip so
important—it will eventually improve further.
We will continue seeking knowledge about new trends in education and reflecting on our
practices in search of opportunities and solve problems together with students, teachers,
teacher educators, and policy developers.
Conclusion
Exploring three strategies of educators in finding nine ways of continuous professional
transformation in educators, was not challenge free. The major challenge was a negative
gossip. Perhaps positive gossip among the team and beyond during meetings and breaks
to discuss other's positive actions and initiations might be more supportive for the
continuous transformative professional development (Cheng et. al, 2022) and continuous
professional transformation in educators. We were self-motivated. However, we felt low
from negative gossips. Our emerged and evolved strategies of taking responsibility for
given tasks, making contributions in collaborative tasks and taking self-initiation worked
well. Critically reflecting on our professional practices we created multiple programs and
opportunities of developing academic and research skills, critical and creative thinking
skills for us that motivated us. Gradually, negative gossips began to change into positive
gossips. Besides, we still need to foster the three strategies and explore others which may
further create ample opportunities (e.g., entrepreneurship) for us and beyond (e.g.,
university graduates and scholars, teachers, teacher leaders, community) and foster
continuous professional transformation that can be possible in other similar contexts.
Accomplishing given tasks is teacher educators’ dharma. Not limiting self to the given
task, teacher educators need to collaborate and take initiation for developing
entrepreneurship and transformative academic leadership in this transition time. Doing so,
they can develop entrepreneurship skills (e.g., the skills of creating and experimenting
new concepts, ideas and/or creating and providing ample job opportunities to graduates
and other professionals). Rather than only relying on top-down approaches and practices,
we sensed an urgent call for critically reflecting on our ongoing programs based on
community needs and strengths. The focus of educators demands in developing and
sustaining the successful programs and taking initiation on envisioning, innovating and
creating new programs in higher education and beyond. Finally, the three strategies may
be supportive to the early career teacher educators for their continuous transformative
professional development and continuous professional transformation in the similar
university contexts.
Ways forward
The continuous professional transformation among us/educators was possible by three
strategies such as taking responsibility for given tasks, making contributions in
collaborative tasks and taking self-initiation that influenced our learning and others by
exploring community needs, developing new programs and generating necessary fund to
run the programs by themselves. Therefore, we will continue exploring needs and
strengths of community, sustaining needy programs, and developing new programs in the
university for our and institutional growth. Further we will explore available fund (e.g., in
the university and UGC) and run new programs for our continuous professional
transformation. Also, with problem solving intent, we will continue generating funds in
the local and global levels by developing collaborative programs, collaborating with
institutional schools, municipalities and educational institutions for other collective
innovative initiatives.
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