Discipline-based Teaching and Identity Expansion – Teacher Education and the Tertiary Vocational Educator in New Zealand

Abstract

The vocational tertiary teaching work force in New Zealand is made up of individuals from an extensive range of occupational backgrounds. When their occupational or discipline-based expertise is employed within Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) and Private Training Establishments (PTEs) they make up another occupational group – that of vocational education or training practitioner. With diverse work-based backgrounds, vocational educators undertake their work within the teaching workforce often without a strong sense of their educational position or function and there is little guidance in the complexities and realities of the role. This paper considers the role of vocational educators and the practices of professional development or tertiary teacher education that might support building a multi-layered identity encompassing their discipline expertise and their role as an educator.