Hidden professionals? An overview of the motives, model effects and identities of teacher educators

Teacher educators have repeatedly been described as 'hidden professionals'. However, the question of why teacher educators should prefer working behind the scenes is still unanswered. After defining and categorizing teacher educators, this article examines why people get involved in teacher education (motives), in what way they become visible (model effect) and to what extent they identify themselves with their role in teacher education (self-perception). To answer these questions, an overview of previous research for three groups of teacher educators will be elaborated. The results of this research review suggest that motives, model effects and self-perceptions of teacher educators differ according to the contexts in which they work. It also becomes clear that in this differentiated perspective the proclaimed invisibility cannot be found for all groups of educators. In fact, teacher educators become visible where the training of teachers is performed as a full-time job and leads to enhanced appreciation. The research overview reveals research gaps that need to be addressed in this area in the future.