Supporting evidence-based practice through teacher education: A profile analysis of teacher educators’ perceived challenges and possible solutions

Higher education-based teacher education has been tasked with addressing the gap between research and teaching and to promote their closer alignment in terms of evidence-based practice. University-based teacher educators are seen as central agents in supporting evidence-based practice among future teachers. To better understand and design appropriate support for this diverse group of professionals, research needs to examine the relevant characteristics of teacher educators concerning the support of evidence-based practice. An online survey study with 484 university-based teacher educators was conducted to examine attitudes and perceived challenges regarding evidence-based practice. Latent profile analysis revealed five significantly different subgroups: high-challenges, no-challenges, knowledge- & resource-challenges, resource-challenges, and skeptical profile. Importantly, profiles partly differed in their reported use of evidence in their teaching. Moreover, whether a service platform for evidence-based teacher education meets reported challenges of teacher educators was also explored. The selected platform appeared to provide effective support for all profiles investigated.