Research culture of teacher educators in higher education: a narrative review (2019-2026)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47606/ACVEN/PH0543Keywords:
research culture, teacher educators, higher education pedagogy, research competencies, digital dimensionAbstract
The evidence on the research culture among teacher educators at higher education institutions remains scattered and is methodologically heterogeneous. This narrative review examined 44 articles published between January 2019 and April 2026, retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, and Latindex 2.0 using Boolean operators, co-citation analysis with Connected Papers, and supplementary searches in Redalyc. The studies were organized into four analytical dimensions: epistemological, institutional, educational, and digital. The identity of the teacher-trainer-researcher emerges as a multidimensional phenomenon in which personal disposition, structural conditions, training trajectories, and technological mediations operate interdependently. Three trends characterize the period analyzed: the gap between institutional rhetoric and material working conditions; the consolidation of digital environments as the infrastructure for scientific production; and the spread of socio-formative approaches in Latin America. Five gaps were identified, centered on the absence of models that integrate the four dimensions; the underrepresentation of Latin American teacher-training institutions as a distinct subject of study; the marked scarcity of longitudinal research; the lack of validated instruments for this teacher profile; and the nascent exploration of the impact of artificial intelligence. Priority research areas are proposed for 2026–2030.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Magda Medina-Velasquez , Mary Socorro Rosado-Lazo , Luz Marina Zubizarreta Agüero de Heras , Walter Willy Ramos-Pacco

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