Caring for Wellbeing in Initial Teacher Education: A Focus on Language Teacher Educators' Perceived Roles and Reported Practices

Abstract Language teacher educators (LTEs) have a key role in caring for teacher wellbeing as responsive mediators. While previous work has documented the nature and influencing factors of wellbeing among pre‐service language teachers (PSLTs), this line of research has not sufficiently reflected the voices of LTEs. This qualitative study explored LTEs' perceptions of their roles and the practices they enact to promote wellbeing in initial language teacher education (ILTE). Interview data from 6 university‐based LTEs in Türkiye were analyzed with an inductive thematic approach. Findings showed that despite their partial understanding of what comprises the wellbeing of PSLTs, the participants viewed themselves as responsible for creating space to foster wellbeing in ILTE by acting as role models who exemplify wellbeing themselves, builders of strong interpersonal ties among PSLTs, and evaluators of the perceived symptoms of low wellbeing to take remedial actions. These assumed roles also translated into preventive and responsive practices to foster wellbeing such as organizing a fair workload, being approachable and constructive, providing emotional support, and mediating peer conflicts. Overall, the findings showcase LTEs' awareness and capacity in promoting wellbeing in ILTE through enacting a pedagogy of care that was largely self‐driven and instinctive rather than deliberate and systematic.