In this study we report on findings from a larger critical discourse analysis of official policy documents, in relation to the democratic (ethical) identity of the teacher educator in the Republic of Ireland and Sweden. The study framed with critical theory positions teacher education within competing discourses of education. The research methodology examines the hypothesis that in the last decade there has been a paradigm shift in the way policy documents regard the democratic (ethical) identity of the teacher educator (teacher).  In an earlier study we completed a historical contextual overview and a preliminary comparative word count of four policy documents, two documents from each country, at the start of this century and more recently. The study reported in this paper consists of a comparative initial textual analysis  in relation to the same four policy documents. Findings indicate a substantive paradigm shift in both countries from a predominantly progressive (pragmatic) discourse in the early years of this century to a more essentialist (technocratic) discourse  in  recent times. The study raises concerns not only about the democratic (ethical) identity of the teacher educator but also about the contemporary role for  education  as a social and political shaper of values (democratic) and emancipation.