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This study explored the experience of engaging in reflective practice through the framework of Levelising. Reflective practice has been of interest to professionals and educators of professionals for many years. However, Levelising is a recently introduced approach. Levelising categorizes the reflective process into four modes. These modes include an awareness of what is occurring (Level I), considering one’s actions (Level II), considering one’s conceptual frame (Level III), and considering the conceptual frames of others (Level IV). This study focuses on my personal experience of improving my facilitation using Levelising as a framework for reflective practice. The context of the study was a professional development workshop conducted over a nine-week period with 10 participants attending. This study was conducted as action research in the form of an autoethnography. I kept a reflexive journal of my workshop experiences and used the journal entries to reflect after each workshop session. My reflections were the data I used to study my use of Levelising to improve my facilitation practice. I engaged in on-going formative analysis during the course of the workshop. A summative analysis was performed following the conclusion of the workshop to identify how engaging in Levelising as a framework for reflections informed the decisions I made to improve practice. Findings indicated that the use of Levelising in my reflection on practice increased my awareness of aspects of my facilitation that needed to be changed. Levelising revealed differences in my espoused theories and theories in practice. I became more aware of the need to question my assumptions, values, beliefs, and biases prior to, during, and following facilitation experiences.

The Act of Reflective Practice explores the manner in which three individuals, young architects, came together and the manner in which their inherent value systems inform and determine the way they produce architecture. The research offers a systematic distillation of the common value systems behind the individuals who comprise iredale pedersen hook architects, identifying the particularity of each practitioner in terms of their expertise, experience and character within the collective and the situations from which the individuals have emerged. The PhD tracks the evolution of the practice and identification of its architecture through the RMIT Invitational Masters of Architecture by Project program and PhD by Project program, contextualizing the work through the establishment of a network of mentors and peers and ultimately locates the work locally, nationally and globally. When introduced to the idea of the 'Reflective Practitioner', the architecture of iredale pedersen hook has taken a significant evolutionary step where the three individuals have begun to operate in a more cohesive manner and the inherent value system and concerns behind the work are now able to inform the future direction of the architecture. The research also explores how this shift has expand the character of the work and transform the manner in which the architecture is conceived, described and ultimately produced. Through the PhD and the accompanying Masters by my two practice partners and collaborators, Adrian Iredale and Finn Pedersen, the primary concerns embedded within our work have been isolated and a systematic but qualitative method developed that may assess the impact of these concerns across a selection of iredale pedersen hook projects. The PhD defines a methodology, The Field of Concerns, by which the projects produced by iredale pedersen hook architects may be scrutinised and assessed in a qualitative framework, based on the agreed parameters and inherent value system underpinning the work. The definition of the Field of Concerns is critical in the ability to establish an identity for each project and place it within the evolutionary output of the practice. Subsequent testing of the projects against the Concerns through the creation of spider diagrams enables the establishment of a visual process for evaluating the success of the projects against the aims of the practice and can be applied throughout the design process and upon completion. Together, the process of clarification, the questioning of our ability to claim authorship, and presence of all partners in each project may offer a qualitative framework for other 'Self-Curating Collectives' to establish criteria for exploring the evolution of their work.

The research presented in this dissertation explores the interaction between English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and the classroom materials they develop. It aims to illuminate the potential value of this creative process for teachers’ development of critically reflective practice (CRP). For many EFL teachers, materials are an essential part of their pedagogy. Despite the widespread availability of publications for this compulsory subject in Dutch secondary education, many teachers choose to supplement the coursebook with their own materials. A premise of this research is that the materials teachers develop embody their personal theories of action regarding EFL teaching and learning. These theories, consisting of espoused principles and principles-in-use, are conceptualised as the teachers’ pedagogic principles. Critical reflection may help teachers uncover their espoused and tacit principles with the aim to align them, and improve their teaching practice. The central question is: In what ways does classroom materials development offer teachers of English a tool for CRP? The research questions are addressed through a qualitative, exploratory, embedded multiple-case study approach. Four Dutch EFL teachers are considered as individual cases. The components of each case are analysed to present an encompassing view of the materials development process: reflective logs (creation), the materials themselves (product), and lesson observations (use) are supplemented with pre- and post-lesson interviews to complete data collection. Data are analysed through deductive and inductive within-case analysis and cross-case synthesis. Findings suggest that teachers’ pedagogic principles are multifarious, informed by practical and pragmatic considerations, and revealed at several points and in a variety of ways during the materials development process. Yet it is only when teachers engage in dialogue about them that increased awareness of these principles ensues. CRP may thus be stimulated by a critical friend, and the materials development process can provide an impetus for discussion and dialogue.

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This qualitative interpretive study explored how five pre-service teachers constructed meaning of reflection, and how these meanings informed their practice. The purpose of this research was to better understand reflective practice in teacher preparation. The theories on reflective practice by Dewey (1933), Schon (1983, 1987), and van Manen (1977) guided this study. This research incorporated the historical and institutional contexts of the study, and applied a symbolic interaction theoretical and analytical framework (Denzin, 1978, Prus, 1996). The interpretations of the pre-service teachers' conceptions and understandings of reflective practice were captured through the transcriptions and analysis of interviews, and through the examination of the pre-service teachers' reflection journals. Participant-observations were recorded in field notes and serve to inform the social context of the study, as well as to provide portraits of the pre-service teachers, and to verify their responses. Themes were derived from the data and categorized within the symbolic interaction social processes of acquiring perspectives, achieving individuality, experiencing relationships, situating the act, and the act of reflection (Prus, 1996). The research questions were answered as I interpreted the meanings that these pre-service teachers attached to reflection, as well as the process, context and content of their reflective practice (Calderhead, 1989). I derived thirteen themes from the data that highlighted how the pre-service teachers interpreted and practiced reflection in this teacher preparation program. The themes were: (1) defining reflection; (2) questioning as reflection; (3) gaining opportunities for reflection; (4) Defining reflection from self and significant others; (5) looking back on action; (6) reflection is based on personal beliefs, and educational theory; (7) encountering professors; (8) encountering mentors; (9) encountering cooperating teachers; (10) self-reflections; (11) verbal reflections; (12) written reflections; and (13) content of reflection. The study resulted in an interpretation of the pre-service teachers' views of reflective practice as they experienced it in the teacher preparation program that they felt gave them many opportunities for reflection. The findings indicated that the pre-service teachers had a general understanding of reflection. They practiced technical and interpretive levels of reflection in different contexts. The findings of the study implied that pre-service teachers understood and learned to reflect through courses and field activities. The findings also raised questions about the necessity of extensive writing requirements in reflection. This study has implications for the ways in which pre-service teachers learn about reflection, and may be useful for teacher educators who prepare reflective practitioners. / Ph. D.

No / This paper aims to open a debate about the impact of reflective practice questioning whether reflective frameworks and models argued to facilitate the education of highly skilled reflective practitioners can be oppressive rather than emancipatory in outcome. Contemporary education focuses on evidence based and effective practice with reflection at its core leading to empowerment and ultimately emancipation of the profession as independent and equal to medics and other health care professionals. Models and frameworks have therefore been developed to facilitate the education of highly skilled reflective practitioners; able to recognise the need to draw on evidence based practice in order to challenge out-dated methods and engage in new ways of working. This paper however questions the current focus on reflective practice suggesting that reflection in itself can be oppressive and support the commodification of nursing as a ‘workforce’, the profession at the beck and call of current governmental policy and control.

This research considered the perceptions of policing students who attended a Preparing to Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) course at a Central London College for Further Education, in relation to their study needs, motivation levels, relevant support and reflective practice. This phenomenological study considered 15 students from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) employing the use of semi-structured interviews to gather data. The findings were that the students‟ perception in relation to the support offered by the MPS was insufficient and this may be due to the pedagogical approach to learning favoured by many students. Several appeared to require support with learning and writing level at three or four. The college did very well in respect of the perception of the students in relation to the support they experienced. The scarcity of time and the intensity of the course was a prominent factor, where some had underestimated how much time they would need to allocate to study. Overwhelmingly the students required support when engaging in study at level three or four and there appeared to exist very little knowledge in how to write an assignment. Some of the students appeared to favour a more pedagogical approach to study and in some cases reacted against the andragogical style employed by the college. Support from the mentor was valued considerably by most of the students and this appears to be a contributory factor in easing the students back into study. In relation to students‟ perceptions of Reflective Practice (RP) there existed three distinct groups, namely those who considered that they used reflective practice, those who considered they did on certain occasions and one who did not. In general there existed a positive attitude towards the concept of RP although none of the students kept a record of their subsequent RP following the PTLLS course. The phenomenon of Situational Reflective Practice was observed which took the form of Reflection-re-Action and Reflection-re-Inaction. This is concerned with the way in which a social group or an organisation is behaving and the impact this has upon an individual. Further research in relation to the idea of Situational Reflective Practice is called for.

This thesis reports a qualitative case study exploring the connotation and implementation of reflection as an educational concept in a PGCE (secondary) programme at a UK university in the light of the perceptions of university tutors and student teachers. Reflection has been an important concept in many teacher education programmes but it has consistently been intricate in terms of its connotation and implementation and despite a vast amount of research aimed at deconstructing its complexity, the matter does not seem to have been resolved. Despite its conceptual complexity it has often been taken in its common sense meaning by practitioners in educational programmes and is, at times, turned into a slogan. This study was, therefore, aimed at an exploration of the meaning and implementation of the concept and the various factors that influence it in the programme under study. The findings of the study reveal that, true to its reputation, the concept defies any agreed upon understanding. On a conceptual level there was recognition of its complexity among the university tutors, although this did not come out in the case of student teachers who predominantly defined it in its common sense meaning. At the implementation level the common sense practice-oriented connotation appeared to prevail among both groups. Factors influencing this orientation included the practical emphasis of the PGCE, the focus on response to the centralised QTS standards, the time-work balance and the under-appreciation for theory in its technical-rational conceptualisation in the predominantly skill-oriented and subject-teaching focused structure of the training. The study implies that for reflection to be appreciated and implemented at the deeper, conceptual and critical level, it should be put into practice more overtly with elaborate theoretical underpinnings. This would call for changes in this and similar programmes in terms of structure, content and aims.

In recent decades, reflective practice has taken a more central role in the construction of teachers’ knowledge and practice (Elliot, 1991; Roberts, 1998). Within reflective practice, action research has developed as an approach within which teachers can systematically question, challenge and improve their teaching and recently been introduced into teacher education programmes with the rationale of encouraging student teachers to critically engage with curriculum and practice (Mills, 2003). Recent years have additionally seen interest in how teachers’ knowledge is sociodiscursively constructed with a concomitant focus on the link between teacher identity and practice (e.g. Danielewicz, 2001; Miller Marsh, 2003; Norton 2000). However, few studies have attempted to explore the influence action research may have on the construction of student teacher practice and identity (Trent, 2010). This study explores the role of an undergraduate action research project in terms of the extent of its influence on the development of student practice in English Language classes and the trajectory of their emergent teacher identities. Informed by new theoretical directions in ethnography (Denzin, 1997), data was collected using naturally occurring texts integral to the student teachers’ studies, including weekly lesson observations, post-observation feedback discussions and three focus group discussions over the course of the research project. Analysis indicates that the undergraduate action research project differentially affects students’ practice and emergent identities, but that this relationship may be tangential and students’ agency may be overshadowed by methodological preoccupations and constraints of institutions. Both global and local discursive formations combine and interact to influence this process which occurs in a theoretical ‘interzone’ a third space, sociodiscursively constructed between institutions.