Cultivating critical reflection: educators making sense and meaning of professional identity and relational dynamics in complex practice

Striving for Critical Reflection in Multicultural and Social Justice Teacher Education: Introducing a Typology of Reflection Approaches

“…Reflection often is described as a key element of MSJTE, particularly as it pertains to learning about equity and justice (Grant & Sleeter, 2010; Morgan, 2017). In the context of transformative learning theory, education scholars have long advocated reflection as a method for helping learners examine their beliefs and actions (Dewey, 1933; Hatton & Smith, 1995).…”

“…In the context of transformative learning theory, education scholars have long advocated reflection as a method for helping learners examine their beliefs and actions (Dewey, 1933; Hatton & Smith, 1995). If learners can strengthen their abilities to do so, not just in retrospect but also in day-to-day practice—while interacting with economically marginalized children, for example—they are better prepared to adjust their ideologies or worldviews toward a social justice stance, which is a goal of transformative learning (Schön, 1983) and MSJTE (Morgan, 2017).…”

“…Critical reflection scholars have not been prescriptive about what this looks like in practice. Instead, they have described the purposes of critical reflection more generally around goals such as helping educators examine their positionalities (Acquah & Commins, 2015), adopt a structural anti-oppression view rather than a deficit view (Morgan, 2017), and develop deeper and more structural insights about equity and justice (Alger, 2006) to, in Liu’s words, “suppor[t] student learning and a better schooling and more just society for all children” (pp. 10-11).…”

“…Answering Sleeter’s (1996) call to frame multicultural education as social activism, critical reflection can strengthen educators’ agency as advocates of justice-oriented change (Collay, 2014; Felton & Koestler, 2015). This might include spotting and dismantling deficit views of students experiencing poverty (Morgan, 2017), helping students develop critical media literacy by examining the influence of power on knowledge (Smith, 2011), or challenging unjust policies or practices in their schools (Ross, 2015)—which have been linked to students’ exposure to critical reflection. Studies of critical reflection in MSJTE have also shown that it deepens students’ understandings of their power and privilege (Acquah & Commins, 2015; Liu & Milman, 2014).…”

Working with Edge Emotions as a means for Uncovering Problematic Assumptions: Developing a practically sound theory

“…Reflection is often seen as an educational tool that is assumed to bring in its wake rather profound results: transformation, empowerment, development of teaching expertise, leadership skills, higher order thinking skills, democratic learning communities, are often mentioned as benefits resulting from reflection (e.g. Bleakley, 1999;Boud & Walker, 1998;Brookfield 2006;Fisher, 2003;Kreber, 2005;McAlpine et al, 1999;Morgan, 2017;Schön, 1983). Such anticipated results are often used to justify promoting reflection in pedagogical practices.…”