Developing critical reflection in professional focused doctorates: a facilitator's perspective

Abstract

Purpose -This paper aims to explore the challenges and opportunities for expediting critical reflection in management education and development to highlight particularly how critical reflection has been facilitated within the context of a professionally focused doctoral programme. Design/methodology/approach -The paper draws on empirical research conducted for a broader project, focusing here on two awaydays for DBA supervisors (n ¼ 25 in 2005 and n ¼ 16 in 2006) and a UFHRD workshop in 2007 (n ¼ 12) for members involved and/or interested in doctoral programmes in HRD, where the empirical research findings were presented and discussed. The paper presents selected findings from the perspective of staff through their own critical reflections, drawing on the data from the two awaydays and the UFHRD workshop. Detailed handwritten notes were taken and transcribed, in addition to flipchart material provided by the participants. These qualitative data are analysed using thematic analysis. The quotations presented are as accurate as possible (verbatim) and any ambiguous notes have been deliberately excluded. Findings -Emerging findings include the need to clarify the concept for both staff and students, and embed critical reflection from the beginning of the programme and throughout written assignments. Insights into how staff perceive critical reflection within a DBA programme are offered, including how staff might assume (incorrectly) that advanced practitioners arrive with a high level of maturity to engage in critical reflection, and yet advanced practitioners "worry" about critique and perceive it as negative and/or failure. Research limitations/implications -It is acknowledged that the subjective experience of student participants is not central to this discussion, and, whilst a limitation of this paper, this presents an avenue for further research. Practical implications -The paper presents a critical and reflexive account from a facilitator's perspective and offers practical suggestions for incorporating critical reflection within a DBA programme. Originality/value -Given the dearth of literature of facilitating critical reflection in the context of professionally focused doctoral programmes, this paper makes a small and initial contribution to this field.

Desperately seeking fixedness: Practitioners’ accounts of ‘becoming doctoral researchers’

“…While the literature has identified a number of common features and aims, there remains a paucity of work which develops understandings of DBA programmes, especially from the student perspective (Banerjee and Morely, 2013;Sambrook and Stewart, 2008). This paper begins that process and suggests that liminality offers an especially useful lens to examine the DBA student experience.…”

“…Notably, one key outcome is the development of the critically reflective practitioner (Sambrook and Stewart, 2008).…”

Bringing the Heart and Soul Back in: Collaborative Inquiry and the DBA

“…In contrast to the PhD with its focus on developing 'professional researchers', DBA programs aim to develop 'researching professionals' (Bareham et al, 2000) and emphasize the enhancement of professional practice alongside developing knowledge contributions. As such, the development of the reflective practitioner is a common aim of many DBA programs (Sambrook & Stewart, 2008).…”

Evaluation of the current status and knowledge contributions of professional doctorates

“…Sambrook & Stewart, (2008) found that there is a need to embed critical reflection from the start of the PD programme to enable participants to become more reflexive in their thinking. Talbot (2012) found that high-level reflective practice for PD practitioner-researchers enabled them to engage with significant doctoral research issues in the workplace.…”