Reconceptualizing Reflection as Relational Ontological Practices Within the Context of Writing Instruction

Abstract

The concept of reflection is ubiquitous in discussions of educational practice and in the teaching and learning of writing (e.g., Hillocks, 1996; Myhill, 2011); yet rarely is reflection defined or interrogated. As Nguyen et al. (2014) note in a review of the 15 most cited authors on reflection from 2008 to 2012, “reflection is a complex construct for which the literature does not provide a consensual definition” (p. 1177; see also Alexander, 2017; Lyons, 2010; Rogers, 2002). If reflection is key to the teaching and learning of writing (and to other educational agendas), then it is important to researchers and educational practitioners that it be clearly defined and interrogated. This review of scholarship provides one perspective on defining and interrogating reflection by making a heuristic distinction between reflection and reflective practice, and then defining reflection as relational ontological practice.