Critical Reflection on Professional Practice | Education

Critical Reflection on Professional Pr makeice EducationIn this essay I result critically re side the literary productions on the subroutine of the groundbreaking educator. To this end I will consider the narrative of breeding and the impact of modern educational possibleness before specify reflective teaching. I will then go on to consider the ramifications of critical reflectivity at different granularities.The concept of a teacher in the modern sense whitethornhave originated with the ancient Greeks. The Socratic order set out byPlato and Xenophon encourages the student to become an independentthinker through a outgrowth of elimination of working hypotheses.Throughout the European dark ages scholarly pursuits were largely thedomain of the clergy, who create the schoolhouse fourth dimension system and the maestro school educator came into being. By Victorian durations,however, the role of the educator was that of an instructorwho, in the tonicity of John Locke, pe rceived kidren as unclouded slatesonto which noesis can be written .Then, in the 20th Century, the view of education, and consequently the role of the educator, changed dramatically. The concept of a teacher in the modern sense whitethornhave originated with the ancient Greeks. The Socratic Method set out byPlato and Xenophon encourages the learner to become an independentthinker through a process of elimination of working hypotheses.Throughout the European dark ages scholarly pursuits were largely thedomain of the clergy, who developed the school system and theprofessional school educator came into being. By Victorian times,however, the role of the educator was that of an instructorwho, in the spirit of John Locke, perceived kidskinren as blank slatesonto which friendship can be written .Then, in the 20th Century, the view of education, and consequently the role of the educator, changed dramatically. educational supposition in the 20thCentury was influenced by, amongst other wises, Piaget, Vygotsky and Dewey.It will be worth briefly reviewing their ideas. blue jean Piaget developed the nonion of constructivism in which learners ar considered to construct their own theories of the world.Constructivism acknowledges the need to figure upon and modify existingknowledge rather than simply to fill learners heads with knowledge.Lev Vygotsky emphasised the importance of theatrical production for childrenscognitive growth in which the socio pagan environment isinternalised as knowledge is constructed. As much(prenominal)(prenominal) find out was nolonger situated exclusively in the head provided became an interaction amongst the child, chums and educators.John Dewey endorsed Vygotskys sociocultural improvement and highlightedthe subjective spirit of communal learning. He is credited withpopularising socioconstructivist ideas into what became known asprogressive education.Another important influence came from cultural theory in the form ofwhat is kno wn as postmodernism. Postmodernism is not a theory solelyrather a rejection of the certain. Instead, meaning is alship canal inprocess, and that which seems to be external human race is a culturalconstruct. Postmodernism demands a shift in perspective. Derrida wroteThe come to is at the middle of the totality, and yet, since the centerdoes not belong to the totality (is not part of the totality), thetotality has its center elsewhere. The center is not the center.Perhaps the most important contribution of postmodernism to education,then, is the identification and wondering(a) of underlying assumptionsand a blurring of sharpen from nave clarity to reflective holism. As thinking human beings it isnear-on impossible to not be reflective in an everyday sense of theword. however the term reflective teaching refers to almostthing more(prenominal)profound something consistently undertaken by practitioners thatimplies flexibility, rigorous analytic thinking and accessible aw benes s. I willnow consider how a teacher magnate be critically reflective at threegranularities (i) the fine-grain which occurs whilst teaching (ii)the medium-grain which occurs retrospectively (iii) the large-grainwhich considers teaching in the setting of wider society. Fine-grain reflection relates to whatSchn calls reflection-in-action . I interpret reflection-in-actionto be a sociocultural process that is not fit(p) solely in theteachers head. Indeed it is a process of which the ( borrow upd)teacher is not consciously aware. Rather, it relates to concepts suchas routines, worry and making judgments. It is a subtle teachingskill that is often at betting odds with the fashionable notion ofwell-planned lessons.The long-term refinement of fine-grain reflection over time is perhapswhat distinguishes the expert from the novice practitioner.Luntley investigated the record of expertise which he defines asattention-based knowledge. He reports on an experienced teacher in amathematics l esson who drew shapes on the board and asked the classwhich ones were similar. She received answers that made no sense (toher) and reflected afterwardsI was beginning to think Oh God There is something I am missinghere. Laughter Something that is taken for granted(predicate) to them but not obvious tome.The teacher then took action to steadiness the issue because sherecognised a mismatch between the pupils centre of attention and herown, and was able to interrogate this in order to respond in a waywhich changed the direction of the lesson, but enabled her to re-focusthe pupils ideas.It is difficult to imagine how a trainee teacher readiness instantlyimprove their expertise and reflect instinctively at the chalk facelike this. Sheer experience seems necessary but it may be that thisexperience can be enhance through systematic medium-grain reflection. Medium-grain reflection has profoundimplications. Postmodernism suggests the need to be mercilesslyself-critical. A upshot of thi s is the lack of a yard-stickagainst which to pass judgment progress. For example, one cannot simplyreflect on how to improve screen out scores without reflecting that anenvironment engineered for passing tests may actually damage childrenslearning by other standards. Similarly, one cannot simply reflect onhow to reduce schoolroom noise levels as a way to improve behaviour.Rather we must identify and reflect on the complex power sexual intercourses atplay in the classroom. Given these shifting-sands and the opaque someoneality of presuppositions, itis clear that reflective teaching at the medium grain surface is no simpletask. There is no edict or recipe to follow rather it is on that ratejection of such. Practitioners retrospective reflection is in factan attitude that encompasses many areas. here(predicate) I will attempt to listjust a few of them.The teacher must consider his or her own wholeness in thesociocultural mount of the classroom. Age, sex activity, ethni city,class-background, culture, religion, semipolitical views are relevant.Similar holistic consideration must be disposed(p) to the pupils. Furthermorethe classroom itself is a complex sociocultural environment demanding aholistic reflection.The teacher must withal consider the nature of the curriculum how it isto be implemented and what is meant by learning and how we assess it.Policies and models and recipes and formulas abound, both voluntary andcompulsory (such as the 1988 Education Reform act which introduced aNational Curriculum). Reflective practice can be valuable in processingteachers rest cool-headed amidst passing frenzies such as the trueunsubstantiated craze for Accelerated Learning. However it is no good the teacher merely being aware of thesociocultural nature of the environment, or the possible flaws in thecurriculum, as though this might inoculate her from problems. Theentire purpose of reflective teaching is to inform practice through exhibit-informed prof essional practice such as reflective markingof pupils work, discussion with colleagues, classroom observations,journal retentiveness and so on. Another aspect is how critical reflective practice might inform ateachers professional development, such as the acquisition offine-grained knowledge-based attention mentioned above. Professionaldevelopment should be considered holistically in a wider socioculturalcontext as a process of enlightenment that is a reflective andcommunal process. The next step up after school and chargeer focused critical reflection isteachers reflecting on their role in wider society which I discuss inthe following section. Large-grain reflection refers tocritically considering ones role as a teacher at heart wider society. Itcan involve quite pragmatic issues such as joining a union, decidinghow to vote and keeping an eye on political developments such as thecurrent dominant managerialist ideology in the work place.It can as well involve philosophical and i deological considerations roughlythe future of education. During the cultural revolution of 1960sAmerica many teachers (e.g. Herbert Kohl ) came to reject the ideal ofschool altogether, imagining a future utopia in which society educatesits young without institutionalisation. different educationalists havevisions of how the nature of learning might be revolutionised in anincreasingly complex and technological society (e.g. Seymour Papert ).Considering that the teaching profession does not offer the greatestfinancial returns, working conditions or status the higher ideals areessential to me personally. Teaching must be seen as a holisticlifestyle an attempt to save the world notwithstanding to be enjoyable.For me reflective teaching contains an inherent paradox -yet this is its strength. It is a formula for thinking that teachesus to reject formulae for thinking. It is an ongoing questioning andanalysis at all granularities in which our attitude should be aholistic, dynamic proc ess rather than a stable set of commandments.Although critical reflection should be painful to a degree, the returns are enriching and invaluable. look into plan Child Attachment with Care ProvidersResearch Proposal Child Attachment with Care ProvidersRationaleThe author has chosen to focus on the area of nursery care for children aged six months to quintuplet historic period, chiefly because it is an area of personal and professional interest, and because despite a riches of investigate on parenting fastening, child development, behavioural development and the like, the field of study is fluid lacking in good, applied research which seeks how children become acclimatised to a nursery environment, and what factors may ask this process. Because of genial and societal changes many childs needlelike their out-of-home lives at an early age with non-familial caregivers in child care settings (Lee, 2006 p 133). This care setting has latently long-term implications for the ch ild, the family, and for society as a whole. The infant-caregiver blood is crucial for infants since this first blood with a caregiver will not only provide a working model for the subsequent relationships with teachers but will too set the stage for adjustment, development, and learning in the current setting and for later school life (Lee, 2006 p 134). Attachment theories explore how attachment between child and caregiver affect these issues.The focus on attachment theories is also related to the need for nursery workers to engage in partnership working with parents in order to ensure good accessory exchanges of information from both sides, and to promote the best possible experience for the child (and their accomplices).The author has observed great differences between different children in the ways that they patch into the nursery environment. Some children adapt quickly to the new billet, the caregivers and the activities, mend others take much longer, displaying ongoi ng signs of separation anxiety and other behaviours which bespeak they are not fully acclimatised to the nursery environment and carers. While there are arguments here more or less whether or not child care workers and parents should transport certain levels of conformity from such young children, and approximately the individual inevitably of children being met in a flexible, responsive manner, there is no motion that children do need to learn to interact in peer groups and to mix into environments other than the home environment at some point during their developmental processes. The adaptation to the new environment may be related to parenting styles, attachment, or the characteristics of caregivers.Literature ReviewA epitome of variables might affect the childs aptitude to settle into the childcare environment. Some of these are strengthly derived from the home setting, from attachment to parents and other caregivers, and from the kinds of parenting styles that the ch ild has already experienced and from the family agency (David et al, 2003). other variables are related to (potentially) biology and the social behaviours which reinforce sexual urge. turner (1991) explores the complex relationships between attachment and gender and child integration with peers in preschool environments, and appearings that there are gender differences in these phenomena. How much this is due to carer and peer preconceptions of appropriate child behaviour is not clear, but Phillipsen et al (1999) show that social acceptance, and carers lores of behaviour and peer interactions are mediated by preconceptions about expected behaviours. This author is concerned that childrens individuality and individual pile are perhaps, on the basis of such studies, not being given enough attention, and that this drive for behavioural conformity is perhaps serving a different purpose to the expressed, child-focused aims of nursery providers. McKown and Weinstein (2002) also rel ate teacher expectations to gender and to ethnicity in early years environments, and so the kinds of demographic information that would be needed in an exploratory study of this kind would allow gender and ethnicity questions.Other authors have researched relationships between children and their childcare providers, and shown that the relationship between these may vary according to the perceptions of different childcare workers (Howes et al, 2000), and according to the sensitivity and characteristics of the childcare workers (Gerber et al, 2007). This study would focus on the kinds of perceptions of attachment identified by Howes et al (2000). A more useful study would employ an objective commentator to measure and record attachment behaviours (Delamont, 2002), but this is a small scale academic piece, and there are insufficient resources to employ an objective, skilled observer.Other variables affecting the childs ability to settle must patently derive from the nursery enviro nment. These may be characteristics of caregivers and caregiver-child relationships, which may be in turn influenced by nursery policies, by organisational culture and norms and managerial practices, and also by the personalities of the caregivers (Cryer et al, 2005). Resources may also affect this environment. Lee (2006) found that infants and their come across caregivers did build firm (close, secure, synchronous) relationships in the relationship-valued and supportive childcare context (p 140). This suggests that the context may affect this process in significant ways.However, it is the characteristics of the child his or herself, and their parents or their attachment to their parents which may be the issue here, hence the focus on attachment theory. Rydell et al (2005) suggest that a central anticipation from attachment theory is that the quality of the childs attachment to parents will be related to the quality of relationships with other people (p 188). Therefore, it is impor tant as part of the proposed study to assess the parenting experience and any markers of attachment from the point of view of the parent(s). This may be important in identifying childrens ability to develop secure relationships with other carers (Rydell et al, 2005).Bowlby (2007) argues that babies and tots will have their attachment quest reaction activated in the absence of a primary or a thirdhand attachment figure when they are in the figurehead of a stranger and in unfamiliar surroundings, which is what may happen in nurseries when children do not settle. This attachment seeking repartee may be terminated if the child is able to develop an attachment to a cooperateary carer (Bowlby, 2007). Bowlby (2007) suggests a model of childcare that actively promotes and monitors long-term secondary attachment bonds between baby and carer. This kind of model is shown in the theory of having a key person identified for each child at bottom the setting, which has benefits for the baby/ child, in terms of affection and attachment, for parents, and for the key person (Elfer, 2002). intellectual this in the context of the child-caregiver relationship is challenging, because this relationship is multidimensional (Lee, 2006).AimsThe aims of this study are to answer the following question Why do some children settle in nursery in a short space of time and some take longer, using the like settling in rule? and to model the complex interactions between the factors which may be seen as affecting this process. Theories of attachment will be used as a example to inform and support the design of the study, but a range of potential variables will be explored in order to fully develop a model of understanding which may answer the key research question. Other aims of this study are that it should improve understanding in order to help childcare workers and parents support childrens transition into the childcare environmentmethod actingological analysisWhile an ethnographical methodology would be a logical survival of the fittest of research methodology in this case (Massey, 1998), there are some issues around this kind of approach, including the potential bias of the researcher and the issues cited elsewhere about observation and participant observation. Perspectives other than that of the researcher need to be addressed, and information from parents and from the childcare setting needs to be incorporated. A Grounded Theory approach will be used, chiefly because of the way that this methodology supports the inclusion of a range of qualitative entropy sources along with quantitative info in the form of descriptive statistics and demographic characteristics (Borgatti, 2005 Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Grounded Theory sets out to develop models of knowledge and explication which are grounded in the entropy under investigation, the nature of which always intromit rich qualitative information (Charmaz, 1994). The complexity of Grounded Theory models l ies in their lineage from the entropy themselves, and so would serve well this attempt to address a complex phenomenon likely to be affected by a range of variables. Grounded Theory allows the researcher to make full use of the data (Bell and Opie, 2002 DOnofrio, 2001). selective information analysis is via a process of constant comparison of the data with each other, through stages of analysis towards an end model (Charmaz, 1994 Glaser and Strauss, 1967).The kinds of complexities, the human nature of the interactions within the childcare environment, and the many variables that would likely affect the childs interactions within that environment, do not lend themselves to a quantitative methodology, peculiarly one carried out on so small a scale. Nor would it be respectable to entertain out quantitative research on defenseless children when there is no hope of gaining a statistically significant type size for a good quality quantitative study. Therefore, a qualitative study, which supports and exploratory approach, has been deemed more adequate. Methods which collect talk and conversation would be suited for this kind of research (Adelman, 1981), but due to the vulnerability of the children involved, the data assemblage methods must be chosen with care.Similarly, the data collection methods and sources have been selected to include all relevant information which might indicate factors which impinge upon the infant or childs ability to settle into the nursery environment. Because of the issues of perception discussed above, participant observation was ruled out as a data collection approach (Arnould, 1998). The data collection methods were chosen to minimse the impact on children, parents and childcare workers. These will include exploratory questionnaires given to parents and semi-structured interviews with nursery caregivers, nonsubjective data in the form of the childrens nursery records, nursery policies, missionary station statements and staff training and orientation documents, and interviews with staff. All these kinds of data sources are suitable to a Grounded Theory Approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). It is important to take into account the complexities and details of the context, both physical and behavioural, within which the child behaviours are taking place, because this may indicate factors within the nursery itself which affect the childs orientation into that environment.The data collection tools, which consist of a parental questionnaire and a pro-forma for the semi-structured interviews with childcare providers, will be informed by the use of established measures, including the Q-Set measure (Moss et al, 2006). Other studies have applied such measures to a similar situation in relation to attachment theory (Moss et al, 2006).Interviews will be audio-taped, anonymised at point of recording, and then transcribed as text documents. All data, from questionnaires, interviews and documentary sources will be tr ansferred into an electronic qualitative data analysis course such as NVivo, for ease of management and improved analysis (Drisko, 2004). NVivo allows for the development of models from qualitative data, but also supports the integration of quantitative and demographic data to develop correlations between these data and qualitative concepts and findings (Drisko, 2004). Because Grounded Theory tends to treat the literature review as a co-occurrent process (Glaser and Strauss, 1967), and literature sources as a form of data in themselves (DOnofrio, 2001), the use of NVivo also supports and aid this process in terms of the management of large amounts of textual data (Drisko, 2004).Ethical ConsiderationsIt is important that the quality of the research is such that it is justifiable to carry it out within this setting (see methodology section above). Ethical considerations include the ethics of carrying out research on small children who are unable to give consent, and the affects th e research might have on their caregivers. Research that distracts the childcare workers or affects their ability to take care of children would not be ethical. thespian observation was deemed as unsuitable (Arnould, 1998).Having a strange adult (the researcher) in the environment might also disturb the status quo. Therefore, an observational method was not chosen, and parents given full information sheets and consent forms for participation in the study. Only those parents who consent will be included, and data will only be gathered pertaining to their children. Ethical approval will be want from the researchers place of study (via normal ethics charge approval). Permission will be gained from the child care organisations manager, and staff will be recruited via information sheets and consent forms in the same way that parents were. Staff interviews will be carried out at a location convenient to the place of work, and at agreed times which do not interfere with their normal wor kload. All interviews and demographic data including so far the location and name of the childcare setting will be anonymised.TimescaleBecause of the data collection methods chosen, the timescale is adjusted to take into account the difficulties in gaining good response rates from questionnaires and in fitting in the interviews with the childcare providers in a way that does not place them under undue stress or affecting their working lives. A three month timescale (from the point of ethical approval) is projected for the data collection phase of this project, which will allow for an initial recruitment of the sample, distribution of questionnaires, a second round of questionnaires to improve response rates, and concurrent interviews with childcare providers and collection of documentary evidence from the childcare setting. The concurrent literature review must also take place within this timescale, and so literature searching, identification and collection will occur during the da ta collection phase, and critical literature review and analysis will start during this phase and continue through the data analysis phase of the research. This second phase, data analysis, should take a advertize three months, from initial analysis to completion of a model. Writing up should take a further two weeks.ConclusionIt is anticipated that this study will illuminate the still murky waters of attachment with childcare providers, the potential benefits of the key person in relation to attachment and to promoting the adjustment of the child to the childcare setting. It should also shed light on demographic and other characteristics which may affect this process, thereby, at the very least, identifying key areas for further, more in-depth or targeted research. Because this is an exploratory study, the potential richness of the data should allow for some insight and discovery about issues affecting attachment and adjustment. Attachment theories would need to be explored in mu ch greater detail than this brief proposal allows, and the quality of the existing research on these theories applied to this setting appraised. The resultant model should incorporate the evidence from the literature with the evidence from the study data into a model which may inform future approaches to caring for children within this setting.BibliographyAdelman, C. (1981) Uttering Muttering collecting, using and reporting talk for social and educational research. LondonGrant McIntyreArnould, E.J. (1998) Ethical Concerns in Participant Observation/ ethnography. Advances in Consumer Research 25 72Asher, S.R., Pankhurts, J.T., Hymel, S. and Williams, G. (1990) partner rejection and loneliness in childhood. In Asher, S.R. and Cole, J.D. (eds) Peer rejection in childhood. 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