The reflective teacher  If teachers today are to initiate young people into an ethical existence, they themselves must attend more fully than they normally have to their own lives and its requirements; they have to break with the mechanical life, to overcome their own submergence in the habitual, even in what they conceive to be virtuous, and to ask the “why” with which all moral reasoning begins.  Maxine Greene, Teacher as Stranger

The Educational Setting  1) What is the rationale underlying the setting?  2) What is the universe of alternatives that could be considered? Sarason (1971)

Professional reflection in Teaching Psychology  Education policy is currently based upon concepts of:  Productivity  Performance

Who is in control?  Decision making has been removed from classroom teachers.  Those who feel their professional expertise is under attack may become disengaged with the work they do.  Teachers can become isolated in the work they do.

Who are we?  Coldron & Smith (1999) state;  ‘ From the beginning of, but also during, their careers, teachers are engaged in creating themselves as teachers’.

Subject knowledge  Research suggests that a main aspect of a teacher’s sense of identity is ‘expert knowledge’ in relation to how this is taught and how the learners understood. (Beijaard et al (2000)

Who are we?  The expectations of society – ( the past, high status and respect, and today?).  Personal identity – the way you view yourself as a teacher, hopefully reviewing and changing your self concept.

Who are we?  28 of 82 teachers having completed their PGCE stated that they already felt like teachers, and that this feeling of professional identity dated to their earliest classroom experiences.

What we do  Teaching innocently means assuming that the meanings and significance we place on our actions are the ones that students take from them.

What we say  We know why we believe what we believe, but students often don’t!  A joking aside appreciated by some leaves others insulted.  Just knowing that we’re not alone in our struggles is profoundly reassuring.

Identity  Fraser et al (1998) note; that ‘teachers who remain in teaching attach greater value to recognition and approval of supervisors, family and friends. Those leaving assign more importance to salary increases, job challenge and autonomy’.

Professional identity  Identification with one school.  Ownership of teaching space.  Relationship with pupils & parents.  Relationship with other staff.  Feeling valued.  Sense of professional community.  Feedback from pupils, teachers and others.

The professional teacher  Providing encouragement and motivation for students.  Being approachable, but able to encourage limits for student behaviour  Being seen to be caring, and willing to listen to students.  Being interested and interesting.

The professional teacher  Trying to be open-minded, and not pre-judge students.  Trying to be creative.  Diplomacy (with students and colleagues)

Autonomy & Ownership  ‘Ownership’ of what is taught has shifted from teachers to government, with England having one of the most highly politicised and rigidly controlled education systems in the Western World ( Grainger et al, 2004))  If teachers are to regain ownership of the profession, what is it they are to own?

Teaching Today  ‘Naively I thought teaching was going to be about teaching. Well now I realise that on top of that we have to act as; policeman, bouncer, administrator, psychologist, social worker, role model, Butlins redcoat’ (TES Online Forum)

The Reflective Teacher  Dewey (1990) – Reflection is a special form of problem solving, thinking to resolve an issue which involved active chaining, a careful ordering of ideas linking each with its predecessors.

Being reflective  Dewey (1990)  1) Open-mindedness.  2) Responsibility.  3) Wholeheartedness.

No pain, no gain  Critical reflection requires you to also consider your beliefs, attitudes and assumptions whilst organising and reorganising your knowledge and understanding (Alger, 2006). This can sometimes be an uncomfortable and challenging process.

How do I begin?  1) Acknowledge your belief system.  2) Compare your own beliefs with the beliefs of others (peers, friends etc).  3) Become more conscious of alternatives that exist or could be created.

Experience  Experienced teachers may take many important factors for granted, and unless you actively probe for what underlies their behaviour you will miss much of what is significant about the nature of teacher decision-making.

Likely reactions  1) Feelings of vulnerability – which follow from exposing one’s perception and beliefs to others.  2) Feelings of self-blame – for any perceived weaknesses uncovered through reflection.

How to overcome this  1) Individualistic approach to reflection.  2) Provide an environment within which teachers can work together as “critical friends”.

The future  More teacher ownership?  Improved pay & pensions?  More valued CPD?  Royal College of Teaching?

THANK YOU Enjoy the rest of the conference and your career in teaching. Trevor P Dunn BA MSc MA(Cantab) CPsychol CSci AFBPsS FHEA FRSA