A Critical Analysis of Reflection as a Goal for Teacher Education

Abstract

This chapter discusses different views of reflection as a goal for teacher education. First, we examine the different ways in which reflection has been thought about as a goal for teacher education around the world. Next, we discuss three questions in relation to this work (a) the degree to which reflective teacher education has resulted in genuine teacher development, (b) the extent to which the goal of reflection in teacher education has contributed to educational equity, and (c) the relationships between the goal of preparing reflective teachers and what we know about the material realities of teachers work. Following an examination of the use of reflection in one country, China, which explores the influence of global and local forces on the use of reflection in Chinese teacher education, we examine several general trends in the development of the concept of reflection in teacher education in the last 25 years.