The Ethical Dimensions of Reflective Practice

Abstract

In this Handbook I join together three major theorists of reflection to present a new interpretive framework of reflection and reflective inquiry. By linking ideas of John Dewey, Donald Schon, and Paulo Freire, three interconnected elements emerge in sequence to characterize changing, yet enduring, characteristics of reflective practice. That is: reflection as a way of thinking; as a way of knowing in practice; and as a way of critical inquiry, interrogating the cultural, social and political elements of some aspect of teaching or learning or living. This chapter addresses a related but often embedded issue: the ethical dimensions that arise when we put these ways of reflecting into action, especially in professional life and learning.