A critical analysis of reflection as a goal for teacher education

Abstract

In this paper, Ken Zeichner draws upon his many years of experience as a teacher educator and discusses the use of the concept of reflection in teacher education around the world in relation to three issues: 1) the extent to which reflection has resulted in genuine teacher development, 2) contributed to a narrowing of the gaps in educational quality between students of different ethnic, racial and social class backgrounds, and 3) the lack of correspondence between images of teacher reflection in the literature and the material conditions of teachers' work. Dominant trends in reflective teacher education over the last 25 years are also identified.