Lafortune and Deaudelin define the reflective practitioner as “the person who is capable, on the one hand, of describing and analysing their practice as well as examining its effectiveness and, on the other hand, of creating or adapting their own models of practice by drawing on existing models (intervention or support models) in order to make their practice more effective” (Lafortune and Deaudelin, 2001: p. 205, our translation).
Further information
In education research, the concept of reflexivity gained a central position from the 1980s onwards. The work of the American philosopher Schön (1983, 1993), among others, contributed to the ‘reflexive turn’ (Tardif, Borges and Malo, 2012) that has become prominent in teaching and education practices. In most definitions of the concept, reflection is regarded as a necessary phase of professional development aimed at transformation, through critical scrutiny and awareness of the underlying beliefs in one's own practices.
Regarding its implementation, researchers have distinguished different moments and modalities concerning the relationship between reflection and action: reflection for action, action resulting from reflection, reflection during action and after action.
In its various interpretations, the concept presents challenges in terms of definition and implementation (Beauchamp, 2012).
Some authors emphasise the impossibility of objectivity and exhaustiveness in a rational analysis, incapable of fully grasping the complexity of the meanings to be interpreted. They argue for “an experiential understanding of the meaning of the world (embodied, and present in sensitivity, imagination, affectivity)” (de Robillard, 2021: 294).
References
Beauchamp C. (2012), “Un cadre conceptuel pour mieux comprendre la littérature sur la réflexion en enseignement”, in Tardif M. (éd.), Le virage réflexif en éducation : Où en sommes-nous 30 ans après Schön ?, De Boeck Supérieur, Louvain-la-Neuve, pp. 21-45, https://doi.org/10.3917/dbu.tardi.2012.01.0021
Lafortune L. et Deaudelin C (2001), Accompagnement socioconstructiviste – Pour s’approprier une réforme en éducation, Presses de l’Université du Québec, Québec.
de Robillard D., “Réflexivité”, Langage et société / HS1 (Hors série), 2021, pp. 293-296.
Schön D. (1983), The reflective practitioner – How professionals think in action, Temple Smith, London.
Schön D. (1993), Educating the reflective practitioners, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
Tardif M., Borges C. and Malo A. (2012), Le virage réflexif en éducation : où en sommes-nous 30 ans après Schön ?, De Boeck, Bruxelles.