Teachers as reflective practitioners

Pre-service teachers, as they progress through their education program, are confronted with a range of theories of learning, teaching strategies and educational philosophies, which they then have to balance with the real world of schools and the classrooms they experience during their practicum placements. This can be a time of stress and confusion. Learning the skills of critical reflection can help them make sense of the situations they face and helping them learn these skills during their course of study can set them on a path to become reflective teachers in their future careers. This is a long process, the benefits of which include helping them become more effective teachers, develop positive relationships and deliver better learning outcomes for the students they will teach. This chapter looks at why, how and what teachers should reflect on and how this is fostered during the pre-service years of teacher training. It leads into the 31 chapters written by our pre-service teachers which show their early reflections on issues they have encountered within their practicum experiences and their thinking about these issues as they work towards the start of their teaching careers.