Practicing the Virtue of Reflection in an Unfamiliar Cultural Context

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to map the intersection of three concepts–cultural diversity, reflective teaching, and moral value–synthesize them into a consistent model, and explore the implications of this model for teaching and teacher education. The model of reflection described in this article is phronesis, the virtue of thought that permits correct reasoning in decisions that involve virtues of character. Illustrated by stories of student teachers' work in culturally diverse settings, the concept of reflection as phronesis is shown to be essentially moral and morally essential. It is bound to specific concrete situations; distinct from, yet affected by, propositional knowledge; expressed in moral actions; intertwined with other moral virtues; and dependent upon a moral community.