‘I’ve let myself get tired’ – one teacher’s self-reflection process in a peer group

Abstract

This paper adds a new perspective to the research on teachers’ reflection by applying the concept of self-reflection developed in psychotherapy studies. The study focuses on the self-reflection process of one teacher in a facilitated peer group. The peer group was formed to promote the participating teachers’ well-being and to support them in their work. Methodologically, the group was based on the idea of narrative approach in which the sharing of personal experiences could offer new ways of looking at personal and professional experiences. The research material consisted of videotaped group sessions. Dialogical Sequence Analysis (DSA), originally developed for therapy contexts, was applied as a method of studying changes in the teachers’ self-reflection. The results indicate that peer groups can contribute to the self-reflection process by (1) supporting the self-understanding that permits an altered relationship with the original experiences, and (2) offering more realistic views of one’s professional options. The results highlight the meaning of self-reflection of more personal experiences from the perspective of work life.

Keywords:

• self-reflection
• peer group
• being a teacher
• case study
• Dialogical Sequence Analysis

Acknowledgements

Our warmest thanks to the group of five clinical psychologists and two medical doctors with extensive experience with DSA. The discussions with them were important to analyse the process.