From reflection to action? Barriers and bridges between higher education teachers’ thoughts and actions

Abstract

Within higher education, reflection has been seen as a prerequisite to quality teaching and developing as a teacher. However, little empirical research exists concerning the link between teacher reflection and action, which defines the extent to which the teacher’s reflection-based views are channelled to the benefit of the students. This article focuses on this link, as manifested through interviews with 76 university teachers. The findings shed light on practical challenges and obstacles along higher education teachers’ path from reflection to practice, and indicate that, despite the strong emphasis on reflection, it is far from being a self-evident tool for developing a teacher’s practice. Besides the pedagogical perspective, this link also appears essential from the viewpoint of the teacher experiencing teaching as rewarding. Issues that arise when theories of learning and reflection are applied to the context of the development of university teacher are considered.

Keywords:

• reflection
• teacher development
• university teaching
• adult learning
• reflective practice

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Katariina Holma, Liisa Postareff and Johanna Penttilä, our colleagues at the Institute of Behavioural Sciences at the University of Helsinki, for their insightful and valuable comments on the manuscript.