Effective teaching and the role of reflective practices in the Malaysian and Australian education systems: a scoping review

ABSTRACT

In both Australia and Malaysia where there is strong central oversight of education, reflective thinking is promoted as integral to an effective pedagogy that leads to good quality learner outcomes. Besides providing tools and resources for teachers and pre-service teachers to use, increasing the systemic procedures for teacher advancement and accreditation require documented evidence of reflective practice. While the idea of the reflective practitioner has taken hold in the Australian and Malaysian education sectors, there are questions about the value of externally driven approaches for developing the internalised and meaningful reflective practices that are sought. This scoping review seeks to draw together the existing literature, and to identify emerging themes, opportunities, barriers and challenges for researchers in relation to the way reflective practice is manifested in Malaysia and Australia; how widespread its adoption is; and the effectiveness of different practices. The overarching finding is that this area is under researched.

KEYWORDS:

• Critical reflection
• systemic reflection
• reflective practitioner
• pedagogical practices
• good teaching
• reflective thinking
• teaching practices

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the School of Education, Curtin University under a Research and Innovation Support (RISP) grant and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College Internal Grant under Grant UC/1/G2019-00039.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Judith Dinham

Judith Dinham is Director of Learning and Teaching, School of Education, Curtin University. She is involved in programmes and research related to contemporary teacher education.

S. Chee Choy

S. Chee Choy holds a PhD in educational psychology. Her research is about issues pertinent to teacher education and higher education. She is Head of the Perak Branch Campus of Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

Paul Williams

Paul Williams is a PhD student at Curtin University School of Education involved in research into agency-based learning and its application and impact in degree courses.

Joanne Sau Ching Yim

Joanne Sau Ching Yim is a senior lecturer at Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Malaysia. She holds a PhD in social science. Her research areas include perceptions and attitudes of teachers.