Faking it or hating it: can reflective practice be forced?

Abstract

Many course providers in a variety of fields have chosen to include a required reflective practice assignment for purposes of instilling a spirit of professional development. However, the very notion of forced and evaluated self‐exploration raises certain moral and practical issues that cannot be avoided. Relying on recent research at a Trinity College London TESOL certificate course where course participants were required to complete a teaching practice journal, this article examines the problematic nature of required reflective practice, namely, that requiring individuals to be open and honest in the context of assessment tends to provoke strategic response and often hostility. These reactions, documented in other research as well, point to an underlying problem with any required reflection that has serious implications for teacher education as well as any other field that employs forced reflection.