Tensions of Embedding Reflective Teaching Practices in Teacher Education in Eritrea: A Self-Study on Facilitation Experiences

ABSTRACT

This article is a self-study of intentional practices embedded in reflective teaching in a teacher education program in Eritrea. The educator-researcher (author) was concerned with engaging learner-teachers in interactive teaching practices in general and reflective learning practices in particular. By employing self-study methods and tools, the study examines proactive practices and processes in a postgraduate teacher education course. The author implemented facilitation approaches of collaborative reflections, supporting reflective inquiry on learning practices, explicit modelling, and consistent feedback. Framed within the conceptual notion of the tension of practices, the study explores the author’s facilitation experiences during a 16-week or semester-long course. The findings revealed tensions in attending to and improving learner-teachers’ educational needs, synchronizing verbal and written reflective competencies, and language issues in learning to be more thoughtful. The self-study provides practical perspectives on how teacher educators may learn to approach their work while supporting reflective practices in challenging teacher education contexts and beyond.

KEYWORDS:

• Reflective practice
• teacher education
• self-study
• tension of practices
• Eritrea

Acknowledgments

I am grateful for the two anonymous reviewers whose rigorous comments, suggestions, and questions have significantly improved the manuscript over time. I am grateful to Dr. Yonas Asfaha from Asmara College of Education, Samson Eskender from the Ministry of Education in Eritrea, Dr. Hanna Posti-Ahokas from the University of Helsinki, and Professor Elina Lehtomaki at the University of Oulu in Finland for their invaluable reviews and comments on drafts.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. According to the PGD curriculum, one credit hour is the time allotted to cover teaching a course in the duration of one hour per week for a period of 16 weeks or one semester.

2. Eritrea has six administrative regions and nine officially labelled ethno-linguistic groups.

3. My colleague was in the middle of a master’s study program and has taught psychology courses in an undergraduate program at the former Eritrea Institute of Technology, College of Education.