Contribution
Description: Shortly after the publication of The Reflective Practitioner (1983) and the sequel Educating the Reflective Practitioner (1987) "reflection-in-action" became a major concept in teacher education. As early as 1991 Zeichner & Tabachinick (1991) pointed out that it is almost impossible to find a teacher-trainer who does not emphasize the importance of reflection and a search-string on ERIC (via EBSCO HOST) on the search-string "reflection" gives the following result: 1990: 314, 1996: 561, and 2002: 521 and in December 2005 "reflection-in-action" generates more then 123 000 hits in Goggle. The concept has, however, been criticized on ontological/epistemological as well as practice oriented accounts (Van Manen, 1995, Newman, 1999; Erlandson, 2006). In this paper I frame the problems of the concept of reflection from a different point of view. I claim that "reflection" (reflection-in-action) can be recognized as a tool for the control and discursive domination of working (practicing) bodies. To support my claim I start in Newman's analysis of examples put forth in Schön's texts as evidence of reflection-in-action (1983, 1987) and the ontological/epistemological critique of the control-matrix identified in Schön's claims (Erlandson, 2006). From this I develop the discussion as well as the critique further using Foucault's discourse turn (1991) and his reasoning on control and discipline of the body.
Methodology: theoretical/philosophical analysis
Conclusions: Reflection" as "thinking activity" is the result of participation in discursive practices, and the outcome of the "thinking process" is to be recognized as answers from disciplined bodies to the demands and possibilities of these practices and that the level of professionalism (for teachers as well as philosophers and researchers of education) is therefore a question of the level of discipline obtained in the discursive body.
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