Reflexivity is considered a key characteristic of prospective and practicing teachers (Kobl, 2020). It can promote the development of professional skills and is itself an independent learning objective in teacher training (von Aufschnaiter, 2023). Specifically, reflection is used in the context of school teaching to review pedagogical actions (Krautz, 2016), to prepare and follow up on lessons (Jeschke et al., 2021), or to analyze one's own teaching practice (Richter et al., 2022).

The research project, which is designed as a monographic doctoral thesis, examines reflection in the context of STEM teaching (BMBWF, n.d.). In contrast to subject-specific teaching, STEM teaching is interdisciplinary and project-oriented mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, and technology teaching, which is taught in selected Austrian secondary schools as part of a school trial for two to three additional hours per week (ibid.). A particular focus of interest is to explicate reflection, which usually takes place on a mental level (Dewey, 1933; Nguyen et al., 2014; Lenske & Lohse-Bossenz, 2023), by using the method of "Thinking Aloud" (Konrad, 2010) and, based on this, reconstructing their basic rules (Von Aufschnaiter, 2023). To reconstruct reflection, the paradigm of reconstructive social research is applied using the documentary method (Bohnsack, 2013).

A particular potential of the documentary method is that it can provide access to an individual's habitus. Bourdieu defined habitus as "[...] systems of permanent and transferable dispositions" (Bourdieu, 1980/1999, p. 98 f., quoted from Koller, 2020, p. 146). Dispositions are therefore patterns of thought and perception that are internalized not only based on an individual's social background but also because of their professional experience (Helsper, 2018). Habitus is fundamental to subjective action or behavior in that it reveals the boundaries within which this action or behavior can be located (Koller, 2020). In the PhD project, habitus is explored through individual reflective behavior.

Since there is no uniform understanding of reflection (e.g., Arendt et al., 2025; Wyss, 2018), there is a need to develop a working definition of reflection with the scientific background (Beauchamp, 2015; Nguyen et al., 2014; von Aufschnaiter et al., 2019). Reflection is the "conscious consideration of one's own actions in and around the classroom and the mental derivation of consequences for action" (Heinzel, 2022; Nguyen et al., 2014; von Aufschnaiter et al., 2019). This working definition needs to be reformulated and expanded for the documentary perspective. However, the fundamental aspects contained therein remain valid. Accordingly, from a documentary perspective, reflection is defined as "engaging with self-[…] related ways of thinking and acting in contexts of teacher action" (Hinzke et al., 2022, p. 162). This definition implies the influence of prior knowledge and experience on one's own reflection (Kramer & Pallsen, 2019). Prior knowledge and experience shape the individual practice of reflection without necessarily being made explicit (Nohl, 2017). In the paradigm of the documentary method, these kinds of „meanings“ are called documentary meanings, which are distinguished from immanent or communicative meanings (Bohnsack, 2013). In summary, Mannheim (1980, p. 73) refers in this context to "atheoretical knowledge," which is part of an individual's habitual actions and opens up access to habitus (Bohnsack et al., 1995). Habitus is developed at the individual level and located in the collective, as it is understood as "a kind of mediating link [...] between objective social conditions and subjective individual actions or behavior" (Koller, 2020, p. 146). Habitus in the collective always occurs in the context of a specific field (Rieger-Ladich, 2017). Accordingly, the PhD project refers to the reflexive teacher habitus (Helsper, 2018).

Ten so-called "video-stimulated recall interviews" with teachers were conducted as a data collection method. These are interviews that are conducted with the support of a stimulus (Zhai et al., 2024). The „Stimulated recall“, in the form of two to three video sequences from the teachers' own lessons (based on Wyss, 2018), was used to initiate reflection among the teachers (Lo, 2025; Tai & Wai, 2024). For the PhD project, STEM lessons were recorded from three perspectives. Two cameras, the "teacher camera," which focused on the teacher's activities, and the interaction camera, which addressed interactions between the teacher and students or among students, were controlled manually. Another camera was placed statically in the room as a wide-angle camera. For the sound recording, a microphone was attached to the teacher (based on Seidel et al., 2005). During filming, the researcher kept a log (based on Öztay & Boz, 2022). This log was presented to the teacher immediately after the lesson was recorded so that they could select three teaching moments relevant to them for subsequent reflection (Li et al., 2014). The video sequence was then edited. The video editing, taking into account the different perspectives and the soundtrack, were created using the "Da Vinci Resolve" program. This procedure laid the foundation for conducting the "video-stimulated recall interview" within 24 hours after the recorded lesson (e.g., Uibu et al., 2022). The "Video-Stimulated Recall Interview" consisted of three video sequences, including one trial sequence and three runs per sequence, which were based on the method of "Thinking Alout" in accordance with the working definition of reflection. Specifically, teachers watched the video sequence, paused the video at points relevant to them, and spoke their thoughts and memories aloud in a monologue (based on Konrad, 2010). The researcher did not usually intervene.

The presentation will address the interfaces between research interests, data collection and data analysis methods, and the data collected using "video-stimulated recall interviews." Two analytical questions were developed for this purpose: 1) How can video-stimulated recall interviews be evaluated by the documentary method? 2) How can the reflexive habitus of teachers be deduced from these reflections using video-stimulated recall interviews? To answer these analytical questions, the four steps of documentary conversation analysis of narrative interviews (formulating interpretation, reflective interpretation, case presentation, and type formation) (Nohl, 2017) are prepared using the interview material as an example (based on Messmer, 2016). Milestones in formulating and reflective interpretation are highlighted. The formulating interpretation begins with the creation of a thematic progression. To this end, audio recordings of the interviews are listened to and filtered for recurring themes or themes relevant to the research question. These interview passages are then transcribed in full. In the next step, the reflective interpretation, the structure of these interview passages is first examined within an interview and then compared with other interviews in order to identify similarities and differences in this structure. This allows access to both individual and collective habitus. Depending on the progress of the data analysis, initial results on the different collective spaces of experience or frames of reference can be presented, which further differentiate the habitus (Bohnsack, 2013).

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