Creating the space for reflection at work

Abstract

In contributing to a book about reflection at work in the first decade of the twentyfirst century it is impossible to ignore an earlier phase of activity about the role of reflection in learning. While much of this did not focus directly on the workplace, it provided much of the language we use today to talk about reflection. During the 1980s and 1990s there was an explosion of activity in the area of professional education around the themes of reflection and reflective practice. These were clustered around notions of reflective teaching (Cruikshank et al. 1981), reflective practice (Schon 1983, 1987) and reflection and learning (Boud et al. 1985). Each of these ideas had a slightly different focus – on the practice of teaching, professional practice and experiential learning. However, they each shared an emphasis on learning from experience and the ways in which conscious reflection can influence learning (Moon 1999).