The Presence of Reflective-Practice Indicators in Special Education Resource Teachers' Instructional Decision Making

Abstract

Reflective practice (Schon, 1983) is a decision-making theory that defines a set of components professionals might use to resolve unique or complex problems as they arise. In this study, expert high-school special education resource teachers were observed providing instruction in the classroom. Content analysis of postobservation interview transcripts was used to identify the presence of 124 reflective-practice indicators in the subjects' instructional decisions: 49 (39%) for the component of personal responsibility, 39 (32%) for the component of testing, and 36 (29%) for the component of problem setting. Results suggest that special education resource teachers use reflective practice to some degree when managing instructional problems.