Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Reflective Thinking for Pre-service Teachers

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Teacher Education

Introduction

Humans are, within the animal kingdom, uniquely capable of reflection and introspection. Having this ability does not, however, mean that it is easy or occurs instinctively. Attempts to harness the human capacity to reflect are very common in teacher education. A plethora of literature addresses reflective thinking and reflective practice in education, and reflective tasks are ubiquitous in teacher education programs.

This article examines the role of reflective thinking as a tool offered by philosophy of education, to support the growing professionalism of pre-service teachers. The article sets out what reflective thinking is, concerns about and pitfalls for reflection in professional practice, why reflection matters for (pre-service) teachers, and ideas about fostering reflective thinking in initial teacher education courses.

Understanding Reflective Thinking

The two most commonly used scholars to inform reflective practice in teaching and teacher education are John...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. New York: Heath and Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freund, M. (2009). The classroom as an arena of Teachers' work. In L. Saha & A. Dworkin (Eds.), International handbook of research on teachers and teaching (pp. 305–318). Rotterdam: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Knight, G. (1998). Issues and alternatives in educational philosophy (3rd ed.). Berrien Springs (MI): Andrews University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, M., & Ryan, M. (2013). Theorising a model for teaching and assessing reflective learning in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 32(2), 244–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schön, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new Design for Teaching and Learning in the professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeigh, T., & Lynch, D. (2017). Reforming initial teacher education: A call for innovation. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42(12), 112–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Peter Underwood Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia

    Kitty te Riele

Authors
  1. Kitty te Riele
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kitty te Riele .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. WMIER, The University of Waikato WMIER, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand

    Michael A. Peters

Section Editor information

  1. No affiliation provided

    Stephen James Crump

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

te Riele, K. (2019). Reflective Thinking for Pre-service Teachers. In: Peters, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_35-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_35-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-1179-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-1179-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation