Researching Critical Reflection: Multidisciplinary Perspectives

Critical reflection helps professionals to learn directly from their practice experience, so that they can improve their own work in an ongoing and flexible way – something essential in today’s complex and changing organisations. It allows change to be managed in a way which enables individuals to preserve a sense of what is fundamentally important to them as professionals. It is particularly important as it can also help make sense of some fundamental issues, and so also has implications for how we live our lives. However, more systematic research on critical reflection is needed to help us understand what works best for professionals in different settings. This timely work explores how critical reflection is researched, evaluated and used as a research method itself, with the aim of improving how it is taught and practised in a rigorous and transferable way. Developing a more comprehensive and multi-disciplinary view of the current state of critical reflection and the research directions which need to be taken, the book is divided into four parts. It: - Provides an overview of different perspectives on critical reflection and stimulates dialogue between them - Establishes some common platforms from which to develop further research directions - Identifies the major issues in evaluating critical reflection teaching, and main methods for doing so - Contributes to social science methodological innovations by exploring how methods based on critical reflection can be used for researching professional practice - Contains contributions from academics who are internationally known and highly experienced in different aspects of critical reflection. Researching Critical Reflection is an important reference for all students, practitioners, and researchers – including in the areas of education, management, health and social work – who engage with critical reflection to develop their practice.

Table of Contents:
1. The Promise and Problem of Critical Reflection Part 1: Overview of Perspectives 2. So Exactly What is Critical About Critical Reflection? 3. Relational Practices in Critical Reflection: The Role of Communication and Containment 4. Spiritual Creatures? Exploring an Interface Between Critical Reflective Practice and Spirituality Part 2: The Evidence Base? 5. Critical Reflection in Management and Organization Studies 6. What Can We Do if We Don't Count? 7. Achieving Critical Reflection Through Effective Curriculum Design and Assessment Strategies 8. Evaluation Studies of Critical Reflection Part 3: Research Issues and Related Methodologies 9. Issues in Researching Professional Practice: Deriving Knowledge from Professional Practice 10. Critical Reflection? Auto/biographical Narrative Enquiry and Illuminating Professional Struggles in Distressed Communities 11. First Person Action Research and Critical Reflection Part 4: The Way Forward 12. Researching Critical Reflection in Management Education 13. Researching Critical Reflection in Health Care: Current Issues and New Directions 14. New Direction for Researching Critical Reflection in Organizations 15. A Research Agenda for Critical Reflection in the Professions

About the Author :
Jan Fook is Professor of Higher Education Pedagogy, Leeds Trinity University, UK. Val Collington is Deputy Dean, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Kingston University and St George's, University of London, UK. Fiona Ross is Director of Research, Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, UK. Gillian Ruch is Professor of Social Work, School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex, UK. Linden West is Professor of Education, Faculty of Education, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.