Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
This book presents a researcher’s work on reflective practice with a group of high school teachers of English in Japan. Beginning with a series of uncomfortable teacher training sessions delivered to unwilling participants, the book charts the author’s development of new methods of engaging her participants and making use of their own experiences and knowledge. Both an in-depth examination of reflective practice in the context of Japanese cultural conventions and a narrative account of the researcher’s reflexivity in her engagement with the study, the book introduces the concept of ‘the reflective continuum’ – a non-linear journey that mirrors the way reflection develops in unpredictable and individual ways.
Reflective Practice as Professional Development is a fine example of cross-cultural research that takes the reader on a reflective journey full of fascinating insights into how reflective practice is understood and experienced by a group of teachers in Japan, highlighting both important culturally specific elements and aspects of teacher development common to English Language Teachers all over the world.
Atsuko Watanabe is Senior Lecturer of English for Liberal Arts at the International Christian University, Japan. She has over 20 years’ experience as an English teacher. Her research interests include teacher development, teacher cognition, reflective practice and researchers' reflexivity in qualitative research.
Chapter 1: Introduction and Preface: Embarking of the Journey of Reflective Practice
Chapter 2: Designing a Better Way to Learn about Teachers and Professional Development
Chapter 3: Situating My Study: Reflective Practice in the Japanese Context
Chapter 4: The Reflective Continuum
Chapter 5: Reflective Practice and the Consolidation of Professional Identity: Cases of the Novice Teachers
Chapter 6: Reflective Practice and the Consolidation of Professional Identity: Cases of the Experienced Teachers
Chapter 7: Participants Awareness and Understanding: Exploring Teacher Cognition
Chapter 8: The Reflective Interventions: Creating a Space for Expression
Chapter 9: Implications for Professional Development Opportunities for Japanese Teachers