Research Journal of Educational Methods
Online ISSN : 2189-907X
Print ISSN : 0385-9746
ISSN-L : 0385-9746
An Inquiry on the Development of Critical Reflection on Teaching : An Ontological Approach to Student Teachers
Aki SAKUMA
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1998 Volume 23 Pages 69-77

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Abstract

Recent discussions in the scholarly literature of teacher education have led to studies on the development of 'critical reflection on teaching' as a goal in pre-service programs. But attention in those researches has been focused on what student teachers should reflect and how they can be trained to do it. In this paper I explored what and how they actually reflect before they are trained, and then I proposed one of the ways to develop it by focusing on their perspective. In other words, I've tried to throw a new light on their ontological character from the inside. First, I examined their critics on teaching. Their critics had a distinctive character; unstableness of their perspective. Observing the same scene, many student teachers condemned some children without asking the reason of their conduct, while others charged the teacher without deliberating her intentions. Though they had never become teachers, they have already been teachers. Second, I approached to 'being a student teacher' through inquiring the origin of their critic character. They are neither children nor teachers. On the other hand, they are learning as student being taught like 'children', and also as prospective 'teachers' being requested to think professionally. In fact, they are living as inter-mediator between children and teachers though they don't realize it. Third, I inquired how to develop the quality of their reflection focusing on student's perspective. I proposed one concept; to make student teachers realize that they were living as teachers as well as children/students <here and now> in teacher education programs. Then I argued its effectiveness. Finally, I described concretely their reflections in one of my classes.

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© 1998 National Association for the Study of Educational Methods
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