Being Reflective: Encouraging and Teaching Reflective Practice

This chapter begins by considering what we mean by reflective practice and whether or not it is instinctive or intuitive. Further thought is given to mentors themselves as reflective practitioners and the ways in which reflective practice can be modelled and taught. Later, reflective practice is viewed through a case study that demonstrates how an action-reflection cycle leads to personal professional development and potentially improvements within the workplace. The concluding discussion emphasises the important role reflective practice plays in improving quality within early years settings, ourselves and those we mentor as practitioners and lifelong learners.