The limitations of the reflective practitioner

Reflective practice has become the norm for student teachers but has it become too narrow? The student is entering a social field where they have to ‘fit in’ and ‘play the game’. Is the social environment of the placement schools, that the students find themselves in, constraining their ability to teach? This paper reviews the notion of reflective practice and its limitation on the education of teachers. The study reported on here is part of an ongoing study that is investigating the holistic reflective practice of student teachers through their training year and into their first few years of teaching. The study is built around case studies of student teachers, including questionnaires and interviews.