Page 10 - PSPS: A Training guide

1.4 Importance of Self-Reflection in Transition Practice
In order to achieve the best outcomes for children in education generally and
especially during the transitions process, self-reflection is an important tool at the
disposal of the adult.
Parents, Early Years Practitioners and Teachers need to continually reflect on their
practice: To stop and think, to question and be open to adjusting or changing what
they are doing in response to the needs of each child. For example, if the child needs
to bring a transitional object for support then this need should be recognised and
accommodated. After all, a teddy bear in a school bag is a very small price for making a
child feeling safe and secure in an entirely new environment.

The responsive teacher will recognise that it is important that the wider needs of the
whole group accommodate the individual needs of each child. In the long term this will
support independent, emotionally well-developed children, which will ultimately
benefit the wider group.

Self-reflection is a core part of this educational practice. Schon (in Craft and Paige-
Smith, 2013) described two types: Reflection in action: thinking on your feet, and
Reflection on action: retrospective thinking – or thinking ‘after the event’, the latter can
be done alone or with others.
Gibbs (1988) shows the steps involved:

In each Unit there are sample suggestions that
you might use to guide your reflective practice
in each area of transitions. What the graphic
above highlights is the cyclical nature of this
type of reflection. It might begin with a feeling.

For example you might be saddened to realise
that, three weeks into the new school year, a
particular child still cries every day coming to
school.

Prompted by that feeling you evaluate the best course of action to support the child,
analyse what supports you might need (such as linking with the child’s parents or
making a ‘buddy bench’ in your classroom) and put that plan into action. You then
observe how that plan does or does not work and adapt accordingly. The point is that,
by being attuned to the child’s needs, you are constantly reflecting on how your
practice can best meet those needs.

Self-reflection enables you to move from simply experiencing something to really
understanding it. It encourages a level of self-awareness and consciousness about
your practice and most importantly, it enables you to identify areas for improvement
as well as areas where you are really strong.