Reflective Practice: Critical or Mechanical

Abstract

This chapter examines how experiential and cognitive learning theories influence critical thinking and reflection in education. The historical theory-practice divide has led to a positivist tradition, in which a cognitivist process of criticality is based on reason, yet reflection and action underpin critical thinking. In this context, reflection seen as subjective becomes restricted in scope. Questions of validity and context in subject-object reflective models can lead to mechanistic reflection. An integrated approach views reflection as a cognitive process that bridges the theory practice gap, rooting theory in practice. Critical theory supports rational discursive reflection, validated through equal consensus and socio-political context. It considers how practitioners can move towards critical reflection within an egalitarian applied learning approach, to challenge a widening theory-practice divide.