Teachers’ Perceptions On Reflective Practice In Teaching At Dawid Bezuidenhout High School

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out in order to investigate the perceptions of teachers on reflective practice and teaching at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School and how their perceptions may impact on teaching and learning. The following were the main objectives of the research: To investigate the views of teachers at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School on reflective practice in teaching; to examine the application of reflective practice in teaching (by teachers) at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School and to establish the overall engagement of teachers in reflective teaching at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School in order to recommend improvements where necessary.

A qualitative approach to conducting research was used in this study and fourteen teachers were purposefully selected to participate in the study. Three types of data tools were used to gather information. These tools were; the lesson observation schedule, the interview schedule and an open ended questionnaire.

The findings of the research revealed that most teachers at Dawid Bezuidenhout High School are familiar with the concept of reflective practice. It was further found that some teachers were engaged in the process of reflective practice, which they viewed as a necessity to improve their teaching. The data also revealed that most teachers, who applied reflective practice in their teaching, used reflective journaling and reflective supervision. It was found that a certain number of teachers were not engaged in reflective practice. One of the participants stated that “there is no time to do reflections on the lesson presented because the syllabus is extensive and the time needs to be used to finish the syllabus’’.

In this study, the following are some of the major recommendations proposed: The Ministry of Education and other relevant structures should enforce reflective practice in schools and in all teacher training institutions in order to encourage critical thinking in teachers. Prior to the official introduction of reflective practice in all schools, the researcher would like to recommend that; the management of Dawid Bezuidenhout High School should hire a specialist in reflective practice to conduct a workshop on reflective practice at the beginning of the year 2013 when the schools re-open. This would equip teachers with the skills necessary to engage in reflective practice. The researcher further recommends that universities and teaching colleges in Namibia and the world at large should consider introducing or emphasizing the inclusion of reflective practice in the teachers training programs. This would encourage professional growth in teachers. It is also recommended that, further research should be carried out in order to investigate the teachers training programs in order to find out how they prepare teachers to become critical thinkers, lastly to investigate the perceptions of teachers in any region in Namibia about reflective practice and teaching as well as how their perceptions affect teaching and learning. This would be necessary as it would provide a broader view of teachers’ perception on reflective practice.