How exactly does this ‘step aside’ link to my story?
In summary reflexivity relates to judgements made from one's own personal experiences. By being reflexive and recognising that I am part of the research data and through exploring my own practice with the intention of understanding my practice, I show how I am part of the research. With this new knowledge I continue knowing differently that my story is my data and as such the application of reflection/reflexivity, in such a way as Bolton, Freire and Cuncliffe suggests, will make it all the richer and more valuable.
Prior to stepping aside to consider praxis/reflection/reflexivity I was recalling my experience as a new head of department in the challenging position of having five smaller
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departments, along with the original heads of departments, within it. Through examination of my data I have realised that I always had a mission to look for solutions, put ideas into place and through a process of self-evaluation I modified those ideas along the way. I find that I was purposeful in leading by example and have continued to do so throughout my education career, indeed even prior to that. But why did I do this and how did I feel about such actions? The truth is I felt embarrassed in asking others to do something, a bit pretentious, it was as though I was ‘above’ such a task, which I definitely was not. The only way I could resolve such a feeling was to ensure that those requested of carrying out such tasks could see that I was not ‘above’ any task. My solution was for others to see that I was willing to carry out the task myself. What I learned from this was the problems in the execution of the task that otherwise I would have needed to rely on others to reflect and advise me about. What I gained was respect, what I may never find out is that others may have thought me quite mad in for instance, clearing snow from the car park. Such actions were at times time consuming but I never experienced feeling that they were a waste of time. I became more knowledgeable and members of my team would know that I would never ask others to do something I was not willing to do myself. The downside of this approach of course was that I had a tendency not to delegate as effectively as I could have done which also led to me being correctly being criticised for not distributing leadership as well as I may have done until later years. On the other hand through leading by example as a new head of department I became practically more able as well as more knowledgeable as a middle leader. I learned to use heavy duty machines for woodcutting, lathes, drilling etc., I became more focused on the value of technology for learning due to teaching ICT and I began a university course in fine arts in order to lead and teach art. I gained plenty through the act of leading by example and I also learned in more depth about the basic needs of children in learning the skills of my very large department. Leading by example is not a new proposal designed by me but one considered for many years as an effective tool for leaders. I just did not know this at the time! In due course I was requested by the head teacher to generate an application for Technology College Status . The process for application required individual schools to secure £100,000 in private sponsorship, which was then matched by government funding. I was given two weeks off timetable to secure sponsorship and write the bid. What a challenge this was. I was quite anxious about the task with no idea where to begin the writing of the bid or indeed how to secure sponsorship. Nevertheless as head of this new department I desperately needed additional technological equipment if I was to have any chance of meeting the requirements of the national curriculum. It turned out to be quite a task but I did succeed in presenting what I thought was a good submission along with the necessary £100K sponsorship, achieved by persistently begging local industries to support education. Unfortunately it was unsuccessful. I was extremely disappointed but determined to try again. I booked an appointment with an advisor from the specialist trust to give me feedback on my submission in order to improve it for the next round. It was much improved and I was provided with excellent feedback but sadly it still failed. In my naivety I considered that the whole process was a good trick in getting schools to write an action plan with end of year outputs which if secured would release further funding for three years. What I did not know at the time and only know now as a result of this study is that the background of the specialist schools programme was much wider and politically driven. Following the Education Reform Act (1988) a new compulsory subject of Technology was introduced into the national curriculum (hence the new department), but there were insufficient funds to equip all schools to teach the subject. If I had had this understanding, the bigger picture of improving schools through the application of technology, I think I may have approached the whole process differently. But this is with the benefit of hindsight. When the opportunity for making an application for assistant head teacher arose I felt I had the curriculum and pastoral experience to submit a worthy application. It did not even occur to me at the time that I may have been better to move up in my career outside of the experience of one school. My successful appointment as assistant head teacher was for me quite a big change from head of department. I felt ready for the change and was extremely excited by it. As a head of department I considered myself to be part of the middle management of the school not as part of the leadership of the school. I took up my new position thinking of the responsibilities of the post as tasks. I was not to understand how as an individual I identified with the role as leader or how I had been doing so for quite some time. I believe now the grounding I had had in my early life experiences and journey to this stage in my career was beginning to map out my epistemology of practice. The next chapter moves my story into the first of four episodes of my leadership experience. It was not until episode three that I consciously identified as a leader. Summary In this chapter I have focused on my early teaching experiences into middle management. I have discussed how my development from classroom teacher to middle leadership was not a designed pathway. I was fortunate to have been offered—and accepted—a number of professional development opportunities that helped me understand a wider view of education which then also gave me the skills to enact that broadened view, and ultimately become a senior leader. In the course of my story thus far I have considered far more than I did in ‘real’ time and I believe by continuing to narrate my research I will achieve more in my quest to ‘understand my practice’. For instance investigating in this reflexive way I have understood my methodology of how I worked. I have found that even although some of my actions were not planned to happen in a particular way mostly, with ongoing adaptations, they proved to be effective and therefore did improve my practice. The following subdivisions respond to my research questions (page 10) guiding this study: - 1 In what ways did self and identity change during the journey? From a disappointing school experience I eventually became a teacher and after some early turbulence did identify as a teacher. In the early weeks it felt as though I was just pretending to be a teacher. I think now that this was ‘me’ all along but it was difficult to see it as reality at the time. It certainly was an identity change from wages clerk to student to teacher. I wonder do all teachers feel like this at the start of their teaching career? Through this sup-episode narration of my story I have been able to identify characteristics of leadership that emerged in me from my early years of teaching and more significantly as head of department. 2 What dilemmas and feelings did I experience as a result of developing as a head teacher? From my recall and reflection about my early educational experiences I find I am an individual with ‘agency’ which brings with it at times action dilemmas. As a head of department I developed more strongly my identity as a teacher which I used to guide and support others. I recognise in me as a new teacher and into middle management a lack of confidence in my ability allowing my career to happen whilst not allowing things, which I deem as ‘wrong’ to pass by. 3 How do I explain and understand this journey?
Can this help others?
This is the first point in my study that I have formally attempted to answer this question although it has guided my methodology. I consider that it is due to the early recall and examination of my educational experiences that I am beginning to understand my journey on a personal level prior to senior leadership. Through the periods where I have stepped aside to consider existing literature I have learned to understand a great deal about my experiences that I believe will help me to understand my practice.
Through the reflection of my ‘living theory’ research narrated in later chapters the process of reflection and reflexivity has the potential to lead to insight about something I may have not noticed at the time, pinpointing perhaps further details to be explored and examined. For example through the application of reflexivity I have found a method of looking closely at my actions and emotions of the time. It has given me a vehicle to challenge further my living theory journal notes and/or conclusions which I begin to narrate in chapter four. I expect the outcome of such a challenge may allow me to be more critical of my own actions coming as close as possible to an awareness of the way I may have been experienced and perceived by
others.
According to Driscoll (2000), there are three processes when reflecting on one’s practice. They are: ‘What?’, ‘so what?’ and ‘Now what?’ Using Driscoll’s reflective cycle will enable me to link theory to practice.
Everyone was expected to know how to do their jobs and if they didn’t know how to do something they had to “figure it out”. Needless to say, mistakes were made. Of course, natural leaders emerged and became pseudo role models to a few of us but the firm never made the step to establish role model relationships for training purposes. Furthermore, our constantly heavy workloads made it difficult for us to watch or learn from any one person because the few people who would have been consistent role models were regularly traveling for business and were not available to offer their guidance to the younger or less seasoned
Reflection, as explained by Moon (2013), is the process of looking back on an event or experience and thinking about it and learning from it. Reflection, which is learning through experience, is not a new concept. As humans, we naturally reflect on our surroundings and experiences on a day to day basis in order to make sense of them. (Norman, Vleuten and Newble, 2002). In a professional context, reflation is vital for a practitioner to learn and improve their practice. By using their own experiences, practitioners are able to analysis, and in turn, adapt or improve specific areas of practice
The Hero’s Journey assignment became a vital assignment with great meaning. The paper became a challenge because I reflected on my life and the things influencing my skills as a leader. Putting my experiences on paper became a hard thing to do because I felt vulnerable sharing the things I never considered to put on paper. In the end, the assignment proved therapeutic because I was able to answer questions about my life and make connections on why I do the things I do. The innovation segment became a valuable experience for me because I never thought innovation could become so powerful. One concept I learned from the segment became looking around my organization with an observer's eye. I found the idea effective because instead of criticizing my organization on the surface, I needed to observe the organization in the entirety. Nonviolent communication proved to become one of the most effective tools I ever encountered. I was able to use skills to reduce conflict. NVC made sense to me because it provided the comfort I needed to address conflict. I also appreciated the concept behind DISC style. By applying the concept in my work environment, I notice a change amongst my fellow co-workers.
On the 1st of November 2013, I performed my first simulation on the module, Foundation Skills for Nursing. This simulation was on checking for vital signs in patients particularly, measuring the blood pressure (BP) which is the force of blood vessels against the walls of the vessels (Marieb and Hoehn, 2010). We also measured the temperature, pulse and respiratory (TPR) rates of a patient. This simulation’s objective was to engage us in practising some basic observation techniques taken on patients in and out of hospitals and to familiarise us on some of the tasks we will be performing when in practise. I will be applying the “What”, “So what”, and “Now what” model of reflection in nursing by Driscoll (2000).
This paper aims to highlight an incident in theatre where environmental pressure has the tendency to lead to human error thereby compromising the patient’s safety. To reflect and critically analyse the situation, human factors, theories, guidelines and national policies that govern a theatre environment so as to improve the practice, raise awareness and prevent adverse event thereby improving patient safety in theatres.
As I continue to study Leadership and Organizational Behavior, I hope to change my thinking style that is geared to personal effectiveness. Limit my passive / dependent styles and obtain more constructive styles.
For this course, I am having a difficult time creating an artifact and reflection, since we have touched on several important topics during these past few weeks. With that be said, I feel that this course provided the most opportunities to assess our individual personalities than compared to other courses. The topics that were covered in the modules have allowed me to gain a positive perspective on how individuals contribute to organizational culture and behavior.
Initial Reflective Essay When I first thought of what I wanted to do with my life after college, the first thing I thought of was helping people. The next step in deciding what I wanted to do with my life was to examine how I could accomplish this goal. I started pondering and I was thinking about how much I love to take care of my body. Health care and personal hygiene has always been an important factor in my life. So I decided to major in Health Sciences.
In reflection in action, expert professionals examine their experiences and responses as they occur and adapt t...
Covey, Stephen R. (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York, New York: Fireside.
Reflexivity, as I understand it, is very well named.It is the practice of reflecting upon oneself and one’s work, of being self-aware and self-critical. In anthropology, it is well exemplified by the work of Renato Rosaldo, Ruth Behar, and Dorinne Kondo, among others. In its most obvious form (or at least the form most obvious to me), reflexivity is manifest in the practice of an ethnographer including herself in her own ethnographic research---seeing herself not as an “unbiased, impartial” (Malinowski 18) observer, but as an essential and un-removable part of her study. The effect of reflexivity on ethnographic writing has been, however, much broader than just that. It signals “a departure from the ideology of objectivity [and] distance” which for so long pervaded ethnography (Marcus 189). For those who choose to employ it, reflexivity offers the (often daunting) liberty of not presuming to have all the answers. While this obviously presents logistical problems for anthropology (such as: If we can’t ever come to an answer, then what’s the point?), reflexivity has had a hand in producing some of the most compelling, unassuming texts that I’ve read.
Normally, “the terms reflective thinking, critical thinking, reflective judgment as well as critical reflection have each been used to define a way of thinking that accepts uncertainty and acknowledges dilemmas, while ascribing less significance to the role of self in the reflective process” (294). In order to achieve the best practices for reflection one should refrain from “mental habits, biases, and presuppositions that tend to close off new ways of perceiving and interpreting our experiences (296).
Robbins, DeCenzo, Coulter. Fundamentals of Managment: Essential Concepts and Applications - 8th ed., 2013 Pearson
Reflexivity mostly entails the researchers’ voice in the form of how they express themselves within ethnography. The researcher’s voice may not be evidently visible as in the third person ‘realist’ tales or it may directly be the subject of inquiry as in ‘experimental representations’; the author’s voice is also present as a noticeable narrator and co-member in the content. The respondent’s voce in qualitative inquiry is almost always filtered through the researcher’s account. It is the researcher who decides that whose stories have to be included and who’s needed to be ignored. Thus the choice to benefit some record over the other that is done by the researcher while developing theory out of the data collected also symbolizes a kind of voice and some reflexive action is required on the part of the researcher to acknowledge their partial