Reflection in professional practice

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the research on professional learning through reflective practice. The main goal is to examine—against the backdrop of workplace changes and errors—individual and contextual factors that are theoretically assumed to influence reflection in the context of professional work. Reflective practice is defined as a retrospective but future- and goal-oriented cognitive-affective process that basically involves (a) the awareness and review of incidents and experiences encountered in the workplace and related emotions, (b) an evaluation and analysis of their causes and effects that leads to new understandings and appreciations, and (c) the drawing of conclusions and decisions that guide future action and work behaviour (Boud, 2001; Driessen et al., 2008). Reflection represents an activity pursued with intent and consciousness contributing to the integration of new knowledge and to the improvement of work processes and work behaviour. Reflective practice is unlikely to occur in familiar situations that allow professionals to automatically apply routine work practices. In contrast, learning opportunities provided by new, unexpected or challenging work situations, such as the occurrence of workplace changes and errors, trigger reflection. This thesis comprises four empirical contributions based on qualitative and quantitative research methods. The first contribution (chapter 2) uses an interview study to investigate how professionals perceive the occurrence of a particular far-reaching workplace change and the involved learning opportunities, as well as how personal and work-environment conditions facilitate or inhibit change-related informal learning. The following three contributions (chapters 3 to 5) focus on examining—by means of a quantitative research approach—theoretically relevant antecedents to professionals’ informal and explicit learning through reflective practice in the workplace. It is assumed that reflective practice is shaped by individuals’ (1) orientations and (2) work behaviour, as well as (3) motivational conditions of the work environment. On the subject of individual orientations, the research examines the impact of change orientation, error orientation and self-efficacy on professionals’ reflective practice. Personal initiative is assumed to be important work behaviour that positively affects reflective practice and provides a mediating effect. Regarding work-environment conditions, it is assumed that a perceived safe work climate, as well as self-determination in the workplace, facilitates reflective practice. The participants in the present studies were different groups of client advisors in a German bank who all specialised in retail banking. A significant change process—caused by a far-reaching modification of the bank’s advisory concept and the implementation of new advisory software—was affecting these client advisors at the time the research was conducted. This situation afforded these employees opportunities for learning and professional development, but also involved the risk of errors. This thesis advances an educational micro perspective on the effects of workplace changes on professionals’ work and learning. Investigating the effects of workplace changes means looking at the extent to which every worker actually modifies daily work practices and behaviour, generates and integrates new knowledge and skills, shifts his own views and attitudes on the job, and participates in the change process and in the improvement of workplace conditions. The purpose of the initial interview study (chapter 2) was to analyse the following research questions: How did employees perceive a far-reaching workplace change and the resulting requirements for learning? Which factors were perceived as supportive or inhibitive for learning in the context of this workplace change? Building on the work of Billett (2006), a framework was developed that allowed the categorisation and analysis of participants’ interview statements. The results of this interview study show that the participants realised many requirements for learning especially concerning their work performance, professional knowledge and professional roles. The participants emphasised that the workplace change demanded informal learning activities, involving individual and collective reflection processes, to redefine their professional roles, gain necessary new knowledge and skills, and improve their work processes. Factors that facilitate those learning and adaptation processes involved professionals’ positive attitudes towards change and errors, initiative-taking work behaviour, and informal interaction and supportive collaboration with colleagues and supervisors. Chapter 3 presents quantitative research that investigates the effects of professionals’ attitudes towards errors (i.e., error orientation) on reflective practice. Furthermore, it is assumed that a safe work climate (i.e., psychological safety) serves as a mediator on the relationship between error orientation and reflection. The results revealed significant positive effects of two aspects of error orientation on reflection: error competence and learning from errors. This indicates that a professional’s persuasion to have sufficient knowledge and ability to cope with errors and to reduce the adverse consequences of errors affects the engagement in reflection. Furthermore, professionals more likely initiate reflection processes when they estimate that error-related learning experiences may be beneficial for improving their own skills, knowledge and work processes. Regarding the assumed mediating effect of perceived psychological safety on the relationship between error orientation and reflection, both a perceived safe work climate among peers (i.e., psychological safety-colleagues) and the concerning supervisor’s behaviour (i.e., psychological safety-supervisors) is of significant relevance. This indicates that an individual’s belief in his ability to cope successfully with error-related experiences and challenges at work influences his perception of a work climate in which peers and supervisors provide support. In accordance with these results, it seems that reflective practice, as a vehicle for error-related learning, is fostered both through a safe work climate among peers and through appropriate supervisor behaviour. In summary, the results strongly indicate that a working climate based on mutual trust, helpful cooperation and constructive communication supports the beneficial effects of reflection that are derived from professionals’ positive attitudes towards errors. The research presented in chapter 4 investigates the impact of a positive attitude towards changes at work (i.e., readiness to change) and self-determination (i.e., perceived autonomy, competence and social integration) on professionals’ learning through reflective practice, particularly within the context of workplace change. Individuals’ proactive and self-starting work behaviour (i.e., personal initiative) is assumed to provide mediating effects. The results reveal that two aspects of self-determination have a strong impact on reflective practice: namely, professionals’ experiences of social integration and competence. Readiness to change and the experience of autonomy influence reflective practice via their effects on personal initiative. These results indicate that professionals’ willingness to change their own behaviour and work routines and to participate in learning (i.e., readiness to change) and their perceived autonomy at work will most likely initiate self-starting and proactive behaviours. In turn, high-initiative professionals tend to be relatively more engaged in reflection processes. The fourth contribution of this thesis (chapter 5) investigates how personal characteristics, namely self-efficacy and personal initiative, as well as work-environment characteristics—a safe work climate among peers and the concerning supervisor—directly impact reflective practice. The relevance of personal characteristics and work-environment characteristics for professionals’ reflective practice were investigated using hierarchical regression analyses. The analyses revealed that personal variables are particularly significant predictors of reflection, which explain a high level of variance. Regarding work-environment characteristics, only the psychological safety of colleagues contributes significantly to an increase in explained variance in the regression model. The results indicate that professionals who strongly believe in their capabilities to successfully cope with challenging situations at work, and who are willing to take initiative, are relatively more engaged in reflection processes. Strong self-efficacy beliefs potentially lead to increased effort and persistence in pursuing reflective learning activities, and, thus, to stronger learning effects. Professionals who feel responsible for their work performance and proactively approach work and learning will more likely reflect on their work to improve work processes and work routines, to develop new ideas and to solve problems autonomously. Regarding the effects of psychological safety on reflective practice, the results indicate that the perceived safety of the work climate among peers seems to be of higher importance than supervisor support when it comes to reflection. This seems plausible, as employees typically have more frequent and intense contact with colleagues than with their supervisors in their daily work. This increases familiarity and, thus, serves as a basis for mutual respect, trust and caring. Based on the four contributions of this thesis, directions for further research and practical implications are derived. For future research, recommendations for enhanced research methodologies and suggestions for advancing the model of antecedents to reflective practice are provided, as well as an acknowledgment of the n

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