Reflecting on reflective practice for professional education and development in health promotion

Abstract

This paper reviews reflective practice and associated terms and suggests an approach that can encompass the criticality required in professional education and training in relation to current agendas for health promotion. Although reflective practice is an accessible notion and has achieved great popularity as a means of synthesising thinking and doing, it is contested in terms of its conceptualisation and application. It is not neutral and value free, but affected by personal, political and professional factors that impact upon practitioners. Examples are drawn from professional literature in teaching, nursing and social work that illustrate different levels of reflection, to show that whilst there are considerable benefits there are dangers in assuming common understandings. A developing conceptualisation of critical reflective practice is proposed for health promotion which seeks to enable professionals to use reflection in their immediate situation, as part of a wider social process that contributes to societal change and professional development.