From reflective practice to holistic reflexivity

Schon's formative and influential notion of ‘reflective practice˚s is in danger of being widely adopted in higher education without rigorous interrogation of the central notion of ‘reflection˚s itself. This article sets out to situate the notion of ‘reflectivity˚s historically, and to critically examine its possible forms, interpretations and underpinning values. Schon's description of professional practice as an ‘artistry˚s (rather than a technique) is formally progressed, teaching being described as a critically reflexive, aesthetic practice. The article notes four underpinning epistemologies for reflective practice: technical rational; humanistic emancipatory; postmodern deconstructive; and radical phenomenological, and offers an articulation of different forms of reflectivity. A proposal is made for a complex, synthetic ‘holistic reflexivity˚s—distinguished from other kinds of reflection—as an aesthetic and ethical apprehension grounded in an ontological framework of radical phenomenology.