Feedback and teaching reflection: study with participants in initial teacher training

Developing reflective practice is essential in Initial Teacher Education, as it directly impacts professional growth. This qualitative, interpretative study explores how feedback relates to teacher reflection within Chile’s secondary teacher education programme. Data was collected from interviews with 22 trainers and 6 students, and open-ended questionnaires were completed by 88 students. Findings reveal challenges in linking feedback with reflection, largely due to an unclear conceptualisation of reflection. While feedback is seen as a tool for modelling reflection, students report needing to infer reflective processes due to a lack of explicit instruction. Dialogic interactions are highly valued, yet participants distinguish between general conversation and purposeful feedback. Despite this, many believe teacher-provided feedback is more effective, considering it a model for reflective practice. Finally, discrepancies exist about what reflection improves, suggesting that feedback focused only on the current task may limit its contribution to long-term professional development.