The importance of the reflexive practice in career guidance and counselling, Dr Siobhan Neary, University of Derby, UK EUROGUIDANCE conference: „Career guidance and counselling in the Republic of Serbia and Europe“,Thursday, 3 October 2019- hotel „Metropol“, Belgrade

1. The importance of reflexive
practice
Dr Siobhan Neary, iCeGS,
University of Derby, UK

2. Overview
Explore the role of
reflective/reflexive
practice within
professional career
guidance and
counselling
1
Consider approaches
that support
practitioners to
develop and learn
from
reflection/reflexion
2
Develop a critical
reflection approach to
practice
3

3. ‘Harry stared at the stone basin. The contents had returned to their original, silvery white state,
swirling and rippling beneath his gaze. “ What is it?” Harry asked shakily.
“This? It is called a Pensieve,” said Dumbledore. “ I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the
feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind.”
“Err,” said Harry who couldn’t truthfully say that he had ever felt anything of the sort.
“At these times” said Dumbledore, indicating the stone basin, “ I use the Penseive.”
‘One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one’s mind, pours them into a basin, and
examines them at one’s leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand,
when they are in this form.’
‘The Goblet of Fire’ (Rowling, 2000)

4. Definitions of reflective concepts
• Reflection –Reviewing our practice to help us learn, it helps us
to think about what we have done and why we made the
choices we made (Neary and Johnson, 2016).
• Reflective practice – Process of improving practice by
articulating and developing practice theory through learning
about self and work
• Reflexivity - Focuses on inner reflections and acknowledges
the impact of our behaviours (Reid, 2016). The ability to look
inwards and outwards to recognise social and cultural
understandings (Fook, 2015)
• Critical reflection – Awareness of the social and political
contexts in which we practise (Reid, 2016). We unearth,
examine and change fundamental assumptions through a focus
on power (Fook, 2015)

5. Reflection and competence
Conscious Competence Model
2. Conscious
Incompetence
(Awareness of the existence and
relevance of the skill)
3. Conscious
Competence
(Can perform a skill at will)
1. Unconscious
Incompetence
(not aware of the skill and it’s relevance)
4. Unconscious
Competence
(the skill is so practiced that it it becomes second
nature)
Chapman, 2016

6. Reflection is…
• Learning
• Thinking
• Defining and redefining what we know
• Creating new knowledge
• Challenging assumptions
• Think through values
• Responding to external circumstances
• Knowing ourselves and developing self
awareness
• Seeing things through a new lens

7. Why is reflecting
on practice
important?
Being aware of what, why and how
we do things.
Questioning what, why and how we
[and others] do things.
Seeking to understand underlying
rationales and strategies on your own
and from others.
Generating choices, options and
possibilities.
Viewing our own activities and results
from various perspectives.
Asking ‘what if…?’
Roth (1989)

8. Theory
Reflection – Reflection is about
reviewing our practice to help us
learn, it helps us to think about what
we have done and why we made the
choices we made
Neary and Johnson, 2016).

9. Dewey-
Reflection as
rationality
John Dewey, saw reflection as a further
dimension of thought, and as such in need of
education; “while we cannot learn or be
taught to think, we do have to learn to think
well, especially acquire the general habit of
reflection” (Dewey, 1933).
For Dewey, reflection is a rational and
purposeful act, an “active, persistent and
careful consideration of any belief or
supposed form of knowledge in the light of
the grounds that support it, and further
conclusions to which it leads… it includes a
conscious and voluntary effort to establish
belief upon a firm basis of evidence and
rationality” (Dewey, 1933).
Adapted from Academic Development and
Practice Unit, University of Worcester

10. Your Practice -
Activity
A. What stimulates you to reflect on your
practice?
B. When do you reflect? i.e. every interview,
critical incident, when you think about it?
C. How do you reflect? i.e. think about it, talk
to a colleague, write it down
D. What issues/topics do you reflect on i.e.
out of comfort some, didn’t know what to
do, I was making assumptions and they
were wrong.
E. What challenges you about reflection?
What are the barriers?

11. Personal Challenges to
Effective Reflective
Practice
Misplaced expectations
Misconceptions
Personal preferences
Egotism
Pride
Educational philosophy
Life!

12. Reflective
activities:
Writing
Reflective writing:
Always in the first person ‘I’
Personal form of writing
Helps evaluate your experiences
Form of self supervision
Record of your thoughts and experiences
Activity
Six minute write
• Write whatever is in your head
• Time yourself for 6 minutes without stopping
• Don’t examine it or critique it
• Don’t worry about spelling grammar
• Give yourself permission to write anything
(Bolton, 2010)

13. Theory
Reflective practice – Process of improving
practice by articulating and developing
practice theory

14. Schön
Reflection-on-action
Takes place after the event - retrospective
A deliberate and conscious process
More critical analysis and evaluation of the action
What informs the quality of reflection?
What affects its accuracy and validity?

15. Schön (2)
Reflection-in-action
Almost unconscious, instantaneous reflection
Drawing on repertoire of knowledge, skills and understanding of a situation to seek in response to the
needs of clients - not random
Can there be reflection without action?
Can there be action without reflection?

16. Schön (3)
The Effective reflective practitioner is able to recognise and explore confusing or
unique (positive or negative) events that occur during practice
The Ineffective practitioner is confined to repetitive and routine practice, neglecting
opportunities to think about what he/she is doing
Oxford University Press

17. Reflective
process
All reflective models comprise of three
fundamental processes:
Retrospection:
thinking back
on events
Self-evaluation:
attending to
feelings
Reorientation:
re-evaluating
experiences
There are numerous frameworks for
structuring the process of reflection.

18. Kolb (1984)

19. Gibbs
(1988)

20. Johns’
Model
(1994)

21. Reflective
activities (2)
Learning journals
Reflective diary
Blog – you can share it and invite others to
comment/contribute, it can be kept private
Audio diary – smart phone recording device
Video diary – use your smart phone
Review over a period of time: what have you learnt, what
have you tried? What worked and why? What didn’t work
and why?

22. Observation and
feedback
( Bassot, 2013)
Colleagues regularly observe
each others practice and provide
feedback on what is observed.
Feedback should
be:
Respectful
Supportive
Specific and
focused
Timely
Focused on positive
and opportunities for
development
It should not be
Judgemental
General
Vague
Negative focused

23. Theory
Reflexivity - focuses on inner reflections
and acknowledges the impact of our
behaviours (Reid, 2016). The ability to
look inwards and outwards to recognise
social and cultural understandings (Fook,
2015)

24. Reflexivity
Emphasises the ability to look inwards and
outwards and recognise the connections with
social and cultural understanding (White, 2002)
To be reflexive we need to be aware of the
various ways we create and influence the
knowledge we use. Knowledge is mediated by
our physical and social lenses
• Our own subjectivity, our social position
influences what we see and how we see our
clients
• Reactivity - the knowledge we obtain is
determined by the tools and processes we
use
• Knowledge is interactional – shaped by
historical and structural contexts (Fook,
2015)

25. Reflexivity (2)
Allows us to research our personal
experiences to:
• Develop our understanding of
ourselves
• Make connections between
ourselves and our clients
• Connect ourselves with broader
social, cultural and structural
environment through
understanding our ideas, beliefs
and assumptions

26. Reflexivity (3) “Reflexivity is the process by which we are
aware of our own responses to what is
happening in a context (e.g. guidance
interview) and our reactions to the people,
events and the dialogue taking place. A
reflexive understanding will include an
awareness of the personal, social and cultural
context and its influence on both the speaker
and the listener. Reflexive awareness… leads
to a deeper understanding of how we
construct knowledge about the world, and
ways of operating within it”.
(Adapted from Reid, 2013: 12)

27. Reflexive
activities
Audio or video record an interview (with
permission of the client)
• Listen/watch the interview
Try and identify
• What you were thinking at different points of
the interview – Why were you thinking this?
What factors contributed to your thinking?
• What assumptions did you make? What were
these about , what led you to these
assumptions?
• How did you share the power with your client?
Did it work? How do you know?

28. Prpic
Model
(2005)
Tri-View Model
Intra-view – reflecting to find a deeper understanding of a
new experience, through writing, meditation. Clarify view of
understanding of the issues and how they see themselves
Inter-view – active discussion takes place, to deepen and
broaden understanding through shared view and find new
reflections on assumptions
Trans-view – community approach, reflecting back on
learning from the individual (intra- view) and the community
(Inter-view)
The model requires both internal and external engagement
to develop learning

29. Theory
Critical reflection – Awareness of the
social and political contexts in which we
practise (Reid, 2016). We unearth,
examine and change fundamental
assumptions through a focus on power
(Fook, 2015)

30. Professional
practice and the
need for critical
reflection
Schon (1983, 1987) presented the gap
between formal theory and actual practice
and focuses on excavating theory from actual
practice rather than espoused practice
Professional practice is increasingly being
managed through more objective, routinized
and measurable systems – e.g. Payment by
results, contractual compliance (Fook, Ryan
and Hawkins, 2000)
What makes reflection critical is the focus on
power, it should be transformative and lead to
fundamental change through the examination
of fundamental assumptions
(Power is considered from a Weberian
perspective as ‘exercising one’s will over
others’ (Weber, 1922))

31. Professional
practice and the
need for critical
reflection
Hooley et al (2017) present the multiple roles career guidance
can play in relation to social injustice – central to this is
understanding the world in which we work. Career guidance
seeks a pluralist engagement which recognises and values
diversity in our clients and practitioners.
Does the individualistic nature of career guidance inhibit us from
recognising and challenging more fully the cultural and structural
barriers our clients have? (Thompson, 2015)
How do the constraints in which we work limit our ability,
confidence and motivation to be more challenging of the
establishment?
To what extent does our awareness of the socio-political context
in which we work impact on practice?
How often do we as practitioners question how power operates?
(Fook, 2015)

32. Critical reflection
Critical reflection draws from reflective practice,
reflexivity, postmodernism/deconstruction and
critical social theory
“Critical reflection when used to improve
professional practice focuses on the power
dimensions of assumptive thinking, and therefore
on how practice might change in order to bring
about change in the social situations in which
professionals work” (Fook, 2015: pp 441-442)
Critical reflection should work across all layers of
our life, not just work

33. Identity and
motivation In order to work effectively and creatively we
have to be aware of:
- our own identity and how it is shaped by
socialisation, migration, professional
training
- our motivation and expectation towards
work and the working field
- the relationship between personal and
professional motivation and that of the
organisations we work for
Kavkova and Neary, 2019

34. Questions for
Critical Reflection
What was I assuming? What beliefs did I have about power (for
example, mine, other people’s)?
What are my most important values coming across and how do these
relate to power?
How did I influence the situation?
What preconceptions did I have and how might these have influenced
what I did or interpreted? How did my presence make a difference?
What sort of power did I think I have, and how did I establish myself in
the situation? What were my beliefs about power and how did these
affect what I did or chose to see?
What language/ words/patterns have I used? Have I used any binary
opposites, and what is the basis for these? What perspectives are
missing? What are my constructions of power?
What is the relationship between my beliefs about power and the
mainstream or dominant view?
How have I constructed myself in relation to other people, or power?
How has my thinking changed, and what might I do differently now?
How do I see my own power?
Can I use my power differently? Do I need to change my ideas about
myself or the situations in which I work?
Fook (2015)

35. Tools for
Reflection
Critical friend – identify
someone you can work with
regularly to review your ideas,
practice and share experiences
Supervision - may be formal or
informal, opportunity to talk
through practice and strategies
which can be adopted
Graphic visualisation - use your
creative side

36. Final thoughts
Reflection is not about focusing solely on things that go
wrong/ critical incidents
Reflection is a way of viewing the world
Reflexion and Critical Reflection are not just about work
– but should also be about how we see the world
Reflection is the most underrated but often the most
important element of our continuing professional
development
Reflexivity provides us with a new lens to challenge
ourselves and our thinking – make it a conscious part of
your practice
Don’t just try one activity, try lots see what works best
for you!

37. Strategies for effective
reflection
Create/Plan time
Use ‘How’ rather than ‘Why reflections’
Use a tool i.e. diary, questions,discuss
Use different modes; writing, audio, draw
Use cyclical approaches
Ask leading questions to promote description
Team/ group activity

38. References Bassot, B. (2016) Reflective Practice Guide. London: Routledge.
Bradley, E. (2013) Taken-for-Granted Assumptions and Professionalism in IAG practice, doctor’s thesis,
Lancaster University.
Douglas, F. (2015), Welfare to Work: Economic Challenges to Socially Just career Practice in Irving, B. and
Malik, B. (ed.), Critical Reflections on Career Education and Guidance, London: Routledge.
Interdiac. (2011) Make change yourself! Handbook for emploering young people in everyday life. Cesky Tesin.
Fook, J., Ryan, M. and Hawkins, L. (2000) Professional Expertise: Practice, Theory and Education for Working
in Uncertainty. London: Whiting & Birch.
Fook, J. (2015) Reflective practice and critical reflection in J Lishman (ed.), Handbook for Practice Learning in
Social Work and Social Care, Third Edition: Knowledge and Theory. Jessica Kingsley, pp. 440-454.
Gibbs G (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit. Oxford
Polytechnic: Oxford.
Hooley, T., Sultana, R., and Thomsen, R. (2018) The neoliberal challenge to career guidance - mobilising
research, policy and practice around social justice in T, Hooley., Sultana, R., and Thomsen, R. (Eds) (2018)
Career Guidance and Social Justice. London: Routledge.
Johns C (1995) Framing learning through reflection within Carper’s fundamental ways of knowing in
nursing.Journal of Advanced Nursing. 22: 226-34
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1).
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Neary, S. and Johnson, C. (2016) CPD for the career development professional. A handbook for enhancing
practice. London: Trotmans.
Prpic, J. (2005). Managing academic change through reflexive practice: A quest for new views. Research and
Development in Higher Education, 28, 399 406.
Reid, H. (2016) Introduction to career counselling and coaching. London: Sage.
Thompson, N. (2016) Anti-disciminatory practice (6th Edition. London: Palgrave.
Weber, Max. 1978 [1922]. Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Berkeley: University of
California Press.

39. Хвала вам
Dr Siobhan Neary
Associate Professor and Head of the
International Centre for Guidance Studies
(iCeGS)
University of Derby
W: www.derby.ac.uk/icegs
E: s.neary@derby.ac.uk
T: Siobhan.neary15