SWRK 2001H Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Infant Mortality, Homicide, Communication
28 Jun 2018
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SWRK2001H: Foundations of Social Work 1
Wednesday, September 20th, 2017
Lecture 2
What is Reflection?
-Reflection is the continual re-evaluation of personal beliefs, assumptions, and ideas in the light of
experience and data and the generation of alternative interpretations of those experiences and data
oJohn Dewey in Knott and Scragg (2010)
-Dewey argues that we only use reflection when there is a problem to be solved
-Like a "backstitch" in sewing, continuously going over your practice as a social worker to better
understand yourself and others
oKeenan, 2004 in Bogo, 2006
-Four levels of reflection
oHabitual action: not being very reflective
oUnderstanding: knowledge and learning theory, having appreciation for how things may work
oReflection: how well is this framework working for me? Am I working towards my goals?
oCritical reflection (Kember et all., 2008): deeper form of reflection. In general, how am I
operating within the larger systems of power?
Critical Reflection
-A combination of critical thinking and reflection
-Healy describes "Critical Reflection" as how we construct our "sense of purpose" through the interaction
of our SW practice, client perspectives, and institutional influences
-If we passively allow out professional purpose to be determined by others, then the most powerful
voices win out and personal/institutional/social change are unlikely
-Critical reflection affords us the opportunity to create our own professional sense of purpose
-Four activities central to critical reflection:
oContextual awareness: realizing that our assumptions are socially and personally created in a
specific historical and cultural context
need to understand biases, formed by history and experiences, and are not necessarily the
truth
oAssumption analysis: assessing the impact of our beliefs, values, cultural practices, and social
structures in our daily proceedings
oImaginative speculation: imagining alternative ways of thinking about phenomena
oReflective skepticism: questioning of universal truth claims or unexamined patterns of
interaction in order to achieve a proposition or action
Being able to question
-Seek alternatives: ideas and beliefs
-View from various perspectives: other peoples perspectives, imagination, critical thinking work
-Seek the framework, theoretical basis, underlying rationale (of behaviours, methods, techniques,
programs): what are some of the theories behind what we think
-Compare and contrast
-Put into different/varied contexts: what it may look like in another school, another culture, to another
person
-Ask "what if…?"
-Consider consequences: what impact these beliefs may have
-What should we reflect on in our social work practice?
What are our motives?
Reflecting on privileges
Biases that can be formed from experience, society, what we learn in class
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Reflection is the continual re-evaluation of personal beliefs, assumptions, and ideas in the light of experience and data and the generation of alternative interpretations of those experiences and data: john dewey in knott and scragg (2010) Dewey argues that we only use reflection when there is a problem to be solved. Like a "backstitch" in sewing, continuously going over your practice as a social worker to better understand yourself and others: keenan, 2004 in bogo, 2006. Am i working towards my goals: critical reflection (kember et all. , 2008): deeper form of reflection. A combination of critical thinking and reflection. Healy describes "critical reflection" as how we construct our "sense of purpose" through the interaction of our sw practice, client perspectives, and institutional influences. If we passively allow out professional purpose to be determined by others, then the most powerful voices win out and personal/institutional/social change are unlikely.
