Literature review on Critical and Reflective learning

Literature review on Critical and Reflective schoolingThe following literature review will focus on the nonion of deprecative and reflective study. Critical and reflective acquisition is wasting diseased the origination over in mingled academic institutions and in professional practice. first of all it would be imperative that critical construction is defined. Following on from this a discussion shall take place around the various frameworks and theories offered by various theorists on the subject. Finally a critical review of the underlying thinking which underlies much of the policy making lick in Ireland will be undertaking.thither atomic take 18 various definitions used to explain the mould of critical verbalism. At a rattling basic train, critical mirror image (CR) occurs when and soulfulness marvels either their consume ideas or the ideas of an opposite. save as Van Woerkom (2010) suggests at that place ar m whatever different schools of thought on wh at is snarly in the critical reflection address. For example the ideologic form of critical reflection would focus on challenging and interrogationing predominate or unjust ideologies. The psychoanalytical school of CR is focused much on the soulfulness and involves the reframing of personal issues or problems. The analytical model of CR is the operation of mentally analysing arguments in the hope of guiding ones beliefs or actions. Finally the pragmatist constructivism school of CR relates to the evaluation of various forms of information in an attempt to provide a solution, while at the same time recognising that the solution itself is undefended to advertize questioning (Van Woerkom, 2010). What seems obvious from these definitions is the fact that the questioning and reflection of a sensed reality at both a societal and personal aim ar fundamental in severally butt. Furthermore it seems app bent that the issues that each school is addressing can all mend upon one another. For instance it could be argued that the psychological wellbeing of an soul could be greatly influenced by the prevailing ideology within a caller. Addressing only the psychological issues with the psychoanalytical exhibition whitethorn prove fruitless, if societal influences causing psychological distress are not addressed. Various theorists concord dissected the critical reflection serve up on a much deeper level.Dewey in ((1933, in Boud et al,1994)suggests that reflection is the process of an unmarried recapturing their look, thinking about it and assessing it. He believed that reflection was initiated by an inner uneasiness caused by an respective(prenominal) becoming disillusioned with their current reality. locution may also be instigated by a positive run through. The soulfulness may wish to learn what worked in the positive experience, in score to repeat the behaviour that brought about the positive experience. Deweys main focus was centred on the no tion that reflection is a highly rational exercise which is ground in an evidence based snuggle which focused on skills and attitudes. further as various authors suggest Deweys focus on skills and attitudes is limited and fails to accept for the alterive (emotional) element involved in the teaching process ( Boud et al, 1994, Rawson, 2000). other limiting verbal expression of Deweys theory was the presumption that one would first ca-ca to make a mistake in order to learn from it.Kolb peasant (1975) believed that for effective learning to occur the learner would have to complete a cycle of learning, broken down into four stages Concrete experience, observation and reflection, forming regard concepts, testing them in unfermentedfangled situations. In essence, an individual begins the learning process by becoming involved in a forward-looking experience, which they thusly reflect upon internally in order to make sense of the experience. The individual then hypothesises about different theories and then applies such theories in new situations. It should be noted that an individual may start in any stage and switch between these stages. And umpteen learners may only use two of the stages, depending upon their learning style (Kolb Fry 1975 ).Donald Schon (1995) has built upon Deweys concept by introducing the idea of double looped learning. He suggested that the majority of learning in normal life occurred at a level where individuals used previous held value and assumptions to inform their present action (single looped learning). However Double Looped learning involves a deeper level of reflection where individuals question these values and assumptions and subject them to critical investigation. . Agryis (1999) uses an comparison of how a control responds to path temperature by turning on the love if the room gets to cold and turning it off when it gets to warm. The thermostat responds by receiving signals from the room temperature. He loted that this equated to a human being receiving positive or negatively charged signals about their actions and then changing their actions (Single loop learning). Going back to the thermostat analogy, double looped learning would ask the question, why the room got too baking or cold in the first place. The same goes for human beings when they question the underlying assumptions which informed their actions in the first place. Such learning is not limited to the individual and such learning could be applied to organisations and companionship (Agryis, 1999),However as Rawson (2000) suggests, many institutions seem to treat intellect as absolute and dont allow for the questioning necessary in the critical reflection process. He goes on to suggest that society works on a basis of having power over, rather than power with. He believed that such an approach was evident in many rearingal institutions. He advocates the notion of learning to learn where the relevance of various aspects of k promptlyledge continued to be questioned and challenged. Rawson argues that knowledge is not a final product and contends that the meaning and understanding process is more important than the end product. His analysis is closely linked with the teachings of Paulo Friere.Frieres (1998) CR theory was rooted firmly in the ideological school of thought. He believed the educational system served to reproduce the status quo which was influenced by the dominant ideological discourse. He was of the opinion that educators should challenge the status quo through challenging students to question the dominant discourse, which he believed served to reproduce inequalities. He stressed the importance of conference within the education system, as he believed without dialogue true education could not take place. Hooks (1994) captures the notion of education without dialogue when she speaks of her experience as an undergraduate and graduate student. She suggests that the majority of lecturers use d the classroom as an avenue to exert their view of the world upon students. Friere (1998) did not advocate a non directive approach to education, nevertheless he did stress it should be the process and not the student that should be directed. Friere (1998) recognised that each student had their own unique life experience and contended that the students experience was invaluable in the learning experience. Very basically Friere (1998) was of the opinion that education was more about change students to question and challenge the commonly held knowledge within society. Meizrow (1994) also mouth about reflection in terms of transformation.Mezirow (1994) described reflective learning as a process in which the learner has to manage or reconsider certain assumptions they may hold about themselves or the world. He argued that the most effective reflection occurred when the learner discovers their assumptions to be in whatsoever way weakened. It causes the learner to look at reasons wh y their assumptions have caused them to rival decisions or to react in a certain way and to possibly re-evaluate their assumptions. He explained that when the learner accepts that their agone assumptions may have been incorrect they have created a transformative station and within that space they can be open to engaging in new-found knowledge. This, he believes, can lead to a deeper level of reflective practice. As mentioned earlier emotions can play an important trigger off in such a processBoud et al (1994) suggest that past experiences can greatly determine an individuals ability to learn in new situations. If learning was only centred in the transfer of knowledge from one individual to another, learning would be a smooth occurrence and each individual would take in knowledge with minimal difficulty. However emotions such as anxiety can cause difficulties for those who are participating in new learning experiences. The majority of individuals will experience anxieties when f aced with new learning. However for some the anxiety can be overwhelming and deeply affect the learning process. So how individuals learn is greatly influenced by emotion (Boud et al, 1994).In conclusion it can be seen that thither are many areas of both personal and societal life which could benefit from the process of critical reflection. The totally notion of learning to learn seems to be an approach which encourages independent and autonomous learning. While there are many schools of thought on the process of CR, they all seem be directed at questioning the underlying assumptions and discourses which inform both individual and societal actions. It seems obvious from the various readings that critical reflection is often frowned upon as something which upsets the status quo of organisations.ReflectionThe subject that I have chosen to reflect on is how the Irish society continues to feed past solutions to present problems. If we look to the recent ecological niche it is clear that the Irish government continue to take the approach of promoting competition and neo adult policies as a solution to the current economic conditions. As coulter Coleman (2003) argue the dominant discourse in Irish society suggests thatthe deliverance is the mechanism which will bring about the greatest good for everyone link uped. They contend that such a discourse is constructed by everyone within society. Some discourses are so dominant that they almost seem to be natural and many fail to question them. If we look to the Celtic Tiger in Ireland, there were various commentators suggesting that the country was in danger of a heartrending fiscal and economic crisis. Back in 2007 Bertie Ahern famously made the remark, that those who were moaning and cribbing about how the economic system was being run should commit suicide (Stafford, 2010). The moaners and cribbers he was referring too were economists who were archetype about the saving not being stable and the future dis assemble of the economy. Even though these economists were correct in their predictions the majority of Irish society sided with Bertie Ahern. As Friere (1998) suggests, the need to question dominant knowledge is a must, however in the Irish case when the dominant knowledge was questioned the individuals were ridiculed. This fundamental aspect of Irish society needs to change.Even in the current recession the government continues to suggest that the only way recover from the economic downswing is to remain competitive in the global world.The dominant thinking involved here is just returning to the dominant thinking of the past which suggests the economy is going to correct all the ills of the country. Even the EU/IMF bailout underwent very miniature critical analysis. The same commentators who were warning of the economic crisis during the Celtic Tiger break apart were all suggesting that there were alternatives which could have being taking. However just equal the Celtic Tiger e ra, the government chose to follow a path without considering the long-term consequences. As Storey (2010) argues IMF bailouts in other countries have had disastrous consequences for those countries. By nature these bailouts seem to be extremely dictatorial. For example the IMF (an unelected external body) has a major influence on the development and implementation of national policy. There was no referendum on this bailout and the general Irish public had very minute say on whether or not the bailout was applied for. The presence of undemocratic rule seemed to be evident in Ireland a number of old age before the IMF arrived in town. For instance the first referendum on the Lisbon treaty was rejected by the Irish people, however the Irish government held a second referendum asking the question in a different way. Compared to other countries there was very lower-ranking admit in relation to the bailout or austerity measures which were been implemented. Even when it was apparen t that the government were lying for a number of days in relation to applying for a bailout, there was very little public outcry. While pole ratings suggested that the government were dropping in popularity, the level of protest was minimal. The question has to be asked, why the Irish public are so passive in relation to situations which will have serious consequences for their lives. One explanation could be the lack of social solidarity. For instance Bauman (2000) argues that in modern society individuals are now defying their identity through the economic consumption of various goods and products. He argues that this creates a lack of social solidarity and creates a more individualistic society. It could be argued that the Celtic Tiger has created a society of consumers who are only concerned about their own needs. The Celtic Tiger finish in Ireland is often seen as a period where individuals and groups were living degenerate and affluent lifestyles. It seems as though individ uals in society are now more worried about their own needs and have very little concern for others. This may change once the true impact of the austerity measures hits home for various groups and individuals. It seems very evident from the recent work out that the most vulnerable in society are going to redress the highest price for the mistakes of the elite.It seems apparent that it is the underlying thinking and ideology in Irish society which needs to undergo a critical reflection. Both those in power and society as a whole need to consider what kind of society they want for both themselves and future generations. If the lack of protest in Ireland is anything to go by it seems as though individuals in Irish society have become self-interested and have very little concern for the more vulnerable in society. It may be worth introducing the process of critical reflection at an earlier age in schools in an attempt to create independent thinkers who are capable of challenging domina nt discourse at both organisational and political level. However from my own experience of various social care settings and the education system such an beau ideal does not seem high on the agenda. It may suit those at the top to have a society which follows and does not question. Or it may be, that those at the top do not question their own motives. each way, if Ireland wishes to learn from the mistakes of the past, some form of questioning needs to occur at a societal, governmental and individual level. The recent recession provides a space for such questioning. Whether such questioning materialises at the level suggested in this reflection remains to be seen.