Studying studies on teacher reflection and action: An appraisal of research contributions

Abstract

For decades a substantial body of research on teacher reflection and action has been conducted. This research contains a wealth of information on teachers' thinking about their daily work in classrooms. But what do these studies tell us about the linkage between thought and action in actual teaching? How do they contribute to our understanding, or do they, in the very selection of their methods, 'tell only half the story'? To address these concerns, we have engaged in a critical appraisal to learn about the scope and limitations of research contributions and identify criteria that may shed light on exactly what aspects of teacher learning and development are being studied. This appraisal uses an analytic framework to position the various studies that have been conducted. From our analysis, which focuses on the validity criterion of closeness between type of research question and data collection methods, we conclude that the research would profit from a set of more detailed criteria to address some of the limitations inherent in approaches to studying teacher reflection and action.