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Towards continuous professional development: Experiencing group reflection to analyse practice
Author(s) -
Sharmahd Nima,
Peeters Jan,
Bushati Mirlinda
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
european journal of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1465-3435
pISSN - 0141-8211
DOI - 10.1111/ejed.12261
Subject(s) - reflection (computer programming) , professional development , psychology , pedagogy , group (periodic table) , sociology , computer science , chemistry , organic chemistry , programming language
Researchers and international organisations recognise that the quality of ECEC services is related to a professional and competent workforce. The latter should be part of a ‘competent system’ that is capable of linking staff's initial good education to the possibility of constantly reflecting on ideas and practices. Continuous professional development initiatives (CPD) are crucial in this discourse. This article explores possibilities for CPD paths, with a focus on group‐reflection methods in which the team/group reflects on its own practice. More specifically, it presents the Wanda method which was developed by VBJK and Artevelde University College in Belgium (Fl.) through a European Social Fund (ESF) project and then adapted to the contexts of four European countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia) within the ISSA (International Step by Step Association) network. In 2016, VBJK was appointed by Unicef to offer a Training of the Trainers (TOT) on CPD in Albania with the possibility of re‐adapting the Wanda method to the Albanian preschool context. The article ends by presenting this Albanian experience in greater detail.