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Embodied Reflection and the Epistemology of Reflective Practice
Author(s) -
KINSELLA ELIZABETH ANNE
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of philosophy of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.501
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9752
pISSN - 0309-8249
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9752.2007.00574.x
Subject(s) - embodied cognition , epistemology , reflective practice , confusion , reflection (computer programming) , dimension (graph theory) , sociology , reflective equilibrium , education theory , reflective thinking , psychology , pedagogy , philosophy , higher education , computer science , psychoanalysis , mathematics , political science , pure mathematics , law , programming language
Donald Schön's theory of reflective practice has been extensively referred to and has had enormous impact in education and related fields. Nonetheless, there continues to be tremendous conceptual and practical confusion surrounding interpretations of reflective practice and philosophical assumptions underlying the theory. In this paper, I argue that one of the original contributions of reflective practice is the theory's attention to an embodied reflective dimension. In this regard, the influences of Michael Polanyi and Gilbert Ryle, within Donald Schön's classic work, are examined and shed light on a unique embodied reflective dimension within the theory of reflective practice. This paper suggests that the notion of an embodied mode of reflection is a useful way to conceive of the original contributions that Schön brings to understandings of reflective processes in professional education. Such understanding is crucially important to practical applications of the theory amidst widespread confusion in educational contexts.