Guest editors' introduction to special theme issue [of Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development]: Reflective practices

Guest editors' introduction to special theme issue [of Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and Development]: Reflective practices

[Rationale]: This special theme issue of Studies in Learning, Evaluation, Innovation and
Development is entitled Reflective Practices: Promoting Professional Learning in
Contemporary Workplaces. Current rhetoric constructs such workplaces as
learning organisations and communities of practice facilitating situated learning
(Anderson, Reder, & Simon, 1997; Lave & Wenger, 1993) where the effective
attainment of outcomes depends on employees at all levels renewing their
professional learning and contributing to ongoing efficiencies. Potential barriers to
the promotion of this view of professional learning include employees who might
take a different view of their roles and/or organisations failing to accept and build
on that learning.
Reflective practice (Schön, 1987) is a key pre-requisite if such professional
learning is to energise contemporary workplaces and to enhance individual and
institutional development. This issue of the journal canvasses a range of evidencebased
strategies deployed by the contributing authors to engage in reflective
practices of various kinds in their respective workplaces, with a view to evaluating
their effectiveness and their impact on professional learning. What emerges from
that engagement is a recognition of the situated character of reflection and of the
complexity – even the confusion – of influences on its likely efficacy in initiating
and sustaining productive change and lifelong learning.

The journal states that 'Copyright of articles is retained by authors. As an open access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings.'