The document discusses the importance of critical reflection in early childhood education, emphasizing its role in professional development and improving outcomes for children. It outlines how educators can engage in reflective practices by questioning their assumptions and considering various perspectives, including those of children, families, and literature. Additionally, it provides guidance on building a reflective culture within educational settings to foster an environment conducive to ongoing learning and improvement.

1. 1.

2. Acknowledgement to country
We pay respect and
acknowledge the Larrakia
people as the original custodians
of this land. We pay respect and
honor all elders past, present,
and emerging.
2.

3. What is critical reflection?
• It’s a form of personal learning and development that involves
thinking about practices and procedures with intent and honesty.
• It should be embedded in daily practice.
• It can be a challenging skill requiring the ability to question and
change deep-seated assumptions and practices. (279) Critical reflection
– Improving outcomes for children – YouTube (2.06m)
3.

4. Critical reflection is a necessary component of
professionalism in early childhood education.
Evidence of critical reflection within a service draws
attention to the intellectual work of early childhood
educators and highlights professional capacities
beyond the care of young children. Early childhood
curriculum documents place strong emphasis on the
importance of critically reflective practice. For
example, the Early Years Learning Framework lists
“ongoing learning and reflective practice” as one of
five key principles of effective practice.
4.

5. How does it all start?
Application of critical reflection starts:
• By engaging with your own thoughts.
• By understanding your feelings.
• By noticing your experiences on what is
occurring.
• By questioning the assumptions that
underpin your perceptions. (279) A
critical reflection planning meeting –
YouTube (10.59m)
5.

6. Some honest questions we can ask ourselves are:
• Who is disadvantaged when I work in this way?
• Who is benefited from my actions?
• How well do I know each child?
• Are there other theories or knowledge that could help me
to understand better what I have observed or experienced?
6.

7. It is important for us to understand the ways
critical reflection is defined and what it looks like
in practice.
There is a common misconception that critical
reflection is about finding fault or criticising an
event or the actions of those involved.
A useful definition for critical reflection relates
more to a professional attitude that allows us to
look at an event from a range of perspectives
and to ask questions about that event and to
develop new ways of thinking and
understanding. It’s about our attitude and frame
of mind.
7.

8. It is a learned skill. Many of us need direct instruction
on processes involved in critical reflection, along
with practice and perseverance to continue to
develop our skills.
What critical reflection does is that it allows us to
look and think beyond what we already know. Yes,
we may need support to think about and apply
additional layers needed for rich questions and
inquiry. These additional layers come from
enhancing our perspectives when we explore
literature and theories relevant to our daily work and
consider the social and political influences,
expectations, stereotypes, and policy changes.
8.

9. (279) EYLF TAPS NQS PLP - Reflecting on practice Part 1 of 4 - YouTube
9.

10. By adding to our perspective take a more
comprehensive look at an event and get a deeper
understanding of what is happening and why.
If we focus solely on our own perspectives and
biases and interpretations of practice, then any
evaluations of events we make and interactions we
have may be surface-level.
Just having one perspective may result in us limiting
our knowledge, rather than accessing a range of
perspectives and resources to generate the
reflective process. (279) EYLF TAPS NQS PLP - Reflecting
on practice Part 1 of 4 - YouTube
10.

11. Let’s think about the following
scenario related to a child’s capacities
with self-help skills.
Instead of having a personal reaction
or response, think about different
ways of thinking about what’s
happening by adding layers of
reflection. I’ve provided some
examples to broaden your thinking.
11.

12. SCENARIO:
A male child aged 3.5 yrs comes in wearing a nappy.
His father takes him to the toilet to change into underwear due
to your center’s expectations.
During the day, the child is taken to the toilet and placed on the
seat in the presence of other children.
He feels shy amongst other children and prefers to soil his
clothes 2-3 times a day.
When Dad arrives to collect the child in the afternoon, the child
is again placed in a nappy.
Family preferences and cultural reasons do not expect the child
to be autonomous in self-care routines at home.
12.

13. Layers of reflection - Guiding questions:
1. What are my own experiences and knowledge in this
matter?
2. How do I feel about children’s independence and
interdependence?
3. How do my values influence my responses to this event?
4. In what ways are my choices influenced by the expectations
of the service and fellow educators?
13.

14. Experiences and knowledge of others:
1. Have I considered the perspectives
of the parents and the child?
2. How do I show it in my response
and my interactions?
3. How are my colleagues impacted
by this event?
14.

15. Literature and theories:
1. What do the developmental milestones and theories show me by the
age of three regarding autonomy and self-care routines?
2. Are these child development theories relevant to all children?
3. What other literature or theories will provide me with different
viewpoints about child development?
4. What does literature on inclusivity say about responding to family
preferences in the childcare program?
15.

16. Broader social/political circumstances:
1. In Australia, most rooms for 3-5year olds do
not have nappy changing facilities. What does
this tell me about what is valued in early
childhood education in Australia?
2. What does this imply about children’s
capacities at certain ages? Does this place an
emphasis on ‘readiness’ (eg. for school) rather
than what is suitable for a child at any given
time?
16.

17. What’s next?
The next step:
• Try to draw in different viewpoints to
learn and evaluate how you may change
your approach or perspective on an
event.
• This can lead to new conclusions,
possible changes, and new ideas to
inform future planning and actions.
17.

18. What’s the main idea
here?
• That you not only explore your own reaction to an
event or experience
• That you are also examining them from alternative
viewpoints.
Examples
• Through the eyes of a colleague or
• By reviewing relevant literature and theories
• consider if change is required in your approach or
perspective.
18.

19. When considering how to move
from reacting to an event to
thinking more critically about what
took place, it is useful to think
about different levels of reflection.
Adapted from Bain (1999), the
following three levels of reflection
show how an educator can move
from ‘reaction’ to ‘critical reflection’
19.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

20. Level 1:
• Reacting
• Commenting on one’s feelings related to
an event.
• Providing a straight description with no
added observations or insights.
• Making an observation or judgment
without detailing reasons for the
judgment.
• Developing a shallow understanding of
what occurred and why.
20.

21. Level 2:
Elaborating:
• Comparing one’s reaction to other
people’s responses and perspectives
• Analysing an event by asking questions
and considering alternatives
• Seeking a deeper understanding of an
event by relating it to current literature and
theories.
21.

22. Level 3:
• Reconstructing
• Drawing revised and new conclusions about your
practices and the practices of others
• Ongoing exploration of relationships between practice,
literature, and theory
• Planning further learning based on your reflections
As seen in Level 3, effective critical reflection should lead
to findings about what occurred and why, as well as the
development of plans for change. Ongoing questioning of
changes to practice and one’s thinking is essential to the
reflective process.
22.

23. What does critical reflection
involve?
Critical reflection involves:
• Reflecting on your own personal biases.
• Examining and rethinking your perspectives
• Questioning whether your perspectives
generalise.
• Considering all aspects of experiences.
• Engaging in professional conversations with
colleagues, families, professionals, and
community members.
• Using the reflective questions in the learning
frameworks to prompt your thinking.
23.

24. Because……
• Working with children compels constant
reflection on how an educator’s practice
is influenced by their worldview.
• Engaging in critical reflective practice
allows you to examine your practice and
gain insights from various viewpoints to
inform future decision-making.
24.

25. When Do Educators Reflect?
Educators reflect in action (rapidly and thoughtfully during
an action) and on action (briefly and systematically after
an action).
What is reflected in a day and over time should be
meaningful to educators, children, and families. It is not
practical to reflect critically on everything that occurs
within classroom practice and service delivery.
Critical reflection can be focused on a long-term issue, or
more spontaneous events and interactions that have
meaning for key stakeholders.
Reflections can occur verbally between educators and also
in thought.
Educators may include written reflections as part of their
documentation or in a communal journal.
Where appropriate, reflections should be shared with
children and families to draw attention to the intellectual
and evolving nature of educators’ work.
25.

26. Why is critical reflection
important?
• The practice of critical reflection in early
childhood education is to ensure the best
possible outcomes for children.
• Critical reflection offers many benefits for an
educator, as the process is part of an active
learning experience to promote professional
development.
26.

27. What are the benefits of
critical reflection?
Some of the benefits of engaging in critical reflection
include:
•Strengthening professional practice
•Generating learning
•Engaging higher-order thinking and creative practice
•Helping educators make sense of experience
•A vehicle for problem-solving
•Allowing the development of deeper understandings
•Building valuable insights to inform decision-making and
manage issues more effectively
27.

28. Because…….
• Critical reflection provides a framework to think
differently about working through various issues
and obstacles
• Helps educators make purposeful changes to
practice to improve children’s outcomes.
28.

29. Getting started!
To get started,
• Break the process into manageable
chunks.
• Begin with just two of the questions and
be patient – it takes time to explore
multiple perspectives.
31.

30. How can I be successful?
To be successful the process of critical reflection requires:
• A participatory culture and leadership support, engagement is
more likely to happen when there is a culture of openness and
trust where everyone has a voice and is listened to.
• Educators need to feel they can openly question, offer ideas and
raise concerns about their own and the service’s practice.
• Recognising there is no single or ‘right’ way to approach
complex issues is also an important element in supporting
reflective practice.
32.

31. How can I apply critical
reflection in my practice?
Use the EYLF set of overarching questions to guide
reflection, and ask yourself:
•What are my understandings of each child?
•What theories, philosophies, and understandings shape
and assist my work?
•Who is advantaged when I work in this way? Who is
disadvantaged?
•What questions do I have about my work? What am I
challenged by? What am I curious about? What am I
confronted by
•What aspects of my work are not helped by the theories
and guidance that I usually draw on to make sense of what
I do?
•Are there other theories or knowledge that could help me
to understand better what I have observed or
experienced? What are they? How might those theories
and that knowledge affect my practice?
30.

32. Building a Reflective Culture will
support all educators, regardless
of their qualifications and
experience, to engage in
critically reflective practices.
29.

33. How can we build a reflective culture in our center?
The following key elements are required to build a reflective culture:
•Direct teaching - Some educators require explicit support when learning about
and applying processes of critical reflection.
•Modelling - Educators with experience in critically reflective practice are well-
positioned to model processes of reflection to colleagues. Examples from
everyday practice can provide a basis for discussion, modeling, and teaching.
•Collaboration - A collaborative approach to critical reflection is valuable
because multiple voices and perspectives are included in discussions.
Collaboration can occur between educators, other professionals, children, and
families.
•Physical spaces and resources - Create an environment that is conducive to
reflective practice. Educators require access to current literature (professional
magazines, journal articles, texts) to extend their knowledge base. Prompts such
as a highlighted section of an article or a question written on a noticeboard can
be used to support critically reflective practice.
•Time - Effective critical reflection takes time and practice. Opportunities for
individual and collaborative reflection are necessary to build educators’ skill
levels.
33.

34. Expectation:
• curriculum documents highlight
expectations around critically reflective
practice, but this should also be a priority
for educators in leadership positions.
• When time, physical spaces and resources
are provided, then expectation can be
built into the culture of reflective practice
at the service.
34.

35. •What else can we do?
•Establishing routines to allow reflection to occur
regularly. Allocating time during a regularly
scheduled meeting to reflect on practice across the
service as well as personal ‘reflection’ time in a
prescribed time slot during the day.
•Networking with other services. Regularly meeting
with people in the wider community can provide
insights into the way the service is perceived by
others. This provides opportunities to explore ways
the service can become more responsive to the
interests and needs of families and children in the
local community.
35.

36. Developing critical reflection takes time and
courage. A key component of courage is
the willingness and ability to ‘step outside’
one’s own interpretations and experiences
to explore new ways of thinking about
events, interactions and issues that occur in
daily practice. When this occurs, educators,
children and families will benefit greatly
from deep reflections about professional
practice
36.