Reflective Practice for Pre-Service Teachers’ Professional Development

Engaging in reflective practice not only nurtures pre-service teachers’ critical thinking and propels professional growth but also instils an enduring drive for self-directed professional enhancement and development. This study aimed to investigate how teaching reflection can help pre-service teachers become novice in-service teachers and examine the effectiveness of reflective practice in enhancing pedagogical skills and fostering professional growth. The study was conducted at a prominent university in the UK, and data were collected through multiple sources such as students’ feedback, peer observation, and reflective journals, which provided a rich dataset for this self-narrative research. The findings reveal that reflective practice contributes significantly to the development of critical pedagogical skills. It fosters a deeper understanding of teaching methodologies and enhances pre-service teachers’ abilities to apply these strategies to diverse educational contexts. Notably, it also shows a more proactive approach to professional growth, underscoring reflective practices as catalysts for ongoing personal and professional development. This study suggests that the effective implementation of reflective practices needs to be aligned with broader trends in higher education, such as the integration of educational technology into teaching practice.