ABSTRACT
During the last decades, reflection has become a basic concept in teacher education all over the world (Gore, 1987; Hatton & Smith, 1995). It has emerged as a specific topic within the general movement of “teacher thinking,” which started in the 1970s. Until 1975, teachers were commonly viewed as “decisionmakers,” and research into teaching dealt almost exclusively with teacher behavior in the classroom. Around 1975, the professional field showed a shift toward a perception of teachers as “reflective professionals who construct meaning” (Clark, 1986; Schön, 1983). This development was accompanied by a shift in research methods, leading to the conviction that teachers’ mental structures play an important role in the teacher’s functioning (see, e.g., Shavelson, Webb, & Burstein, 1986, p. 79). One of the most important functions of reflection is to help teachers become aware of their mental structures, subject them to a critical analysis, and if necessary, restructure them.
