ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to assist field educators to develop and promote reflective learning. It discusses the reflective learning means and makes a distinction between practical and critical reflectivity. The chapter offers suggestions as to how field educators can put reflective learning into practice. The extent to which students develop the capacity for practical and critical reflectivity during supervised practice in field education depends on the extent to which field educators include exploration of alternative ways of thinking political and structural issues in their supervision. The principal strategy used for organised reflection in field education is verbal recall, discussion of experiences in supervision. Supervision in fieldwork can concentrate on skills development, organisational requirements, but little time is given to looking at the broader context in which the problems facing agency clients are situated. Reflective learning has been defined as ‘those intellectual and affective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understandings and appreciations’.
