1. chris.dalton@henley.reading.ac.uk Reflecting on identity: practice what you preach? Chris Dalton PhD Experience Conference University of Hull, February 8 th 2011

2. 2 Abstract “Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question” ee cummings

3. The purpose of reflection… is to consider the process of our own learning in order to empower and emancipate ourselves (as individuals and as social groups) for me as researcher, it is also to consider the assumptions behind design and conduct, and the role that I play in producing the results (reflexivity) However… in Management Education the term ‘reflection’ often used as just another tool in decision- making (e.g. “What would you differently next time?”) 3 © Chris Dalton, 2010

4. 4 What has brought you here? © Chris Dalton, 2010

5. Reflection “Reflective learning is the process of internally examining and exploring an issue of concern, triggered by an experience, which creates and clarifies meaning in terms of self and which results in a changed conceptual perspective.” (Boyd and Fayles, 1983) (p19) 5 © Chris Dalton, 2010

6. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle Concrete Experience Reflective Observation Abstract Conceptualisation Active Experimentation 6 © Chris Dalton, 2010

7. Atkins and Murphy’s model for Reflective Practice (1994) Awareness of discomfort, or action/experience Describe the Situation Include salient feelings, thoughts, events or features Analyse feelings and knowledge Identify and Challenge assumptions Imagine and explore alternatives Evaluate the relevance of knowledge Does it help explain/resolve problems? How complete was your use of knowledge? Identify any learning which has occurred 7 © Chris Dalton, 2010

8. 31 DAYS/27 BLOG POSTS IN JANUARY 2011 LIFE’S THEMES, DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS AND CYCLES TRANSITIONS AND TURNING POINTS THE “KNIFE’S EDGE” OF PRESENT, ITERATIONS OF PAST & ANTICIPATION OF FUTURE A narrative route to reflection in personal development? A narrative route to reflection in personal development? 8 © Chris Dalton, 2010

9. Educational Biographies (Dominice, 2000) Adulthood a process of finding appropriate autonomy in relation to family values and projects, schooling and cultural context Narratives are dialogue “Adult identity is torn between permanence and contrast, between similarity and singularity, between reproduction and differentiation, between the past and present as background and openness to the future in the present.” (Gaulejac, cited in Dominice, 2000) 9 © Chris Dalton, 2010

10. Stories We Live By (McAdams 1997, Sugarman, 2001) Life Chapters Key Events Significant Others Future Script Stresses and Problems Personal Ideology Overall Life Theme 10 © Chris Dalton, 2010

11. 11 © Chris Dalton, 2010

12. Concluding thoughts “In” the exercise – It was HARD work writing something every day – Certain patterns are set very early “On” the exercise – Does reflection follow the model, or does the model follow reflection? – Either way, the model for reflection is still missing something – Introspection is necessary but not sufficient for reflective learning – Dialogue required. Without it, introspection is sterile 12 © Chris Dalton, 2010

13. References Atkins, S. and Murphy, K. (1994) Reflective Practice. Nursing Standard 8(39) 49-56. Boyd, EM, Fayles, AW, (1983) Reflective Learning: key to learning from experience. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 23(2), 99-117 Dalton, C (2011) “Personal Development Blog”, accessed at http://henleydlmba.wordpress.com during January 2011 http://henleydlmba.wordpress.com Dominice, P (2000), “Learning from Our Lives: Using Educational Biographies with Adults”, Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Kelly, G (1991), The Psychology of Personal Constructs, Routledge McAdams, D. (1997), “Stories We Live By: Personal Myths and the Making of the Self”, Guilford Press Sayer, A. (1999), “Realism and Social Science”, Sage Sugarman, L. (2001), “Life-Span Development: Frameworks, Accounts and Strategies”, Psychology Press 13

14. Appendix: Flexible lens of Critical Realism (Sayer, 1999) Critical Realism The Intransitive (the world “out there”/ what we study) vs. The Transitive (our theories and discourse about the world) ______________________ The Real (whatever exists, objects, structures that have potential) vs. The Actual (what happens when potential is activated) vs. The Empirical (the ‘domain of experience’ and of inference) _____________________ Cause is emergent from interplay of mechanisms of structure and context Explanation is a matter of identifying circumstances of those mechanisms Aim: to infer something about the way “the” world is by exploring how “our” world is 14 © Chris Dalton, 2010