Exploring the Development of Reflective Practice for School-Based Improvement in the Context of the Arab Region: The Case of the TAMAM Project in Light of Korthagen’s Model

Abstract

Reflective practice is essential to teachers at every stage of their career. The search conducted for this study revealed that there is an abundance of reflection models in the literature. The majority of the reflection models focus on the cognitive aspects of reflection and on learning from experience, and this is considered insufficient according to research ( Campbell & Ceau, 2023). The search also uncovered the uniqueness of the Korthagen’s core reflection model and its effect on teacher development after this study reviewed five major reflection models by Dewey ( 1933), Van Manen (1977), Kolb (1984), Schon (1985) Larrivee (2008) and compared them to Korthagen’s model. Unlike the other models, Korthagen argues that reflection is not only a cognitive matter and goes to a meta-cognitive level by taking the teacher’s core qualities as a starting point for reflection. Based on the search and the comparison, this study adopted Korthagen’s model as a framework. The focus of the study is on strategies that enhance the transformative impact of reflective practice within the context of school improvement in the Arab region. This study is situated in the TAMAM project that is a research and development lab housed in AUB and works with a wide network of schools in the Arab region. TAMAM adopts reflective practice as a research-based program for building leadership capacity to implement school-based improvement. Guided by Korthagen’s core reflection model, this study sought to examine TAMAM’s capacity building model while focusing on the strategies followed to build reflective practice as a basic competency for school-based improvement. It also sought to expand the capacity building pertaining to reflective practice to encompass the additional dimensions brought forth by Korthagen core reflection model. This study followed an action research methodology. This study recognized the broader scope of employing reflection in TAMAM’s CBP than that in Korthagen’s model since reflective practice in the CBP does not only deepen the team members’ understanding of their journey but also contributes to the broader goal of the TAMAM Capacity Building Program (CBP) which is building their leadership capacity. The analyzed data in this study highlighted that the only aspect that is not addressed in the TAMAM CBP is taking the core qualities into consideration in the practice of reflection, an approach highly supported by the literature. A suggested module that will enable to identify teachers’ core qualities and to align them with their actions and practices is presented in this study.