Media releases

A major new education book, Reflective Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, has been launched at Federation University Australia.  

The new volume is part of the highly regarded International Springer series, Teaching and Teacher Education Practices.

Edited by Robyn Brandenburg, Kathryn Glasswell, Mellita Jones and Josephine Ryan, the book offers a detailed examination of reflective practice in teacher education internationally.

“In the current educational context, where reflective practice has been mandated in professional standards for teachers in many countries, this book analyses research-based evidence for the power of reflective practice to shape better educational outcomes, for students, teachers and teacher educators,” Associate Professor Brandenburg from Federation University Australia said.

“This book showcases the kind of reflective practice that empowers teachers, teacher educators and pre-service teachers to make a difference with students and improve learning outcomes.”

The book launch was held at the Post Office Gallery in Ballarat.

“The book presents multiple theoretical and practical views of this often taken-for-granted practice, so that readers are challenged to consider how factors such as gender and race shape understandings of reflective practice,” Dr Josephine Ryan from Australian Catholic University (ACU) said.

“At a time when there is pressure to measure teachers’ work through standardised tests, the book highlights the professional thinking that is integral to teaching and demonstrates ways it can be encouraged in beginning teachers,” Dr Ryan said.

Dr Mellita Jones from ACU commented that the range of perspectives meant the book would be useful for teacher educators world-wide.

“The collaboration has helped us move the field ahead. As scholars and writers we all learned a lot from the collaboration,” Associate Professor Kathryn Glasswell said.

According to the publisher, the book: “Offers a critical analysis of reflective practice as a key professional attribute of teachers (and) presents cutting-edge critiques of taken-for-granted educational practice from the viewpoint of often marginalised groups”.

The book can be accessed through the following Springerlink:

http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-981-10-3431-2

Picture caption, from left: Robyn Brandenburg, Josephine Ryan, Mellita Jones