Reflective Thinking in Educational Research and Pedagogy

Sumudu N. Embogama University of the Visual and Performing Arts, Sri Lanka Pages: 72-80 Reflective thinking has been acknowledged as one of the fundamental premises of teaching and learning from experience. It is often claimed that reflectivity can enhance educators’ pedagogical as well as research practices by developing their critical thinking, analytical abilities, and the ability to make unique connections between disparate sets of information resulting in more informed perspectives on issues related to this field. These are some of the main traits that are expected from skilled teachers as educators and researchers. Thus, this paper considers the features of reflective thinking, its potential for enhancing teaching pedagogy and research, the premises made by renowned scholars with regard to theories; and frameworks on reflective thought. It can be argued that in spite of its increasing visibility in education research, the importance of reflective thinking needs to be further acknowledged as a crucial component within educational research studies and pedagogy enhancement. Keywords: educational research, pedagogy, journal writing, reflective thinking, teachers