# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Preschool Philosophies: Reggio Emilia Approach | NO SMALL MATTER

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Poverty statistics in Scotland look at how the lowest income households compare with average income households. A household is considered to be in poverty if their income if less than 60% of the average income for that household type. A more detailed explanation can be obtained on the Scottish Government website. We are using statistics for poverty after housing costs.

These statistics highlight the scale of the problem, however do not touch on how this impacts on the lives of those whose options are limited by living on a low income; organisations such as the Poverty Truth Community aim to give voice to this and to highlight the detrimental effects of living on low incomes.

1 in 4 children in Scotland (24%) are living in poverty

1 in 5 working age people (19%) in Scotland are living in poverty

15% of pensioners in Scotland are living in poverty

60% of working age adults in poverty and 65% of children in poverty live in a household where someone is in employment.

We know that some groups of people have a higher risk of poverty than others.

In 2014-19, people from non-white minority ethnic groups were more likely to be in relative poverty after housing costs compared to those from the 'White - British' and 'White - Other' groups. The poverty rate was 39% for the 'Asian or Asian British' ethnic groups, and 38% for 'Mixed, Black or Black British and Other' ethnic groups.

The poverty rate amongst the 'White - Other' group was 25% (80,000 people) and that of the 'White - British' group was 18% (860,000 people).

39% of single women with children are living in poverty.

29% of those who live with a disabled household member live in poverty.

There have been some improvements in poverty:

15 years ago 25% of pensioners in Scotland were living in poverty, compared to 15% now

After a long fall between 1999-02 and 2010-13, which halted briefly just before the recession, child poverty rates had been rising again but did not rise in the latest periods.

Poverty in Scotland is predicted to rise over the new few years if action is not taken to address it.

In 2016-19, the top ten percent of the population had 24% more income than the bottom forty percent combined.

There are high levels of inequality in Scotland.

In 2012-2014 the wealthiest 1% of private households owned more wealth than the bottom 50%.

In 2015-16 men in the most deprived areas of Scotland were expected to live 26 fewer years in good health than those in the least deprived areas and were expected to die 13 years earlier.

A boy born in 2018 in one of the 10% most deprived areas of Scotland would have a life expectancy 13 years shorter than a boy from the most affluent area.

In 2015-16 women in the most deprived areas of Scotland were expected to live 22 fewer years in good health than those in the least deprived areas and were expected to die 9 years earlier.

A girl born in 2018 in one of the 10% most deprived areas of Scotland would have a life expectancy 10 years shorter than a girl from the most affluent area.

At age five, children in families in the highest 20% of earners were around 13 months ahead in their vocabulary compared with children in families in the bottom 20% of earners.

By the time they leave school, young people in the 20% least deprived areas of Scotland are almost twice as likely to achieve one or more Highers or Advanced Highers compared to young people in the 20% most deprived areas.

Publications and Resources of interest

If you wish to find out more a wide range of reports and research will provide information on the different aspects of poverty and inequality. Some of these are noted below;

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Poverty in Scotland - Poverty & Inequality Commission

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Poverty statistics in Scotland look at how the lowest income households compare with average income households. A household is considered to be in poverty if their income if less than 60% of the average income for that household type. A more detailed explanation can be obtained on the Scottish Government website.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Beyond the Blue and Pink Toy Divide | Elizabeth Sweet | TEDxUCDavisSalon

# data[].attributes.headline
Equality Strategy (Education Scotland, 2017)

# data[].attributes.subject
Equality Strategy (Education Scotland, 2017)

# data[].attributes.headline
Gender Equal Play (Care Inspectorate, 2018)

# data[].attributes.subject
Gender Equal Play (Care Inspectorate, 2018)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In our children we see the best and worst of ourselves now and in the future. They are the measure of our worth as a nation. In this Outcome we are dedicated to providing the essential conditions of love, respect and understanding through which our children can become the happy, fulfilled and successful adults they all have a right to be.

Vision

We do all we can to ensure our children grow up in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding. We enhance their life chances through our early years provision and by supporting families when they need it. We ensure childhood is free from abuse, tobacco, alcohol, drugs, poverty and hunger. Our children are not left worried or isolated. We include and involve children in decisions about their lives and world, and protect their rights, dignity and wellbeing.

Our communities are safe places where children are valued, nurtured and treated with kindness. We provide stimulating activities and encourage children to engage positively with the built and natural environment and to play their part in its care. We provide the conditions in which all children can be healthy and active. Our schools are loving, respectful and encouraging places where everyone can learn, play and flourish. We provide children and young people with hope for the future and create opportunities for them to fulfil their dreams.
Click here to see how the indicators for this outcome are performing.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In our children we see the best and worst of ourselves now and in the future. They are the measure of our worth as a nation. In this Outcome we are dedicated to providing the essential conditions of love, respect and understanding through which our children can become the happy, fulfilled and successful adults they all have a right to be.

# data[].attributes.headline
Simon Sinek on understanding  empathy and why it is critical to leadership 

# data[].attributes.subject
Simon Sinek on understanding  empathy and why it is critical to leadership 

# data[].attributes.headline
Considering children's rights in practice 

# data[].attributes.subject
Considering children's rights in practice 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What children's rights are legally, and how they should be promoted. By Professor Priscilla Alderson

Alan, aged five, enjoys going to school, where he is pleased to be starting to read, he sees his friends, the building is warm, and he has free school meals. But his wheelchair is broken and he has been waiting at home for weeks for it to be mended. His parents have to take turns missing work to be with him, and they cannot afford to have the heating on much, or to have regular meals.

Alan's case raises vital questions, among them: What are children's rights? Are they respected? And if not, do they have any value? When do children begin to have rights? All questions that I will seek to answer.

Children's rights are not popular with everyone, nor are they well understood. To some, children's rights are vague, for others they are too complicated. Many people dismiss the need for a raft of children's rights - 'Children don't need rights! They cannot understand them!'; or question their relevance - 'How is the right to a home relevant for wealthy children in the UK?'

There is also the concern that raising children's awareness of their rights might instil in them a sense of entitlement and selfishness. Critics say, 'They'll think they can do whatever they like'; 'Children need to learn not to be selfish, and how to care about other people. Rights don't teach them that.'

Children's rights are more likely to be overlooked or dismissed by adults whose own rights are not respected. Some adults working in early years services may receive low pay and little thanks for their stressful work, with its pressures to keep children safe and abide by many written and unwritten rules. Talk of children's rights can seem like still more rules for adults to obey, giving adults still less movement and creative choice about how they work with children and care for them.

Yet it is vital that those in the early years sector understand, respect and promote children's rights. Rights are central to everyday life and relationships, affecting every child and family wherever they may live. Rights are remedies for wrongs and tools for change.

While Alice was down the rabbit hole in Wonderland, she spent some time in a dark hall with doorways too small for her to pass through. She longed to find the doorway that opened onto a garden. Rights can be the keys to open the door to the sunlit garden for everyone to enjoy freely.

RIGHTS: DEFINED
The United Nations 1989 Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) defines children's rights. Too often, people refer only to Article 12: the child's right to form and express views. But it is important to read the rich detail within all 42 of the UNCRC's main Articles.(1) These can be divided into three partly over&#173;lapping types.
Point for reflection
As you read the rights, think about which, if any, you think young children, like Alan, should not have.
1. Provision rights

A child has the right to:

the basic care necessary for the child's well-being

healthcare, clean drinking water and nutritious food

education

an adequate standard of living and housing, with support from the state when it is necessary to enable the family and community to assure these rights.

Living and learning
Provision rights are about providing for basic needs, not luxuries, and they involve high aims. Education rights, for example, include children being able to 'develop their mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential' and to develop respect for their parents and for their 'cultural identity, language and values' (UNCRC, Article 29).

When children learn to respect equal rights, they are prepared 'for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples' (Article 29).

Because no-one's rights should override anyone else's, babies, for example, do not have the right to be breastfed and mothers should not be forced to do so. Instead, everyone has the healthcare rights to be 'informed, have access to education and [be] supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition, the advantages of breastfeeding, hygiene and environmental sanitation and the prevention of accidents' (Article 24e).

Critics of the UNCRC assume that a 'free society' involves lonely selfish autonomy, a 'Western' model of isolated individuals. They say this model does not fit most countries, such as those in Africa and Asia, where many children live in close extended families and communities.

Yet the UNCRC is not about freedom from other people. Rights are for freedom against being exploited, coerced, enslaved or ruled over by unjust governments, and to live and learn together in peace and justice.

2. Protection rights
A child has the right to be protected against:

abuse, neglect, negligence, torture or other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment

invasion into children's privacy and family life

discrimination

exploitation or harmful interference with the child's health or development

illicit drug use, sexual abuse, the sale or traffic of children

unlawful imprisonment.

States should also ensure the protection and care of children who are affected by:

separation from their family

armed conflict

migration and asylum-seeking.

Reasonable and realistic
Critics complain that the UNCRC wording is too complicated. However, the UNCRC, like the United Nations 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other great UN conventions, has been carefully worded by lawyers so that rights are reasonable and realistic and can be defended against critics.

For example, no-one has a right to be loved or to feel safe, because these are feelings that cannot be willed (switched on or off) or enforced. Parents cannot be taken to court and ordered or made to love their baby. But courts can order actions to defend children from being neglected or abused by their parents/carers.

3. Participation rights
A child has the right to:

respect for the child's worth and inherent human dignity

life and survival

a name, legal identity and nationality

contact with family, and help with reconnecting the family after enforced separation during armed conflict or migration

rest, leisure, play and recreation

take part in cultural life and the arts

express views freely in all matters affecting the child

freedom of expression and information

freedom of thought, conscience and religion

freedom of association and peaceful assembly

respect for the child's cultural background

due legal process.

Disabled children also have the right to help to 'promote self-reliance and... active participation in the community' (Article 23).
Civil rights for all
Children and adults share largely the same rights, with participation rights being children's versions of adults' original freedom or civil rights. We all have rights to education and to rest and leisure. Freedom of 'association' and 'peaceful assembly' (Article 15) mean the right to go freely in any public spaces, to meet friends and join peaceful groups.

RIGHTS: ILLUSTRATED
Some of the above children's rights might look pointless, but each item is crucial. One case that has shown the relevance of children's complex rights is that of Charlie Gard. As we learned from many media reports, Charlie was born with severe problems and by a few months old could not see, or drink milk or breathe unaided. Doctors said it was cruel to respect his right to life because he was too brain-damaged and extremely disabled. His condition would only worsen and he was in such pain that his life could only be a burden to him. He should no longer be kept alive by machinery, but be relieved from his suffering and allowed to die. Charlie's parents wanted everything to be done to keep him alive.

In April, a High Court ruling stated that doctors could withdraw Charlie's life-support treatment - against his parents' wishes. The judge had to decide on Charlie's best interests by weighing Charlie's right to life against his right to develop (he was too disabled), to be free from a life of suffering and free from cruel treatment (meaning painful treatment that cannot heal the problems), and to be allowed to die in dignity. In late July, Charlie's parents finally ended their legal fight over his treatment.(2)

The following examples also illustrate how problems can happen to 'ordinary' families like Charlie Gard's.
Point for reflection
As you read, check the earlier lists of rights to see how many relate to each case study.

Leila's children
Leila's ex-partner broke in and trashed her flat. The landlord accused Leila and her two young children of damaging his property. He evicted them, and sent a bill for repairs of £15,000. Social services wanted to remove the children from a 'dangerous, violent mother' and they would not help the family find a new home. In recent years, the British Government has cut legal aid by hundreds of thousands of pounds. So, Leila could get no legal help at all when she was in court trying to keep her children and prove her innocence.

Kwame
Kwame, aged four, lives in rural Ghana. He loves helping his older brothers and friends herd the goats as they wander over the land, play and fish in the river, and then cook fish over a camp fire. His family have lived there as long as they can remember. Yet one day they are told a company has bought the land, and they will have to leave. The family seem to have no choice but to try to find somewhere to live in the nearest city.

Jasmine
When she was four, Jasmine developed Type I diabetes. She needed to have a finger-prick blood test and an insulin injection twice every day, and she hated having needles stuck into her. To avoid having constant battles, her parents had to make sure that Jasmine understood why she needed the injections. They gave her information and listened to her views and worked out with her the best way to manage her diabetes care. Jasmine found she preferred to do the injections herself, and to feel she had some control.

RIGHTS: FROM BIRTH
The rights of older children tend to be more respected, but do babies have rights?

All three types of rights outlined above begin from birth. 'Education' involves the baby's own constant learning and the education of the caring adults. The better educated mothers are, the healthier their children tend to be. When each baby has 'a name, legal identity and nationality', the government can recognise the child as a citizen with the right to the children's services and protections that the state provides.

Participation rights are less often seen as babies' rights, but these too can begin from birth. 'Discrimination' can harm babies as much as adults when their parents are denied equal rights; for example, to use public transport to get to work.

Article 12 states that 'the child who is capable of forming his or her own views [has] the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child'.

Babies are developed and 'mature' enough to form and express views about when they are hungry, tired, contented, bored or afraid. And adults can care well for babies only when they listen to babies' views strongly expressed through their cries and smiles. Gradually, young children learn to make complicated decisions, as in the case of Jasmine.

When aiming to respect the very varied cultures of childcare around the world, and to break free of prescribed and imposed Western standards, Martin Woodhead dismissed many claimed needs and rights.(3)

Apart from milk and hygiene, babies' supposed 'needs', he thought, depend on local cultures and are not essential, so babies do not 'need' adults to provide them, for example, with music. Yet babies are very complex human beings. Music is part of their life, from hearing their mother's heartbeat onwards. They nod and sway to dance music, are cheered by songs, soothed by lullabies, and soon start clapping and singing. They need to do music, they cannot help it. The UNCRC reflects the complex range of babies' needs.

RIGHTS: ON FOUR LEVELS
Children's rights become all the more real, and relevant - as in a baby's need for music - when we think of rights, not as a seemingly endless list, but on four levels: physical, psychological, relational and within systems.
Physically
Nearly all provision, protection and participation rights are expressed through bodies - in how bodies are respected or confined, nurtured or neglected, fed or starved, harmed or healed, included or excluded, honoured or punished, attended to or ignored.
Psychologically
We all have deep longings for justice, respect and kindness, the principles on which rights are based. In their second year, children start saying, 'It's not fair', 'My turn, your turn', 'Let's share'.

Paul Bloom showed films to babies of puppet-like shapes: some were helpful and others were unhelpful. He filmed and analysed babies' responses of attention and surprise. Babies from three months old seemed to judge the goodness and badness of the puppets actions, and soon the babies showed empathy and compassion. They tried to soothe those in distress. They showed an early sense of justice, by six to ten months, when they reached for the helper puppet more often than the hinderer puppet.(5)

Rights are shared in solidarity, interdependence, kindness and equality: 'our rights', not 'my rights'.
In relationships
We seem to be aware from birth of mutual respect between people, which is at the heart of rights. Research has found that from only two hours after birth, if someone looks at babies with a rigid, passive face, the babies become distressed, avert their gaze and eventually start crying, though they calm down when the researcher starts smiling.

However, if this happens a second time, babies gaze and try to make contact for longer before getting upset, and they recover more quickly when the researcher starts smiling again, as if they learned from the first time and are trying to have more control over the contact.(5)

Black and white young children, disabled and able ones play easily together without discrimination. Gradually, their relationships become much more complex. Children are influenced by adults and other children in how they strengthen and deepen their early sense of respect and justice, or not. But in all our relationships we cannot avoid either respecting or disrespecting other people's rights.
In international systems
Children's and adults' provision, protection and participation rights slowly emerged through centuries of oppressed people protesting and fighting for justice. Over the past 400 years, rights have been carefully coded by philosophers and lawyers into powerful statements that today's governments, courts and public services endorse. Gradually, the 'rights of elite men' were extended to all other adults and to children.

The United Nations enshrined these rights in a series of conventions, such as the UNCRC. They asked every government to ratify the UNCRC (they all did except the USA), which means that they promise to implement all the rights and report to the United Nations regularly on their progress in doing so.

Rights, therefore, really exist as powerful statements in agreed policies and laws and international treaties (like the UNCRC). The repeated wording through the UNCRC - 'States parties shall assure...' - makes each Article a promise that state parties, the governments, undertake to keep. So, rights also exist in their lasting influence and the effects they have on the lives of children and adults.

SOLVING PROBLEMS AND PROMOTING RIGHTS
Despite the careful coding of rights over centuries, rights are still too often ignored and violated, as the suffering of children around the world shows.

Sometimes, there is also the problem of deciding which right should take priority over others, as in Charlie Gard's case. Four UNCRC Articles set useful guiding principles:

Article 2: Non-discrimination and equal respect for all children.

Article 3: 'The best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.'

Article 6: The right to life and 'to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child'.

Article 12: Respect for the views of the child. Ultimately, we need to remember that the more rights seem absent, the more important and urgent they become. The right to nutritious food matters little to wealthy, well-fed children but greatly to malnourished and starving children.

The precious rights of young children and of the adults who care for and work with them are promoted when all the adults concerned:

read the original UNCRC

check false criticisms against the UNCRC

base planning, policies and practice on the UNCRC when providing services, inspections, and training and support for staff

know how to help families to appeal if their rights are denied.

Then rights can help to work as the keys to open the door to the sunlit garden of peace, freedom and justice for everyone to enjoy equally.

REFERENCES
1 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx

2 'Parents of Charlie Gard agree he will spend final hours of life in hospice', www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/26/charlie-gard-can-be-cared-for-in-hospice-his-parents-tell-court

3 Woodhead M (1997) 'Psychology and the cultural construction of children's needs', in James A and Prout A (eds)Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood. Routledge

4 Bloom P (2014) Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil. Broadway Books

5 Newborn baby development study, http://theconversation.com/newborn-baby-development-has-been-vastly-underestimated-our-study-shows-81972
Priscilla Alderson is Professor Emerita of childhood studies at University College London. Her books includeYoung Children's Rights (2008, Save the Children/JKP). Childhoods Real and Imagined (2013, Routledge) is about new ways of understanding babies and children, andThe Politics of Childhoods Real and Imagined (2016, Routledge) is about major global problems facing children and young people, and how they might work with adults to change the world. Download the PDF

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
EYFS Best Practice: All about... children's rights

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What children's rights are legally, and how they should be promoted. By Professor Priscilla Alderson Alan, aged five, enjoys going to school, where he is pleased to be starting to read, he sees his friends, the building is warm, and he has free school meals.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Scotland's Permanent Secretary on leadership

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Jean Lave, Etiene Wenger and communities of practice. The idea that learning involves a deepening process of participation in a community of practice has gained significant ground in recent years. Communities of practice have also become an important focus within organizational development and have considerable value when thinking about working with groups. In this article we outline the theory and practice of such communities, and examine some of issues and questions for informal educators and those concerned with lifelong learning.

contents: introduction · communities of practice · legitimate peripheral participation and situated learning · learning organizations and learning communities · conclusion · references · links · how to cite this article

Many of the ways we have of talking about learning and education are based on the assumption that learning is something that individuals do. Furthermore, we often assume that learning 'has a beginning and an end; that it is best separated from the rest of our activities; and that it is the result of teaching' (Wenger 1998: 3). But how would things look if we took a different track? Supposing learning is social and comes largely from of our experience of participating in daily life? It was this thought that formed the basis of a significant rethinking of learning theory in the late 1980s and early 1990s by two researchers from very different disciplines - Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger. Their model of situated learning proposed that learning involved a process of engagement in a 'community of practice'.

Jean Lave was (and is) a social anthropologist with a strong interest in social theory, based at the University of California, Berkeley. Much of her work has focused on on the 're-conceiving' of learning, learners, and educational institutions in terms of social practice. When looking closely at everyday activity, she has argued, it is clear that 'learning is ubiquitous in ongoing activity, though often unrecognized as such' (Lave 1993: 5).

Etienne Wenger was a teacher who joined the Institute for Research on Learning, Palo Alto having gained a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence from the University of California at Irvine. (He is now an independent consultant specializing in developing communities of practice within organizations). Their path-breaking analysis, first published in Situated Learning: Legitimate peripheral participation (1991) and later augmented in works by Jean Lave (1993) and Etienne Wenger (1999; 2002) set the scene for some significant innovations in practice within organizations and more recently within some schools (see Rogoff et al 2001).

Communities of practice

The basic argument made by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger is that communities of practice are everywhere and that we are generally involved in a number of them - whether that is at work, school, home, or in our civic and leisure interests. Etienne Wenger was later to write:

Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavour: a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a clique of pupils defining their identity in the school, a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope. In a nutshell: Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. (Wenger circa 2007)

In some groups we are core members, in others we are more at the margins.

Being alive as human beings means that we are constantly engaged in the pursuit of enterprises of all kinds, from ensuring our physical survival to seeking the most lofty pleasures. As we define these enterprises and engage in their pursuit together, we interact with each other and with the world and we tune our relations with each other and with the world accordingly. In other words we learn.

Over time, this collective learning results in practices that reflect both the pursuit of our enterprises and the attendant social relations. These practices are thus the property of a kind of community created over time by the sustained pursuit of a shared enterprise. It makes sense, therefore to call these kinds of communities communities of practice. (Wenger 1998: 45)

The characteristics of such communities of practice vary. Some have names, many do not. Some communities of practice are quite formal in organization, others are very fluid and informal. However, members are brought together by joining in common activities and by 'what they have learned through their mutual engagement in these activities' (Wenger 1998). In this respect, a community of practice is different from a community of interest or a geographical community in that it involves a shared practice.

The characteristics of communities of practice

According to Etienne Wenger (c 2007), three elements are crucial in distinguishing a community of practice from other groups and communities:

The domain. A community of practice is is something more than a club of friends or a network of connections between people. 'It has an identity defined by a shared domain of interest. Membership therefore implies a commitment to the domain, and therefore a shared competence that distinguishes members from other people' ( op. cit.).

The community. 'In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They build relationships that enable them to learn from each other' ( op. cit.).

The practice. 'Members of a community of practice are practitioners. They develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems-in short a shared practice. This takes time and sustained interaction' ( op. cit.).

Relationships, identity and shared interests and repertoire

A community of practice involves, thus, much more than the technical knowledge or skill associated with undertaking some task. Members are involved in a set of relationships over time (Lave and Wenger 1991: 98) and communities develop around things that matter to people (Wenger 1998). The fact that they are organizing around some particular area of knowledge and activity gives members a sense of joint enterprise and identity. For a community of practice to function it needs to generate and appropriate a shared repertoire of ideas, commitments and memories. It also needs to develop various resources such as tools, documents, routines, vocabulary and symbols that in some way carry the accumulated knowledge of the community. In other words, it involves practice (see praxis): ways of doing and approaching things that are shared to some significant extent among members.

The interactions involved, and the ability to undertake larger or more complex activities and projects though cooperation, bind people together and help to facilitate relationship and trust (see the discussion of community elsewhere on these pages). Communities of practice can be seen as self-organizing systems and have many of the benefits and characteristics of associational life such as the generation of what Robert Putnam and others have discussed as social capital.

Legitimate peripheral participation and situated learning

Rather than looking to learning as the acquisition of certain forms of knowledge, Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger have tried to place it in social relationships - situations of co-participation. As William F. Hanks puts it in his introduction to their book: 'Rather than asking what kind of cognitive processes and conceptual structures are involved, they ask what kinds of social engagements provide the proper context for learning to take place' (1991: 14). It not so much that learners acquire structures or models to understand the world, but they participate in frameworks that that have structure. Learning involves participation in a community of practice. And that participation 'refers not just to local events of engagement in certain activities with certain people, but to a more encompassing process of being active participants in the practices of social communities and constructing identities in relation to these communities' (Wenger 1999: 4).

Lave and Wenger illustrate their theory by observations of different apprenticeships (Yucatec midwives, Vai and Gola tailors, US Navy quartermasters, meat-cutters, and non-drinking alcoholics in Alcoholics Anonymous). Initially people have to join communities and learn at the periphery. The things they are involved in, the tasks they do may be less key to the community than others.

As they become more competent they become more involved in the main processes of the particular community. They move from legitimate peripheral participation to into 'full participation (Lave and Wenger 1991: 37). Learning is, thus, not seen as the acquisition of knowledge by individuals so much as a process of social participation. The nature of the situation impacts significantly on the process.

Learners inevitably participate in communities of practitioners and... the mastery of knowledge and skill requires newcomers to move toward full participation in the socio-cultural practices of a community. "Legitimate peripheral participation" provides a way to speak about the relations between newcomers and old-timers, and about activities, identities, artefacts, and communities of knowledge and practice. A person's intentions to learn are engaged and the meaning of learning is configured through the process of becoming a full participant in a socio-cultural practice. This social process, includes, indeed it subsumes, the learning of knowledgeable skills. (Lave and Wenger 1991: 29)

In this there is a concern with identity, with learning to speak, act and improvise in ways that make sense in the community. What is more, and in contrast with learning as internalization, 'learning as increasing participation in communities of practice concerns the whole person acting in the world' (Lave and Wenger 1991: 49). The focus is on the ways in which learning is 'an evolving, continuously renewed set of relations' (ibid.: 50). In other words, this is a relational view of the person and learning (see the discussion of selfhood).

Situated learning

This way of approaching learning is something more than simply 'learning by doing' or experiential learning. As Mark Tennant (1997: 73) has pointed out, Jean Lave's and Etienne Wenger's concept of situatedness involves people being full participants in the world and in generating meaning. 'For newcomers', Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger (1991: 108-9) comment, 'the purpose is not to learn from talk as a substitute for legitimate peripheral participation; it is to learn to talk as a key to legitimate peripheral participation'. This orientation has the definite advantage of drawing attention to the need to understand knowledge and learning in context. However, situated learning depends on two claims:

It makes no sense to talk of knowledge that is decontextualized, abstract or general.

New knowledge and learning are properly conceived as being located in communities of practice (Tennant 1997: 77).

Questions can be raised about both of these claims. It may be, with regard to the first claim, for example, that learning can occur that is seemingly unrelated to a particular context or life situation.

Second, there may situations where the community of practice is weak or exhibits power relationships that seriously inhibit entry and participation. There is a risk, as Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger acknowledge, of romanticizing communities of practice. However, there has been a tendency in their earlier work of falling into this trap. 'In their eagerness to debunk testing, formal education and formal accreditation, they do not analyse how their omission [of a range of questions and issues] affects power relations, access, public knowledge and public accountability' (Tennant 1997: 79). Their interest in the forms of learning involved communities of practice shares some common element with Ivan Illich's advocacy of learning webs and informal education. However, where Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger approached the area through an exploration of local encounters and examples, Ivan Illich started with a macro-analysis of the debilitating effects of institutions such as schooling. In both cases the sweep of their arguments led to an under-appreciation of the uses of more formal structures and institutions for learning. However, this was understandable given the scale of the issues and problems around learning within professionalized and bureaucratic institutions such as schools their respective analyses revealed.

Learning organizations and learning communities

These ideas have been picked-up most strongly within organizational development circles. The use of the apprenticeship model made for a strong set of connections with important traditions of thinking about training and development within organizations. Perhaps more significantly, the growing interest in ' the learning organization ' in the 1990s alerted many of those concerned with organizational development to the significance of informal networks and groupings. Jean Lave's and Etienne Wenger's work around communities of practice offered a useful addition. It allowed proponents to argue that communities of practice needed to be recognized as valuable assets. The model gave those concerned with organizational development a way of thinking about how benefits could accrue to the organization itself, and how value did not necessarily lie primarily with the individual members of a community of practice.

Acknowledging that communities of practice affect performance is important in part because of their potential to overcome the inherent problems of a slow-moving traditional hierarchy in a fast-moving virtual economy. Communities also appear to be an effective way for organizations to handle unstructured problems and to share knowledge outside of the traditional structural boundaries. In addition, the community concept is acknowledged to be a means of developing and maintaining long-term organizational memory. These outcomes are an important, yet often unrecognized, supplement to the value that individual members of a community obtain in the form of enriched learning and higher motivation to apply what they learn. (Lesser and Storck 2001)

Lesser and Storck go on to argue that the social capital resident in communities of practice leads to behavioural change-'change that results in greater knowledge sharing, which in turn positively influences business performance'. Attention to communities of practice could, thus enhance organizational effectiveness and profitability.

For obvious reasons, formal education institutions have been less ready to embrace these ideas. There was a very real sense in which the direction of the analysis undermined their reason for being and many of their practices. However, there have been some significant explorations of how schooling, for example, might accommodate some of the key themes and ideas in Jean Lave's and Etienne Wenger's analysis. In particular, there was significant mileage in exploring how communities of practice emerge within schooling, the process involved and how they might be enhanced. Furthermore, there was also significant possibility in a fuller appreciation of what constitutes practice (as earlier writers such Carr and Kemmis 1986, and Grundy 1987 had already highlighted: see curriculum and praxis). Perhaps the most helpful of these explorations is that of Barbara Rogoff and her colleagues (2001). They examine the work of an innovative school in Salt Lake City and how teachers, students and parents were able to work together to develop an approach to schooling based around the principle that learning 'occurs through interested participation with other learners'.

Conclusion - issues and implications for educators and animateurs

Jean Lave's and Etienne Wenger's concern here with learning through participation in group/collective life and engagement with the 'daily round' makes their work of particular interest to informal educators and those concerned with working with groups. These are themes that have part of the informal education tradition for many years - but the way in which Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger have developed an understanding of the nature of learning within communities of practice, and how knowledge is generated allows educators to think a little differently about the groups, networks and associations with which they are involved. It is worth looking more closely at the processes they have highlighted.

The notion of community of practice and the broader conceptualization of situated learning provides significant pointers for practice. Here I want to highlight three:

Learning is in the relationships between people. As McDermott (in Murphy 1999:17) puts it:

Learning traditionally gets measured as on the assumption that it is a possession of individuals that can be found inside their heads... [Here] learning is in the relationships between people. Learning is in the conditions that bring people together and organize a point of contact that allows for particular pieces of information to take on a relevance; without the points of contact, without the system of relevancies, there is not learning, and there is little memory. Learning does not belong to individual persons, but to the various conversations of which they are a part.

Within systems oriented to individual accreditation, and that have lost any significant focus on relationship through pressures on them to meet centrally-determined targets, this approach to learning is challenging and profoundly problematic. It highlights just how far the frameworks for schooling, lifelong learning and youth work in states like Britain and Northern Ireland have drifted away from a proper appreciation of what constitutes learning (or indeed society). Educators have a major educational task with policymakers as well as participants in their programmes and activities.

Educators work so that people can become participants in communities of practice. Educators need to explore with people in communities how all may participate to the full. One of the implications for schools, as Barbara Rogoff and her colleagues suggest is that they must prioritize 'instruction that builds on children's interests in a collaborative way'. Such schools need also to be places where 'learning activities are planned by children as well as adults, and where parents and teachers not only foster children's learning but also learn from their own involvement with children' (2001: 3). Their example in this area have particular force as they are derived from actual school practice.

A further, key, element is the need to extend associational life within schools and other institutions. Here there is a strong link here with long-standing concerns among informal educators around community and participation and for the significance of the group (for schooling see the discussion of informal education and schooling; for youth work see young people and association; and for communities see community participation).

There is an intimate connection between knowledge and activity. Learning is part of daily living as Eduard Lindeman argued many years ago. Problem solving and learning from experience are central processes (although, as we have seen, situated learning is not the same as 'learning by doing' - see Tennant 1997: 73). Educators need to reflect on their understanding of what constitutes knowledge and practice. Perhaps one of the most important things to grasp here is the extent to which education involves informed and committed action.

These are fascinating areas for exploration and, to some significant extent, take informal educators in a completely different direction to the dominant pressure towards accreditation and formalization.

Further reading

Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger (1991) Situated Learning. Legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press. 138 pages. Pathbreaking book that first developed the idea that learning 'is a process of participation in communities of practice, participation that is at first legitimately peripheral but that increases gradually in engagement and complexity'.

Rogoff, B., Turkanis, C. G. and Bartlett, L. (eds.) (2001) Learning Together: Children and Adults in a School Community, New York: Oxford University Press. 250 + x pages. Arising out of the collaboration of Barbara Rogoff (who had worked with Jean Lave) with two teachers at an innovative school in Salt Lake City, this book explores how they were able to develop an approach to schooling based around the principle that learning 'occurs through interested participation with other learners'.

Etienne Wenger (1999) Communities of Practice. Learning, meaning and identity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 318 + xv pages. Extended discussion of the concept of community of practice and how it might be approached within organizational development and education.

References

Allee, V. (2000) 'Knowledge networks and communities of learning', OD Practitioner 32( 4), http://www.odnetwork.org/odponline/vol32n4/knowledgenets.html. Accessed December 30, 2002.

Bandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Carr, W. and Kemmis, S. (1986) Becoming Critical. Education, knowledge and action research, Lewes: Falmer.

Gardner, H. (1993) Intelligence Reframed. Multiple intelligences for the 21st century, New York: Basic Books.

Grundy, S. (1987) Curriculum: Product or praxis, Lewes: Falmer.

Lave, J. (1982). A comparative approach to educational forms and learning processes. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 13(2): 181-187

Lave, Jean (1988). Cognition in practice: mind, mathematics and culture in everyday life. New York: Cambridge University Press

Lave, Jean 'Teaching, as learning, in practice', Mind, Culture, and Activity (3)3: 149-164

Lave, Jean (forthcoming) Changing Practice: The Politics of Learning and Everyday Life

Lave, Jean and Chaiklin, Seth (eds.) (1993) Understanding Practice: Perspectives on Activity and Context, Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press.

Lesser, E. L. and Storck, J. (2001) 'Communities of practice and organizational performance', IBM Systems Journal 40(4), http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/sj/404/lesser.html. Accessed December 30, 2002.

Merriam, S. and Caffarella (1991, 1998) Learning in Adulthood. A comprehensive guide, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Murphy, P. (ed.) (1999) Learners, Learning and Assessment, London: Paul Chapman. See, also, Leach, J. and Moon, B. (eds.) (1999) Learners and Pedagogy, London: Paul Chapman. 280 + viii pages; and McCormick, R. and Paetcher, C. (eds.) (1999) Learning and Knowledge, London: Paul Chapman. 254 + xiv pages.

Ramsden, P. (1992) Learning to Teach in Higher Education, London: Routledge.

Rogoff, Barbara and Lave, Jean (eds.) (1984) Everyday Cognition: Its Development in Social Context. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Salomon, G. (ed.) (1993) Distributed Cognitions. Psychological and educational considerations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Smith, M. K. (1999) 'The social/situational orientation to learning', The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/learning-social.htm.

Tennant, M. (1988, 1997) Psychology and Adult Learning, London: Routledge.

Tennant, M. and Pogson, P. (1995) Learning and Change in the Adult Years. A developmental perspective, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Wenger, Etienne (1998) 'Communities of Practice. Learning as a social system', Systems Thinker, http://www.co-i-l.com/coil/knowledge-garden/cop/lss.shtml. Accessed December 30, 2002.

Wenger, Etienne (c 2007) 'Communities of practice. A brief introduction'. Communities of practice [ http://www.ewenger.com/theory/. Accessed January 14, 2009].

Wenger, Etienne and Richard McDermott, and William Snyder (2002) Cultivating communities of practice: a guide to managing knowledge. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.

Links

Etienne Wenger's homepage: has some material on communities of practice.

Communities of Practice discussion group: maintained by John Smith at Yahoo.

Acknowledgements: The picture 'Community of practice' is taken from sonson's photosream at Flickr [ http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonson/422595428/] and reproduced under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic Licence.

How to cite this article: Smith, M. K. (2003, 2009). 'Jean Lave, Etienne Wenger and communities of practice', The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education. [ https://infed.org/mobi/jean-lave-etienne-wenger-and-communities-of-practice/. Retrieved: insert date].

© Mark K. Smith 2003, 2009

Last Updated on April 8, 2021 by infed.org

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Jean Lave, Etienne Wenger and communities of practice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
contents: introduction · communities of practice · legitimate peripheral participation and situated learning · learning organizations and learning communities · conclusion · references · links · how to cite this article Many of the ways we have of talking about learning and education are based on the assumption that learning is something that individuals do.

# data[].attributes.headline
John Kotter - leadership and management 

# data[].attributes.subject
John Kotter - leadership and management 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Perils of Confusing Management and Leadership

# data[].attributes.headline
Simon Sinek - leadership and management 

# data[].attributes.subject
Simon Sinek - leadership and management 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One of Donald Schon's greatest contributions to professional education was to stress the role of reflection within the learning process (Schon 1983). Examining professional practice, Schon identified two types of reflection: reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action.

Reflection- in-action, sometimes described as 'thinking on our feet', is the process that allows professionals to reshape the situation or activity on which they are working while it is unfolding. It is generally associated with the experience of surprise: Schon suggests that, by "reflecting-in-action", professionals reflect on unexpected experiences and conduct 'experiments' which serve to generate both a new understanding of the experience and a change in the situation.

Reflection- on-action involves reflecting on an experience, situation or phenomenon after it has occurred. When professionals "reflect-on-action" they explore what happened in that particular situation, why they acted as they did, whether they could have acted differently, and so on. Reflection-on-action is often associated with reflective writing in which professionals reflect on their experiences and examine alternative ways to improve their practice.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Sheila Slesser, Pedro Morago, Linda Bruce and Malcolm Macmillan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Introduces learners to some of the principles and processes involved in becoming a reflective practitioner.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LibGuides: Reflective Practice Toolkit: Models of reflection

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
LibGuides: Reflective Practice Toolkit: Models of reflection

# data[].attributes.headline
Christine Stephen - Pedagogy:  the silent partner in early years learning 

# data[].attributes.subject
Christine Stephen - Pedagogy:  the silent partner in early years learning 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Pedagogical Leadership in Early Learning and Childcare - Pedagogy at the heart of the curriculum

# data[].attributes.headline
the continuous learning framework (SSSC, 2014)

# data[].attributes.subject
the continuous learning framework (SSSC, 2014)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Accessibility

You are here: Home > Frontline Workers > Motivating & Inspiring

Motivating & Inspiring

Through your day-to-day practice you can motivate and inspire other people in many ways. For example:

Setting ambitious goals, and expecting the best of yourself and others

Modelling positive leadership behaviours that inspire confidence in others

Being responsible for a particular area of work, and bringing others with you

Reflecting on your own strengths and weaknesses, and supporting others to do the same

Valuing and respecting the contributions of others.

Motivating & Inspiring Resources

Examples from Practice

What Others Say

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

John Quincy Adams, cited on www.leadershipnow.com/motivationquotes.html

designed by Aurion Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Accessibility You are here: Home > Frontline Workers > Motivating & Inspiring Through your day-to-day practice you can motivate and inspire other people in many ways.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Summary

This Outline explores distributed approaches to leadership in the context of childcare and early years settings. It provides some background to Scottish policy priorities and principles of leadership and distributed approaches. It provides a brief overview of potential benefits to distributed leadership approaches for different stakeholders, contextualising the increasing interest in the approach within the childcare and early years sector. It identifies the main bodies influencing the distributed leadership approach in early years and childcare provision in Scotland, outlining their frameworks for leadership at all levels, including the themes and identifiers they use. Examples from practice are provided, illustrating what the leadership themes look like at all levels within an early years and childcare setting. Some training and development resources are identified, many of which are free to access. Some recommendations for further reading around the background and theoretical foundations of distributed leadership are provided.

Introduction

This Outline seeks to address the following question relating to approaches to self directed support: How is leadership relevant to people working at different levels in childcare organisations?

It explores examples of frameworks of leadership at all levels, and identifies examples of leadership at all levels specifically within a childcare context. The purpose of this enquiry was to feed into the development of induction and professional development resources for an early learning and childcare organisation in Scotland, to help employees within the organisation to develop an understanding of how leadership is relevant and applicable to their roles and to participate in service development and provision. Final resources may be shared in the future by the organisation to support workforce development across the sector.

The information need for this enquiry was understood as being within the area of distributed leadership/leadership at all levels/situational approaches to leadership within the fields of education/early years/childcare.

The aim of this Outline is to provide information about what leadership qualities may be relevant to early years and childcare practitioners, identify examples of what these may look like in practice, and highlight training and development resources that may support practitioners. This information and evidence is intended to be restructured by the original enquirer within their own conceptual framework that best suits their own contextual needs.

About the evidence presented below

Although we identified some evidence around distributed leadership in relevant fields, leadership research in early childhood education and care "is a relatively new undertaking" (Hujala et al. 2016) and there is therefore currently not a large body of evidence in this area. Empirical research on distributed leadership in general is "relatively young and narrow in scope" (Heike et al. 2012) and there is therefore a gap in understanding about the effectiveness of the approach within education.

The body of evidence around distributed leadership tends to focus on one of two aspects - conceptualisation and application (Tian et al. 2015). This Outline focuses most heavily on examples of the application of distributed leadership in relevant contexts, to meet the specific information need of the enquirer. However, there is currently a shortage of case studies and other forms of knowledge sharing around distributed leadership in childcare and early years settings, which highlights a need for more activity in this area to support the sharing of good practice.

Accessing resources

We have provided links to the materials referenced in the summary. Some of these materials are published in academic journals and are only available with a subscription through the The Knowledge Network with a NHSScotland OpenAthens username. The Knowledge Network offers accounts to everyone who helps provide health and social care in Scotland in conjunction with the NHS and Scottish Local Authorities, including many in the third and independent sectors. You can register here.

Background

Distributed leadership is "a deliberate process of sharing leadership behaviour, so that team members other than the head or manager take an active lead" (Lindon and Lindon 2012, p.119). Leadership is defined as any "activities tied to the core work of the organization that are designed by organizational members to influence the motivation, knowledge, affect, or practices of other organizational members" (Spillane 2006, p.11) In this approach, leadership is done by anyone engaging in these activities, rather than being defined by role or position.

There is some overlap between the theoretical approach to analysing organisational structures of distributed leadership and practice-led approaches to distributed leadership. Harris and Spillane's 2008 paper provides useful background to the debate in this area.

Scottish context

The Scottish Government's 2014 Building the Ambition (PDF) report sets out national ambitions for leadership in the early years context, stating: "Those in leadership roles in early years establishments need to create a culture which values staff and supports practitioners in improving their skills and Knowledge" (p.49).

The principles of distributed leadership are being applied within parts of the social services sector in Scotland. The Changing Lives: report of the 21st century social work review (PDF) (Scottish Executive 2006) stressed the need for clear leadership and effective management at all levels within the workforce (Iriss 2012). It emphasises:

Leaders aren't all at the top. People at all levels should be given opportunities to lead. Leadership is about doing the right thing. A good leader sticks to their values and isn't knocked off course...Leaders need not necessarily be managers but all managers should be good leaders. (Scottish Executive 2006)

In 2016 Education Scotland published How good is our early learning and childcare? (PDF) which provides national guidance against which practitioners and others can work together to reflect and evaluate their collective impact on improving outcomes for children in their local community. A central aspect of this is leadership.

Additionally, in 2016, the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) commissioned research to identify what good leadership looks like in Scotland's social services (George et al. 2016). The report the explores the risks that can undermine effective leadership and the factors that can enable it.

Principles of leadership

What leadership looks like at different levels within an organisation can be extremely varied, but is based on overarching principles and capabilities. The Changing Lives Service User and Carer Panel (Scottish Executive 2006) identified the qualities of effective leadership as being:

Dedication - this is not just a job but an important job that can make a real difference, positive or negative, to people's lives

Values - of fairness, equity and inclusion, providing person-centred services and never forgetting why they are there

Integrity - the ability to keep to their values even under challenge

Charisma - the ability to motivate others to treat people as they would like to be treated themselves

Bravery - being prepared to challenge bad practice wherever it may be

Motivation - the ability to encourage others to do the right thing and not just accept the inadequate

Credibility - with a firm base of knowledge and experience

HM Inspectorate for Education (2007) provide examples of what distributed leadership looks like in education (PDF):

Sector managers in colleges, working in partnerships with local enterprise

Companies to develop skills courses for local workers;

College senior managers leading college consortia and tracking learners' progress from HNC awards to degree-level provision;

CLD staff leading multi-agency partnerships as part of community planning and regeneration;

Youth workers heading up specific projects as part of youth work team;

Nursery teachers leading Assessment is for Learning (AifL) 13 projects for the early years

Secondary language specialists leading modern languages in primary schools

Chartered teachers working as tutors to newly qualified teachers

Primary principal teachers working across primary and secondary sectors and developing shared approaches to learning and teaching

Impact of distributed leadership on children and families, staff and organisations

In the context of early years and childcare settings, distributed leadership may be applied to all levels of staff, including Support Workers, Child Development Officers, Learning Centre Development Officers, Managers, Heads of Early Years and others working within the organisation. Leadership in early years settings, schools and children's centres has been recognised as significant in raising standards and increasing the quality of educational, health and social outcomes for children (Siraj-Blatchford and Hallet 2014). From an early education perspective, the concept of a traditional leader functioning within a hierarchical system and working in solidarity is simply not thought to be effective as a means of pedagogical leadership (Heikka and Waniganayake 2011 in Beaudin 2017).

Benefits for children

In an educational context, studies suggest that student outcomes have been improved as a result of the positive effect of distributed leadership on staff motivation and performance (Leithwood et al. in Hughes et al. 2014, p.12). OECD (2015, p.70) identify leadership skills as an important skill for facilitating high quality services and outcomes for children.

In terms of specific aspects of leadership, Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) argue that the leadership demonstrated through self-evaluation enables practitioners to make links between practice and what is known about child development and learning. Reflection and self-evaluation help improve practice and enhance the quality of childcare provision, as well as supporting the creation of a positive ethos that helps ensure planning is responsive and child-focused.

Benefits for staff

Setting staff identified strong leadership as a factor in staff retention. Managers with passion and energy were inspirational and good managers were viewed as those that were able to recognise the strengths of their staff and utilise these effectively.

A shared purpose and vision was also important for staff retention. Staff described having a common purpose in providing high quality early education for the children in their care and a clear understanding of how they were aiming to achieve this:

So we all know what we're doing. We all know what our roles are and [the setting manager is] very good at feeding back other things from what's happening in the rest of the school.. So I think that helps with good provision...Because we all know where we're going. We're all sort of like singing from the same song book as it were. (Callanan 2017)

Benefits for organisations

Members throughout the organisation are able to take responsibility for some areas developing best practice (Lindon and Lindon 2012, p.119).

Staff bring their own qualities, values and principles to the early years setting and it is important to recognise the impact that these attributes have on children. Effective leaders promote distributed leadership at all levels, where staff and children are empowered and able to take lead roles within and beyond the setting where appropriate. Establishing a clear vision, identifying shared aims, and capitalising on individual strengths, impact positively on young children, staff and parents. Where leadership is distributed, all staff can be leaders, supporting, promoting and improving evidence-based practice. (Learning and Teaching Scotland 2010)

A three-year study of distributed leadership in a school district in Canada with over 180 schools, 8,800 teachers and 400 school administrators found that more coordinated forms of leadership distribution make more productive contributions to organizational outcomes (Mascall 2008).

Benefits for wider sector

Distributed leadership has been identified as a way of creating the conditions for systems leadership across the childcare and early years sector, which is a way of improving practice on a large scale. Hughes et al. (2014, p.2) state:
Before leaders can step outside their organisation to support other organisations or wider sector objectives, they must be confident that their own projects will not suffer through their absence. Creating capacity within an organisation can be necessary, with sufficient staff to cover the core leadership functions of the organisation itself, as well as systems leadership functions.
Leadership capabilities

We identified three key bodies developing conceptual frameworks around distributed leadership in Scotland relevant to the early years and childcare context: Scottish College for Educational Leadership, Education Scotland and the Scottish Social Services Council.

Scottish College for Educational Leadership (SCEL)

Examples from the Scottish College for Educational Leadership around what leadership at different levels in the schools context looks like may provide an applicable starting point for the early years and childcare context. This addresses the tensions around whether leadership is for all or for people in management positions (for more context see McCartney and Forbes 2015):

Teachers demonstrate leadership through their passion for caring for all children and young people. Through informed and innovative practice, close scrutiny of pupils' learning needs and high expectations they play a fundamental role in improving outcomes for children and young people. Teachers develop leadership through effective communication and collaboration with colleagues. Teachers as leaders demonstrate integrity, have a positive impact on their school community and model career-long professional learning.

Middle leaders are key drivers in ensuring positive outcomes for all learners. Through working collaboratively with school leaders, members of their teams and partners, they devise and contribute to the school's vision and values, ensuring that the strategic direction of the school is communicated effectively with all stakeholders.

As lead learners, school leaders ensure that a strong and consistent focus is placed on learning and teaching in their schools. They have, and outline, clear and high expectations regarding the standard of learning and teaching which they expect to see throughout their school and drive improvements in attainment and achievement. They are adept in motivating teachers to meet these standards and work closely with middle leaders to provide effective on-going support and challenge for teachers to ensure excellence in learning and teaching.

School leaders drive and promote a culture of self-evaluation, using evidence-based practice to bring about improvement. It's important that, working with senior colleagues, school leaders have effective systems in place to evaluate the impact of learning and teaching on learner progress and engage in constructive dialogue with teachers to inform on-going school improvement. School leaders ensure that curricula best meet the needs of all children and young people, offering opportunities for the development of skills for learning, work and life and using a range of inspiring pedagogy and well-judged innovation.

System leaders lead in their own organisations and are able to share their expertise and work jointly with leaders from other areas of the system in order to drive improvement and successful outcomes.

Education Scotland

In 2016 Education Scotland published How good is our early learning and childcare? (PDF) which provides national guidance against which practitioners and others can work together to reflect and evaluate their collective impact on improving outcomes for children in their local community. A central aspect of this is leadership. The quality indicators and themes identified were:
Self-evaluation for self-improvement Leadership of learning Leadership of change Leadership and management of practitioners Management of resources to promote equity

Management of finance for learning

Management of resources and environment for learning

The report provides features of highly effective practice for each of these themes (pp.11-21), which may be built into the induction and professional development resources for organisations.

Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)

The 2016 SSSC Enabling Leadership report (George et al. 2016) outlines the knowledge, skills and attributes identified as supporting the development of leadership. Specific examples of what good leaders do are provided (pp.17-20) including sustaining motivation, showing passion, being generous in the recognition of others, building trust, speaking truth to power, making difficult decisions, being accountable, managing relationships, using mistakes made as learning experiences, and actively reflecting on performance.

The SSSC has produced a set of Leadership Capabilities Indicators for Frontline Workers which may have cross-sectoral applicability. Each capability is described across three stages of progression: emerging, established and accomplished. The leadership capabilities indicators are: vision - seeing what is possible for individuals, families and communities now and in the future; self-leadership - recognising, exercising and improving own leadership; creativity and innovation; empowering people - enabling others to develop and use their leadership capacity; collaborating and influencing; and motivating and inspiring others.

Demonstrating leadership

Using the indicators from the framework from SSSC's Enabling Leadership (2016) and Education Scotland's HGIOELC (PDF) (2016)as the main themes, below we outline examples of ways these indicators can be demonstrated at the different levels. We have identified examples relevant to how these may be demonstrated in a childcare context.

Vision

Having vision is described in the National College for School Leadership (Sharp et al. 2012) report on highly effective leadership as a set of knowledge, skills and attributes "related to the core purpose of children's centres and communicated to all who come into contact with the centre". Specific examples of these are provided:
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Examples of this within the research literature around leadership includes the idea of a "shared vision guiding action across an organisation":

It's often the very top where the CEO will say, 'Well this is what our goal is for this year.' Then the director of each department will say, 'Well, what is it our department has to do to contribute to that goal?' ...So it trickled down from level to level and every single person within the organisation knows exactly how their individual contribution fits into the very top objective. (Hughes et al. 2014, p.15)

The SSSC has identified several indicators relating to demonstrating vision at different levels:

Table adapted from leadership capabilities indicators for frontline workers (PDF) (SSSC no date)

Self-leadership

This overlaps with Education Scotland's theme 'self-evaluation for self-improvement'. Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) emphasise that continuous reflection is important for staff, to ensure that they consider what they are doing, why they are doing it, and ensure that it is evidence informed and up-to-date. They provide examples of what forms this can take:

Discussion forums

Visiting other early years settings

Keeping up to date with relevant research

Attending online, virtual or other conference events

Undertaking a course of study at university, college or in the workplace.

Online forums

Collaborating through Glow, Scotland's national intranet for education

NCSL (Sharp et al. 2012) identify actively seeking out opportunities to further learning, including learning from others, as core to self-leadership. Specific examples of self-leadership capacities are provided:
Knowledge Skills Attributes
The SSSC has identified several indicators relating to demonstrating self-leadership at different levels:

Table adapted from leadership capabilities indicators for frontline workers (PDF) (SSSC no date)

The Education Scotland National Improvement Hub has a set of resources around self-evaluation and improvement.

Creativity and innovation

The SSSC has identified several indicators relating to demonstrating creativity at different levels:

Table adapted from leadership capabilities indicators for frontline workers (PDF) (SSSC no date)

Education Scotland has produced a video about the need for staff and children to be able to think creatively. The video is for practitioners who want explore and understand educational thinking around Creativity.

Empowering people

The SSSC Continuous Learning Framework conceptualises empowering people as "working in partnership with individuals, families and communities to enable them to lead their own lives".

One aspect of empowerment is staff feeling empowered within organisations. Hughes et al. (2014, p.33) identify collaboration as requiring working through tension:

Leaders need to create enough trust that encourages people to speak truth to power. Essentially people need to know that you're not going to get fired or pressured for speaking out.

The SSSC has identified several indicators relating to demonstrating empowering people at different levels:

Table adapted from leadership capabilities indicators for frontline workers (PDF) (SSSC no date)

Collaborating and influencing

Halttunen (2016) describes collaborative responsibility as a way staff in a day care unit took leadership. They "tried to sort things out by themselves before contacting the director" (p.10) and ensured that the centre director was informed about the decisions that had been independently made by the staff. For example:

During a staff meeting the representative from a remote unit asked for help to arrange their team meetings. It seemed to be very easy to make the arrangement for the next meeting but immediately after the arrangement had been made, some of the staff members started to quietly discuss how they could make a permanent arrangement. The director as a chair of the meeting was not involved in this part of the discussion.

The SSSC has identified several indicators relating to demonstrating collaboration and influencing at different levels:

Table adapted from leadership capabilities indicators for frontline workers (PDF) (SSSC no date)

Motivating and inspiring others

NCSL (Sharp et al. 2012) identify collaboration and continuous learning as central to motivating others. Specific examples of these capacities are provided:
Knowledge Skills Attributes

Values staff and recognises their capabilities and capacities

Shows belief in staff

Is committed to learning and development of others

Is able to create and sustain commitment across the whole setting

Grants staff freedom, but with effective supervision and support

The SSSC has identified several indicators relating to demonstrating motivating others at different levels:

Table adapted from leadership capabilities indicators for frontline workers (PDF) (SSSC no date)

The How good is our early learning and childcare? (PDF) (2016) Leadership and management quality indicators not covered by the SSSC categories are:

Leadership of learning

Pedagogy is "about the interactions and experiences which support the curriculum and the process of how young children learn" (Scottish Government 2014). Pedagogical leadership is conceptualised by Education Scotland (2017) as including:

Monitoring quality of provision

Passion

Delegation

Professional values

Excellent knowledge of how young children and infants develop and learn

Reviewing staff forward plans

Sharing good practice

Management of the setting

Control of budgets

Skills, knowledge and attributes identified by Education Scotland (2017) relating to good leadership of learning include:

Empowering staff

Shared vision

Relationships at all levels

Creativity and innovation

Linking research and practice

Effective communication and consultation

High quality teaching and learning

Self-evaluation and monitoring

Positive role models

In terms of the relationship between evidence and practice, they suggest pedagogical leaders:

Actions of a pedagogical leader include:

An example of pedagogical leadership is provided in the NCTL Report Freedom to Lead (PDF) (Matthews et al. 2014), which includes a section on examples of leadership at all levels (pp.29-35). A change in culture and practice within schools through observation and monitoring alongside building up the capacity of staff was identified as supporting teachers to take initiative and innovate. This practice is identified as equipping subject leaders to take responsibility for their subjects.

HMIE (2007) provide examples of what leadership of learning at all levels looks like:

Staff at different levels can and do make an impact on the learning, motivation and achievement of children and young people. Leadership for learning is provided by a range of staff, including, for example:

Leadership of change

Leadership of change relates to developing a shared vision, values and aims for the organisation, strategic planning and implementing change.

The NCTL's Freedom to Lead (PDF) report (Matthews et al. 2014) suggests that identifying the right staff to lead change is a key strategy for sustaining excellence:

A core of three or four staff were identified to act as beacons of good practice and leaders of teams. The headteacher was looking for staff "who will not be tired by change, who will be engaged and interested in learning; I want people who are intellectually hungry. We want staff here who will love it and share the challenge." (p.44)

Education Scotland (2016) identify leadership of change as involving developing a shared vision, values and aims relevant to the ELC setting and its community, strategic planning for continuous improvement and implementing improvement and change. They say:
This indicator focuses on working together at all levels to develop a shared vision for change and improvement which reflects the context of the setting within in its community. Planning for continuous improvement change should be evidence-based and clearly linked to strong self-evaluation. Senior leaders should ensure that the pace of change is well judged and appropriate to have a positive impact on outcomes for children.
They provide examples of what this looks like in practice, including several previously outlined in this report, including vision, self-leadership, creativity, collaboration and motivating others.

Leadership and management of practitioners

This category from Education Scotland (PDF) (p.18) focuses on the importance of sound governance within the early learning and childcare setting. It therefore lends itself to traditional leadership models, but does include elements where all practitioners may play a role:

Through an effective professional review process, based on coaching and mentoring, practitioners reflect on their professional skills and knowledge and identify areas for improvement

All practitioners willingly engage in a wide range of professional learning activities to improve their practice

We are proactive at tackling any prejudice-based discrimination

Our practitioners are empowered and motivated to make decisions and lead on aspects of improvement

Opportunities to consult, share information and raise concerns are well established and understood by all practitioners

Lines of accountability are clear

All practitioners share information effectively, listen to others and respond positively to ideas and issues raised with them

The document provides examples of highly effective practice and prompt questions for managers to support these practices.

Management of resources to promote equity

Education Scotland (2016) identify management of finance for learning and management of resources and environment for learning as leadership behaviours. Although management of finance may not be a distributed responsibility, in many cases people working directly with children are well-placed to demonstrate leadership through the promotion of equity. The Education Scotland resources on Interventions for Equity may be of relevance. Suffolk Council's Guidance for promoting equalities in early years and childcare (PDF) (no date) and East Lothian Council's (no date) Equality and inclusion guide also provide specific examples of what the promotion of equity looks like in practice and what people in different roles can do to make sure equality policies are upheld.

Common Core (Scottish Government 2012)

Siraj and Kingston (2015) provide a clear outline of the Common Core (Scottish Government 2012):
The Common Core describes the essential skills, knowledge, understandings and values that all people working with children and young people and their families, whether paid or unpaid, should have. The Common Core is relevant to all those working with children, young people and families in health, education, social services, justice, community services, cultural and creative industries, the voluntary and private sectors. The Common Core relates to two contexts: relationships with children, young people and families; and relationships between workers. These contexts are to be met through the implementation of four principles: non-discrimination; best interests of the child; right to life, survival and development; and the obligations to consider children's views and a series of essential characteristics.
The Common Core links to other Scottish policy (e.g.GIRFEC) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). As such, the following common values are promoted:

Promote the wellbeing of individual children and young people

Keep children and young people safe

Put the child at the centre

Take a whole child approach

Build on strengths and promote resilience

Promote opportunities and value diversity

Provide additional help that is appropriate, proportionate and timely

Support informed choice

Work in partnership with families

Respect confidentiality and share information

Promote the same values across all working relationships

Make the most of bringing together each worker's expertise

Co-ordinate help

Build a competent workforce to promote children and young people's wellbeing

These values may form a useful conceptual framework around which to base leadership at all levels in a childcare context.

Evidence from practice

This statement from a practitioner provides some examples of what leadership activities can look like for a childminder.

Shortlees Primary leadership team set up four working parties to explore Literacy, Numeracy, Health and Wellbeing and Assessment is for learning. Each working party was encouraged to explore how educators, learners and parents can be encouraged to, not only take part in, but lead aspects of learning in the school community. A variety of options were explored. One of the most effective was when learners brought their parents into school to show them how they were learning.

A case study of Craigroyston Community High School's innovative approach to the redesign of their whole curriculum through the broad general education (BGE) and senior phase, aimed at meeting the needs and improving the life chances and employability opportunities of all their learners. Although aimed at people working in secondary education, an impact of the work discussed was that the school provides wide opportunities for teachers to exercise leadership, and distributed leadership is now embedded across the staff as a whole, so this may be of relevance.

This practice exemplar showcases how both children and practitioners are being successful leaders of learning at Arnprior Nursery.

This exemplar includes two video case studies:

Children leading learning at Arnprior Nursery

Distributed leadership at Arnprior Nursery

In both examples, nursery staff describe their practice in leading learning.

This case study shares a description of the approach toward developing transformational change in Canal View Primary School. As a school in the Scottish Attainment Challenge, the adoption of a holistic approach to both targeted and universal interventions resulted in a significant rise in attainment. A strong thread through all innovations is distributed leadership and giving staff ownership of innovations.

This report provides some useful contextual information about distributed leadership in an early years context, including practice leadership that has demonstrated an impact on quality. It is the final report of the study that focused on the two multimedia case studies detailed below.

Table 2 Case study EYPs provides practical examples of the role of the EYP, several of which are distributed in scope. For example:

Hadfield, M et al. (2013) Establishing practice leadership at all levels. Centre for Developmental and Applied Research in Education (multimedia case study)

This case study outlines the establishment of practice leadership at all levels in a voluntary early years setting. It includes details of leadership of change, leadership of learning, and leadership and management of practitioners. Professional network analysis conducted before and after the changes made to the organisation highlight that leadership in the form of advice and support has become more evenly distributed among staff.

This case study outlines how leadership at all levels is used as an approach to undertake quality assurance and equality policy responsibilities. Videos from practitioners detail the benefits of not being in management roles but engaging in work of this nature.

This report is a piece of BA Childhood Practice student work on professional collaboration and parental involvement. The author reflects on her supervisory and leadership experience as a Senior Early Years Officer in a local authority day nursery and how she used leadership capacities to support parental involvement within an educational setting.

In this video a childminder talks about one of the first moments she realised she was demonstrating leadership in her service. She talks about the local childminding group as 'leaders together', supporting each other to provide a professional childminding service for children and their families.

EO Anna Fowlie talks about Leadership Exchange and what it means to the SSSC. The Leadership Exchange programme pairs up staff across sectors with the aim of improving leadership capacity between peers. Learn more here.

McCrea (2015) Leading and managing early childhood settings: inspiring people, places and practices. Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press (book)

McCrea (2015) identifies four professional roles within the early years context with different actions that characterise them:
Team stakeholder
Sourcing and recruiting new staff to fill vacancies, assigning responsibilities to each member of staff, providing support and mentoring for staff, creating opportunities for staff professional development, creating harmonious working relationships and if conflicts occur, resolving them amicably, organizing and conducting staff meetings, attending to each staff member's needs and providing for occupational health and safety in the ECE
Policy designer
Professional actions necessary to make sure that the policies designed to provide for governance in the ECE setting are legal, fair, just, democratic and transparent, minimize risk to the children and anybody involved with the ECE setting, provide guidelines for all stakeholders of the ECE site, and having protocols that are flexible for the efficiency of the ECE setting (Bryant & Gibbs, 2013).
Pedagogy creator
Every practice in ECE that is intended to give young children an authentic pedagogy. Focus on teaching, learning, assessment and curriculum, but also everyday wellbeing of children. Designing, developing and making available educational resources to help children learn and be children. Contributing to the vision and strategies that facilitate knowledge construction.
Rights advocate
Undertaking workplace maneuvers raising voices to advance the wellbeing of young children, in the ECE setting and beyond.

These roles may be useful in developing a conceptual framework around which to base organisational professional development programmes and resources.

Training and development resources

The following resources may be useful to include in organisational professional development programmes and tools:

Early Years Foundation (2017) Training search (website)

Several search results relate to leadership development and may be applicable to the childcare and early years context.

These materials are intended to help practitioners at all levels engage more deeply with the guidance from Building the Ambition. It includes evidence from research around pedagogy and child development, and practice examplars.

The aim of this resource is to support leaders and those working within leadership teams to reflect on their understanding of pedagogical leadership as well as their role as a pedagogical leader and how this can be developed further or improved through professional reflection and dialogue. This resource is for those who are leaders or are part of a leadership team within an early learning and childcare setting or who have a responsibility for early learning and childcare provision within a primary school. The examples provided may be actionable at all levels within a childcare and early years context.

Scottish College for Educational Leadership (2017) Teacher leadership programme (online delivery through Glow)

The SCEL Teacher Leadership Programme supports and challenges teachers to become more confident in leading classroom practice in their contexts and develop against the GTCS Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning. More information can be found on the SCEL website.

This page provides information about free resources produced by SSSC, including:

This programme produced by the SSSC provides various resources to support professional development and learning at all levels. Their website provides links to resources for supervision, mentoring, coaching, leadership exchanges and action learning. It is connected to the The Continuous Learning Framework (CLF), which sets out what people working in social services need to be able to do their jobs well now and in the future and what their employer needs to do to support them.

There are currently 12 open badges available through the SSSC related to leadership development. Several of these are linked to the SSSC Step Into Leadership Programme. The programme supports leadership development for frontline workers as well as managers:

As a frontline worker, your leadership skills can make a real difference to the service that you deliver, and to the outcomes that the people who use your service achieve. There are many ways in which you might show leadership at the front line. For example:

The SSSC has developed several apps that may be relevant to leadership development for childcare and early years practitioners. For example: engaging with children, communication and relationships, maintaining your development and health and safety.

All the resources on this website are free and can contribute towards post Registration Training and Learning (PRTL). Employers are welcomed to use the resources within their workplaces. This is a hub for a wide range of SSSC learning resources that can be searched for by theme (e.g. leadership).

The authors write:

Self-evaluation has rapidly shifted to the fore in recent years. This pack provides a set of resources that will encourage learning and development within your organisation through institutional self-evaluation. The resources aim to ease the difficult task of self-evaluation, which normally relies on a detailed understanding of the quality of provision, the centre leadership structure, changes in family outcomes, numbers and descriptions of families who attend and those targeted in the catchment area who do not currently attend, along with feedback from parents.

Background reading around distributed leadership

When seeking to implement distributed leadership within an organisation it may be beneficial to gain an understanding of the different approaches to distribution that can be taken. The following papers provide context to the origins of the approach and consider the implications of different forms of implementation.

This paper provides an interesting background to the origins of distributed leadership and clearly outlines different approaches to distributed leadership that can be taken through a series of frameworks derived from research in an educational context (p.258). These include:

Significantly, the author emphasises the need for a critical approach to distributed leadership to understand the impact of discussion and application of the approach in engaging/disengaging staff, and challenging or reinforcing traditional forms of organisation.

This review of research around relational social constructionist approaches to leadership takes a critical approach and provides useful background to the theories underpinning certain approaches to distributed leadership. It provides a model of distributed leadership that the authors argue may help practitioners avoid "developing overly idealistic or implicit ideological leadership approaches".

This paper provides a background to the concept of pedagogical leadership in childhood education and the foundational concepts of leadership and pedagogy.

This paper uses literature on educational leadership to answer four questions about leadership in ECE contexts. Firstly, what is leadership and how important is it for the success of an organisation? Secondly, what does it look like in ECE? Thirdly, what does leadership in ECE involve? And fourthly, how does efficient and effective leadership function in an ECE context? It is important to answer these questions because there is an understanding that leadership in ECE contexts is unlike leadership in other educational institutions. It requires special administrative and managerial skills to plan, organise, lead, control and direct the operations in the ECE context, as well as leadership skills to provide an organisational vision, direction and aculturation. An understanding of what leadership in ECE contexts looks like, its roles and functions can inform ECE leaders in ways that help them to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their educational institution.

This article reports on a study exploring a distributed perspective on school leadership through three headteacher case studies conducted in Scottish primary schools. Drawing from a sequence of in-depth, semi-structured and narrative style interviews conducted with each headteacher, as well as from a semi-structured questionnaire and sociometric analysis conducted with staff, the article analyses the experiences and perceptions of headteachers. The paper finds that in practice, distributed leadership is more complex and challenging than often represented, challenging five generally held assumptions in the theoretical, policy and practice frames. Implications are drawn for educational leadership at both school and system levels.

This paper provides a critical perspective around tensions between distributed leadership theory and practice, and highlights the "thin line between actively supporting the professional development of staff and manipulation". To overcome some of the challenges, the authors suggests that school leaders at all levels need to "engage in more overt discussion of their respective roles".

References

Bolden, R (2011) Distributed leadership in organizations: a review of theory and research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13, pp.251-269 (Open Access)

Callanan, M, Anderson, M, Haywood, S, Hudson, R and Speight, S (2017) Study of early education and development: good practice in early education. National Centre for Social Research for Department for Education (pdf)

East Lothian Council (no date) Equality and inclusion in early years: A guide to understanding equality, inclusion and poverty for all those working with children and young people (pdf)

Forbes, A (2017) Developing system leadership for early learning and childcare settings in Scotland. Scottish College for Educational Leadership (pdf)

Forbes, J. and McCartney, E. (2012) Leadership distribution culturally? Education/speech and language therapy social capital in schools and children's services. International Journal of Leadership in Education: Theory and Practice, 15 (3), pp.271-287 (Open Access)

George, C, Patterson, F, Stocks-Rankin, C and Pemble, C (2016) Enabling leadership: research to identify what good leadership looks like in Scotland's social services. University of Stirling and Iriss for Scottish Social Services Council (pdf)

Harris, A and Spillane, J (2008) Distributed leadership through the looking glass. Management in Education, 22(1), pp.31-34 (pdf)

Heikka, J, Waniganayake, M and Hujala, E (2012) Contextualizing distributed leadership within early childhood education: current understandings, research evidence and future challenges. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 41(1), pp.30-44 (pdf)

Hughes, T, Berryman, B and Sheen, J (2014) Leadership insights from beyond the sector. CFE Research (pdf)

Hujala, E, Keskinen, S, Eskelinen, M et al. (2016) Leadership tasks in early childhood education in Finland, Japan, and Singapore. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 30(3), pp.406-421 (Available through NHSScotland Document Delivery service)

Kivunja, C. (2015) Leadership in early childhood education contexts: looks, roles, and functions. Creative Education, 6(16), pp.1710-1717 (Open Access)

Iriss (2012) Step into leadership (website)

Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) Pre-birth to three: positive outcomes for Scotland's children and families learning and teaching Scotland national guidance (pdf)

Lindon, J and Lindon, L (2012) Leadership and early years professionalism: linking theory and practice. UK: Hodder Education (book)

Mascall, B, Leithwood, K, Straus, T and Sacks, R (2008) The relationship between distributed leadership and teachers' academic optimism. Journal of Educational Administration, 46(2), pp. 214-228 (pdf)

Matthews, P, Rea, S, Hill, R and Gu, Q (2014) Freedom to lead: a study of outstanding primary school leadership in England. National College for Teaching and Leadership (pdf)

McCartney, E and Forbes, J (2015) Who distributes distributed leadership? Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change (website)

Mistry, M and Sood, K (2012) Challenges of early years leadership preparation: a comparison between early and experienced early years practitioners in England. Management in Education, 26(1), pp.28-37 (Open Access)

OECD (2012) Starting Strong V: transitions from early childhood education and care to primary education (ebook or pdf)

Scottish Executive (2006) Changing lives: report of the 21st century social work review (pdf)

Scottish Government (2014) Building the ambition: national practice guidance on Early Learning and Childcare Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (pdf)

Sharp, C et al. (2012) Highly effective leadership in children's centres. National College for School Leadership (pdf)

Siraj, I and Kingston, D (2015) An Independent Review of the Scottish Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Workforce and Out of School Care (OSC) Workforce. UCL Institute of Education (pdf)

Siraj-Blatchford, I and Hallet, E (2014) Effective caring and leadership in the early years. UK: Sage (book)

Siraj-Blatchford, I and Sum, C.W (2013) Understanding and advancing systems leadership in the early years. National College for Teaching and Leadership (pdf)

SSSC (2012) Leadership Capabilities. Step into Leadership (website)

Spillane, J.P (2006) Distributed leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. pp. 11-12. ISBN 0-7879-6538-3 (book)

Suffolk Council (no date) Guidance for promoting equalities in early years and childcare (pdf)

Tian, M, Risku, M and Collin, K (2015) A meta-analysis of distributed leadership from 2002 to 2013: theory development, empirical evidence and future research focus. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 44(1), pp. 146 - 164 (Open Access)

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Lorna Dalton, Learning and Development Adviser at SSSC for providing some recommendations for examples of evidence from practice.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Distributed leadership in early years and childcare

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This Outline explores distributed approaches to leadership in the context of childcare and early years settings. It provides some background to Scottish policy priorities and principles of leadership and distributed approaches. It provides a brief overview of potential benefits to distributed leadership approaches for different stakeholders, contextualising the increasing interest in the approach within the childcare and early years sector.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Care Inspectorate is showing its support for nurseries, childminders and other early years care services that take a positive approach to risk, by setting out its position on regulating for risk in play. We launched our position statement with the support of Play Scotland at their event Playing with risk: embracing the benefits with positive regulation, held in January 2016.

The Care Inspectorate's position statement
"The Care Inspectorate supports care service providers taking a positive approach to risk in order to achieve the best outcomes for children. This means moving away from a traditional deficit model that takes a risk-averse approach, which can unnecessarily restrict children's experiences attending registered services, to a more holistic risk-benefit model. For example, we encourage services to use risk assessment to support children to enjoy potentially hazardous activities such as woodwork using real tools, exploring nature and playing in the mud and rain. We do not expect written risk assessments to be carried out for daily play activities."

Context
Embracing a risk-benefit approach is part of changing our regulatory culture. For example, when we inspect we now assess the experience of the children attending and try to help services to improve. Traditionally the regulator would have just measured inputs and ensured that all services complied with the expected standards.

A positive approach to risk in play is being taken by specialist outdoor-based services for children. Since the UK's first full-time forest nursery was registered in Fife in 2008, outdoor-based services have flourished in Scotland. At this event, the Care Inspectorate celebrated the growth of these services and their contribution to developing a proportionate approach to risk.

Play Scotland support
Cherie Morgan, Play Development Officer, Play Scotland says: "We want to see a common sense approach to risk in play, where practitioners weigh up the benefits, as well as the risks involved with activities. The opportunity to face challenges in a supportive environment helps children and young people learn to assess and manage risk for themselves, and this is vitally important for their development. We're delighted to work with the Care Inspectorate to highlight this message to those who are responsible for the day to day care of children."

Ministerial support
Aileen Campbell MSP and Minister for Children and Young People supports this new approach with the following statement.

"In June 2013 the Scottish Government published the Play Strategy for Scotland, which seeks to improve the play experiences of all children and young people, including those with disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Strategy aims to ensure all children and young people can access play opportunities in a range of settings which offer variety, adventure and challenge. They must be able to play freely and safely while learning to manage risks and make choices about where, how and when they play according to their age, stage, ability and preference.

"A huge part of this is giving regulated services the confidence to provide good quality, challenging play opportunities for children in their care. Real life experiences for children cannot be free of risk; from the very beginning children learn from trial and error, falling and getting up, testing their own boundaries and this enables them to develop their own coping strategies and resilience.

"It is important too that children with additional support needs also have the chance to experience challenging play - and that quality play opportunities are offered to all children, according to their needs and preferences.

"Myth busting in terms of what 'safe care' is for our children is also important. Scotland's children deserve to be cared for in a loving, nurturing environment that includes hugs and the comfort of touch, which is even more important now that children are in care environments from a younger age and for longer periods of time.

"I am delighted that the Care Inspectorate is supporting care service providers to adopt a more holistic risk-benefit model to help them achieve the best outcomes for children. This positive approach to risk emphasises confidence in providers using their professional judgement to support, nurture and challenge the children and young people in their care."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We support care service providers taking a positive approach to risk in order to achieve the best outcomes for children.

# data[].attributes.body
managing risk

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Positive approach to risk in play
Position Statement from Care Inspectorate

The Care Inspectorate is showing its support for nurseries, childminders and other early years care services that take a positive approach to risk, by setting out its position on regulating for risk in play. We launched our position statement with the support of Play Scotland at their event Playing with risk: embracing the benefits with positive regulation, held in January 2016.

The Care Inspectorate's position statement
"The Care Inspectorate supports care service providers taking a positive approach to risk in order to achieve the best outcomes for children. This means moving away from a traditional deficit model that takes a risk-averse approach, which can unnecessarily restrict children's experiences attending registered services, to a more holistic risk-benefit model. For example, we encourage services to use risk assessment to support children to enjoy potentially hazardous activities such as woodwork using real tools, exploring nature and playing in the mud and rain. We do not expect written risk assessments to be carried out for daily play activities."

Context
Embracing a risk-benefit approach is part of changing our regulatory culture. For example, when we inspect we now assess the experience of the children attending and try to help services to improve. Traditionally the regulator would have just measured inputs and ensured that all services complied with the expected standards.

A positive approach to risk in play is being taken by specialist outdoor-based services for children. Since the UK's first full-time forest nursery was registered in Fife in 2008, outdoor-based services have flourished in Scotland. At this event, the Care Inspectorate celebrated the growth of these services and their contribution to developing a proportionate approach to risk.

Play Scotland support
Cherie Morgan, Play Development Officer, Play Scotland says: "We want to see a common sense approach to risk in play, where practitioners weigh up the benefits, as well as the risks involved with activities. The opportunity to face challenges in a supportive environment helps children and young people learn to assess and manage risk for themselves, and this is vitally important for their development. We're delighted to work with the Care Inspectorate to highlight this message to those who are responsible for the day to day care of children."

Ministerial support
Aileen Campbell MSP and Minister for Children and Young People supports this new approach with the following statement.

"In June 2013 the Scottish Government published the Play Strategy for Scotland, which seeks to improve the play experiences of all children and young people, including those with disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Strategy aims to ensure all children and young people can access play opportunities in a range of settings which offer variety, adventure and challenge. They must be able to play freely and safely while learning to manage risks and make choices about where, how and when they play according to their age, stage, ability and preference.

"A huge part of this is giving regulated services the confidence to provide good quality, challenging play opportunities for children in their care. Real life experiences for children cannot be free of risk; from the very beginning children learn from trial and error, falling and getting up, testing their own boundaries and this enables them to develop their own coping strategies and resilience.

"It is important too that children with additional support needs also have the chance to experience challenging play - and that quality play opportunities are offered to all children, according to their needs and preferences.

"Myth busting in terms of what 'safe care' is for our children is also important. Scotland's children deserve to be cared for in a loving, nurturing environment that includes hugs and the comfort of touch, which is even more important now that children are in care environments from a younger age and for longer periods of time.

"I am delighted that the Care Inspectorate is supporting care service providers to adopt a more holistic risk-benefit model to help them achieve the best outcomes for children. This positive approach to risk emphasises confidence in providers using their professional judgement to support, nurture and challenge the children and young people in their care."

Children's play and leisure: promoting a balanced approach. HSe

Health and safety laws and regulations are sometimes presented as a reason why certain play and leisure activities undertaken by children and young people should be discouraged. Such decisions are often based on misunderstandings about what the law requires. The HSE has worked with the Play Safety Forum to produce a joint high-level statement that gives clear messages tackling these misunderstandings. HSE fully endorses the principles in this Statement.

This statement makes clear that:

Play is important for children's well-being and development

When planning and providing play opportunities, the goal is not to eliminate risk, but to weigh up the risks and benefits

Those providing play opportunities should focus on controlling the real risks, while securing or increasing the benefits - not on the paperwork

Accidents and mistakes happen during play - but fear of litigation and prosecution has been blown out of proportion

Children's Play and Leisure: promoting a balanced approach

Risk Benefit Assessment Form

The Risk-Benefit Assessment Form is an easy-to-use tool to support play providers to balance the benefits of an activity with any inherent risk, taking into account the risks while recognising the benefits to children and young people of challenging play experiences.

It will be invaluable for all those who manage spaces and settings in which children play, and for those involved in designing and maintaining them. The initiative is supported by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the UK Government.

The Risk-Benefit Assessment (RBA) Form is available in two formats: as a blank form, and as a hypothetical worked example based on a tree swing.

It was commissioned and developed by the Play Safety Forum, and is co-authored by Professor David Ball, Tim Gill and Bernard Spiegal. It is based on Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation guide.

Click here to download a worked example of a Risk Benefit Assessment Form

Click here to download a blank RBA

Children's Play Safety Forum - Statement
Lead in paint on children's playgrounds

The Play Safety Forum supports that providers and maintainers of Children's Playground facilities always work to the latest published guidance for the lead content of the surface coatings, which currently only allows lead as a trace element of paint. This guidance has been updated periodically over the last 30 years and also rightly focuses on articles that children can place into their mouths, as being the highest risk.

We are however concerned at this latest media coverage, as it appears to be focusing solely on a scare agenda, rather than presenting specific facts that are put in full context with different expert opinion.

What is more, from the summary of this research, it appears that the researchers are following a purely 'hazard-based approach.' That is, they have identified a hazard. But they have not even attempted to assess the risk which inter alia would require an estimation of how much of this hazardous material gets into children's bodies by ingestion, dermal contact or inhalation. Our society is a 'risk-based' society. It's the only realistic option in a rational world which, amongst other things, cares about children.

In our experience 'scare stories' generally lead to reactions that are disproportionate to the risk on which they are based and are usually regretted in the fullness of time. We have previously battled against 'urban myths' that once established can be very difficult to re-adjust. The Play Safety Forum is constantly looking at the balance between risks and benefits in Children's Play. It would be a great pity if the effects of this scare story was to unnecessarily deflect attention from the many other challenges we are currently facing.

We were pleased to note some common sense advice published on the NHS Choices web site. 'The best way to prevent your child being exposed to lead is to encourage them to always wash their hands after outside play and before eating. Regularly washing any of their toys or equipment they play with outside should also help.'

September 2016

Dynamic Risk Benefit Assessment: Play Safety Forum position statement
October 2016
Preface from Robin Sutcliffe, Play Safety Forum Chair:
Risk-Benefit Assessment (RBA) in situations where staff are supervising or playing with children in real time was not covered in detail in Managing Risk in Play Provision - Implementation guide. The PSF has been discussing this over the past two years, during which we considered several policies that were already in existence, however we felt that these were too specific to their own practitioners. Consequently we would now like to offer the following text to cover this omission, which should be read in conjunction with the guide.

Introduction
This statement sets out the position of the Play Safety Forum on how dynamic risk-benefit assessment (RBA) fits into the management of risk in play and related settings. It also states the PSF's view on how managers, regulators and others should decide on the quality and soundness of dynamic RBA, and hence how staff are held to account for their judgements.

RBA, as set out in Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation guide, brings together considerations about risks and benefits in a single judgement, which is then documented as appropriate. In this form, it is suited for those situations where there is the time and opportunity for thoughtful, considered decision-making. However in staffed settings, staff may need to make decisions in circumstances where a conventional RBA process is not feasible.

What is dynamic risk benefit assessment?
Dynamic risk-benefit assessment is a key part of risk management in staffed play, childcare and learning situations such as schools, early years settings, out of school/free time facilities, outdoor learning programmes and playwork settings. It refers to the real-time judgements of front-line staff (paid and voluntary) about whether, when and how to intervene in relation to children's safety. These judgements, interventions and decisions are informed by staff's values and understandings about the goals and objectives of their setting and practice: and crucially by their thinking about risk.

Dynamic RBA is highly sensitive to circumstances, and may happen in a matter of seconds. It is complex, fluid, largely intuitive, and difficult to document. As Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation guide notes, dynamic RBA presents challenges for risk management approaches that focus on the need for documentation.

What does the law require?
In the UK, the key relevant legislation relates to health and safety at work and occupiers liability. In broad terms, the law requires those responsible to take reasonable steps to keep people (including children) safe. There is no detailed legislation about how to carry out dynamic RBA (although there may be regulations about staff ratios in some settings and situations).

How should staff and organisations show they are being reasonable?
The key to dynamic RBA is professional competence, as shown through relevant experience, skills, qualifications, supervision procedures, professional development and evidence of sound judgements in the past. Good practice in dynamic RBA is also likely to be supported through giving staff opportunities to reflect on their experiences and practice, for instance through ensuring they have space and time to discuss minor adverse experiences and 'near misses'.

The PSF does not support the use of procedures or analytical tools such as flowcharts and decision trees as evidence or proof of sound decision-making. Such tools may be helpful in opening up professional debate about relevant factors and options in different circumstances, but they are not helpful in capturing or validating decision-making in dynamic RBA situations. These often happen so quickly and have to be dealt with so intuitively that there is no time for reflection, let alone record-keeping. Hence such tools should not be a requirement that staff are expected to follow, and staff should not be expected to prove or provide evidence that they have been followed.

A clear position on dynamic RBA should be accepted by all relevant levels and teams within organisations. This includes senior management and risk/health and safety managers as well as front-line staff.

Conclusion
When it comes to questions about the soundness of dynamic RBA judgements, the right place to focus is the competences of the individual or staff team, rather than compliance with any tool or procedure. The demand for an 'audit trail' - or written or other records for dynamic RBA - cannot be met without overburdening staff, and without distorting the very decision-making that such processes are supposed to be supporting.

Play Safety Forum, August 2016

A small but potentially significant win for risk benefit assessment, Blog by Tim Gill

How often do you hear that the 'health and safety culture' cannot be resisted? That fear of litigation makes people unwilling to accept the slightest possibility of accidents or injuries? The implication is that risk benefit assessment ( RBA) - the balanced approach to risk management that I and others have developed - is a waste of time. Full article here

Scotland's care regulator encourages a positive approach to risk in play

The Care Inspectorate is showing its support for nurseries, childminders and other early years care services that take a positive approach to risk, by setting out its position on regulating for risk in play. It is launching its new position statement today, with the support of Play Scotland at their event Playing with risk: embracing the benefits with positive regulation. Full details here

Managing Risk in Play Provision: implementation guide (2nd edition)

"Children need and want to take risks when they play"
MRPP Position Statement

Play Scotland sits on the UK Play Safety Forum (PSF). The Forum has produced a guide Managing Risk in Play Provision to help strike a balance between the risks and the benefits of offering children challenging play opportunities.

This implementation guide shows how play providers can replace current risk assessment practice with an approach that fully takes into account the benefits to children and young people of challenging play experiences. The document's overall approach will be useful for those who manage spaces and settings in which children play, and for those involved in designing and maintaining them.

The managing risk in play provision implementation guide builds on the Play Safety Forum's position statementManaging Risk in Play Provision Position Statement Managing Risk in Play Provision - position statement (Play Safety Forum, 2002). It starts from the principle that ultimate responsibility for making decisions rests with the provider, although outside expertise and advice is always valuable.

This second edition of the guide was written by David Ball, Tim Gill and Bernard Spiegal.
Managing Risk in Play Provision implementation guide 2nd edition
New tools for Risk-Benefit Assessment - November 2014

The new tools are designed to support a balanced approach to risk management using the process of risk-benefit assessment (RBA). It is aimed at those involved in providing play opportunities in a range of contexts, including play areas, public parks, green spaces, out-of-school childcare settings, playwork settings, schools and early years services. It builds on the guidance document Managing Risk in Play Provision implementation guide 2nd edition, published in 2013 by the Play Safety Forum with Play England, Play Wales, Play Scotland and PlayBoard Northern Ireland.

Those using this form should focus on the significant risks that the play provision gives rise to The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines significant risks as those that go beyond everyday life and that "are capable of creating a real risk to health and safety which any reasonable person would appreciate and would take steps to guard against."

This form is available in two formats: Word 2007 (with a blank form) and pdf (with a worked example)
Risk Benefit Assessment Form (word document) Risk Benefit Assessment Form Worked Example

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Managing Risk in Play Provision - Play Scotland

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Positive approach to risk in play Position Statement from Care Inspectorate The Care Inspectorate is showing its support for nurseries, childminders and other early years care services that take a positive approach to risk, by setting out its position on regulating for risk in play.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Workplace culture is the character and personality of your organisation. It's made up of your organisation's leadership, values, traditions and beliefs, and the behaviours and attitudes of the people in it. Having a positive workplace culture is vital to delivering high quality care and support.

This toolkit explains what workplace culture is and how you can develop a positive one in your organisation. It's for adult social care employers of all sizes, including individual employers.
How to use this toolkit
Work your way through the sections below. There are activities you can do as you go along and some longer activities at the end. You can also use them with front line care workers (and other staff) to help you develop your workplace culture.

How to develop a positive workplace culture

There are some key elements that define workplace cultures. Click on each section to find out more about how you can develop each element in your workplace. There are activities in each section to help you think about how they apply to your workplace, and links to useful resources to help.

Cultures are complex and diverse, but in its simplest terms has been described as:
"The way we do things around here" (Bower 1996)
It's the character and personality of your organisation - it's what makes your organisation unique and is made up of the values, traditions, beliefs, interactions, behaviours and attitudes of the people within it.

It offers a sense of shared identity, certainty and predictability, and influences what people think or do. This can impact on the quality of care and support you provide, which is why it's important that adult social care organisations have a positive workplace culture.

Many theorists have studied workplace cultures and there are lots of different types. Read more about different types of workplace cultures in the PDF version of this section.
A positive workplace culture
Our ' Good and outstanding care' guide found that services with these ratings had a culture that's fair, inclusive and transparent, for example they:

put people who need care and support at the heart of the service

ensure managers and leaders are dedicated to delivering high quality care and support, and act upon feedback

ensure managers and leaders are open, visible, approachable and empower others

embed a person-centred culture of fairness, support and transparency

ensure managers and leaders encourage and support a strong focus on inclusion, equality, diversity and human rights

ensure the workplace culture meets the needs of people who need care and support, staff and other stakeholders

ensure problems and concerns are always a priority and are committed to resolving them.

Read more about what culture means to different adult social care employers in the PDF version of this section.
Download 'An introduction to workplace culture'
A positive workplace culture can bring lots of business benefits. It's a vital part of any well-led service and fundamental in delivering high quality care and support.

Our 'Good and outstanding care' guide recognises that leaders and managers in services with these ratings know the importance of creating and maintaining an inclusive culture.

It can:

improve your reputation and market share - having a positive workplace culture can improve your reputation and raise your profile with commissioners and those who monitor the quality of services, such as the CQC. We also know that a high percent of new recruits hear about vacancies through word of mouth, so a positive workplace culture can support your recruitment

help you to meet CQC regulations - workplace culture is fundamental across several CQC key lines of enquiry, particularly under 'well-led', and statistics show that most services who achieve a good or outstanding rating for 'well-led' go on to achieve this rating overall.

Read more about what the business benefits of a positive workplace culture in the PDF version of this section.
Download 'An introduction to workplace culture'
There are lots of different influences which can affect your workplace culture.
Organisational influences
The aims and objectives of the organisation, and how they're planned and delivered, can influence your workplace culture. This can include:

your vision, aims and objectives

your leaders and how they communicate and influence your staff

the way your organisation is managed - it's systems, structure, procedures and policies

workplace practices, such as recruiting, selecting, rewards and benefits, learning and development, performance management and wellbeing

legislation

social factors

political factors, such as funding or local initiatives.

If your aims and objectives align closely with your workplace culture, they'll be easier to achieve. For example if you aim to deliver flexible and innovative care and support in people's homes, your culture should focus on seeking creative options and integrated work roles (rather than process and clearly defined job roles).
Social influences/ people
Your organisation is made up of lots of different people, including staff, people who need care and support and their families, each of whom have different:

These social influences can affect your workplace culture.

Organisations that employ people from different background benefit from a more diverse way of thinking, which can bring fresh ideas, new solutions to problems and drive innovation and creativity.

No matter what their background, if your staff and their values align with your workplace values, this can ensure that the people you hire fit into your workplace culture and the way that you work.
Environmental influences
The physical setting of your workplace can also influence your workplace culture, such as the:

structure of the building

accessibility

atmosphere, such as lighting, noise levels, personal space and temperature

décor, such as displaying your organisations history, achievements and values

allocation of desk space.

Staff spend lots of time at work and many social care organisations will be people's homes, so it's important to have a pleasant environment that's energetic and fun - this can improve people's moods and make them happier. Where organisations are also people's homes, physical settings are important to their health, wellbeing and happiness.

Read more about the influences on a workplace culture in the PDF version of this section.
Download 'An introduction to workplace culture'
Activities

Here are some activities to help you develop your workplace culture.

Become a registered manager member of Skills for Care

If you're a registered manager become a member and get access to exclusive benefits and join a community of managers, committed to quality care.

£35 - join now

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Browser does not support script. Browser does not support script. Browser does not support script. Browser does not support script. Browser does not support script. Workplace culture is the character and personality of your organisation. It's made up of your organisation's leadership, values, traditions and beliefs, and the behaviours and attitudes of the people in it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One of Donald Schon's greatest contributions to professional education was to stress the role of reflection within the learning process (Schon 1983). Examining professional practice, Schon identified two types of reflection: reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action.

Reflection- in-action, sometimes described as 'thinking on our feet', is the process that allows professionals to reshape the situation or activity on which they are working while it is unfolding. It is generally associated with the experience of surprise: Schon suggests that, by "reflecting-in-action", professionals reflect on unexpected experiences and conduct 'experiments' which serve to generate both a new understanding of the experience and a change in the situation.

Reflection- on-action involves reflecting on an experience, situation or phenomenon after it has occurred. When professionals "reflect-on-action" they explore what happened in that particular situation, why they acted as they did, whether they could have acted differently, and so on. Reflection-on-action is often associated with reflective writing in which professionals reflect on their experiences and examine alternative ways to improve their practice.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Sheila Slesser, Pedro Morago, Linda Bruce and Malcolm Macmillan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Introduces learners to some of the principles and processes involved in becoming a reflective practitioner.

# data[].attributes.headline
About Iriss - Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services 

# data[].attributes.subject
About Iriss - Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Our mission

We promote positive outcomes for the people who use Scotland's social services, by enhancing the capacity and capability of the social services workforce, to access and make use of knowledge and research for service improvement.

Our vision

A high quality, continually improving social services sector renowned for its effective use of knowledge and research-based innovation.

Our values
We are innovative

We have the confidence to imagine the future of care and support in Scotland

We are both appreciative and challenging of the status quo

We pioneer and test out new ways of working

We are not afraid to take some risks along the way

We are always learning

We learn from what works and what doesn't

We are interested in all types of evidence

We continuously learn from each other:

people at Iriss

people across social services

people from other sectors

people with lived experience

And we believe learning should drive change and be shared with others

We value people and relationships

We believe in active citizenship and involving people who access care and support in a meaningful way

We promote and sustain power sharing across sectors, hierarchies and between practitioners and people with lived experience

We act as an honest broker; provide safe spaces and promote more facilitative ways of working

We harness and pool the assets of people (and place), are inclusive of all voices and promote and sustain equality of opportunities

We communicate creatively and openly

We enquire, listen, and contribute to conversations

We share our learning; all our creations are adaptable and free to use

We communicate clearly and creatively using multimedia

We are open to new ideas, wherever they come from

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our mission We promote positive outcomes for the people who use Scotland's social services, by enhancing the capacity and capability of the social services workforce, to access and make use of knowledge and research for service improvement. Our vision A high quality, continually improving social services sector renowned for its effective use of knowledge and research-based innovation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Golden Rule 1: Understand my rights

I should be given information about my rights.

I need to understand why it is important that I am listened to, and have my views taken seriously.

Remember that I have a right to have a voice today, not just in the future.

Adults working with me should also learn about children's rights, and why it is important to truly listen to me when making decisions that affect me.

It should be made clear to adults working with me that my participation in all decisions that affect me is my right. This is their responsibility.
Download Golden Rule 1 cards.
Golden Rule 2: A chance to be involved

I may need extra help, and I should be given this.

Use activities that are fun and creative and suit my abilities and interests.

Always treat me fairly and don't judge me.

Make me welcome, while also thinking about my age, ethnicity, ability, language, culture, religion,where I live, and anything else that is important.

I am different, we are all different. Recognise and celebrate this.
Download Golden Rule 2 cards.
Golden Rule 3: Remember, it's my choice

Give me the chance to take part in a way that is right for me, not you.

Remember that it is my choice to participate.

I may choose not to take part, make sure that it is okay for me to do this at any point that I want or need to.
Download Golden Rule 3 cards.
Golden Rule 4: Value me

Involve me right from the start.

Remember that I should be able to say what I think about things in my day to day life, as well as bigger things in my school, community and country.

Show me that you are listening to me, and are taking me seriously.

If I take part, please use what I tell you to help you make decisions.

Make sure that you use the things I have said to make my life better and change the things that need to be changed. If you do not use the things that I have said to make changes, please explain to me why not. Tell me how important my voice is. Don't ignore me because it is too hard for you to hear what I have to say.
Download Golden Rule 4 cards.
Golden Rule 5: Support me

Think carefully about how to communicate with me in away that I will understand, and don't give up until I do.

Check with me that I understand, and don't assume that I do.

Remember that I might need somebody to speak with me, or for me, at times.

Give me a chance to ask questions.

Answer me honestly.

Support me to say what I think in ways that suit me best.
Download Golden Rule 5 cards.
Golden Rule 6: Work together

I can learn from you, you can learn from me, we can learn from each other.

It is important that we respect each other.

Check that what you think I said is what I actually said.

Respect that we will sometimes disagree, and make time where it is okay to talk about this.

Be honest with me about what difference my voice will make, and be clear about what is possible.
Download Golden Rule 6 cards.
Golden Rule 7: Keep in touch

Explain to me what decisions or changes have been made, or not made, and why.

Give me a chance to ask you questions about this.

Agree with me how we will keep in touch about what is happening.

Tell me how to contact you if I want or need to.

Tell me what you will do next.
Download Golden Rule 7 cards.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I should be given information about my rights. I need to understand why it is important that I am listened to, and have my views taken seriously. Remember that I have a right to have a voice today, not just in the future.

# data[].attributes.headline
Post registration training and learning SSSC

# data[].attributes.subject
Post registration training and learning SSSC

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The term reflective practice has firmly entered the vocabulary of professional education in a number of different fields including nursing, teacher education and social work. But what is reflective practice and what does it mean to be a reflective practitioner? David Boud (1987) has defined reflection as:

"... a conscious activity in which we engage to explore our experiences and develop new understandings and conceptualisations." (Boud 1987)

Learning from experience is one of the most fundamental forms of learning but it has tended to be less valued within formal education until recently. In the 1970s the information transmission model of education was predominant: in this model the role of the educator was to provide knowledge, and the role of the learner to absorb it. Paulo Freire, the Brazilian educationalist, argued against this 'banking' model of education characterised by the educator making 'deposits' in a passive, disempowered learner.

Other educationalists such as David Kolb (1984) argued that greater emphasis ought to be placed on the learner's ability to actively construct knowledge. Kolb's model of experiential learning (opposite) - founded upon earlier work by Dewey, Lewin and Piaget - characterised learning as a process whereby each individual reflected on their experiences to construct and reconstruct their understanding and skills. Kolb's model of experiential learning is represented in a four stage cycle beginning with concrete experience followed by reflection, followed by abstract conceptualisation, followed by active experimentation.

John Dewey (1933) placed great emphasis on reflective thought and saw it as an important part of a cycle that enabled us to learn from experience. He believed that reflective thought began when we found ourselves having an experience that raised some difficulties or dilemmas, which he referred to as a "felt difficulty". From this experience, Dewey (1933) argued, we then set about reflecting on the problem - asking ourselves the question what's going on?

Then we conceptualised the problem: considering and analysing potential solutions - asking what might I do? We experiment, or act by trying out a possible solution. Finally, we consider whether that solution was effective and how it might be further adapted in the future.

Within professional education our interest is not so much in learning from a single experience, or learning in the short term; but more in a long term, developmental process that enables learners to develop well grounded professional knowledge and skills. Dewey suggests we consider professional development as a developmental spiral where the learning from one cycle stimulates the beginning of another and so on thereby providing us with a process that allows us to reconstruct our knowledge and skills in light of new experiences.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Sheila Slesser, Pedro Morago, Linda Bruce and Malcolm Macmillan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Introduces learners to some of the principles and processes involved in becoming a reflective practitioner.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Personal Capabilities from the Continuous Learning Framework

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
TEDxToronto -  Drew Dudley "Leading with Lollipops"

# data[].attributes.headline
leadership starts with me - everyday leadership 

# data[].attributes.subject
leadership starts with me - everyday leadership 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Leadership isn't just a title. You don't have to be a manager, a CEO or business owner to be a leader. Leadership isn't just about managing people and performance. Good leadership skills are important in any role and have many benefits. Frontline workers can, and often do, exhibit leadership skills every day and everywhere.

The importance of leadership skills in frontline workers

Leadership skills and behaviours help staff to:

use their initiative, make decisions and make things happen.

inspire others to do the best job possible and make a positive difference.

take responsibility for their actions and their own wellbeing.

speak up with ideas to improve services and raise any concerns about poor practice.

support others and work together.

For the manager, there are many benefits of a workforce displaying strong leadership skills. These can include:

An engaged and confident team who feel trusted and valued in their roles.

Improved retention rates - a happy workforce means a lower staff turnover.

Reduced time spent managing staff performance.

And ultimately, those who need care and support will receive a better quality of care.

Help you to evidence actions towards key lines of enquiry.

What's next?

Our new 'Leadership starts with me' resource has been developed to help promote and develop leadership skills and behaviours in the frontline workers. Find out more below.
Access the films and guidance
Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

Browser does not support script.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Good leadership skills are important in any role and have many benefits. Frontline workers often exhibit leaderships skills every day and everywhere. Discover how good leadership skills in frontline workers in adult social care can benefit your organisation and discover the resources we have to support learning and development in this area.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What Is Reflective Practice?

Reflective Practice is a modern term, and an evolving framework, for an ancient method of self-improvement.

Essentially Reflective Practice is a method of assessing our own thoughts and actions, for the purpose of personal learning and development.

For many people this is a natural and instinctive activity.

We can use Reflective Practice for our own development and/or to help others develop.

Reflective Practice is a very adaptable process. It is a set of ideas that can be used alongside many other concepts for training, learning, personal development, and self-improvement.

For example, Reflective Practice is highly relevant and helpful towards Continuous Professional Development (CPD). It's also very helpful in teaching and developing young people and children.

Reflective Practice is mainly concerned with self-development. It enables:

Future personal growth, and addresses:

How we think and feel about ourselves and situations in the present, and

How we think and feel about ourselves and situations in the past.

As such, Reflective Practice is a valuable methodology for using insights and learning from our past to:

Assess where we are now

Improve our present and future

This offers benefits far beyond professional learning and development, for example extending to, and not limited to:

Human relationships - workplace, romance, parenting, etc

Rehabilitation

Reconciliation

Mediation

Stress-reduction and management

All sorts of teaching, training, coaching, counselling, etc

Parenting

Coping with change and trauma

Reflective Practice is essentially a very old and flexible concept, so it might be called other things.

This alternative terminology, which includes some familiar words, can help us to understand and explain its principles and scope.

For example, Reflective Practice might also be called, and is synonymous with or similar to:

Personal reflection

Self-review

Self-awareness

Self-criticism or self-critique

Self-appraisal

Self-assessment

Intra-personal awareness

Personal cognisance/cognizance

Reflective dialogue

Critical evaluation

Self-analysis of our thoughts, feelings, actions, performance, etc

Increasingly these principles, terminology, and underpinning theory are defined and conveyed within the term 'Reflective Practice' and its supporting framework of terminology and application.

As such, 'Reflective Practice' is a theory by which modern and traditional self-improvement ideas can be more clearly defined, refined, expanded, adapted, taught, adopted and applied, for the purposes of personal development, teaching and coaching, and wider organizational improvement.

Reflective Practice is also helpful for personal fulfilment (US-English fulfillment) and happiness, in the sense that we can see and understand ourselves more objectively.

Reflective Practice enables clearer thinking, and reduces our tendencies towards emotional bias.

So we are considering a fundamental human concept.

Incidentally, the term 'Reflective Practice' is generally shown here with capitalized initial letters. This is for clarity and style - the term can be shown equally correctly as 'reflective practice', or 'Reflective practice'.

The capitalization also differentiates the term Reflective Practice from other general uses of the word 'practice' in referring to a person's work or practical things, which are clarified as such throughout this article.

The alternative spelling of 'practise' is not used here because traditionally this spelling refers to the verb form of the word, whereas Reflective Practice is a noun, (just as 'advice' is a noun and 'advise' is a verb).

Let's look now at some formal and technical definitions of Reflective Practice.

I am grateful to Linda Lawrence-Wilkes, an expert in Reflective Practice, for collaborating and contributing to the technical content of this free Reflective Practice reference guide, and related Reflective Practice self-assessment instruments. See Linda's biography and contact details.

As with any theoretical concept, definitions of Reflective Practice convey a basic technical description of the subject.

Definitions alone do not fully explain how and why something operates, nor teach us how to use it.

Definitions do however provide a useful basis for comprehension, and consistent terminology for discussion, especially for a subject open to quite different interpretations.

Definitions also help establish firm meanings, for sharing ideas, adopting the methods, and understanding of how Reflective Practice can be used, alongside other developmental methodologies.

Reflective Practice is an ancient concept. Over 2,500 years ago the ancient Greeks practised 'reflection' as a form of contemplation in search of truth, and this ancient meaning of reflection features in several modern definitions. There are references also to the power of reflective learning in the writings attributed to ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius, around 460BC.

The following various definitions convey their own distinct meanings, and also assist the reader in developing a quick general appreciation of Reflective Practice as a whole. The definitions are not in alphabetical order - they are ordered more in a historical sense, roughly according to the evolution of the terminology/concepts concerned.

Reflection

" Careful thought or consideration.." Wiktionary, 2015.

" Serious thought or consideration..." Oxford English Dictionary, 2006.

" Quiet thought or contemplation..." Collins Free Dictionary, 2003.

" The action of turning (back) or fixing the thoughts on some subject; meditation, deep or serious consideration... (and philosophically) the mode, operation or faculty by which the mind has knowledge of itself and its operations, or by which it deals with the ideas received from sensation and perception..." Oxford English Dictionary, 1922.

"... A mental process of thinking about what we have done, learned and experienced..." Professor Jenny Moon, teaching expert and author, 1999.

Reflect - " Turn one's thoughts back on, meditate on, ponder.." Chambers Etymology, 2000

Human self-reflection - "...the capacity of humans to exercise introspection and the willingness to learn more about their fundamental nature, purpose and essence. The earliest historical records demonstrate the great interest which humanity has had in itself. Human self-reflection invariably leads to inquiry into the human condition and the essence of humankind as a whole. Human self-reflection is related to the philosophy of consciousness, the topic of awareness, consciousness in general and the philosophy of mind..." Wikipedia, 2015.

Reflective Practice - "...the capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning..." (Schon 1983:102-104), and "...paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions, by examining practice [life/work experiences] reflectively and reflexively. This leads to developmental insight..." (Bolton 2010:xix) Wikipedia, 2015.

Reflexivity - " Finding a way to stand outside ourselves to get a more objective view of ourselves..." Kitchener, 1983

Critical self-reflection - " To know how and to what extent it might be possible to think differently, rather than legitimating what is already known ... a test of the limits that we may go beyond" Michel Foucault, 1992.

Critical Reflection - " The [Brookfield] 'Lens theory' suggests that apart from reflecting on our own personal beliefs, we reflect through other 'lenses', on multiple perspectives including theory..." Brookfield, 1995.

Reflector, critical reflector, non-reflector - Terms derived from the above, referring to people and the type/extent of reflection they use. For example 'the reflector' refers to a person who uses reflection of some sort. A 'critical reflector' more specifically refers to someone who uses Reflective Practice as a learning tool to question and evaluate themselves, others and situations. A 'non-reflector' is a person who rarely or never uses reflection. The terms are used commonly in academic or technical writing, when describing or reporting on reflective methods and activities.

Metacognition

"... To monitor our own learning progress to become aware of the limits of our own knowledge and values, assumptions and expectations (frames of reference)..." Kitchener, 1983.

" Knowing about knowing" and "Cognition about cognition." Traditional informal definitions, Wikipedia 2015

" Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes." OED, 2006.

"... Metacognition can take many forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or for problem solving. There are generally two components of metacognition: knowledge about cognition, and regulation of cognition... This higher-level cognition was given the label metacognition by American developmental psychologist John Flavell (1979). The term metacognition literally means cognition about cognition, or more informally, thinking about thinking. Flavell defined metacognition as knowledge about cognition and control of cognition. For example, I am engaging in metacognition if I notice that I am having more trouble learning A than B; or if it strikes me that I should double-check C before accepting it as fact,.. (JH Flavell 1976, p232)..." Wikipedia, 2015.

Metacognition is a particularly important aspect of modern Reflective Practice. There is a broad correlation between metacognition (being aware of one's own thinking) and conscious competence (being aware of one's own capability) - because, for example, we can't go beyond our limits until we know what our limits are.

Transformative learning "...Incorporating the examination of assumptions, to share ideas for insight, and to take action on individual and collective reflection..." Jack Mezirow, 2000.

Here are four additional definitions of fundamental terms within/relating to Reflective Practice, according to Linda Lawrence-Wilkes, 2015:

Reflection - Engagement in a deliberate mental process of thinking about, or contemplating, things that have happened, what was experienced and learned, from our own and from others' points of view. Reflection here means looking beneath the surface to find the truth about something, to draw conclusions for building new knowledge.

Reflexivity - Reflexivity is the process of 'stepping back' from a situation we are involved in, for a 'helicopter view' of ourselves. Here we examine ourselves to gauge our values, assumptions, behaviour and relationships, and thereby monitor our learning and develop our intra-personal and inter-personal skills (equating to self-management, and external relationships).

Critical Reflection - Critical Reflection is the adoption of a questioning stance to solve problems, challenge the 'status quo' and examine our own assumptions. This extends to consideration of wider socio-political perspectives and other relevant diverse contexts, theory and professional activity.

Reflective Practice - Reflective Practice is the use of self-analysis to understand, evaluate and interpret events and experiences in which we are involved. This extends to being able to form a theoretical view or analysis, as would allow clear explanation to others, if required. The process of Reflective Practice seeks to enable insights and aid learning for new personal understanding, knowledge, and action, to enhance our self-development and our professional performance.

Here's a much simplified presentation of the above, to show the main differences between these terms/definitions more clearly:

Thinking about and interpreting life experiences, beliefs or knowledge.

Thinking objectively about ourselves, our behaviour, values and assumptions.

Broad contemplation to question and examine knowledge, beliefs and actions for change.

Use of reflective methods for personal and professional growth.

Please note that the table above is an extremely concise summary, and is therefore very much open to debate. Consider it as a quick aid to appreciating the different meanings. There could be many other interpretations. If you've a good one please send it.

History of Reflective Practice

We have already seen that terms such as reflection and critical thinking can mean different things to different people, and this variable characteristic features in the founding ideas of Reflective Practice. This variability is likely to persist.

A major feature in the development of Reflective Practice theory is the evolution of:

Simple reflection (contemplation without necessarily having a purpose)

Into critical reflection (contemplation with evaluation)

Into critical thinking or critical reasoning (a balance of reasoning and reflection to assess and develop options and plans)

Reflection is often thought of as contemplation, rather than critical thinking. Modern dictionary definitions support this. Critical thinking is more often aligned with logical reasoning and enquiry.

It's long been observed that different learning methods produce different types of learning. Chinese philosopher Confucius (551-479BC) reportedly theorized: " By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest." (Confucius, The Analects: ch2, compiled posthumously, c.500BC)

Rooted in Greek philosophy, critical thinking is based on a Socratic idea of a reasoned process of weighing up the evidence to decide whether something is believed to be true or false. (Socratic refers to ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, c.470-399BC.)

Much later, the concept of reflection was taken up in the 18th Century enlightenment movement, a reaction against the turbulent and superstitious (and more oppressive) middle ages.

Here are some of the important historical conceptual interpretations that have helped to shape modern definitions and development of Reflective Practice, and its related concepts. You will see below the increasing sophistication of the ideas, from basic reflection, to critical thinking, to critically Reflective Practice.

Immanuel Kant - German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is considered one of the founders of Western philosophy. Kant wrote the ' Critique of Reason' in 1781, which supported ideas for a scientific logical and rational thinking approach, enabling reasoned thinking, being superior to dogma and other received opinion from authority.

Bertrand Russell - Bertrand Russell (1872-1970, 3rd Earl Russell of Kingston Russell), an English philosopher, mathematician and supporter of Kant's scientific approach, considered that knowledge is 'a belief in agreement with facts'. He asserted that to believe in something with no evidence is inadequate, and instead we should check if there are accurate and agreed supporting facts, and who agreed them (1926).

John Dewey - John Dewey (1859-1952) was an American philosopher and educational reformer. He is seen as the founder of experiential education, linking reflection and action, so as to enable new experience and knowledge. In 1910, he wrote a book for teachers titled ' How We Think', in which he described critical thinking as reflective thought, moving reflection beyond contemplation. Dewey used and defined the term Reflective Thought to mean:

"...Active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief, or supposed form of knowledge, in light of grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends..." (Dewey 1910:6)

Crucially here, reflection is seen as more than impulsive thinking or day-dreaming with no purpose. It is a way of deliberately thinking in a reflective (i.e., deep and interpretative) way about experiences, beliefs or knowledge, to make more careful judgements (US-English, judgments), based on objective grounds.

Thus, reflecting on things that have happened in our lives can open up more options and enable sound reasons for action.

Jean Piaget - Jean Piaget (1896-1980), a Swiss psychologist, proposed the theory that children mature in their thinking through different stages of development. He asserted that experience, concept, reflection and action are the foundation by which adult thought is developed (1969). This suggests that reflection is needed for learning, and connects reflection with action, to underpin critically reflective thinking for new understanding and knowledge.

David Kolb - David Kolb (b.1939), an American educationalist, produced seminal works on experiential learning theory (see Kolb Learning Styles). In his 1984 book, ' Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development', Kolb extended the ideas of Kurt Lewin, Jean Piaget and others, about adult learning, to produce an experiential learning concept - often represented by Kolb's Learning Process Diagram. This famous diagram shows four main stages of the learning process, as a continuous loop, in order of:

1. Experience,

2. Reflection,

3. Learning/Conclusion,

4. Planning/experimentation (and then back to Experience...)

David Kolb's Learning Styles concept has become a classical model representing the way we experience learning in our everyday life and work, and how we learn best in a practical sense, moving between active and reflective modes, and specifically through the stages shown in the diagram:

(See Kolb Learning Styles for detailed pdf versions and explanations of this diagram.)

Kolb proposed that if we become better at using all the stages of the learning cycle, notably including reflecting on experience, we will become better life-long learners. In other words, if we learn better and have better outcomes, we will be more successful in life.

Kolb's concept is among many that advocates 'trial and error' (extending to reflection, conceptualization and experimentation) through our own direct personal experience, and asserts this ('trial and error' approach) as an important mechanism for successful learning.

Note: While this assertion stands alone as a learning model for many self-contained tasks and activities, of course we need more than personal experience to learn about the wider world. Reflective Practice is not the only learning process we need in life.

Wolfgang Köhler - Wolfgang Köhler (1887-1967), a German gestalt psychologist born in Estonia, conducted learning studies using animals, in which he created the term 'insight learning'. He described his work in the 1917 book ' The Mentality of Apes'. Köhler expanded the notion of simple 'trial and error' to suggest a mental process which visualises a problem and considers a solution before taking action, triggering 'aha' or 'light-bulb' moments. For example, Köhler tells of observing an ape trying to retrieve a banana out of reach: the ape stops for a moment and then uses a nearby stick to pull the banana within reach. Köhler saw this as the 'insight' thought process leading to alternative action, i.e., visualising a problem and considering a solution before taking action. He presented this 'insight' as reflective thought, which equates to the 'reflective observation' stage in Kolb's learning cycle.

Donald Schon - Donald Schon (1930-1997) was an American philosopher, author, and Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He produced a series of books on learning, Reflective Practice, and significantly, the development of reflective practitioners. His seminal work ' The Reflective Practitioner' (1983) focused on professional Reflective Practice and the role of the reflective practitioner. In his model, learning to reflect in action (RIA) and look back on action (ROA) together form a reflective process for decision-making and professional growth. Experiencing surprise or uncertainty during reflection in action could be described as 'light bulb' moments, as in Köhler's earlier insight studies.

Barbara Larrivee - Professor Barbara Larrivee is an American expert in teaching and Reflective Practice at the Department of Learning, University of California. She has written particularly about the use of Reflective Practice in classroom teaching, notably ' Transforming Teaching Practice: Becoming the critically reflective teacher' (2000) and her book ' Authentic classroom management: Creating a learning community and building reflective practice' (2005). Professor Larrivee agrees that insightful experience can trigger changes in outlook, necessary for critical Reflective Practice.

Reflecting on action gives us time to look back at what happened in a more measured and objective way. This builds on Dewey's (1933) concept of a purposeful reasoned process, delaying impulsive action to allow reflective judgement for action (US-English judgment).

Gillie Bolton - Gillie Bolton, a senior research fellow at King's College, London University, and later a writer and consultant, wrote the paper ' Reflections Through the Looking‐glass: the story of a Course of Writing as a Reflexive Practitioner' (1999) and ' Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development' (2010). Bolton says in her 1999 paper: "... Professionals are under increased pressure: roles have become more complex, demand has increased, staffing levels have decreased and constant accountability is essential. Stress levels are unsurprisingly higher. The examination of practice [work/life experience] can improve understanding, knowledge, skills and therefore delivery. Writing as a reflective practitioner can lead to professional development, decrease stress by enabling problems to be discussed and dealt with, and can also support the building of team work..." Bolton focused on reflective writing techniques, which she called 'through the mirror' writing. She defines separately and connects Reflective Practice and reflexivity as 'cognitive states of mind', and uses narrative accounts to examine actions of self and others.

Carl Rogers - Carl Rogers (1902-87) was a prominent American psychotherapist and author. His books include ' Client centered Therapy' (1951), and ' Becoming a Person' (1961). Carl Rogers asserted that self-awareness is crucial for personal growth. He regarded critical reflection as vital for promoting learning and self-assessment, enabling us to identify and evaluate our skills and development needs. This in turn leads to more proactive personal and professional development planning and continuing professional development (CPD). Self reflection helps us to develop problem solving skills and find solutions in planning action for behaviour change. In reflecting on experiences, we can understand how we learn, start to observe our own progress in learning, limits of understanding, and develop more effective critical thinking skills by questioning and analysing our own and others' behaviour. In this way, we can begin to understand ourselves and be more self critical in a positive way. Rogers was a particular expert on empathy (understanding other people's feelings) and a great advocate of the importance of empathy in objective thinking, which is explained later in Reflective Practice objectivity.

Michel Foucault - Michel Foucault (1926-1984) was a French philosopher and social theorist. Significantly his view was mainly of society, and saw personal reflection as an aspect of societal health. In his work ' The Use of Pleasure: The History of Sexuality' (Vol 2, 1992 pp8-9, published posthumously), which built on his original 1976 ' History of Sexuality' book, he discussed the value of using reflection to consider how to go beyond the limits of our existing knowledge, in order to work towards intellectual growth and freedom. He defined critical self-reflection as being: " To know how and to what extent it might be possible to think differently, rather than legitimating what is already known ... a test of the limits that we may go beyond..."

N.B. Foucault's perspective is an example of the evolution of Reflective Practice, in terms of its potential reach and outcomes, i.e., at a societal level, way beyond the earliest notions of reflection as simple aimless contemplation. Foucault's ideas prompt us to see very easily that Reflective Practice is ultimately a tool by which society and civilization can improve, far beyond notions of individual self-improvement and professional development. We could imagine for example that Reflective Practice, were it taught in schools, would before long help to increase participation in democratic processes, community engagement, population health/lifestyle improvement, etc. Here Reflective Practice is potentially a highly complementary concept alongside Nudge Theory, and The Psychological Contract.

Karen Kitchener - Dr Karen Strohm Kitchener (born c.1950), is an American Counselling Psychologist and author, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Denver, having directed its counselling program for almost 25 years. Dr Kitchener is internationally renowned for her work on adolescent development and reflective judgment, and ethics in psychology. In her article ' Cognition, metacognition and Epistemic Cognition in Human Development' she describes and defines the reflexive process of metacognition, as being: "...To monitor our own learning, to become aware of the limits of our knowledge, and to become aware of our own values, assumptions, and expectations, and how they affect our behaviour and relationships..." Dr Kitchener is among several modern experts whose work extends the potential for Reflective Practice into societal consequences.

Jack Mezirow - Jack Mezirow (1923-14) was an American sociologist and Emeritus Professor of Adult and Continuing Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is generally considered founder of the transformative learning concept, which divides knowledge into three types: Instrumental, Communicative, and Emancipatory. Mezirow asserts that examining our outlook on the world, and challenging the assumptions and preconceptions underlying our values and beliefs, can be emotionally threatening. Challenging the values and beliefs that form part of our self identity can challenge the very core of who we are. Conversely Mezirow's work suggests that self-reflection can empower us to be more open and emotionally capable of change and reflection: a liberating process of intellectual and emotional growth. In his 2000 collaborative book ' Learning as Transformation - Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress', Mezirow defines transformative learning as incorporating the examination of assumptions, to share ideas for insight, and to take action on individual and collective reflection. Mezirow offered the following transformative learning structure:

1. Critical reflection on one's assumptions

2. Discourse (communication) to validate insights from the critical reflection

3. Action

Daniel Goleman - Daniel Goleman (b. 1946) is an American psychologist, author and science journalist. He wrote the best-selling 1996 book ' Emotional Intelligence' and is jointly acknowledged as originating and defining the EQ concept. Emotional Intelligence is popularly abbreviated to EQ. EQ significantly alludes to and contrasts with IQ (Intelligence Quotient), because EQ theory tends to regard IQ as a highly limiting way to measure human intelligence, and especially to judge broader human capability. Among more recent influences, Goleman referenced and developed some very old ideas in developing EQ principles, notably those of Greek philosopher Socrates, dating from 400BC. The Socratic 'know thyself' became a modern theory of self-awareness and emotional growth through the development of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills and social relationships. Goleman defined four social competencies for emotional growth, requiring self-reflection:

Self-awareness

Social awareness

Self-management

Relationship Management

Significantly in Goleman's work, the use of self-reflection should be regulated by the situation, which acknowledges the potential of reflective techniques to open deep personal issues, which may not be appropriate. For example, in the context of work-based management training, EQ-driven self-awareness should be explored safely within agreed professional boundaries, so as to avoid being too personal or introspective. Emotional Intelligence is a good example of a highly complementary theory to use alongside Reflective Practice.

Stephen Brookfield - Dr Stephen Brookfield (b.1949) is an English educationalist, at the School of Education, University of St Thomas, Minneapolis. In his book on ' Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher' (1995) he takes a wider view of critical reflection. Within his 'lens' theory, he suggests we reflect on our practice [work/life experiences] through other lenses, not only from our own perspective but from multiple perspectives; and including reflecting on theory. For example; seeing another person's point of view (colleagues, manager, customer) and reflecting through the lens of theory (books, internet, TV, training and development). This can enable us to find a more objective and less subjective picture of ourselves. Dr Brookfield described 'critical reflection' in 1995 as:

" The [Brookfield] 'Lens theory' suggests that apart from reflecting on our own personal beliefs, we reflect through other lenses, on multiple perspectives including theory..." (1995:p30)

This is a sophisticated and multi-faceted perspective Reflective Practice, and illustrates the evolution of the concept from its simple 'reflection' origins.

Critical reflection is viewed by many as the cognitive process linking theory and practical work, vital in critical thinking. Theory, and especially research and evidence-based facts - help us to understand the world beyond our own experience. Reflecting on theory - combined with personal experience - offers a potent basis for inspiring new ideas to put into effect, to achieve continuous improvement and development.

Systematically using reflection to consider what theory has to offer for our own learning and professional work can help us move from thought to action. After all, theory based on solid research evidence is largely recycled 'best practice' from the relevant field of study. Organizational theory is mainly drawn from studies in the workplace, and specifically for example, the management theorist Meredith Belbin's research into management teams has created a body of knowledge and understanding about team dynamics and effectiveness. The business world has used this wider knowledge to understand how to minimize errors in recruitment and team working, and to improve team effectiveness for improved productivity and growth. Dewey supported the idea of theory drawn from practical experience and applied back to practical action - a loop of reflection and action, for learning and development.

Reflexivity and reflective learning together empower critically reflective learners for continuous improvement in performance, at individual and organizational levels. These powerful implications for learning suggest that the reflective practitioner can transcend basic training and knowledge transfer, to instead facilitate real growth in people and in groups, and the fulfilment of human potential (US-English fulfillment).

Objectivity

Objectivity is a crucial aspect of Reflective Practice. This has been suggested from the start of its modern appreciation, among others, notably in the work of Immanuel Kant and Bertrand Russell.

The nature of thought is obviously personal, being the product of our own brain, so our own thinking tends to be subjective to some degree. Where our thinking is very subjective, for example when we feel very emotional about something, this subjectivity can become unhelpful, especially if we are stressed or angry, or upset, which can substantially distort interpretations.

If reflective thinking is to be useful for our learning and development, and for improving our actions and decisions in an environment, then this reflective thinking must include some objectivity. If decisions are based on wrong data, then outcomes tend to be unhelpful, or worse.

So objectivity is important if Reflective Practice is to be very useful.

We should consider what experts have said about this, and how we might best allow for natural human tendencies towards subjective thinking within Reflective Practice.

Jurgen Habermas - German sociologist and philosopher Jurgen Habermas (b. 1929) held a professorship at the University of Frankfurt until retirement in 1994. He suggested that reflection does not sit easily within a modern Western culture based on scientific reasoning (1998). From this perspective, reflective activities may be seen as too subjective and not sufficiently rooted in evidence, which is considered to be a more valid effective way to find truth.

The problem exists mainly because of two potentially different view of what is 'true':

Truth seen as universal (objective and rooted in evidence)

versus

Truth seen as relative to place, time and context (subjective and rooted in social relationships).

This has led to reflection being seen as either:

A systematic process of enquiry and problem solving, or

A subjective self reflection based on perceptions (therefore flawed).

However, Schon and others have noted that even 'objective' evidence-based problem-solving methods can be flawed, if a habitual routine approach fails to question and challenge the status quo.

For example, a reasonable evidence-based reflection made in the 1970s would have concluded that a lack of computer skills was unlikely ever to be a serious obstacle to professional development (other than for computer scientists and programmers), whereas by 2000 it had become virtually impossible to maintain a normal domestic existence, let alone develop a career, without a good command of IT and online technology. This is an extreme example of how reliance on 'evidence' or 'facts' can produce an unreliable reflection, and also highlights how subjective reflections based on feelings can change according to mood, circumstances, time, etc.

Nudge theory, and the heuristics within it (especially the human tendency to place undue emphasis on 'evidence') are very useful in understanding why people can be misguided by apparent 'facts', and how this can have a huge effect on groups and society.

Some types of subjective instinctive thinking is unhelpful, but other types can be tremendously effective in finding truth and solutions.

So we need to be more subtle in understanding what objectivity and subjectivity mean in relation to Reflective Practice.

We can increase our objectivity by increasing our awareness of our assumptions and expectations. Or put another way, we will reliably increase our objectivity in Reflective Practice by recognising our assumptions and expectations, and being able to differentiate this data from objective facts and evidence.

Each of us has a different individual outlook on the world. This develops from the circumstances and influences that shape us into adulthood. Our reflections are filtered through these beliefs, values and attitudes, so that our interpretations are likely to be biased. Our thinking is instinctively 'value-driven'.
To achieve a more objective view, we can reflect on our prejudices and assumptions.
This approach is very much aligned with notions of metacognition, (awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes).
We can also use objective evidence to support our reflections, and in this way reduce bias in interpreting events and experiences.
Truth requires objective confirmed evidence. Subjective reflections can be faulty, especially when based on perceptions alone.
So particularly when reflecting on human values and social relationships we can increase the validity of our reflections by using evidence.
Nevertheless subjective reflections can be valuable, provided we are aware of the dangers of bias.

Moreover, while isolated reflections are often unreliable and transient, a collection of subjective reflections can produce a meaningful picture. This 'whole picture' tends to be greater than the sum of its parts.

Searching for new knowledge or truth towards our own personal development requires more than merely increasing objectivity, and reducing the potential for bias inherent in subjective interpretation; we must draw on both of these data sources, weighing and balancing them to formulate thinking which is informed by:

Facts and evidence, and other objective data, and

Personal relative reactions and feelings, and other subjective data, and

Our analysis of what these things mean, their relative validities and their most reliable blend.

Lawrence-Wilkes and Ashmore - Linda Lawrence-Wilkes and Dr Lyn Ashmore, teachers of professional development in higher education in northern England, collaborated to publish their research on Reflective Practice for learning, ' The Reflective Practitioner in Professional Education' (2014).

Lawrence-Wilkes and Ashmore propose that:

As we reflect on new ideas and knowledge, we can stand back to gain new insights as patterns emerge to create a more holistic picture.

Like seeing stars in the night sky - it can be difficult to see them at first - we see just a black sky - but when our eyes become sensitive to the stars, we see more and more of them. Our initial struggle to see a single star naturally resolves, as we absorb more detail, so that we can eventually discern increasingly complex patterns, and eventually vast constellations. Yet when we first begin looking we cannot see a single star.

So, like star-gazing, in adopting a critical attitude - we must allow the whole picture to develop. We must be open to an evolving picture - to adopt a questioning stance, and to look beyond the surface to find truth.

Kitchener and King (1990) suggest a reflective judgement model promoting 'reasoned reflection':

Judgements are based on what is most reasonable, using contextualized evaluation to determine the validity of data.

Here 'contextualized' means that we consider data - subjective and objective - according to its context, so that facts and feelings are not seen in unreliable isolation.

Building on these ideas, Lawrence-Wilkes and Ashmore propose an integrated model of critical reflection which acknowledges a social context.

This requires a reflective approach that accepts and respects diverse perspectives, supported by evidence, and produces shared and inclusive knowledge.

The Johari Window model offers a very helpful view of this principle.

The combination of:

Self-reflection (self)

And collective reflective communications (self plus others)

produce a wider reflective approach, which then contributes to shared knowledge at micro and macro levels (i.e., detailed/personal/local, and broad/external/societal).

For example:

Shared reflections in the classroom, through disseminated written/published works, contribute to wider bodies of knowledge.

And at a personal level, someone who reflects on may progress to take action for change in wider society.

And at a personal level, someone who reflects on their personal and professional life may build on strengths and address development gaps to progress and take action for change in wider society.

The Reflective Rational Enquiry diagram below supports critical reasoned reflection through an integrated reflective-rational approach.

(Diagram source ref: Lawrence-Wilkes and Ashmore, 2014:64, The Reflective Practitioner in Professional Education.)

In the diagram's context, here are definitions of terms not already explained or self-explanatory:

Multiple Frames of Reference - different world views or outlooks.

Metacritique - wide and deep critical evaluation or analysis of something, including previous critical review ('meta' here means higher-ordered, or a superior level)

Praxis - commitment to action (as opposed to theory or thought about something - praxis is ancient Greek meaning 'doing' - more generally now it means 'practice' in the sense of practical action)

The Lawrence-Wilkes/Ashmore model argues for:

More reliable personal reflection about our inner-self, and

Critical reflection and enquiry as to outer experience and knowledge in the wider world.

Knowledge and experience are interpreted and analysed through the filter of perception and context, using reflective activities to obtain new insights for independent thinking and action.

Process and Methodology

When we put Reflective Practice into effect we are actually seeking to make a change, by using subjective and objective data from experience, to plan and decide actions.

In more detail, this process is (to the fullest extent of the concept, in reverse):

A plan or experiment or action that we devise,

Which is based on our learning,

Which is from relevant experience and information,

Which might be positive and/or negative, and a mixture of:

Objective facts, evidence, knowledge, etc., and

Subjective feelings, instincts and personal reactions,

All of which, ideally, we have assessed to understand its meaning for us, and its validity and relevance for the particular situation.

This section seeks to convey some methods for using Reflective Practice - either for yourself, or to help others use the concept.

It's helpful to revisit what reflection within Reflective Practice actually means, since reflection crucially assists us to make successful change.

Jenny Moon - Jenny Moon is a Teaching Fellow and Associate Professor at Bournemouth University. She has written much on reflective learning and the use of learning journals to support professional development. In her book ' Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice' (the word 'practice' there refers to practical work), she defines reflection as a thought process: "[Reflection is] ...a mental process of thinking about what we have done, learned and experienced..." (J Moon, 1999)

Most of us reflect superficially all the time, about what we are doing during events or experiences in our daily lives. Some call this 'thinking on our feet' (a metaphor based on thinking while acting, which contrasts with more deliberate concentrated thought).

This expression 'thinking on our feet' often refers to a lack of preparation or reacting to a suprising situation, although its deeper meaning is that we are reflecting about a situation 'in the moment', in a broad external sense, and also an internal personal sense.

While reflecting 'in the moment' is valuable, and can produce effective immediate solutions, we might not develop these reflections beyond the event itself, and not retain these valuable pieces of reflective learning when we move on to other tasks.

If however we think more proactively, more deliberate reflection can generate conclusions and actions for making future improvements, preventing repeated mistakes, and other positive change.

'Thinking on our feet' (immediate reactive reflection) can solve immediate challenges, whereas critical reflection (i.e., after-the-event proactive reflection) can produce more complex changes for future improvements.

Put very simply, thinking about a task as we are doing it can lead to making changes to improve the outcome of the task.

For example, if I put a bundle of white clothes in the washing machine and see that the water has turned a blue, I am thinking I might have left a blue sock in the bundle, or a blue pen that was in my shirt pocket.

Noticing and reacting to what happened does not guarantee I won't make the same mistake again, whereas reflecting more deliberately about what happened can help me to think about what I can do to:

Repair the damage and

Avoid it happening again (I will definitely check what I am putting into the machine next time!)

In the above example, note the stages of Kolb's learning cycle:

I had an experience,

I reflected on it, to evaluate what went well or badly

I considered some ideas and options for change

And planned a different action.

If I remember next time to check the clothes properly before I put them into the machine I should achieve a better outcome, i.e., a clean white wash. And then extending my reflective thinking, besides checking pockets properly, I may reflect on other methods to get an even whiter wash.

This simple but often-overlooked principle is reinforced by the old saying that:

"If we keep on doing the same things, we are likely to get the same outcomes..."

also often shown as:

"If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got..."

It is important to remember that having reflected about and understood a problem experience, that we evaluate our strengths/weaknesses and examine how these might affect the situation. We can then make the changes that our learning has enabled us to plan.

We can probably all recall times in our lives when we have failed to reflect on a negative experience, consequently failed to consider options for change - and so a repeat of the mistake becomes inevitable.

It is a nuisance if all our white clothes eventually become blue, but if we fail to reflect and take corrective action in more serious areas, results can be catastrophic - for example in a busy hospital, or manufacturing aircraft components.

Reflection can help us:

Understand our own strengths and weaknesses, and become better learners,

Encourage and plan development of our capabilities,

and potentially more crucially -

Adopt and apply Reflective Practice in the workplace, in professional situations, so that..

Very serious risks are minimized,

Quality on a wide scale is optimized,

Others adopt and use similar Reflective Practice methods,

And ongoing improvement and risk avoidance become deeply embedded into organizational culture, to avoid stagnation and encourage innovation.

Using Reflective Practice

We can start using Reflective Practice by simply (and mindfully, intentionally) thinking about things that have happened in our lives, whether in a personal or professional situation.

We can reflect in lots of different ways on a range of different events or experiences that are important to us.
Using Reflective Practice does not require any extra time..
For example, on our journey home from work or study, (especially on public transport when we don't need to concentrate on traffic) we can devote a little time to consider things that happened during the day.

We can reflect while walking the dog, doing the washing-up or ironing, cutting the lawn, cleaning, and even when watching TV - you'll be surprised at how much time is spent sitting in front of a TV not actually engaged with what's on screen, just day-dreaming, in a trance. Instead, we can use and build on these moments to trigger deliberate reflection.

We might think about one particular event or situation, or a series of events or experiences: what went well, what might not have gone quite so well, and what we could have done better or different to make our day more successful.

When To Reflect About An Event

We usually reflect to a degree about an event when it happens or very quickly afterwards, however by reviewing it later usually we can see it differently, and discover different feelings about it.

The timing of Reflective Practice - especially in relation to stressful/intense experiences - can be crucial.

Transactional Analysis, and its underpinning theory - offer very relevant details as to why and how our emotions can become heightened, so that our mood and attitudes distort from a more normal evenly balanced viewpoint. This helps us consider how emotions can affect social relationships.

Lawrence-Wilkes offers an example from her teaching experience of the deliberate scheduling of Reflective Practice so that it does not immediately follow an intense mood-altering event:

Reflective Practice can be very useful for people learning/experiencing and reviewing very intense training activities such as self-defence (US-English defense), control and restraint techniques, etc.

It's long been recognized that the quality of reviews in such situations can vary greatly, depending on how quickly the review follows the event.

For this reason, reviews held very soon after intense training/incidents are called 'hot'. Reviews that are conducted some hours afterwards are called 'cold'.

During 'hot' reviews, Reflective Practice among trainees is typically greatly influenced by their emotions and reactions to the event's pressures (as in the expression 'in the heat of the moment'). This emotional sensation, usually very subjective, naturally happens due to the production of stress and action hormones in our nervous systems. The event may also 'trigger' unconscious feelings that were embedded by trauma/stress in the past. Mindful of these possible effects, it's very important to conduct a 'cold' review sufficiently later than the event when emotions have cooled (which may be in addition to, or instead of, the 'hot' review immediately after the event). This 'cold' review process enables Reflective Practice that is clearer, more balanced, and objective. This in turn improves the quality of reflections; the examination of our own role and responsibilities in the situation; and the resulting judgments and decisions about future actions.

Note that 'hot' reviews can themselves be very valuable - provided people understand that they are 'hot', and that people focus on how emotions can affect the way we behave.

Moreover, if you are teaching people about Reflective Practice, then it can be very helpful to demonstrate the difference between 'hot' and 'cold' reviews, rather than merely avoiding 'hot' reviews altogether. This can be especially useful in group situations, and relates strongly to the Johari Window principle and model of self/mutual-awareness.

Emotions can feature strongly in people's reflections - especially in organisations which suffer from 'blame culture' - i.e., where people are quick to blame others or external reasons for poor outcomes, rather than take personal responsibility and concentrate on finding solutions. This type of 'attribution' of blame is very unhelpful for Reflective Practice.

Accordingly take extra care in facilitating group reflections wherever emotions are likely to distort people's views of their own behaviour and its consequences.

In any situation, remember that emotions can significantly influence our perceptions about an experience, and timing (or reflection in relation to an event) can significantly influence our emotions.

So where appropriate, delaying our reflection usually enables us to see things more clearly, minimising distortions caused by emotions.

The excellent Fisher theory of personal transition is also a very useful aid to understanding how time alters our feelings about events, especially our reactions to a pressure for change.

While written records are helpful and memorable, especially for personal individual reflection, reflections do not always have to be in writing.

This is particularly so where a group (or more than one person) is involved in Reflective Practice, so that reflections can be shared through discussion. The discussion can then lead to collective agreement about future actions, changes and improvements. See the Johari Window for help relating to group relationships.

Individually or in groups, reflective Practice can be managed via various 'media', for example:

Written journal, notes or diary (see the reflective diary templates/tools)

Creative imagery - e.g., 'mind-mapping', sketches, pictures, diagrams

Reflective dialogue and discussion - in groups, couples, etc., face-to-face or by phone or written, etc., and with a mentor or coach

Social media - blog/twitter/online communities

Academic study - qualitative research, research process, reflective texts

Published work - article, book, conference

When deciding what methods/media to use, consider the basic process for effective Reflective Practice requires a deliberate way to link, and progress through stages of:

During this process be mindful of the requirements to:

Reflect at the right time - Reflect at appropriate times in relation to any experiences which are stressful or intense (intense experiences need a cooling-off period before 'cold' reflection is possible).

Balance subjective and objective reflection - Be aware of the difference between your subjective reflection and your objective reflection - both are useful and relevant, but you must understand what is subjective and what is objective, and you must strive to balance each in arriving at the most helpful and clear overall understanding.

Understand how and why you think in the way you do - generally and about specific things - this is 'metacognition' - ("Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.")

Consider your personal role and responsibilities - examine your strengths, skills and development needs (for example assess your multiple intelligences to understand your different skills and abilities - and perhaps find new ones)

Seek external clarifications - Refer to external references, advice, information, clarifications, facts, figures, etc., especially where you believe that your thinking is not factual enough, or you are not fully informed about situations. (Seeheuristics tendencies within Nudge Theory, which offer helpful alerts to our natural human vulnerability to making assumptions, blind faith, unsupported fears, following the crowd, etc).

The place where you reflect can also be significant. The Emergent Knowledge concept, in which a person's location can have a dramatic effect on thinking, and aid the stimulation of different attitudes or unlock feelings. This might be simply standing rather than sitting, or moving to a different part of the room, or relocating greater distances. Try it.. move to a different room or outdoors, and experience how your mood and perceptions alter.

Activities such as walking, swimming, yoga, and exercising can also produce dramatic shifts in thought patterns. For example, taking exercise is proven to reduce stress levels, especially in countryside or green spaces, and this is certainly beneficial for reflection.

So reflection techniques are not restricted to the process of reflection itself - they extend to managing the situations, locations, and the mind/body condition in which you reflect.

Comparing Models

Various experts have produced Reflective Practice models to help people use Reflective Practice more deliberately, proactively, and effectively.

These models also help beginners to remember the process of reflecting from events/experiences for effective learning, and can also restrict (unhelpful) 'creative narrative reflections', in which we develop subjective thinking into fanciful or fearful imaginings. See the Murphy's Plough story, for example.

Rolfe et al (2001)

First, this very simple and memorable model offers a very flexible process for using Reflective Practice, and especially for getting started and experimenting with the concept.

Gibbs - Reflective Cycle model (1988)

The Gibbs' reflective cycle, inspired partly by Kolb's learning cycle, enables us to focus especially on our own and others' feelings, views and perceptions. In common terms people call this "Standing/walking in someone else's shoes". This relates strongly to ideas about empathy.

The process is essentially a cycle or loop, containing the following elements:

1. Description - What happened?

2. Feelings - What were you thinking and feeling?

3. Evaluation - What was good and bad about the experience?

4. Analysis - What sense can you make of the situation?

5. Conclusion - What else could you have done?

6. Action Plan - If it arose again what would you do? (back to 1 Description)

(Diagram: Gibbs G [1988] Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit. Oxford Polytechnic: Oxford. [Brookes.ac.uk])

Having empathy can help us to see beyond our own actions, feelings and motivations to imagine how another person might be feeling; what their different views and opinions might be; and how these factors can influence the situation.

It is usually easier (and therefore a natural tendency) to blame others for problems, than to consider our own responsibilities in a particular situation.

Also, we can only change what is in our control to change.

The Gibbs model encourages the use of critical reflection, and especially offers a good starting point for people first using Reflective Practice, in converting new learning and knowledge into action and change.

The process requires that we look beneath the surface of events and experiences, to achieve deeper levels of reflection and learning.

REFLECT

This is a very neat 'bacronym' (an acronym devised in reverse to fit a word) based on the word 'REFLECT', representing stages of Reflective Practice:

1. Remember - Look back, review, ensure intense experiences are reviewed 'cold'. (Subjective and objective)

2. Experience - What happened? What was important? (Subjective and objective)

3. Focus - Who, what, where, etc. Roles, responsibilities, etc. (Mostly objective)

4. Learn - Question: why, reasons, perspectives, feelings? Refer to external checks. (Subjective and objective)

5. Evaluate - Causes, outcomes, strengths, weaknesses, feelings - use metacognition. (Subjective and objective)

6. Consider - Assess options, need/possibilities for change? Development needs? 'What if?' scenarios? Refer to external checks (Mostly objective)

7. Trial - Integrate new ideas, experiment, take action, make change. (Repeat cycle)

Here the model is shown in a table form, showing that it can be used as a template or tool for notes and actions, or other points.

Self-Assessment Questionnaire

(You may use the tools in this website in self-development, research, and teaching/helping others provided you attribute their authorship and source and that you do not publish them or replicate them online.)

This quick Reflective Practice assessment tool indicates how and to what degree you use Reflective Practice.

The items are also a checklist of the main elements within Reflective Practice, enabling it to be effective and sustaining.

Score each item 0 = None; 1 = Some; 2 = A lot

Reflective Practice Self-Assessment

I observe events and situations that involve me carefully.

I understand how/why I think as I do (metacognition).

Total of all five sections.

© Lawrence-Wilkes/Chapman, Businessballs 2015.

Interpreting your scores:
There are a maximum 60 points available (5 sections, each of 6 questions = 30 questions, max 2pts each).

The total score indicates as follows:

0-20 - low interest/opportunity for Reflective Practice

21-40 - good potential for using Reflective Practice

41-60 - excellent potential for Reflective Practice (or you are already a critical reflector)
The individual element and sub-section scores indicate where you should direct your efforts to improve your Reflective Practice potential and capabilities.
Here is a more detailed Reflective Practice Self-Assessment instrument (pdf format) which includes sub-section analysis.

This process itself is a very good example of Reflective Practice, and using a Reflective Practice tool, and if you complete the questionnaire, analyse the results, and decide to take some action, then you are most certainly putting Reflective Practice to very powerful effect.

You may use the tools above in self-development, research, and teaching/helping others provided you attribute its authorship and source (© Lawrence-Wilkes/Chapman, Businessballs 2015, from Businessballs.com/reflective-practice.htm), and that you do not publish it or replicate it online.

Here are two other relevant free reflection tools:
Reflective Diary/Journal Process Guide and Templates (pdf)

Reflective Diary/Journal Facilitative Questioning Process and Templates (pdf)

Linda Lawrence-Wilkes - biography

I am grateful to Linda Lawrence-Wilkes, an expert in Reflective Practice, for collaborating and contributing the technical content to this guide.

Linda's brief biography is a fine example of the adoption and purposeful application of Reflective Practice.

Linda Lawrence-Wilkes was born in 1949, in the industrial north of England. Raised in a working class family with no tradition of post compulsory education, Linda understood the climb out of poverty to make a meaningful life. She pursued career and educational opportunities, and began to use Reflective Practice to think more independently and adopt a critical stance. She understood the effort required to let go of the familiar and enter the unknown territory of new ideas and concepts.

"When I overcome my (many) barriers to learning and take on board new knowledge, I recognise new connections leading to new insights. A liberating process that empowers me to make the changes needed to be more successful in life and relationships. Today, I would see myself as a follower of critical theory and devotee of building critical skills to underpin emancipated thinking for intellectual liberation."

Linda works in higher education in the north of England (at 2016). Her work involves research and scholarship in higher education, and teacher training in the third sector. With the support of her mentor and co-author, Dr Lyn Ashmore, Linda published her research into how Reflective Practice can be used as a learning tool. The book is titled ' The Reflective Practitioner in Professional Education' (see the reference list below).

The ideas expressed in the book have inspired Linda to collaborative in producing this guide.

Linda's contribution and collaboration in producing this guide to Reflective Practice is greatly appreciated. She is contactable via Linkedin or directly via email: llawrencewilkes at gmail dot com (NB that's LLAWRENCEWILKES - sorry it's not a link, so as to reduce spam).

References

Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bolton, G. (2010) Reflective Practice, Writing and Professional Development (3rd edition), SAGE publications, California.

Brookfield, S. D. (1995) Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Dewey, J. (1910) How We Think. New York: Heath and Co.

Foucault, M. (1992) The Use of Pleasure. The History of Sexuality Volume 2, Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, pp. 8-9.

Goleman, D. (1996) Emotional Intelligence. London: Bloomsbury.

Habermas, J. (1998) The inclusion of the Other. Studies in Political Theory. Parts VIII and IX of Ch1 Transcribed by Andy Blunden. London: MIT Press.

Kant, I. (1781/87) 2nd ed., Critique of Pure Reason, tr. and ed. by P. Guyer and A. Wood, (1998) Cambridge University Press.

Kitchener, K. (1983) 'Cognition, Metacognition and Epistemic Cognition' Human Development, 26, 222-223.

Kitchener, K.S. and King, P.M. (1990). The reflective judgment model: Transforming assumptions about knowing. In J. Mezirow et al (Eds), Fostering critical reflection in adulthood: A guide to transformative and emancipatory learning (pp157-176). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Köhler, W. (1956) The mentality of apes. London: Routledge and K. Paul. (Original publication 1917 translated from 2nd revised ed by Ella Winter).

Kolb, D.A. (1984): Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development [internet] Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Larrivee, B. (2000) Transforming teaching practice: becoming the critically reflective teacher, Reflective Practice, 1(3), 293-307.

Lawrence-Wilkes, L., and Ashmore, L., (2014) The Reflective Practitioner in Professional Education, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Mezirow, J. and Associates (2000) Learning as Transformation - Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Moon, J. (1999) Reflection in learning and professional development: theory and practice, London: Kogan Page.

Piaget, J. (1969) The Mechanisms of Perception, (G. M. Seagrim tr) London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, original work 1961.

Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D. and Jasper, M. (2001). Critical Reflection in Nursing and the Helping Professions: a User's Guide. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.

Rogers, C. (1961) On Becoming a Person: A therapist's view of psychotherapy. London: Constable.

Russell, B. (1926) On Education, Especially in Early Childhood, London: George Allen and Unwin; repr. as Education and the Good Life, New York: Boni and Liveright, 1926; abridged as Education of Character, New York: Philosophical Library, 1961.

Schon, D. A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books, New York. pp102-4 Lawrence-Wilkes, L., and Ashmore, L., (2014) The Reflective Practitioner in Professional Education, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The importance and benefits of reflective practice, with definitions and the background. Read about process, method, and principles of effective reflecting.

# data[].attributes.headline
National Model of Professional Learning - explore the resource  

# data[].attributes.subject
National Model of Professional Learning - explore the resource  

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Click on image for more information

Professional learning must focus on the education professional as a learner and how this is related to and impacts upon the learning of children, young people and adults

Leadership of and for learning

Leaders in the widest sense understand that people are the drivers and enactors of change for improvement. Professional learning and development is the means by which this is put into action. As a priority, leaders commit to and invest in their own professional learning and development, creating the conditions where professional learning can thrive - space, time, culture and trust.

Develop the strategic vision to lead and support learning for all

Develop a learning culture and ethos based on trust, honesty, challenge and support; one which supports and promotes the growth of professional capital through professional learning

Support and provide time for meaningful engagement in sustained professional learning and development with opportunities to share

Lead learning conversations underpinned by coaching approaches to stimulate, challenge and support thinking

Have professional courage

Enact collaborative and enquiring approaches to practice

Encourage, challenge and question to ensure development and progress

Be committed to and recognise the importance of developing individual and collective knowledge

Professional standards and policy

Professional standards and educational policies both support and inform professional learning. It is important to examine and consider them in action and understand the connections and coherence across educational policies and the professional standards. Should be used:

To self-evaluate and engage in critically reflective thinking about practice as part of regular, planned and ongoing professional learning dialogues and development

To support professional growth and agency

To ask critical questions of self, school or organisation and system

As a catalyst for learning

To frame and support thinking and practice

As a way to signpost and plan learning

To challenge and consider beliefs, values and professional actions

To explore professional identity

Learning as collaborative

Learning with and from colleagues, partners and learners as part of an active learning community:

Learning is an interactive and active process

The educator as learner reflects on professional practice and shares professional learning

The educator as learner self-evaluates and considers own assumptions, context, relationships with others and is self-aware

Conversations about learning are:

Frequent and prioritised

Productive and focused

Based on feedback loops between and for educators, learners, colleagues, leaders and relevant partners

Knowledge is developed by and with educators, learners, family/carers and learning community

Engaging learners and their families/carers/relevant partners

External knowledge and other expertise and perspectives

Learning with and from colleagues, learners and others

There is an ethical prerogative to taking an enquiry stance, to try to improve outcomes for children, young people and adult learners:

Asking critical questions about self, and learners within your context

Reflecting on professional practice, learning and the learning of learners within your context encourages metacognitive knowledge and skills

Supporting dispositions around risk-taking, being open to change and ready to innovate

Critically examining a wide range of sources of information to inform knowledge and understanding

Asking questions about impact, about the progress of learners and their learning

Enquiry based professional learning encourages informed decision making and clearer articulation of 'why' we are teaching and learning in the way we are, promoting voice around the 'so what?' and 'what now'?

Develops professional agency and voice - educators as leaders of change

Learning that deepens knowledge and understanding

Professional learning should inform, challenge and help to understand why we do what we do. Enquiry is the basis for reflective and strategic thinking (metacognition) about practice and becomes the methodology for professional learning.

Understanding and developing self as a learner and as a professional:

What interests, informs and influences you?

How do you examine your own assumptions and beliefs?

How is your professional voice shaped by professional values?

Developing depth of knowledge about:

Learning and teaching

Subject, curriculum and policy

Own assumptions, values and beliefs

Self as a learner

Developing skills, expertise and experience

Regarding problems and failures as learning opportunities

Seeking solution focused approaches from an informed, problem solving perspective

There is a dynamic relationship between learners (the learning of children, young people and adults) and the educator's professional learning; these are deeply interconnected.

The educator's professional learning should be informed by the learner's experience, voice and needs. In turn, the professional learning of the educator should impact positively upon the experiences of learners

Professional learning should take account of and reflect the unique circumstances of the learning community

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The national model of professional learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Click on image for more information Professional learning must focus on the education professional as a learner and how this is related to and impacts upon the learning of children, young people and adults Leadership of and for learning Leaders in the widest sense understand that people are the drivers and enactors of change for improvement.

# data[].attributes.headline
distributed leadership  - this is an excellent resource.

# data[].attributes.subject
distributed leadership  - this is an excellent resource.

# data[].attributes.body
Please read and take notes

# data[].attributes.headline
take the quiz - how good are your leadership skills?

# data[].attributes.subject
take the quiz - how good are your leadership skills?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Self-confidence is built by mastering significant skills and situations, and by knowing that you can add real value through the work that you do. One of the best ways to improve your confidence is to become aware of all of the things you've already achieved.

Positive Attitude and Outlook (Questions 10, 17)

A positive mindset is also associated with strong leadership. However, being positive is much more than presenting a happy face to the world: you need to develop a strong sense of balance, and recognize that setbacks and problems happen - it's how you deal with those problems that makes the difference.

Positive people approach situations realistically, and are prepared to make the changes necessary to overcome a problem. Negative people, on the other hand, often give in to the stress and pressure of a situation. This can lead to fear, worry, distress, anger, and failure.

Emotional Intelligence (Questions 5, 15)
Transformational Leadership
Transformational leadership is a leadership style where leaders create an inspiring vision of the future, motivate their followers to achieve it, manage implementation successfully, and develop the members of their teams to be even more effective in the future. We explore the key traits of transformational leadership further, below.

Providing a Compelling Vision of the Future (Questions 6, 14)

From there, good use of strategic analysis techniques can help you gain the key insights you need into the environment you're operating in, and into the needs of your clients.

Motivating People to Deliver the Vision (Questions 9, 12)

Ultimately, you need to motivate people to deliver your vision. To better understand your ability to motivate, complete our quiz, How Good Are Your Motivation Skills? , and explore our articles on Herzberg's Motivators and Hygiene Factors and Sirota's Three Factor Theory.

Being a Good Role Model (Questions 4, 11)

Managing Performance Effectively (Questions 3, 13)

Providing Support and Stimulation (Questions 1, 7, 16, 18)

To be highly motivated at work, people need more than a list of tasks to be completed each day. They need challenges and interesting work. They need to develop their skills and to feel supported in their efforts to do a good job.

Think about your approach to Task Allocation, and look for opportunities to match people with jobs and responsibilities that will help them to grow and develop. Use Heron's Six Categories of Intervention to decide when and how to help them to progress. Perform Training Needs Assessments regularly to determine what your team needs to be successful.

What are the Most Important Leadership Skills?

Good leaders need to possess a myriad of skills and attributes if they are to effective in the role.

Some of the most important attributes are listed below. Leaders need to be:

Good open communicators

Empathetic

Strategic thinkers

Positive

Flexible

Adept at conflict resolution

Reliable/Show integrity

Mentors and motivators

Recognize potential

Organized

Good delegators

Offer feedback

Frequently Asked Questions About Leadership Skills

What Is the Key Difference Between a Manager and a Leader?

Leaders create a vision and generate support for it. Managers work to make the vision a reality.

What Are the 5 Traits of Being a Good Leader?

An effective leader is a person who does the following:

1. Creates a vision of the future.

2. Works well with a team.

3. Enables their team's success.

4. Demonstrates flexibility.

5. Embodies expert power, credibility, trust, and authenticity.

How Can You Improve Your Leadership Skills?

It's now widely recognized that top-down autocratic leadership has far less relevance to today's organizations, which face rapid change and have to fight to survive in an extremely competitive and increasingly global marketplace.

Good leaders are also flexible, adaptable, ethical, and culturally aware, in order to be credible in the eyes of their employees and stakeholders. The effective leaders of today and tomorrow will consult, collaborate and distribute their power in order to get the best from themselves, their people, and the organization as a whole.

How can Leadership Coaching Help You Grow?

Coaching can help leaders identify their strengths and weakness, so they have a clear picture of where they need to develop and improve.

Coaches can also offer honest feedback on new ideas or different approaches. They can also help develop leaders' emotional intelligence and communication skills, which are vital for effective leadership.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Good Are Your Leadership Skills? - Good leaders know which direction to take.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Test your leadership skills with this quick quiz, and discover the leadership skills you need to develop to become a great leader.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Denmark is one of the happiest countries in the world. This is according to the UN's World Happiness Report, an important survey that since 2012 classifies the happiness of 155 countries in the world, and that for seven years has placed Denmark among the top three happiest countries on a global level. The fact that teaching empathy has been mandatory since 1993 in schools in Denmark is a factor that contributes to the happiness of the country.

Empathy helps build relationships, prevent bullying and succeed at work. It promotes the growth of leaders, entrepreneurs and managers. "Empathic teenagers" tend to be more successful because they are more oriented towards the goals compared to their more narcissistic peers.

In Danish schools an hour a week is dedicated to the " Klassens tid", an empathy lesson for students aged 6 to 16 years. It is a fundamental part of the Danish curriculum. The hour of empathy is as important as the time spent, for example, on English or mathematics. During the Klassens tid students discuss their problems, either related to school or not, and the whole class, together with the teacher, tries to find a solution based on real listening and understanding. If there are no problems to discuss, children are simply spent the time together relaxing and enjoying hygge, a word (and also a verb and an adjective), which cannot be translated literally, since it is a phenomenon closely related to Danish culture. Hygge could be defined as "intentionally created intimacy". In a country where it gets dark very early in the year, it rains, it's gray, hygge means bringing light, warmth and friendship, creating a shared, welcoming and intimate atmosphere. It is a fundamental concept for the Danish sense of well-being. And it's also becoming a global phenomenon: Amazon sells more than 900 books on hygge, and Instagram has more than 3 million posts with the hashtag #hygge.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Empathy? In Denmark they're learning it in school

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In one of the happiest countries in the world, the compulsory teaching of empathy within the school system contributes to the happiness of the country.

# data[].attributes.headline
Daniel Goleman on emotional intelligence 

# data[].attributes.subject
Daniel Goleman on emotional intelligence 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Daniel Goleman on Emotional Intelligence

# data[].attributes.headline
Brene Brown on the power of vulnerability 

# data[].attributes.subject
Brene Brown on the power of vulnerability 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One of the most important sentiments any leader can express to someone in their charge is, "I've got your back. There's nothing you can break that I can't help put back together. I believe in you even when you no longer believe in yourself."

Empathy-the ability to recognize and share other people's feelings-is the most important instrument in a leader's toolbox. The daily practice of putting the well-being of others first has a compounding and reciprocal effect in relationships, in friendships, in the way we treat our clients and our colleagues.

Key Takeaways

1. Empathy is the most important instrument in a leader's toolbox.

2. Empathy is being concerned about the human being, not just their output.

3. The true test of leadership: When you ask someone how they're doing, do you actually care?

Next: Leadership Tools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
One of the most important sentiments any leader can express to someone in their charge is, "I've got your back. There's nothing you can break that I can't help put back together. I believe in you even when you no longer believe in yourself."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
True leadership isn't reserved for the few who sit at the top. It's the responsibility of anyone who belongs to a group, and that means all of us. We all need to step up, take the risk and put our interests second-not always-but when it counts.

Whether we're leading armies, multinational corporations or a fledgling home-based business, the message is the same: We all have the responsibility to become the leaders we wish we had.

Key Takeaways

1. Everyone has the capacity to be a leader.

2. Leadership is a practicable, learnable skill.

3. Leadership is like a muscle-if you practice, you will become a strong leader. If you stop practicing, you will become a weak leader.

4. Leaders are not responsible for the job. Leaders are responsible for the people, responsible for the job.

Watch Next: Leaders put people first

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
True leadership isn't reserved for the few who sit at the top. It's the responsibility of anyone who belongs to a group, and that means all of us. We all need to step up, take the risk and put our ...

# data[].attributes.headline
acas - leadership guides, frameworks and videos

# data[].attributes.subject
acas - leadership guides, frameworks and videos

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Feedback about this training from Acas Training Manager Rich Jones: "I really get a lot out of running this training. It's clear to me how differently people see leadership as a quality, and as a set of practices that can easily be put into place.

# data[].attributes.body
the role of staff - includes the leadership role

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Leadership Training & Employee Development Platform

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Leadership development training programs that can enable your employees and build great teams.

# data[].attributes.headline
Drew Dudley  - Creating Cultures of Leadership 

# data[].attributes.subject
Drew Dudley  - Creating Cultures of Leadership 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The leadership game -- creating cultures of leadership | Drew Dudley | TEDxAnchorage

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Funny Minion Teamwork Help subscribe Keywords: Funny Minion Teamwork Cartoon Clip Video Joke Khmer Loy9

# data[].attributes.headline
The Standard for Childhood Practice (2015)

# data[].attributes.subject
The Standard for Childhood Practice (2015)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Top 10 Differences Between Managers and Leaders

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why good leaders make you feel safe | Simon Sinek | TED

# data[].attributes.headline
An Independent Review of the Scottish Early Learning and Childcare Workforce and OSC Workforce (Scottish Government, 2015)

# data[].attributes.subject
An Independent Review of the Scottish Early Learning and Childcare Workforce and OSC Workforce (Scottish Government, 2015)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
An Independent Review of the Scottish Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Workforce and Out of School Care (OSC) Workforce

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An independent review of the skills and qualifications essential for the early learning and out of school care workforces, as well as the status of those workforces and the career paths available to them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Video Transcript

Explore the traits and behaviors that form the foundation of good leadership.

Do you know what makes a leader successful?

It's hard to put your finger on just what it is that the best leaders have, which less-effective ones don't.

There are four core groups of theories about the foundations of good leadership. When you understand them, you can adapt them for your own circumstances.

The first of these are the trait theories. They explore the characteristics a good leader has. For instance, do you need integrity? Empathy? Assertiveness? Or all three? They examine which traits are most desirable and useful when you're in a leadership role.

The next group of theories look at behavior. What do the best leaders DO? For instance, do they bark instructions, or do they involve their team in decisions? Understanding the different approaches can help you decide how to behave as a leader.

The third group of theories looks at how situations influence leadership. For instance, what leadership style should you use when you're in a crisis situation, and need to make a quick decision? Or, on a regular day, is it better to be involved, or take a hands-off approach with your team?

The last group of theories explores power and influence, and how these elements affect leadership. All leaders have a certain amount of power, but how you USE it says a lot about what kind of leader you are.

To learn more about the core theories of leadership, read the article that accompanies this video.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Video Transcript Explore the traits and behaviors that form the foundation of good leadership. Do you know what makes a leader successful? It's hard to put your finger on just what it is that the best leaders have, which less-effective ones don't. There are four core groups of theories about the foundations of good leadership.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Video Transcript

Learn how to use a variety of different frameworks and styles to become a more effective leader.

The most effective leaders know that leadership is not a "one-size-fits-all" approach. They adapt their style to fit each unique situation.

When you understand the different leadership frameworks and approaches available, you're better able to guide your team through challenging situations.

For instance, psychologist Kurt Lewin identified three major leadership styles and, in his framework, gives a popular way to think about leadership. One of these is autocratic leadership. Leaders who use this style make decisions without talking to their team. What they say, goes.

The autocratic leadership style can be demoralizing, but it's often effective in emergency or crisis situations.

Another one of Lewin's leadership styles is democratic leadership. Leaders who use this style still have the final say, but they include their team in the decision-making process.

Democratic leadership is empowering, and encourages creativity. But it can be ineffective when you need to make a quick decision.

The last of Lewin's styles is laissez-faire leadership. Laissez-faire leaders give their team a lot of freedom in how they do their work. This autonomy can lead to high job satisfaction, but it can backfire if team members don't know how to manage their time well.

Another effective leadership style that Lewin doesn't talk about is transformational leadership. Transformational leaders have integrity and high emotional intelligence. They're good communicators, and they motivate their team with a shared vision of the future.

These leaders are authentic, empathetic, humble, and inspirational. However, their magic can quickly fade if they get carried away by giving short deadlines and expecting others to work long hours.

As you can imagine, there are many more approaches and frameworks you can use to lead your team. And there's no one style that works for all situations. When you understand the different approaches available, you can tailor your own leadership style to better fit the situation you're in.

To learn more about leadership styles, see the article that accompanies this video.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Video Transcript Learn how to use a variety of different frameworks and styles to become a more effective leader. The most effective leaders know that leadership is not a "one-size-fits-all" approach. They adapt their style to fit each unique situation. When you understand the different leadership frameworks and approaches available, you're better able to guide your team through challenging situations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Frontline Workers > Goodpractice Leadership Toolkit

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Step Into Leadership - Frontline Workers - Reflective Questions

# data[].attributes.headline
The Continuous Learning Framework (SSSC)

# data[].attributes.subject
The Continuous Learning Framework (SSSC)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The CLF website is currently under review and is being updated, if you are having any difficulties finding specific items, please let us know.
The Continuous Learning Framework (CLF) sets out what people working in social services need to be able to do their jobs well now and in the future and what their employer needs to do to support them.

The quality of social services that people receive depends to a large extent on how good the people delivering them are at their job. The CLF recognises this. Its main aim is to improve outcomes for people using social services by supporting the workforce delivering them to be the best they can be.

Introductory presentation

You can view and download a presentation which will give you an overview and introduction to the Continuous Learning Framework.

What's new

A copy of the refreshed Personal Capabilites can be downloaded here.

Latest updates

Dates for 2017-18 to be confirmed. If you would like further details please contact shirley.gibson@sssc.uk.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The CLF website is currently under review and is being updated, if you are having any difficulties finding specific items, please let us know. The Continuous Learning Framework (CLF) sets out what people working in social services need to be able to do their jobs well now and in the future and what their employer needs to do to support them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As one of the UK's top research universities, we have an international reputation for world-leading research.

We're here to ensure that as a research student, supervisor, a researcher on a grant-funded research post or indeed, as a lecturer on your first academic post, you work in a well-supported, high quality research training environment. The Doctoral College has oversight of the regulatory environment and policy relating to all postgraduate research students. We provide support in bidding for and managing doctoral training consortia.

We facilitate initiatives to support research staff and early career researchers integrate well within the University, and support their transition to independence.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As one of the UK's top research universities, we have an international reputation for world-leading research. We're here to ensure that as a research student, supervisor, a researcher on a grant-funded research post or indeed, as a lecturer on your first academic post, you work in a well-supported, high quality research training environment.

# data[].attributes.headline
Exploring reflective practice - use the side bar to explore all the resources here.

# data[].attributes.subject
Exploring reflective practice - use the side bar to explore all the resources here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The term reflective practice has firmly entered the vocabulary of professional education in a number of different fields including nursing, teacher education and social work. But what is reflective practice and what does it mean to be a reflective practitioner? David Boud (1987) has defined reflection as:

"... a conscious activity in which we engage to explore our experiences and develop new understandings and conceptualisations." (Boud 1987)

Learning from experience is one of the most fundamental forms of learning but it has tended to be less valued within formal education until recently. In the 1970s the information transmission model of education was predominant: in this model the role of the educator was to provide knowledge, and the role of the learner to absorb it. Paulo Freire, the Brazilian educationalist, argued against this 'banking' model of education characterised by the educator making 'deposits' in a passive, disempowered learner.

Other educationalists such as David Kolb (1984) argued that greater emphasis ought to be placed on the learner's ability to actively construct knowledge. Kolb's model of experiential learning (opposite) - founded upon earlier work by Dewey, Lewin and Piaget - characterised learning as a process whereby each individual reflected on their experiences to construct and reconstruct their understanding and skills. Kolb's model of experiential learning is represented in a four stage cycle beginning with concrete experience followed by reflection, followed by abstract conceptualisation, followed by active experimentation.

John Dewey (1933) placed great emphasis on reflective thought and saw it as an important part of a cycle that enabled us to learn from experience. He believed that reflective thought began when we found ourselves having an experience that raised some difficulties or dilemmas, which he referred to as a "felt difficulty". From this experience, Dewey (1933) argued, we then set about reflecting on the problem - asking ourselves the question what's going on?

Then we conceptualised the problem: considering and analysing potential solutions - asking what might I do? We experiment, or act by trying out a possible solution. Finally, we consider whether that solution was effective and how it might be further adapted in the future.

Within professional education our interest is not so much in learning from a single experience, or learning in the short term; but more in a long term, developmental process that enables learners to develop well grounded professional knowledge and skills. Dewey suggests we consider professional development as a developmental spiral where the learning from one cycle stimulates the beginning of another and so on thereby providing us with a process that allows us to reconstruct our knowledge and skills in light of new experiences.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Sheila Slesser, Pedro Morago, Linda Bruce and Malcolm Macmillan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Introduces learners to some of the principles and processes involved in becoming a reflective practitioner.