Introspection in Practice: An Effective Tool to Improve the Outcomes of Higher Education

Abstract

The years spent in education are paramount to a person’s intellectual, psychological and social development. The people one interacts with, the topics one learns about, the skills one gains, and the decisions one takes- they all help in seemingly covert yet instrumental ways in shaping who one becomes as a professional and as a person. Hence, it is very important to study and understand what makes these decisions important, and how one can make them better. In furtherance of this objective, this paper will attempt to investigate the significance of introspection and reflection by students in the years surrounding the path of higher education, specifically looking at what the concept of introspection really means, how it can help with better decision making while choosing a career path or course of study, and how it further helps one become more efficient and satisfied when it comes to academic and professional growth not only in the years spent in university but also beyond that in one’s career and life. This paper will analyse in a qualitative manner the practice of introspection by reviewing psychological and pedagogical studies and publications on the same. It will then go on to analyse the idea of higher education ̶ complete with its objectives and importance in the present socio-economic structure of the world, and use the principles of humanistic psychology to integrate it with the greater picture of individual and collective growth. The paper will carefully study and explain the role introspection plays in this entire process.