What is Reflection-in-Action?

Abstract

How does an administrator, manager, or other practitioner know how to do what she does while she does it? Building on the work of Donald Schön, this chapter proposes a phenomenological theory of practice and of reflection-in-the-course-of-practice that transcends what is seen as Schön’s cognitive orientation, as well as some other limitations in his theorizing. The theory includes: an appreciation for the evaluative dimensions built into competent practice that encourage, if not require, reflecting; a further theorizing of the character of surprise; and a fuller delineation of the character of improvisation in relation to practice and its surprises. Schön’s arguments are reframed in phenomenological, especially Heideggerian, terms, and these discussions are illustrated with vignettes from the world of practice drawn from field research.