Reflective learning? Understanding the student perspective in higher education

ABSTRACT Background With increasing recognition of the importance of lifelong learning, the skill of reflection has become ever more significant, especially in higher education. However, the quality of student reflection can vary and, when students are tasked with reflecting, an assumption is often made that they automatically understand how to reflect. As students continue to grapple with the act of reflecting, and the culture of being critically reflective, there is a need for greater understanding of students’ perceptions of reflection and the challenges encountered. Purpose The purpose of this small-scale, in-depth study was to understand the student perspective by inviting students to talk about reflection. There was a particular focus on exploring views and experiences from the standpoints of those directly undergoing and navigating the process. Method In this qualitative study, the participants were 11 undergraduate students from a university in Malaysia. The students completed a questionnaire and were then interviewed by the researcher. The data collected were analysed using a thematic approach. Findings Two core themes and six subthemes emerged from the data analysis: (1) views of reflection – initial experiences, understanding of reflection and transition; (2) challenges faced – the need for more process-focused feedback, vulnerability in reflection and inaction in reflection. The findings are discussed with relevant examples from the data. Conclusions The findings highlighted how reflection can be perceived as an ambiguous task, subject to a variety of interpretations. From the students’ viewpoint, reflection was often characterised as a product which was single-layered (non-iterative) and monologic, rather than iterative and dialogic. Insights offered by this analysis suggest the need for the student perspective to be more deeply understood and considered contextually, with the aim of designing teaching to better support and strengthen a reflective learning approach.