Exploring reflective practice through lesson study in the school-based practices of PGCE primary and secondary student teachers in a UK ITE programme

This paper examines how reflective practice (RP) in teaching can be promoted through lesson study (LS) in a 1-year post-graduate course (PGCE) of initial teacher education (ITE) in England. It assumes that LS involves key elements of a reflective model of teaching and draws on LS literature, analysis of the English ITE context and from two small-scale enquiries using a two-cycle exploratory action research strategy. The two cycles involved: 1. the evaluation of PGCE students piloting LS in two primary schools and 2. two in-depth interviews as part of a small-scale survey with students about reflective practice in their secondary PGCE. The first cycle identifies the benefits and issues in using LS in a PGCE course within its existing framework and the national requirements in England for 1-year ITE courses. The second cycle illustrates the benefits of participating in LS for learning to teach underpinned by a broader and expanded notion of reflective practice. The research strategy results in a practical plan for how LS can be introduced as an enrichment activity for the PGCE. The paper illustrates how an active and critical version of reflective practice through LS, involving a Bildung-oriented teacher education, can address some problems with the current English standards-based ITE programmes.