Chapter 12: Constructing Diversity in Educational Practice: The Role of Inner Speech in Teacher Reflection

Inner speech is a phenomenon widely studied by researchers who have followed Vygotsky’s work. Current research has explored its role in cognitive development, language disorders, psychotherapy, and education. Specifically, in the field of education, research on inner speech has focused on the student, and has scarcely addressed the role it plays in the teaching exercise. In this chapter, we explore the role of inner speech in teacher reflection, specifically around inclusion and diversity in the classroom. For this, we review the main theoretical constructs and carry out an empirical application based on a narrative approach based on the analysis of critical incidents to capture what we have called inner narrative reflection speech (INRS). It is concluded that the inner speech is expressed in the teaching reflection, which is activated when analyzing critical incidents related to diversity and inclusion in the classroom.

The encounter with diversity causes an initial affective impact, which favors reflective processes, thus enabling reorientations on practices and the meaning of the teaching role. This chapter constitutes a contribution to the scarce field of study on inner speech and teaching practice in education.