5: Conclusions and Reflections

Having written a book on reflection, I now need to reflect on what I have learned and what I will do next. I set out to publish a book that brought to life the wide range of applications of reflective practice and to do so in a way that used academic theory to justify the selection of the topics and to indicate the depth of some of those topics. The book really has its roots in my teaching training of almost 35 years ago and the revelation that Donald Schön was to me as an enthusiastic inexperienced academic who was making his way in the UK University sector. I realised then that relevant and rigorous scholarship concerned bringing these two sides of the same coin together in research and teaching. To provide insight and illumination, applying theory to practice and developing theory as we go. My understanding of reflection and reflective practice has developed through my own reading and writing, and I have to admit that the most enjoyable and interesting part for me was engaging with practitioners and fellow researchers. I hope that the practitioner insights have really helped you the reader grasp the field of reflective practice and to start to see an even more compelling reason for integrating theory and practice to the benefit of both. In its very essence, my writing process has been reflective and reflexive and I hope that you have enjoyed the end product of my labour.