Teacher Reflection for Religious Educators: a Qualitative Study of Professional Reflection Among Seminary Faculty in the Church Educational System

Teacher reflection has long been a subject of study and practice in most educational fields. This new qualitative study explores the practices, processes, and impact of reflection as a function of sustained professional development among professional secondary level religious educators in the Department of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion of the Church Educational System for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The reflective practices and processes of these religious educators is described and analyzed using a theoretical framework derived from previous work on reflection by Chris Argyris and Donald Schon, David Hatton and Neville Smith, and Fred Korthagen. From this in-depth analysis, the author develops a model of teacher reflection that can help religious educators understand how they can engage in professional reflection in a way that will maximize its impact on their professional development.