![]() Dewey defined reflective thinking as “active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in light of the groups that support it and the future conclusions to which is tends” (p. Reflective thought consists of giving serious consideration to a subject and connecting the subject to both past and future actions. Dewey insisted reflective thought be a goal of education. John Dewey (1933) provides some of the earliest insight into the significance of reflection. The research questions for this study are: How do students perceive reflection? Which method of reflectionĭo students prefer (i.e., journaling, discussion, creative)? What role do college students perceive reflection plays in their lives? Conceptual and Theoretical Frame To better understand how students reflect, it is important to discover how students perceive reflection. The literature concerning reflection is rooted in experiential education, with some emphasis on curricular programs. This study will explore the function of reflection in the formal classroom setting and their co-curricular experiences. The purpose of this study is to discover how students perceive the role of reflection. As leadership educators rely on structured reflection, research that uncovers student’s perceptions of the role of reflection in leadership learning could contribute to the field of leadership studies and higher education on both a practitioner level as well as a theoretical level. Boswell dubbed this “The Structure Trap” (p. Boswell found students preferred unguided conversation to structured activities. She found while students generally disliked many of the structured reflection activities, they had positive feedback about specific activities. Boswell (2010) explored students’ perception of reflection following an immersion service trip. Previous research focused on specific classroom approaches to reflection, both in service-learning classes as well as leadership classes, and on how student learning is enhanced by reflection (Ash & Clayton, 2004 Ash & Clayton, 2009 Boyd & Williams, 2010 Moore, Boyd, & Dooley, 2010). Reflection is a feature of several paradigms that make up the postindustrial model of leadership (Kezar, 2006), making it important to understand the role reflection plays in students’ lives and as part of the leadership learning process. 4) to a process-oriented view that concedes leadership can be learned by everyone. Northouse (2001) describes the transition from trait- oriented leadership, which viewed leadership as “special innate or inborn characteristics” (p. Alternatively, the emerging post-industrial leadership paradigm is relational, process-oriented, and value-centered (Rost, 1991). Throughout the 20th leadership was characterized as what Rost (1991) termed industrial leadership which “focused primarily on the individual as leader, promoting command and control models, power and authority, rational and analytical thinking, and strong managerial influences” (p. This phenomenological study will explore students’ perception of the role of reflection in leadership education. ![]() Guthrie and Thompson (2010) highlight the importance of leadership education being a “balanced mix of three elements: formal education in theories and principles of leadership, practical experience, and reflection on experiences in light of formal education” (p. Service-learning is only one experience where students could benefit from reflective activities. Service-learning is an experiential learning pedagogy that deliberately integrates community service activities with educational objectives where “reflection activities provide theīridge between the community service activities and the educational content of the course” (Bringle & Hatcher, 1999, paragraph 4). Service-learning, a type of experiential education, combines classroom instruction with organized service to the community, emphasizing civic engagement, reflection, and application of learning (Ash & Clayton, 2004 Bringle & Hatcher, 1996 Bringle & Hatcher, 2009 Eyler & Giles, 1999 Hatcher & Bringle, 1997 Speck, 2001 Strait & Lima, 2009). Much of what we know about reflection is rooted in experiential learning literature. Educators facilitate the process by which students derive meaning from experiences through reflection. Kolb (1984) identified reflection as a significant component in the learning cycle. Ash and Clayton (2009) suggest students do not learn from experiences alone learning depends upon the level to which students reflect on their experiences. College students learn from experiences both in and out of the classroom (Light, 2001 Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005).
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