Self-reflection to expand self- and social competence.

An interdisciplinary conceptualization for educational practice and research

Abstract

Self-competence and social competence are central facets of professional competence and indispensable educational goals in teacher education. Their development requires the ability for self-reflection, which is, however, not very professionalized in training, hardly anchored in the curriculum and insufficiently researched. A key problem is the lack of a clear scientific definition. This article presents an interdisciplinary conceptualization of self-reflection that integrates current findings from neurobiology, cognitive science, infant observation, emotion and psychotherapy research. It does not focus on self-knowledge, but on the ability for self-awareness. This results in practical and research-relevant conclusions for the development of didactic models and research into the professionalization of teachers. The conceptualization is systematically related to nine empirical studies on the promotion of self-reflection in the first phase of teacher training in Germany.