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How can reflective practice support and develop headteachers?

  • Jill and Catherine
  • Apr 13
  • 11 min read


Dr Jill Berry (left)


Jill taught for thirty years across six different schools in the UK, state and independent, and she taught adults to GCSE and A level in the evenings for several years. She was a head for the last ten years of her time in schools. Since 2010 she has completed a doctorate, researching the transition to headship and written a book about it: 'Making the Leap - Moving from Deputy to Head' (Crown House, 2016) https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/publications/making-the-leap (also now available as an audio book); and carried out an extensive range of leadership development work. She has given a TEDx presentation on the subject of ‘Take a Second Look: Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Others’ and she has published four novels.

Jill is an advocate for the opportunities presented by social media for networking and professional development, on Twitter/X, on Bluesky: @jillberry102.bsky.social, on LinkedIn and blogging about education at https://jillberry102.blog/


Catherine Place (right)


Catherine grew up in Newport where she currently lives with her daughter. Cat is the founding Headteacher of Jubilee Park Primary School and had the privilege of opening the school in September 2017. Cat has placed great emphasis on the development of the school as a learning organisation. Their bespoke ‘Thrive Curriculum’ is based upon Curriculum for Wales and provides children with the skills, knowledge and experiences to thrive in a transforming world. Cat believes in the importance of 'igniting a passion for learning' not only in the children but also within the staff and across the wider community. She leads with an inquiry mindset, curious to learn and promotes the value of self-reflection. Cat believes in the power of collaboration and connecting with others. She leads a variety of professional learning events for teachers and leaders and enjoys supporting others. Cat is a doctorate student and is researching the inter-relationship between organisational culture, collaboration and teacher wellbeing, through narrative inquiry. Cat can be found on social media on BlueSky: @catrplace.bsky.social and LinkedIn




Editor's Introduction


It is an absolute delight to launch the first blog of the new series Bridging the Gap, the blog that aims to identity if, where and why there are gaps between research and practice. The premise of this blog has fallen at the first hurdle in the sense that both of our amazing writers are blog 'academics' in that they have undertaken doctorates in education and also experienced school leaders, but who can complain with this level of expertise?! In our first post, Jill and Catherine use their research and experiences to answer a question linked to reflective practice. Whilst there is a focus on headship for these authors, I've found this very useful despite not being a head and hope you will too!



Jill's Take...


In the final decade of a 30-year long career working in schools, I served as a head, a role I found the most rewarding and joyful of the six leadership roles I had assumed.  I discovered I had the capacity to make a difference to the lives of students and adults on a scale unlike anything I had previously known. 


Finding time for reflection was, however, difficult, and I realise in retrospect that as school leaders we can often be so busy doing the job that we have little opportunity to step back and carefully think through how we are doing the job – and how we might, perhaps, do it better.  Time out of school, networking with other leaders, and reading (often in holiday periods) helped, in my case.


After stepping back from headship I embarked on a Professional Doctorate at the University of Nottingham, where my research focus, and the title of my thesis was ‘The Transition to Headship’ (The transition to headship - Nottingham ePrints)[jb1]  (2016). I worked with six research participants, all deputies who had already been appointed to headship, and I tracked their progress through their final term as deputies and into their first months as heads.  I visited each of them three times over a ten-month period, on each occasion conducting with them semi-structured interviews, for which I released the questions beforehand.  Each of them remarked, at some stage of the process, that the experience of meeting me and talking through how things were going, and how they felt about that, was a useful way of taking stock, reflecting and learning.


Chudasama observes: “Reflective practice on one’s own is difficult” (2021 p.67).  Although I was a researcher rather than a coach or a mentor, I could see that posing questions about my participants’ readiness for headship, their fears, hopes and aspirations, had encouraged them to think through more intentionally how they felt about the different stages of the transition through which they were progressing, and what they might perhaps wish to do differently.  Chudasama cites Strauss: “Reflectiveness depends on colleagues talking to one another, and trusting one another” (1995 p.33).


As Grant, McKimm and Murphy note: “Reflective practice when carried out purposefully and meaningfully results in a more complete practitioner whose professional practice, personal goals and sense of being are synergistic” (2017 p.112), and Thompson and Pascal suggest that reflection can “[open] the door to insights. From such insights come new tactics, greater self-awareness and greater ability to manage oneself and others, and the establishment of clearer priorities (2012 p.104).”  My participants certainly believed that the process of being involved in the research had helped them in their personal and professional development.

Since finishing my headship I have been involved in a wide range of leadership development activities, working with aspiring and serving leaders at all levels, including new and established headteachers.  Supporting their reflection as part of their ongoing professional learning and growth has been a key part of this work, whether I am engaged in one-to-one coaching, working with small groups of individuals who are preparing for the next leadership stage or consolidating their practice in their current role, or speaking to large numbers at conferences.  At the end of every session, I encourage those I have worked with to select a commitment, an action they will take which they hope might move them forward, and which they might not have thought about had it not been for their reflections during our time working together. 


I encourage them to share their commitments with others, following the advice that Steve Munby offers in Imperfect Leadership (2019): if we make a commitment to ourselves we are far more likely to see it through if we talk about it, and ‘own’ it.  I go on to share the words of Mark and Zoe Enser in The CPD Curriculum: Creating conditions for growth: “CPD does not happen through a particular input of information.  CPD occurs through what happens next” (2021 p.7).

One of the books I often recommend to the leaders I work with is Kelly’s Reimagining the Diary: Reflective practice as a positive tool for educator wellbeing, a publication about which Kelly claimed: “I wrote this book because I see reflection as something ongoing and active. It’s a lived practice, developing and evolving alongside the person using it” (2023 p.10).  She said that she wanted to dedicate an entire text to diary-keeping and the power of reflective practice because she firmly believed that, when it comes to educator wellbeing, diary-keeping can be transformational.  Kelly’s book resonated with me, as I have been a diary keeper since my teens, and keeping a reflective log during the years of studying for my doctorate was a practice I found extremely helpful as I developed as an academic and a researcher.  I wrote a blog about the power of diaries and journals in 2021 (On journals and diaries – jillberry102), in which I also explored the benefits of revisiting diary and journal entries from the past, to encourage reflection and the processing of our learning experiences.  In the blog, I described rereading my diary entries from the end of my first year of headship:


As the summer break came to a close in 2001, I wrote:


‘Sometimes when I think about school and what’s ahead, I experience that panicky sensation – but I know I just need to remember to deal with each individual challenge one at a time and try not to let a sense of the enormity of the task I’m facing overwhelm me. I can do this.’

And I quoted this to a new head I’m mentoring in a session on Zoom recently.”

To school leaders reading this article, I would suggest the value of intentionally carving out time to reflect, building networks of fellow professionals who will support and challenge us (and to whose learning we can also contribute) and considering the strategies we each can draw on to ensure we do have thinking time, however ‘busy’ our professional lives may be.

Best wishes to you all on your leadership journeys.

Jill



Cat's Take...


Reflective practice is not a new concept in education (Dewey, 1904; Schön, 1983). As I reflect on nearly two decades as a school leader, I would argue that the most effective educators I work with, are those that are self-reflective and prioritise professional learning and development. Engaging in professional learning opportunities, collaboration and reflection supports educators’ own practice and growth and also benefits pupil achievement (Sparks and Hirsh, 2000). For me, this can only happen when systems and networks of collaborative practice are developed by school leaders which are “rooted in deep relationships combined with deliberate design” (Hargreaves and O’Connor, 2018a, p. 7). The notion of school leaders creating a school climate that fosters trusting relationships where teachers can innovate, take risks, reflect and improve is key (Harris et al., 2022). And, from experience, providing space and time for educators to do this can have great impact across a school for both learning and teaching. However, I’m left considering what about headteachers? 

 

I am in my eighth year as the founding headteacher of a primary school, developed in a new housing development in South Wales. In the first few years of headship, what I would call my ‘reflective practice’ took place in my own time, after school and on the weekends. It took the form of reading, writing, engaging with professionals on various social media platforms and presenting at conferences. I love learning and reflecting but struggled to prioritise this during a busy school day. Although I truly believe in the power of professional learning and development and reflective practice, the reality was this was something I shared with staff and provided time for them to engage with, but did not make it a priority for myself. I recognised that I needed to change and to lead by example.


As such, over the last couple of years I have made a conscious decision to engage in professional learning and reflective practice during the working day. Initially I felt really guilty that I was in my office, with the door closed, engaging in this type of activity. Even as I write about and acknowledge these feelings, it makes me almost laugh at how absurd it sounds. Being a headteacher can be an all-consuming job, with a lot of expectations from a wide range of people to manage. However, I now realise that prioritising time for reflective practice and being open about this with others creates a positive culture across the school. As soon as I changed my mindset and focused on myself as a learner I actually became more productive in school and could see how this growth was also inspiring others. 

 

One of the most transformative learning experiences has been engaging in an educational doctorate (EdD). This may sound an extreme example to share, but it has truly been life changing. It has provided me with the opportunity to really consider who I am, what my values are and the way in which I view the world. Recognising and acknowledging these aspects of what makes me who I am also has enabled me to make sense of the decisions I make and why I make them. This has, in turn, provided more clarity and understanding for both my team and myself. As an EdD student, my research is based in practice, which has naturally encouraged me to be reflective and to think deeply about both my role as a headteacher and the wider work of our school. This reflection is supported by both theory and research and has meant that I now take more time to consider my day to day activities and the impact that these have across the school.


My doctoral research is exploring the inter-relationship between organisational culture, collaboration and teacher wellbeing through narrative inquiry. I have listened to the lived experiences of teachers and leaders and have been able to gain a deep insight into the reality of their roles. This has been supported through my own research journal which I have used as a way of capturing my reflections. I found writing in this incredibly hard at the beginning. I didn’t know what to write and what I did write was quite superficial. But as the research process developed I became more reflective and more inward facing. I was able to really identify elements which were my strengths but also those I needed to focus upon. For me, I could see I was strong at being led by my ‘why’, my purpose, and I was able to provide clarity through effective systems and processes. I harness the power of trusting relationships and come from a place of love and care. However, I really noticed that I needed to be better at truly listening and being open to the views of others. This level of reflective practice through journaling has positively impacted on my daily interactions with staff and children. I consciously make the effort to listen deeply, to slow down and to take notice. I no longer feel that I am rushing from one thing to another and value the time spent with others. This has undoubtedly supported me to develop and has also influenced both the learning culture and relational context in our school.

 

A learning culture (Ritchhart, 2015) is something that is deeply important to me and as the headteacher I wanted to clearly demonstrate to staff and children that I am a learner. Last year I started engaging with Learning Pioneers which is led by the wonderful Becky Carlzon. Again, when I first considered engaging with a Learning Pioneers ‘Mastermind’ I found I was trying to talk myself out of it. The usual inner voice excuses sprang up - it’s too expensive, I haven’t got time, I’m too busy, it’s not relevant to my role. A year later I am so glad I ignored this rhetoric and embraced the learning journey. Being part of the Cultures for Learning Mastermind has forced me to stop, learn and engage in reflective practice. For an hour each fortnight, I have found joy in learning and inquiring with leaders from across the world. Making time for the sessions, and continuing the learning outside of them, is now a priority as I see the value it brings to my role. The deliberate and intentional reflective practice has enabled me to be curious, sparked so much enthusiasm and just given me space to wonder. I have been reminded of why I do what I do and that I want to ignite a passion for learning in myself and others.

 

Interestingly, the more I have prioritised myself as a learner and intentionally created time and space for reflective practice, the more authentic I have become. I feel rooted in learning and have a greater sense of focus. Hargreaves and O’Connor share “organisations flourish or flounder from the head down” (2018b, p. 137), I believe we owe it to ourselves and our schools to prioritise reflective practice.




Jill's references:

  • Berry, J. (2016) ‘The Transition to Headship’, EdD thesis.  The University of Nottingham: The transition to headship - Nottingham ePrints). 

  • Berry, J. (2021) ‘On journals and diaries’, jillberry102.blog: On journals and diaries – jillberry102

  • Chudasama, M. (2021) ‘Building bridges for teachers as researchers’. Management in Education 35 (1): 66-68

  • Enser, M. and Enser, Z. (2021) The CPD Curriculum: Creating conditions for growth. Carmarthen : Crown House Publishing

  • Grant, A., McKimm, J. and Murphy, F. (2017) Developing Reflective Practice: A guide for medical students, doctors and teachers.  Chichester : John Wiley & Sons Incorporated

  • Kelly, L. (2023) Reimagining the Diary: Reflective practice as a positive tool for educator wellbeing.  Woodbridge : John Catt Educational

  • Munby, S. (2019) Imperfect Leadership: A book for leaders who know they don’t know it all. Carmarthen : Crown House Publishing

  • Strauss, P. (1995) ‘No easy answers: dilemmas and challenges of teacher research’. Educational Action Research 3 (1): 29-40

  • Thomson, N. and Pascal, J. (2021) ‘Developing critically reflective practice’. Reflective Practice 13 (12): 311-325


Catherine's references:

  • Dewey, J. (1904) The Relation of Theory to Practice in Education. Teachers College Record, 5(6). DOI: 10.1177/016146810400500601

  • Hargreaves, A. & O’Connor, M. (2018a) Collaborative Professional When Teaching Together Means Learning For All. California: Corwin.

  • Hargreaves, A. & O’Connor, M. (2018b) ‘Leading collaborative professionalism’, Centre for Strategic Education, 274. Available at: http://www.andyhargreaves.com/uploads/5/2/9/2/5292616/seminar_series_274-april2018.pdf   (Accessed 2 May 2022)

  • Harris, A., Elder, Z., Jones, M. S., & Cooze, A. (2022) ‘Schools as Learning Organisations in Wales: Exploring the Evidence’, Wales Journal of Education, 24(1). DOI: 10.16922/wje.24.1.3

  • Ritchhart, R. (2015) Creating cultures of thinking: The eight forces we must truly master to transform our schools. SanFrancisco: Josey-Bass.

  • Schon, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books.

  • Sparks, D., & Hirsh, S. (2000) ‘Strengthening professional development’, Education week, 19 (37), pp. 42–45. Available at: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-strengthening-professional-development/2000/05 (Accessed 2 May 2022) 

  • For more information about Learning Pioneers visit their website: https://www.learningpioneers.co/ 


 
 
 

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