Reflective practice is a transformative process that uses structured strategies to examine the ethics, values, and beliefs that shape professional behaviour and decision‑making. Learning organisations such as schools promote reflective and reflexive practices because they enhance ethical judgement, strengthen professional identity, and support improved learning outcomes. In educational contexts, reflective practice enables professionals to make decisions that are ethically and morally responsive, thus strengthening learning cultures and supporting the continual improvement of pedagogical practices. This is particularly significant for teacher librarians, whose roles span instruction, information leadership, and curriculum‑wide collaboration. For teacher librarians, reflective practice is central to exercising instructional and informational leadership, whether formally or informally by enhancing their capacity to analyse decisions, adapt programs, and support evidence‑informed improvement across the school.
Reflective practice, encompassing both reflection and reflexivity, enables individuals to critically evaluate personal and professional experience in order to challenge assumptions, biases and ideological influences. These practices play a significant role in improving outcomes by supporting knowledge creation, organisational learning and ethical responsiveness (Robson, 2022; Bolton & Delderfield, 2018). The strength of reflective practice lies in its capacity to prompt individuals and organisations to examine behaviours, values, decisions and actions, thereby uncovering the deeper influences that shape professional practice (Robson, 2022). For teacher librarians, whose work operates at the intersection of pedagogy, information science and leadership, reflective practice is essential to lifelong learning and professional renewal (Vaandering & Crego‑Emley, 2025). Continuous reflection enables teacher librarians to evaluate their practice both as information professionals and as teachers of literacy and learning to ensure positive and equitable student outcomes.
Robson (2022) defines reflection as a set of deliberate intellectual strategies that seek to improve knowledge by identifying the beliefs and values that underpin behaviour and action. This process can be challenging because it requires individuals and organisations to engage openly, honestly and vulnerably in order to examine identity and the reasoning behind particular practices (Bolton & Delderfield, 2018). Within educational settings, reflection is indispensable for ethical practice, personal growth and the promotion of equity and diversity within learning communities. From a relational ethics perspective, reflective practice supports educators to consider how their decisions and actions affect others, particularly in contexts shaped by power, inclusion and responsibility (Bolton & Delderfield, 2018).
Two key forms of reflection are commonly identified: reflection‑in‑action and reflection‑on‑action. Reflection‑in‑action occurs during practice, requiring professionals to draw on existing knowledge, skills and values to make real‑time judgements. Bolton and Delderfield (2018) note that this form of reflection often arises when individuals recognise themselves relying on habitual routines that may or may not align with their espoused values. Reflection‑on‑action, by contrast, occurs after an event has concluded and allows practitioners to analyse actions retrospectively, evaluate outcomes and adjust future practice. This form of reflection is often considered more powerful, as it supports deliberate learning and professional growth through evidence‑informed change.
While reflection focuses on examining experience, reflexivity extends this process by interrogating position, power and purpose. Reflexivity evaluates whether behaviours align with personal and professional goals while situating practice within broader social, cultural and political contexts (Bolton & Delderfield, 2018; Willig, 2019; Vu & Burton, 2020). Scholars argue that reflexive practice challenges individuals to question their own assumptions, identity and relationships to systems, ideologies and structures of influence (Robson, 2022; Vu & Burton, 2020). Through a relational ethics lens, reflexivity draws attention to how professional actions shape—and are shaped by—relationships with students, colleagues and communities. This process heightens ethical awareness by encouraging practitioners to interrogate attitudes, prejudices and taken‑for‑granted beliefs using theoretical frameworks and professional knowledge.
Reflexivity requires the capacity to recognise and, at times, decentre one’s own perspective in order to consider alternative viewpoints and experiences (Robson, 2022). While this decentring supports moral decision‑making and meaningful change, it can also be emotionally confronting, as it demands deep introspection and often benefits from external support such as dialogue with mentors or trusted colleagues. Despite these challenges, reflexivity contributes to transformative professional development by enabling individuals to realign beliefs, values and actions with their professional purpose. As a result, reflective and reflexive practices support not only individual growth but also organisational improvement, as schools benefit from enhanced professional judgement, transparent decision‑making and shared learning (Robson, 2022).
The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers emphasise reflective practice across multiple domains, even when reflection is not explicitly named. Teachers are required to plan coherent and well‑structured lessons, select effective teaching strategies and sequence content logically, all of which necessitate reflective judgement (AITSL, 2018). Educators must consider what worked, what did not, and how practice can be refined to better meet learner needs. Regular engagement with reflective practice supports the development of critical pedagogy, as educators connect instructional decisions to outcomes and recognise gaps in knowledge or limitations in practice (Vaandering & Crego‑Emley, 2025; Bolton & Delderfield, 2018). Importantly, reflection must be distinguished from rumination. Purposeful reflection is evidence‑informed, action‑oriented and ethically grounded, whereas rumination is unproductive and rarely leads to professional growth or improvement.
Reflective practice is also central to effective educational leadership. Leaders who model reflective behaviours foster organisational learning by encouraging the sharing and refinement of both tacit and explicit knowledge (Robson, 2022). Through reflective policies and cultures of inquiry, leaders create collaborative environments in which practice is continually examined and improved. For teacher librarians, who frequently occupy informal or middle‑leadership positions, reflective leadership enables them to evaluate systems, support colleagues and advocate for responsive, inclusive learning practices. Reflection in this context functions not merely as a personal skill but as an organisational asset that drives sustainable improvement.
Reflective and reflexive practice is particularly vital for teacher librarians, whose responsibilities encompass pedagogy, information literacy, curriculum support and leadership across the school (Vaandering & Crego‑Emley, 2025). These intersecting roles require continual adaptation to evolving student and staff needs. Reflective and reflexive thinking strengthens decision‑making and enhances the capacity of teacher librarians to lead and model best practice. Reflexivity, in particular, challenges teacher librarians to test actions against professional values, knowledge and experience, transforming individual insight into integrated, ethical practice. Moral reflexivity is especially important given that school libraries often serve diverse, vulnerable and marginalised communities and operate as critical third spaces for learning and belonging (Vu & Burton, 2020). As many teacher librarians work in isolation as sole information professionals, professional networks and collegial relationships play a crucial role in providing external perspectives that support reflection and shared problem‑solving.
Despite their value, reflective and reflexive practices present challenges for educators. Time constraints, heavy workloads and competing priorities can limit opportunities for deep reflection. Reflective work may also require emotional labour, particularly when honest self‑evaluation reveals biases or areas of discomfort. Over‑reflection can lead to rumination rather than action, while a lack of psychological safety may result in superficial or performative reflection. Additionally, educators differ in their familiarity with reflective frameworks, and without appropriate guidance or structure, reflective practice may lack depth. Recognising these challenges highlights the importance of professional supports such as mentoring, coaching and collaborative communities of practice that enable meaningful and sustainable reflective engagement.
Engaging deeply in reflective and reflexive practice is fundamental to ethical, responsive and effective professional practice within learning organisations. Reflection enables educators and leaders to examine experience, improve pedagogy and make reasoned, evidence‑informed decisions, while reflexivity extends this process by interrogating identity, values and assumptions within broader relational, social and moral contexts. Together, these practices move professionals beyond technical improvement towards transformative understanding.
For teacher librarians in particular, reflective and reflexive practice underpins their work as instructional and informational leaders. Their capacity to lead literacy, inquiry and knowledge‑rich learning across the curriculum depends on continual evaluation of practice, ethical judgement and alignment between professional values and action. Through reflective leadership, teacher librarians model critical inquiry, support inclusive learning environments and contribute to organisational learning by translating individual insight into shared professional knowledge. Ultimately, reflective and reflexive leadership strengthens both individual capability and collective capacity. In schools committed to continuous improvement, reflective practice is not optional; it is a professional and moral imperative that ensures decisions remain ethically grounded, relationally responsive and centred on learner growth.
references
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2018). Australian professional standards for teachers. AITSL. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/standards
Bolton, G., & Delderfield, R. (2018). Reflective practice: Writing and professional development. ACU Library
Robson, J. (2022). Teacher professional learning and development: Practices of reflection. ACU Library
Vaandering, A. G., & Crego‑Emley, A. (2025). The library instructor as learner: A survey of reflective teaching practices in U.S. academic libraries. Communications in Information Literacy, 19(2), 220–241. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/library-instructor-as-learner-survey-reflective/docview/3295971614/se-2
Vu, T., & Burton, L. (2020). Moral reflexivity and responsible management. ACU Library
Willig, C. (2019). Interpretive phenomenology and reflexive practice. ACU Library
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