Demystifying Critical Reflection (Legitimation Code Theory)

Drawing on Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), this volume reveals the knowledge practices and language of critical reflection in a range of different subjects, making clear how it can be taught and learned.

Critical thinking is widely held to be a key attribute required for successfully living, learning and earning in modern societies. Universities now list critical thinking as a key graduate quality and use ‘critical reflection’ as a way of teaching students how to become reflective and ethical professionals. Yet, what ‘critical reflection’ actually involves remains vague in research, teaching practice, and assessment. Studies draw on LCT, a fast-growing framework for revealing the knowledge practices that enable educational success and the individual chapters focus on a diverse range of contexts across the disciplinary map, including education, science, arts, sociology and nursing. The book further connects research and practice by presenting in-depth analyses of critical reflection and providing practical insights into how LCT can be used to design pedagogic interventions.

The book offers a rich resource for both scholars and teachers who want to demystify critical reflection and prepare university students for the modern workplace.

Namala Tilakaratna is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for English Language Communication at the National University of Singapore. She has researched and published widely on LCT and SFL approaches to teaching critical thinking across a range of disciplines including social work and nursing.

Eszter Szenes is a Lecturer at the School of Education, The University of Adelaide, Australia, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Resilience and Security, Norwich University, USA. Her research interests include disciplinary and critical digital literacies, critical thinking and information disorder.