Assessing teachers’ reflective thinking and practice on the basis of transformative learning theory and the potential links with learning outcomes of their pupils

It is widely accepted that reflection can make contributions to a teacher’s learning and development. In an investigation of teacher reflection, Tse (2007) has found that there is no link between the reflection in Kolb’s experiential learning theory (Kolb, 1985) and in Mezirow’s transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1991). It seems that the two theories have different interpretations of the concept of reflection. This paper provides an investigation of the potential links between the reflective thinking and practice of teachers and the learning outcomes of their pupils, on the basis of transformative learning theory. Data about teacher learning orientation was collected by conducting a survey of 120 primary school teachers in the United Kingdom. Then the information was matched with the learning outcomes of their pupils, including attainment and value-added in mathematics and reading, scores obtained in tests of developed ability and in problems of positions and measures of attitude toward study and toward the school. The analysis was conducted through Pearson correlation tests. The results concerning different levels of reflective thinking and practice are discussed respectively in relation to the subject specificity explanation and mental efforts in applying pedagogical content knowledge.