Pedagogy of the Self

Reflective Becoming in Technology Teacher Education

Abstract

Reflective practice is widely positioned as central to Initial Teacher Education, yet novice reflection often begins as descriptive, compliance-shaped, and closely tied to assessment demands. Rather than treating this as a deficit, this paper asks how reflection in Technology Teacher Education might be supported to deepen over time into a more interpretive, ethical, and professionally generative practice. Drawing on a historical archive of reflective journals written during a ten-week school placement in Technology education subjects, the study adopts a critical autoethnographic approach to examine the process of reflective becoming. A two-cycle coding process identified recurring tensions around teacher identity, gender, discipline, workshop safety, assessment, inclusion, and subject pedagogy. Findings are organised through three scenes emerging from the archive: becoming the Technology teacher, ethical recognition in the workshop classroom, and a gradual movement from reflection as record toward reflection as inquiry. Framed within Irish Initial Teacher Education and informed by Céim’s emphasis on identity, reflective practice, and ongoing professional formation, the paper argues that historical novice journals can function as a valuable pedagogical resource for rehumanising reflection. In response, the paper proposes the HEARTS framework, Human Connection, Ethical Recognition, Assessment for Professional Becoming, Reflective Intentionality, Trust through Modelled Vulnerability, and Subject Informed Judgement, as a conceptual model for reflective becoming in Technology ITE. The paper concludes that reflection in Technology Teacher Education is most usefully understood not as a polished demonstration of competence, but as part of the uneven and relational work of becoming a teacher.