Explain the importance of reflective practice in continuously improving the quality of service provided. Reflective practice is inperative in order to ensure that high standards are kept continuously as circumstances,children and environments change. In order to reflect one must continuously be aware of approaches used and how they can be changed or developed to improve. Continually improving and adapting approaches benefits both children and practitioners ,ensuring that each individual childs needs are catered for.
Reflective practice involves evolving in a child centred approach. The childcarer benefits as his/her skills grow and develop ,enabling the highest standards of care and provision. It also promotes a better level of understanding and acceptance of those different from us,taking on board the opinions,cultures and attitudes of others to ensure a diverse and positively productive daily experience that enables higher levels of understanding from all .
It also fosters personal and team deveopment because a reflective practice evolves our experiences thus enabling higher standards of learning experiences. Experience can only be beneficial when it is either a positive experience (good practice),or a negative experience that is reflected upon and consequently changed and improved. Carers that deem experience alone as a credential to good practice are not developing,learning and reaching their fullest potential. Instead they are `stuck in practices and habits that may be over used,bad practice or practice that has not reached its full potential.
Kolb supports this view within his Experimental learning cycle. Kolb values the importance of concrete experience(1),Observation and reflection (2),Forming abstract concepts(3),and testing in new situations(4). Without reflection ,the working link between each experience is lost and therefore left underdeveloped. In conclusion ,a reflective practice ensures that each individual (from the child to the parents and proffesionals),reaches his/her fullest potential.
