Mentoring and Reflective Practice
Gillings (2000) states that commitment to self-enquiry and readiness to change practice are important if the individual is to get the most out of the process.
Many authors identify self-awareness as essential to the reflective process. This implies that the individual needs to be well informed/appraised of his/her own character, including beliefs and values. Many models of reflective practice also include self-awareness and questioning of beliefs, values and attitudes.
The last stage of many models of reflection relates to a willingness to change practice, where new conceptual perspectives are reached in order to inform practice. If the learner is not willing to change practice he/she will not gain the potential benefits from the process in terms of practice development, advances will not be made and professional practice will not evolve.
Many of the skills identified as essential for a good supervisor are required by the work-based supervisor to guide the reflective practitioner. A willingness to commit time to the process and to listen to the learner helps foster a relationship that can bring challenging issues to the fore.
There are many similarities between reflective practice and supervision, therefore learners can make effective use of reflective practice as a learning tool within the context of supervision. It is however important that the learner and the work-based supervisor are committed to the process and have a shared understanding of the process to make the experience effective. (McClure 2005)
