Understanding reflective practice at Punahou School: from institutional aspiration to practitioner action

Abstract

Punahou School's vision statement reveals a commitment to examination and renewal, which is echoed in the school's inclination toward institutional innovation and in its support of professional development. Notions of growth and ongoing development are deeply embedded in Punahou's historical foundations, and they continue to characterize the ethos of the school. The school's culture supports inquiry and creativity through active discourse, through an openness to new knowledge, and through practitioner autonomy that allows for experimentation. Still, Punahou's scale and complexity make it challenging to apprehend where and how examination and renewal (i.e. reflective practice) take place. This study, via a series of questionnaires, seeks to explore practitioner understanding of, and engagement in, reflective practice at Punahou. It looks to identify outcomes of reflective practice, and it aims to understand the mechanisms that impact reflective practice in the Punahou context. With reflection built into the methodology, it examines practitioner assumptions and calls for candid evaluation of practice, surfacing a design meant to foster and sustain reflective practice at Punahou. It also offers general insights as to the anatomy and as to the transformative potential of reflective practice.