BETWEEN SELF-CRITICISM AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH: HOW STUDENT TEACHERS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION CONSTRUCT REFLECTIVE PRACTICE IN PUNJAB

Abstract

Reflective practice is generally embraced in the teacher education systems but there are limited studies on how student teachers in special education programmes in Pakistan construct reflective practice. This qualitative study examined the ways in which student teachers in Initial Teacher Education (Special Education) programmes in the Punjab province construct reflective practice in the light of competing pressures of criticism and development. Based on semi-structured interviews with twenty participants and analysing the data using the framework of Reflexive Thematic Analysis, the research developed three themes: The Weight of Looking Inward, Navigating Institutional and Cultural Constraints, and Glimpsing Professional Growth Through Relational Reflection. The results suggest that student teachers oscillate between productive self-reflection and debilitating self-criticism shaped by the structural and cultural conditions of special education training in Punjab. The study contributes a contextualised account of how reflective practice is understood and enacted in a setting that remains under-researched and has implications for curriculum design and practice by teacher educators.