Abstract
D.Ed. (Educational Psychology)
This study investigates the first year of education and training of students enrolled for. the
M.Ed. degree in Educational Psychology with the view to describing and also explaining
pertinent problems and processes of professional development, especially with regard to
reflective practitioning and the role of experiential learning.
The rationale for the investigation was involved from major policy documents which
addresses the issue of knowledge and the novice practitioner in the dynamic and challenging
milieu of reconstruction and development in South African education.
The report of the study commences with a theory framework in which reflective
practitioning, experiential learning and professional development are explicated. An
important distinction in the literature review is the two main emphases in professional
training, namely the normative professional curriculum and the dialectic professional
curriculum. Both the theory of reflective practitioning and experiential learning are viewed
as exponents of the dialectic curriculum in which contemporary theory of constructivism as
view of learning is embedded. In this view a reflective practitioner is considered a lifelong
self evaluative learner. In conjunction with the perspective of reflection in practice,
experiential learning is viewed as potential knowledge. Rounding off the literature review,
various models of reflective practitioning are included emphasising the role of the facilitator
as guide and as leader.
The theory framework is complemented by a chapter on the design of the field study,
substantiating the choice of the format and methods of data collection and analyses with
views from the body of knowledge on qualitative research.
The field investigation is reported in the ensuing chapters presenting examples of data
collection and analyses procedures.