Article Sidebar
Published:
Jul 6, 2017Article Details
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the AJHPE is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The AJHPE does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors. The corresponding author should also indicate if the research forms part of a postgraduate short report, dissertation or thesis.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.Main Article Content
‘He has a life, a soul, a meaning that extends far deeper than his medical assessment … .’: The role of reflective diaries in enhancing reflective practice during a rural community physiotherapy placement
Abstract
Background. The Department of Physiotherapy at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa has a programme that allows 4th-year physiotherapy students to experience learning about public health in a rural setting. This experience is assessed using a portfolio. To date, the portfolios have only been assessed in terms of the students achieving the learning objectives. The process has not been evaluated for its effectiveness in promoting a reflective learner. A reflective learner is considered as one who will develop critical thinking and better accountability for their own learning.
Objective. To analyse the level of reflective practice attained by the students.
Methods. A qualitative approach was used to analyse evidence of reflective practice in student reflective diaries. Guided content analysis, using a framework compiled from the literature, was used to code the data. The coding framework outlined the levels of reflective practice – from the lowest level, identifying learning outcomes, to the highest level, i.e. abstract concept formation.
Results. Forty-eight portfolios with reflective diaries were available for analysis. Data saturation was obtained after eight reflective diaries were analysed. The majority of the student diaries (6 of 8) reflected a low level of reflective practice, with only a few attaining a high level.
Conclusion. This study showed that physiotherapy students who experienced learning in a rural setting achieved low levels of reflective practice. A minority of students were able to progress in their reflection to reveal elements of critical thought, reflective thinking and, further still, abstract concept formation.
