EDF5695 - Self-study as professional inquiry

This unit positions students as professional inquirers into their practice and presents self-study as an approach through which they may inquire into their practice in rigorous ways. Self-study involves systematic examination of one's own professional practice in order to gain greater understanding, and to make changes that enhance practice. The unit introduces self-study as a research approach for professional/practitioner inquiry. Its features are distinguished, including its qualitative nature and its philosophical standpoints on what counts as 'knowledge' for research purposes. Students identify the forms of data collection and analysis that may be suitable for inquiring into one's own practice. These are applied as students plan to conduct their own small-scale self-study project through which they deepen their learning around their personal and professional identity, their ethical responsibilities and collaborative engagement. The self-study project plan focuses on approaches to interpretation, and how to systematically improve practice within a particular professional context.