Critical Reflection
Throughout these modules, we will invite you to practice cultural safety through critical self-reflection exercises.
Self-reflection is an integral feature of culturally safe practice. These questions will be approached differently by everyone, and personal responses may change as you continue your cultural safety journey. Be curious about the thoughts, feelings, ideas, emotions that arise when undertaking these critical reflection exercises. These can be key pieces of information that reinforce, challenge, expand, or lead to further inquiry about your worldviews and lived experiences.
How to practice self-reflection
- Individually. Use the critical reflection exercises to examine and acknowledge your thoughts and reflection.
- Collectively. The critical reflections can be shared and discussed using the annotation functionality in this book, through group discussion or through Teaching in Circles (TiC).
Teaching in Circles is based on ‘Australian Indigenous practice of Yarning’ (Barlo et al., 2020; Dean, 2010).
Yarning is an ‘Indigenous mode of sharing and delivering knowledges and experiences that reflects and respects our world views and ways of knowing, being and doing business and reciprocity and cultural form of conversation.’ (Doran & Wrigley, 2022)
It aligns with the principles of equal relationships, cooperation, respectful engagement, and support. It aims to create a safe space, to build connections, and enable conversations, particularly difficult ones around cultural safety and power sharing.
It encourages active listening and accountability in what and how participants hear, share, and respond.
Accountability requires self-reflection and acknowledgment of mistakes, an apology and consideration of what could be done differently.
Teaching in Circles supports the experiential understanding of cultural safety.
Teaching in Circle practice includes:
- A circular group formation, all participants can see each other
- Participants can choose to speak without interruption, or only listen
- Principles of engagement should be agreed on and include,
- respect
- listening
- non-judgement
- accountability
- reflection
- No barriers to discussion such as note taking, devices, computers
Critical Reflection Exercise 1
Read the following article, then reflect on the reading using the following questions.
Doran, F. & Wrigley, B. (2022) Cultural Safety: teachers’ engagement with an Indigenous pedagogical method in undergraduate nursing education, Contemporary Nurse, 58:1, 58-70, DOI: 10.1080/10376178.2022.2044873
- What do you already know and do about cultural safety?
- What has been your experience of cultural safety?
- How confident do you feel about teaching and talking about cultural safety?
- Did you have any myths or misconceptions about cultural safety?
- What does self-reflective practice look like to you?
- What are your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes about self -reflective practice?
References
Barlo, S., Boyd, W., Hughes, M., Wilson, S., & Pelizzon, A. (2020). Yarning as protected space: Relational accountability in research. Alternative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 17(1), 40–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/1177180120986151
Dean, C. (2010). A yarning place in narrative histories. History of Education Review, 39(2), 6–13. https://doi.org/10.1108/08198691201000005
Doran, F. & Wrigley, B. (2022) Cultural Safety: teachers’ engagement with an Indigenous pedagogical method in undergraduate nursing education, Contemporary Nurse, 58:1, 58-70, DOI: 10.1080/10376178.2022.2044873
