The Use of Reflective Journals in Professional Development

Abstract

Professional development is understood as a means to maintain and enhance the quality of teachers in any discipline. Not only can the learned information improve the teaching process, but it also contributes to career advancement. A reflective journal is part of this extraordinarily simple practice. They have been utilized in different fields of study such as literature, health care, and mathematics. Focusing on the contribution of reflective practice to teaching, this article is an attempt to understand the use of reflective journals in the personal growth and professional development of teachers of English as a foreign language, drawn from a wider perspective of the vast research done in the field of reflective journaling and to increase the effectiveness of reflective journaling.