Educational Biography as a Means of Critical Reflection

Abstract

The main target of this paper is to present educational biography and its potential to become a critical reflection tool for the development of adult educators. Educational biography is understood as an oral or written testimony of a person in relation to the sum of his/her learning experiences, either within or outside the education system. Individual educational biographies expressively expose the way that people interact with their educational environment and construct their professional identities, as well as their thinking manners. On the other hand, critical self-reflection is a term that has many interpretations and definitions. However, it remains the main cognitive process that may lead to individual and social transformation. In this paper, beyond, a clear presentation of the concept of critical reflection, its content and its function towards the transformation of a person's frame of reference, I present the structure of an educational biography workshop that has been successfully implemented with adult educators and other teachers in Greece.