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This article presents a theoretical approach and an analytical toolbox for researchers on reflections in PE and PETE. Its purpose is to provide an approach to analyzing how reflections are composed. Previous research mainly asks how teachers and student teachers (STs) reflect and use different theoretical concepts to describe the way in which they reflect. The use of the analytical toolbox, as described in this paper, examines how the reflections of teachers and STs have different parts that are influenced by the direction – within a given context – of their gaze and focus on teaching. Their experiences and reflections are affected by the contexts, which influence the forward-moving spiral of the development of their professional judgment. Using a recontextualized version of Wackerhausen’s (2009) theory as an analytical toolbox in research, as proposed in this article, can contribute to more nuanced descriptions of teachers’ and STs’ reflections on teaching in PE.

Background

Practicum reflection is central in PETE, yet prior studies rarely adopt a situated notion of reflection, resulting in repetitive findings. A situated perspective opens less explored domains by examining how reflections emerge within specific contexts.

Purpose and Research Questions

To complement existing research practices, this study foregrounds a situated approach by exploring how student teachers’ (STs’) school placements influence the structure and direction of their reflections. As argued elsewhere (Author, 2023), this perspective supports analysis that yields nuanced, context-sensitive descriptions without relying on predefined categories or privileging certain forms of reflection. The study was guided by two research questions:

• What meanings are constituted in STs’ reflections on their teaching?
• How do school cultures influence STs’ reflections on their teaching?

Theoretical Framework

The analysis draws on Wackerhausen’s (2009) four anatomical parts of reflection—on teaching, with resources, from teaching purposes, and within school cultures. Their combined configuration forms ‘reflection bodies’, which are interpreted through Dewey’s concepts of educative, non‑educative, and mis‑educative experiences to examine the directions of STs’ reflections.

Method

Video‑stimulated recall interviews generated qualitative data. STs in one independent and two public Swedish schools had their lessons video‑recorded, and selected clips prompted reflections on their use of Assessment for Learning (AfL). A three‑step, framework‑guided analysis examined the structure and direction of their reflections.

Results

Two reflection bodies emerged.

Grade-oriented body: Although some elements indicated educative potential, the overall structure narrowed STs’ focus to grade attainment, making reflections largely non‑educative or mis‑educative. The school’s culture reinforced an instrumental use of AfL, driven by pupils’ ‘grade hunting’ and teachers’ grade‑centered communication. Ambivalent reflections revealed internal tensions within this body. 

The activity-oriented body exhibited limited educational intent. STs drew heavily on prior experiences, applied AfL superficially, and received insufficient support from the school’s teachers. Their reflections became fragmented and centered on physical activity rather than pedagogical purpose.

Conclusions

School cultures can promote a false sense of certainty about the right way to teach and reflect. The findings underscore the importance of productive uncertainty—an open‑ended stance that supports inquiry and iterative cycles of action and reflection.

Impact Statement

This study advances a situated notion of reflection in PETE by providing an analytical toolbox for examining how school cultures shape STs’ reflections. By focusing on reflection direction rather than essence, it offers a more nuanced understanding of educational value and highlights the crucial role of contextual environments in shaping reflective practice.

Physical education teacher education (PETE) students’ reflections on their practicums are influenced by how their supervisors guide them. Supervisors often evaluate and discuss PETE students’ teaching by guiding their focus on essential aspects to consider. This exploratory case study focuses on how supervisors’ guiding styles in reflective conversations affect how PETE students make meaning of their teaching. Reflective practitioners, in this case PETE students, make sense of practical situations from their own perspectives as part of their teaching practice. Supervisors’ guidance is essential here, because it can change PETE students’ understanding by (re)directing their attention to meaningful aspects when framing their teaching and help them to examine it from new perspectives. However, the findings indicate that supervisors’ various guidance affect how PETE students experience their learning journeys during practicum. In this study, the participating PETE students’ experiences of practicum differed: either they experienced a controlled journey that restricted their teaching due to predefined rules and condemning attitude toward pupils, or they experienced an adventurous journey that enabled them to find their own paths as a teachers.

Research on situated reflection remains underdeveloped, particularly regarding how PETE programs formulate practicum tasks in which student teachers (STs) are instructed to reflect. This study analyzes practicum task documents from three Swedish PETE programs to identify what STs are asked to focus on and the purposes their reflections are intended to serve. Guided by the notion that language constitutes reflection, a reflexive thematic analysis was conducted using Biesta’s distinction between the language of learning and educational language as analytical tools. The analysis generated four themes, three aligned with the language of learning and one with educational language. The findings show that instructing STs to reflect in practicum tasks involves balancing the promotion of competency development with opportunities to exercise educational judgment. As the language of learning dominates the tasks, it becomes important to consider how practicum instructions might better support STs in using and developing educational judgement.