Developing curricula to encourage students to write reflective journals

How should courses be arranged if students are to be encouraged to reflect upon their practice through the writing of reflective journals? This research question was addressed in action research studies of five courses in the allied health areas. The five studies fed into one overall project which synthesised findings from the five subprojects through the critical discussions of the participants. It was discovered that students needed an introduction to and feedback upon reflective writing as it differed from other types of writing required in academic courses. For reflective writing to be taken seriously, it needed to be an integral part of the course. Issues such as the disclosure of journal entries and the assessment of reflective writing needed to be handled sensitively. The courses studied evolved positions on these issues which attempted to balance dichotomous concerns.