Student Reflection

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In the academic context, ‘reflection’ is defined as; “a generic term for those intellectual and affective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understandings and appreciations. It may take place in isolation or in association with others. It can be done well or badly, successfully or unsuccessfully.” (Boud, Keogh and Walker, 1985, p 19) Needless to say, engaging in reflection at an academic level is more than merely passively remembering and more about assessing what was learnt. Reflection for a student should be action oriented. With that being said, reflection for action according to Open Campus (2015) is supposed to encourage the student to; “self assess to determine how ready we are…show more content…
So, when I learnt of the reflective exercises that were part and parcel of this course [Youth Governance & Participation], I was elated. I knew that I would have the opportunity to validate my understanding of the material. This week’s reflective exercise asked that reflection be based on the material covered thus far [Units 1-3], personal experiences and knowledge and on the idea that “youth participation is most promising when formally versus informally organize.” (Munroe, 2017,…show more content…
The young people with whom I work definitely have a different reality than the one I had growing up in politics and governance. I was once a youth and I am fully aware of the challenges of that particular cohort in my country so I am empathetic towards their cries. I am an avid believe in giving them feasible opportunities, listening to their contributions and respecting them as valuable contributors; this simple act can make huge difference in their lives. One of the most profound things in unit one that stood out for me was the understanding that youth participation is an important aspect of youth development. According to the unit, participation can be defined in many ways but with specific reference to youths it is “a process where young people, as active citizens, take part in, express views on and have decision-making power about issues that affect them.” (Farthing, 2010, p.73 as cited in Open, Campus, 2017, p.5) The unit provided clarity that youth participation goes beyond simple having youths present in an activity but having them actively engaged in every step of the process. The different levels and models of participation were presented and Hart’s Ladder was the most

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