What is reflection?
Reflection is a process that involves thinking and understanding – an honest exploration and examination of our previous experiences. Here it is thinking about things you have done and experienced in your life, and working out what you have learned from them so that you can better understand the person you are now, your qualities, what you are capable of and what you want to do. This kind of thinking can be helpful for anyone, at any time of life, whoever you are and whatever situation you are in.
The scope of your reflection can vary. For example, you might want to reflect on what you’ve learned from a recent work placement, caring responsibilities or study experience, or you might want to just take an overview of your life as a whole.
Reflection can be uncomfortable, depending on previous experiences, but it can also be liberating as we develop a better understanding of ourselves and our situation, and can then move on. This is what one student said about their reflections:
To see back – you know what you did, what was your background, and you see now, what’s your position – it’s something useful to you today – or you can use it for the future. […] It makes you stop and think … yeah … you have a degree, you have something, you are not just – because you have a problem in this country, and you can’t do much, it doesn’t mean you are not capable or you don’t have anything.
Listen to the following people talking about how they made changes in their lives. (Note that each person’s words are spoken by an actor.)
If you want to read a speaker’s words as you listen to the audios included here, click on the ‘Transcript’ link beneath the player.
Mo is 31 years old. He was born in 1981 and grew up in northern Iran with his parents, his younger brother and sister. Like his brother and sister, Mo was encouraged by his parents to go to university and he graduated with a BSc Natural Resources Engineering. While still a student, and also after graduating, he worked with his university lecturer on an aquaculture research project.
Mo was forced to flee Iran and arrived in Glasgow, via Heathrow Airport, London, in November 2007 as an asylum seeker. He was granted refugee status in 2008. At times it has been very difficult, mainly because of difficulties with language, but also because of personal problems, and on some occasions because of racism.
Mo has worked hard and has had the support of a number of organisations, including the British Red Cross, Scottish Refugee Council, Venture Scotland and the Bridges Programmes in Glasgow.
By 2012 he was a third-year electronic and digital engineering student at Glasgow Caledonian University. He still had some contact with his family in Iran and they learned he is safe.
Hello. My name is Mo. I was born in Iran, the north of Iran. I graduated in natural resources engineering from the university near my home town. My sister was a graduate there as well, in electronic engineering. My little brother graduated as well from the university. During my last year of study and after I graduated, I worked on a project with my senior lecturer about fish migration. During this project, some events happened to me and so I had to flee the country and come to the UK.
I went to Heathrow Airport and after two or three days they sent me to Glasgow. I didn’t have a choice. I was speaking to someone at the airport and told him they were sending me to Glasgow. He said Glasgow is good, the people are friendly. I remember then I couldn’t speak a word and didn’t know where I was. You know, we survived, me and my friend. We kind of met each other on the bus and so became friends. It took me about six months to settle in, in a flat.
One of the main barriers for me was language because I couldn’t communicate with anyone and I couldn’t say anything. I never imagined that I am going to live in a foreign country, so that’s why I never learned a new language properly. After six months, my solicitor sent me to an organisation and they introduced me to the Bridges Programmes. To be honest I didn’t have a good induction, so I wasn’t sure about them until one of my friends told me that it’s better to go there and be familiar with the new ways, new directions.
Because I had a bad experience in my career, I wasn’t happy to go back and do any kind of work in my degree subject, in my field. So I decided to change my career and I started from scratch. I went to college and was studying ESOL and HNC computing.
There were lots of problems in Glasgow – housing, finance, finding a job – and after one year I decided to move to London. At that time I got my ‘Status’, so I went to London. I tried to stay there but I couldn’t because there wasn’t any support, so I had to come back to Glasgow.
I went back to college. I finished and I got good marks and it was surprising for my lecturer because in the first year I was struggling with my problems – personal problems, language and many other things. The HNC finished and then I started studying HND. I finished the HND and I started university last year.
Ying is 36 years old and grew up in China. Her first job on leaving school was in a factory. She moved to the city with her sister and together they set up their own ladies’ clothing shop. Things were going well but she felt her lack of education meant she could not make the most of her business.
Ying moved to Scotland in 2000 but, unable to speak English, she struggled to find work. She knew she had to improve her English to get anywhere, so for three years she took English classes at a local college. While there she found support and links from Bridges Programmes, a work placement organisation for new migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Through Bridges, Ying took a short introductory course with The Open University. This gave her the confidence to continue studying.
Having successfully passed three courses, Ying is now focusing on training at work.
My name is Ying Luo. I grew up in China in a family of five and went to primary and secondary school there. I didn’t enjoy school. The classes were very large and the teachers had too many students to look after, so when I didn’t understand, it was difficult to ask questions. My parents weren’t able to help either, as they didn’t have much education, and they were working all the time. They tried to encourage us to learn but we didn’t realise the importance of education then.
After school, I got a job in a factory. I realised there, that to earn more you need more education. My sister and I moved to another city where a friend of ours helped us set up a shop for ladies’ clothes, but we knew so little about retail, and how to market and expand the business, that we only made a small profit.
Then I moved to the UK and everything changed. At first it was very difficult – I couldn’t speak English, I didn’t know anyone, I had no friends, and I didn’t have a job. I had my baby, which was a high point, but until I went to college to learn English, I felt very isolated.
When I was at college, I heard about Bridges Programmes, which helps people get work experience. So I went to Bridges and while I was there, I found out about the OU. The adviser told me about an Openings course they offered called ‘Learning to change’, so I decided to try it.
At first I thought I would just do one course, but I enjoyed the course so much that I did another two courses after that, which were ‘An introduction to business studies’ and ‘You and your money: personal finance in context’. While I was doing these courses, I got work in an office as a bookkeeper.
At first I found studying in English very hard, especially the telephone tutorials, but my friends and my boss at work helped and supported me. They made me believe in myself. Now I feel like a different person from when I first arrived in the UK – now I think I can try that; I can do it.
This year my daughter is ten years old. At work, my boss is offering a lot of training. I want to take a break from study to be able to spend more time with my daughter and take up the opportunity to progress at work. But I hope to come back to OU study again. I realise that to get on in life, you need qualifications.
Eric is 44 years old and from Burundi. He was accepted for a place at the University of Burundi to study economics, but circumstances changed and he spent several years working in various voluntary and non-government organisations before seeking asylum in the UK in 2002.
Since moving to Scotland Eric has completed a college course, gained residency status and had a long-term work placement in a care home for the elderly, which resulted in an offer of full-time employment. This experience has reinforced his interest and commitment to a career in nursing.
My name is Eric and I am now 44. I grew up in Burundi, went to school there, and was accepted at the University of Burundi to study economics. My situation then changed.
In recent years I have been involved in various volunteer organisations and NGOs, including as a UNHCR field officer on the refugee food distribution programme. In the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], after the war that devastated the country for ten years, I was a counsellor in the rehabilitation centre for young people. Many young people had mental health problems due to the atrocity of the war, losing relatives or their entire family.
I came to the UK in 2002 as an asylum seeker in the north-west of England, where I went to college and completed a course in information technology. I moved to Scotland and in 2008 completed a college course in computing. I became involved with Bridges Programmes in Glasgow and their work placement programme.
Having been resident in Scotland now for ten years, I have been granted residency status. I am bilingual in French and English, and my life experiences have made me understand very well the importance of good communication in working with people. I have been interested in a career in nursing for some time, stemming from my involvement with the Red Cross in the Congo, and this led me to seek further education in nursing.
Successful completion of the pre-nursing course at Stow College in Glasgow has given me a very good grounding in the theory and practice of nursing, as it involved study of the topics that will be included within a nursing degree programme.
Through Bridges, I had a long-term work placement within a nursing environment caring for older people. Clients have a range of conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular disease and diabetes. This placement has reinforced my interest in a nursing career, and in developing my knowledge and understanding of these conditions, and of the attainment of ‘good health’.
To help me further prepare for a career in nursing, I am currently studying the Open University course Understanding health and social care. This study is developing a broad understanding of health and care, and of the different ways that care is provided to clients, and who provides this care. My OU course allows me to study from home while carrying on with my work commitments.
My work placement is no longer a placement as I am very happy to have been offered a paid job – employment as a healthcare assistant with my placement company. My first application for the nursing degree programme was not successful. However, I was encouraged to think again about my skills and qualities, and why this is a good career choice for me, and I have applied again. I now have the option of going to university full time to study nursing, or continuing with my new job and part-time study with the OU. I am hopeful for my future.
Natalia is 31 years old and lives in Glasgow. She is originally from Bilgoraj in Poland. Her parents and two brothers still live in Poland.
After completing a masters degree in geology in Warsaw, Natalia came to Scotland in 2006. She had visited Glasgow while working for a Polish humanitarian project, helping refugees. She had worked for this organisation for a short time in Poland, as a volunteer and as a paid employee.
Natalia liked Glasgow so much she decided to move there to live. Finding a job in her field was more difficult than she had anticipated, but after a few years of trying to find work in her field, voluntary work, paid work and further postgraduate study, Natalia is now settled in Glasgow and employed as a geotechnical engineer for a major Scottish company based in north Lanarkshire.
My name is Natalia and I come from Poland – the south-east of Poland. I have two brothers. When I was 18 I went to university in Warsaw, where I studied geology for five years. I got a masters degree and then I started working, not in geology at all but with a Polish humanitarian organisation. I actually started volunteering for them when I was a still a student, working on their website, doing some photography – which had been my hobby. One thing led to another and I got another project to do, so I started working with them full-time for approximately one year, when I decided to move to Scotland.
I was 26 when I came to Glasgow for the first time, when I was still working for the Polish humanitarian organisation. It was lovely here. I stayed in the West End. I loved Glasgow and decided to move here. I moved hoping that it would be really easy to get a similar job here, which never happened. It’s just, it turned out to be a little more complicated job-wise than I thought it was going to be.
It’s quite difficult to get into work if you didn’t study anything similar, or if you didn’t meet the right people, or volunteer for a certain amount of time. I have a friend who struggles to get into the field. She’s Scottish and she’s had problems, so it’s got nothing to do with me being foreign. It’s just the way it is. At some point I thought, what was I doing? I was working in cafés mostly. So I decided to go back to university when I was 29. It was quite a long time since I graduated so I lost confidence to look for a job in my field, with no experience in the field and no vocabulary as well.
I looked at what was available, at what was quite similar to what I had done back home so that I could get to masters straight away – and I found geotechnical engineering, which I did a little bit of as a part of my course back home. So I went back to do more engineering specialisation and it was really good. It actually worked. I got in simply because I had a masters already in a quite similar field.
When I was about to finish my course I started looking for a job. Obviously it’s hard times now. Bridges got in touch and said that they run a work shadowing programme to help refugees get experience with a company. I went for the interview with Amey and I got the chance to stay with them in the geotechnical department. I started straight away after graduating. I didn’t even officially graduate yet when I started. It went pretty smooth from the moment I decided to go back to university. I think I am in a nice position right now, finally getting a job in my field and personally, life is good as well.
These examples show how thinking about what you really want to do and finding out how to get there can change people’s lives. Perhaps some aspects of the above stories reflect your own experiences?
Reflection isn’t always easy – it can be painful and difficult to think through things that have happened in the past, for any number of reasons. At the same time, it’s not always easy to understand what you have learned from past experiences or decisions taken.
It’s therefore sometimes quite helpful if you can work through these reflections with some sort of additional support if this is available to you. Perhaps you have a mentor, for instance?
To get you started, think about the following four questions:
Before trying to answer these questions have a look at the following examples, which show how Natalia and Ying answered them.
We know that Natalia now has a good job as a geotechnical engineer in Scotland but this didn’t happen overnight. Look at Natalia’s table, which refers to her situation before she found this job.
How do I see myself now? | What makes me happy? |
---|---|
In a conflict, needing to work and earn, but wanting to make a success of moving to Glasgow and do something fulfilling in my field of geology = Stress, frustration, feeling stuck | My friends and my boyfriend My family Achieving something that I have worked hard for and that is worthwhile Making other people happy |
What am I most proud of? | How would I like to see myself in the future? |
Graduating with a masters degree from university in Poland The work I have done with the Polish humanitarian organisation My family | To feel less stressed To feel that coming to Glasgow was a good decision To be in a good job in my field To feel proud of what I have achieved |
Now listen to Natalia talking about her experiences soon after moving to Glasgow.
I was 26 when I came to Glasgow for the first time. I had a masters degree in geology from the university in Warsaw. I was working for a Polish humanitarian organisation. They sent me here to work as a part of a project to see how they teach refugees and how the whole process of getting asylum works here.
It was May, it was lovely here. I stayed in the West End. I loved Glasgow and decided to move. I moved hoping that it would be really easy to get a similar job here, which never happened. It’s quite difficult to get into work if you didn’t study anything similar or if you didn’t meet the right people or volunteer for a certain amount of time. It’s the same everywhere. I have a friend who struggles to get into the field. She’s Scottish and she’s had problems, so it’s got nothing to do with me being foreign. It’s just the way it is.
It was really hard. I tried with Oxfam. I had done a little bit of work for them, mostly photography. That was my hobby and I had done a little bit of work with that before. I tried a few places to get a job but it just didn’t work out. And at some point I thought, what was I doing?
I was working in cafés, mostly, and got a bit tired of that, as you can imagine. I worked in one photography studio for about a year before it got shut one day, just like that.
At that time, when you knew you were educated and you couldn’t get on, sometimes you don’t see the end – you know it’s there, but I was getting frustrated.
Think about the following questions:
Now look at Ying’s table and listen to her describing her experiences.
How do I see myself now? | What makes me happy? |
---|---|
Trying to work, earn, study for a better future Spend time with my daughter | Being successful in study Having work I enjoy Spending time with my daughter Having friends from other countries and cultures |
What am I most proud of? | How would I like to see myself in the future? |
How much I have achieved since arriving in the UK Gaining further education qualifications Finally I feel like I fit in to the community around me | Being able to manage my time better Having more speaking and writing skills in English To progress in my job at work To be involved in helping other people who started out in the same situation as me |
I was born in China and lived there for 24 years. I completed school and then went to work in a factory. I didn’t enjoy this work. After that, my sister and I started up our own business, but we didn’t make much money.
In 2000 I moved to the UK and have now been here for 12 years. For the first five years, I found it very difficult, as I didn’t have any English. I was isolated, I had a baby and found it hard to get work. Eventually I got work, but it wasn’t what I wanted.
Later, when I started to learn English at a local college, I began to build contacts and make friends. I found out about Bridges Programmes, and through this organisation I heard about the OU.
I then began studying business courses with the OU in 2010. The first course I did, an Openings access course called ‘Learning to change’, was a big step in giving me the confidence to believe in myself and to know that I am equal to everyone else and can make a better life for myself and my daughter.
While studying, I got work in an office as a bookkeeper. I enjoy this work. I’ve now been in this work for one year and I am hoping to continue with this work.
My daughter is now aged 10 and at school. Now that I can speak and understand English I am involved in my daughter’s school community.
Now fill in the boxes for yourself on the table we have provided for you. We will return to this activity in Session 5 so you may want to keep a copy of your table.
OR
Open your Reflection Log and go to Activity 1.1. Once you have completed the activity, make sure you save the document again.
If you are working in a group and would like to share your answers, do so now.
This activity asks you to think of the various roles you have in your life and what these involve.
You listened to Natalia’s experiences of moving to Glasgow to live and work. It wasn’t easy at first, but her situation changed over time. Have a look at Natalia’s list of the roles that she now has in life, and then listen to her talking about these in the audio clip.
My main roles in life | What I do |
---|---|
Daughter, sister | Keep in touch with my family and let them know how I am |
Friend | Support and encourage my friend in achieving her goals |
Flatmate | Take care of the household tasks with my flatmate |
Employee and colleague | Work as a geotechnical engineer; communicate with my team and my manager, keep up to date with developments in my field |
I was really curious as to how it was going to be, living and working abroad. It’s just, it turned out to be a little more complicated job-wise than I thought it was going to be. I was working in cafés mostly. So after three years in Glasgow, I decided to go back to university.
It was quite a long time since I graduated, so I kind of lost confidence to look for a job with no experience in the field and no specialist vocabulary. I looked at what was available, at what was quite similar to what I had done back home, so that I could get to masters straightaway. I found geotechnics, which I did a little bit of as a part of my course back home. At some point I had wanted to choose that as a specialisation but I never did. Choosing geotechnics, I think that was the right thing to do and it kind of fits with what I did back home. Altogether I think it gave me quite a strong base.
I think I got a little bit lucky with the move here, and obviously it was not always very nice all the time, but I still got quite lucky that I met some people on the way who helped out, who supported me – but you really have to do a lot of work yourself. I was trying to encourage my friend to do a similar thing.
I think I am in a nice position right now, finally getting a job in the field, and personally, life is good as well. At the moment, I am looking to buy a flat. I am a geotechnical engineer. A friend. A girlfriend.
My parents, I think they are quite proud – they would probably say that I have finally got where I wanted to be. I think I would like to believe that being a friend is the most important thing.
The example above shows how we have different roles in life. We all have many roles in which we use a variety of skills and abilities.
Think about the following questions:
Now define yourself at the present time, and the roles you fulfil, in the table provided.
OR
Open your Reflection Log and go to Activity 1.2. (If you forgot to save your Reflection Log, you can open a new document.) Once you have completed the activity, make sure you save the document again.
If you are working in a group, you might want to share your answers and discuss your roles with each other. Similarly, if you are working one-to-one with a mentor, use this time to tease out some of the ideas above.
Session 1 aimed to get you started on thinking about yourself and was designed to help you get an idea of how you feel about your present situation.
You probably discovered that you do a lot of things using a variety of skills and abilities. Maybe you didn’t recognise how skilled you actually are, or what qualities you have? One of the aims of reflection is to help you recognise your own skills and talents.
You have now completed Session 1. In Session 2 you’ll look at how these skills, abilities and qualities are developed over time.
To conclude this part of the course and to consolidate your learning you may like to complete the first quiz.
Quiz 1 provides evidence that you are achieving the following learning outcomes:
If you need a reminder about the quizzes and the criteria for getting a badge, visit How to complete the course quizzes.
Reflecting on Transitions was developed by Lindsay Hewitt and Christine McConnell of The Open University in Scotland in collaboration with Bridges Programmes. The optional quizzes for the related digital course badges for learners and support workers, respectively, were developed by Julie Robson (The Open University) and Jonathan Sharp (Bridges Programmes). The course was edited by Lindsay Hewitt and Jennifer Nockles (The Open University).
We are hugely grateful to Bridges’ clients, Mo, Ying, Eric and Natalia, whose stories have informed the development of this course and bring to life the activities within it. We hope you find something in their experiences that speaks to you as well.
Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence.
The material acknowledged below is Proprietary and used under licence (not subject to Creative Commons Licence). Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit:
Figure 1.1: © iStockphoto.com
Image of Mo: © The Open University
Image of Ying: © Joanna Rodzik
Image of Eric: © iStockphoto.com
Image of Natalia: Natalia for © The Open University
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