The Reflection Journal as a Qualitative Instrument for Developing Speech-Pedagogical Competence in Pre-Service Deaf Educators

Abstract

Speech competence constitutes a cornerstone of professional efficacy in deaf education (surdopedagogy), where the educator's own speech functions simultaneously as an instructional medium and as a primary developmental and corrective model for hearing-impaired learners. Despite this centrality, teacher-training curricula in special education frequently privilege theoretical instruction and demonstrable technique over the metacognitive capacities that allow novice educators to monitor and refine their own speech behaviour in real time. This study addresses that gap by examining the Reflection Journal as both a qualitative research instrument and a pedagogical mechanism for cultivating speech-pedagogical competence among pre-service deaf educators. Grounded in Schön's theory of reflective practice and structurally aligned with the collaborative inquiry ethos of the Japanese Lesson Study model, the journal was implemented across a full academic semester using a standardized four-tier reflective framework addressing self-observation, learner perception of the speech model, evaluation of the corrective plan, and forward-oriented action planning. Using qualitative content analysis, entries were coded along a continuum from surface-level description to deep critical analysis. The discussion synthesizes how sustained, structured reflective writing is theorized to support diagnostic mastery, professional self-regulation, and adaptive pedagogical decision-making in surdopedagogical practice. The paper concludes with methodological recommendations for embedding reflective journaling within special-education teacher-training curricula and identifies directions for future empirical validation.