Overview of Reflect
“Reflect is a structured participatory learning process which facilitates people’s critical analysis of their environment, placing empowerment at the heart of sustainable and equitable development. Through the creation of democratic spaces and the construction and interpretation of locally generated texts, people build their own analysis of local and global reality and re-define power relationships (in both public and private spheres)”
Reflect is an innovative approach to adult learning and social change, conceived and piloted by ActionAid in 1993-95. It fuses the theory of Paulo Freire with the methodologies of participatory rural appraisal. Abolishing the need for a text book, the approach enables groups to develop their own learning materials by constructing maps, calendars, matrices, diagrams or using forms of drama, story-telling and songs, which can capture social, economic, cultural and political issues from their own environment. In this process the development of literacy and other communication skills becomes closely linked to the engagement of people in wider processes of development and social change.
How does Reflect work? Reflect provides an on-going democratic space for a group of people to meet and discuss issues relevant to them and their lives. The participants/facilitator choose the specific topics themselves, according to their own priorities. The discussion is facilitated by a facilitator: someone from the group who has attended a Reflect ‘Training of facilitators’ workshop. The group uses various participatory techniques to represent their immediate reality, systematise their existing knowledge and analyse their situation. This is the basis for micro planning of development and lobbying activities. Reflect circles decide where and when to meet, how long for and how often – some groups might meet daily for one hour, others find it more useful to spend one afternoon or evening a week, the fact that the group themselves decide what would suit them best is key to the sustainability of Reflect.
Reflect training: The way people are trained is key for the successful implementation of Reflect. Both facilitators and trainers attend an initial workshop, however there is also a need for ongoing training and support. A typical Reflect training workshop is 2 weeks. This is sometimes broken into 2 parts – with the first part focusing on Reflect methodologies and the second on developing materials. Ideally there will be a break in the training to allow participants to return to their group, Reflect on what they have learnt, practise using Reflect tools and collect materials for use in the second part. In this way the facilitators become involved in designing units for use with their group. This not only means that the issues discussed will be directly relevant to the specific group, but also that facilitators become actively engaged in constructing their own texts, taking ownership of the approach and internalising it. Without this internalisation, they will have very limited ability to effectively facilitate a process for others.