Reflective practice in action: Preparing Samoan journalists to cover court cases

The paper relates a case study in Donald Schön’s reflective practice approach to professional education. Two months before Samoa’s highest profile criminal trial, the author conducted a seven-day intensive training session with several reporters who would be covering the case. The situation required an approach which would prepare the journalists to “reflect in action”, as Schön (1987) expressed it, so they would be equipped to adapt their journalistic behaviour to the challenges which presented during the trial. This article explains briefly the Schön approach, gives the context to the Samoan training, and presents the case study of the curricular and pedagogical approaches to the court and criminal reporting workshop. Its aim is to use a focussed case study to demonstrate the application of educational theory to an immediate professional challenge.