Becoming reflective professionals: from performative anxiety to relational pedagogy through dialogic scaffolding

Abstract

This study explores how pre-service teachers navigate the developmental continuum of reflective practice to construct their professional identities during microteaching. Drawing on reflection papers and peer/instructor feedback from 44 EFL pre-service teachers, as well as instructor feedback, the study employed qualitative analysis to trace the chronological trajectory from retrospective critique (reflection-on-action) to proactive pedagogical planning (reflection-for-action). The findings reveal a profound shift that moves beyond mere technical troubleshooting. First, participants transformed initial pedagogical friction and performative anxiety into vital opportunities for emotional regulation. Second, they evolved from executing rigid lesson plans to architecting responsive instructional dynamics. Finally, they rejected teacher-centered transmission, embracing a relational pedagogy designed to foster learner agency. Crucially, this evolution was catalyzed by dialogic scaffolding; peer and instructor feedback functioned not as summative evaluation, but as socially mediated intervention that bridged the gap between diagnosing limitations and envisioning their professional identity as an effective teacher. Ultimately, this study reconceptualizes reflection not as a solitary, post-lesson administrative task, but as a profound ontological bridge. The findings suggest that teacher education programs must embed socially mediated, forward-oriented reflective cycles to empower novices to evolve from anxious performers into adaptive, self-directed professionals capable of true reflective agency.