The guest of this episode is Cheryl Hunt, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter/UK, Director and Trustee of the International Network for the Study of Spirituality (INSS) and the founding editor of the Journal for the Study of Spirituality. Cheryl gives an in-depth account of Reflective Practice and how it developed historically in professional practices. Furthermore, she elaborates the relationship between Reflective Practice, spirituality and meaning-making. Finally, she explicates how spirituality can be studied and researched. 

00:01:17 – On Reflective Practice and its history 

00:14:29 – On the role of the question “Who am I?” in Reflective Practice 

00:17:55 – What does it mean to act authentically in professional practices? 

00:20:03 – On the relation between authenticity and spirituality 

00:23:14 – Is there a relation between spirituality and meaning-making?  

00:26:26 – What is the role of spirituality in professional practices? 

00:28:19 – Is there a lack of spirituality in today’s world? 

00:31:26 – Is Reflective Practice an approach to promote responsibility in professional practices 

00:34:33 – How can spirituality be researched and studied? 

00:36:10 – How to facilitate spirituality in terms of a reflective practice 

Further literature: 

- Hunt, C. (2024): Discovering Spirituality through Critical Reflection and Autoethnography. In: Flanagan, B. & Clough, K. (eds.): The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Spirituality and Contemplative Studies. London & New York, NY: Routledge.  

- Hunt, C. (2023): ‘Doing’ reflective practice and understanding spirituality as a way of being: Implications for professional and transformative practice, Journal for the Study of Spirituality, DOI: 10.1080/20440243.2023.2249823  

- Hunt, C. (2021). Critical Reflection, Spirituality and Professional Practice 1st ed. 2021. Palgrave MacMillian  

Hunt, C. (2016)  ‘Why me? Reflections on using the self in and as research’ In J. McNiff (ed) Values and Virtues in Higher Education Research: Critical issues. (Abingdon: Routledge) pp.48-63 

Hunt, C. (2016)  'Spiritual creatures? Exploring a possible interface between reflective practice and spirituality'. In Fook, J., Collington, V., Ross, F., Ruch, G. and West, L. (eds) Researching Critical Reflection: Multidisciplinary perspectives. (London: Routledge). pp.34-47 

Hunt, C. (2010): A step too far? From a professional reflective practice to spirituality. In: Bradbury, H., Frost, N., Kilminster, S. & Zukas, M. (eds.): Beyond reflective practice. New approaches to professional lifelong learning. London & New York: Routledge.   

Hunt, C. (2009)  ‘Wyrdknowledge: towards an understanding of spirituality through reflective practice and mythopoesis’. In P.Willis, T.Leonard, A.Morrison and S.Hodge (eds), Spiritualty, Mythopoesis and Learning (Queensland: Post Pressed). pp.130-146. 

Hunt, C. (2006)  Travels with a turtle: metaphors and the making of a professional identity. Reflective Practice 7(3), 315-332.