Effects of Using Reflective Journal Writing Along the Contemplative Education to Enhance Self-awareness of Students in Early Childhood Education Division

Abstract

             The purposes of this research were: 1) to investigate the effects of utilizing reflective journaling alongside contemplative education in the course Young Children Behavioral Analysis among students in the early childhood education program, and 2) to examine the perceptions of early childhood education students towards writing reflective journals the target group is 29 students in the field of Early Childhood Education, 1^st year, 2^nd semester academic year 2023, North Bangkok University. Students are assigned to write a reflection journal after the end of each class, totaling of 15times. Quantitative data were gathered before and after reflective journal writing to evaluate self-awareness using post-experiment measures. Qualitative data were collected through small group interviews to gather opinions. Quantitative data were analyzed using content analysis and statistical measures such as mean and standard deviation, while qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis.
             The research results found that:
             1. Following the implementation of reflective journaling for the target group, the mean self-awareness score significantly increased at the .05 level.
             2. Students reported that writing reflective journals enabled them to review their own thoughts on various class events, foster a positive self-perception, engage in self-reflection leading to heightened self-awareness, and develop understanding of others.
             3. A positive attitude towards studying the subject of observing early childhood behavior leads to an understanding of the issue of observing early childhood behavior. Accepting the differences in children's identities in addition, students' opinions on writing reflective journals as a whole were at a high level.