Educating thought. The theory and praxis relationship within the paradigm of professional reflectiveness.

This paper deals with the theme of how to train professionals to develop reflective thinking as they are called upon to respond to the swirling complexity of our times. The awareness of the multiple related antidemocratic drifts emphasizes the need for people to be well equipped to interpret and give meaning to their own experiences, elaborating situations in a critical and original manner while, at the same time, imagining broader horizons to move towards. In this sense, training must enable professionals to continuously animate the tension between theory and practice, creating the conditions for the exercise of the best form of thought. As far as teachers are concerned, this assumes a dual value, both in the sense that it is of value to all adults engaged in a profession, and in the sense of being more specifically geared to educating the younger generations to develop reflective thinking. In this respect, the initial, as well as, the ongoing formation of teachers cannot be but reflective, in that it involves a critical evaluation of both the content, process and premises of one’s actions (Mezirow, 2003, p. 106). This type of critical evaluation focuses precisely on the relationship between theory and practice. In other words, in interpreting situations that are increasingly new and contradictory, the teacher is called upon to transcend them in a reflective manner, referring them to both theoretical and teleological premises. As a result, educating to active participation means that every action can only be understood as a tangible structure of our thinking (Mounier, 1984, p. 38). The creation of a Community of Thought - a synthesis of the condi-tions of reflective thought - makes the transformative learning of the participants possible, making them the protagonists of their own devel-opment towards the original and creative exercise of professional action, in view of an education for active and autonomous citizens. In this perspective, this paper develops three aspects, in detail: 1. the theoretical reference horizon 2. the conditions for reflective thinking, with special regard to the Community of Thought 3. the creation of a reflective system