Utility of the professional diary to perfect teaching practice

Resumen

This investigation presents a case study regarding the utility of the professional diary for systematic self-study and professional development. It takes into account the comparison between the diary written by a student in her last year of initial formation as a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and her current diary as a teacher. She held a one-month stay in a Public School in Salamanca (Spain) as part of the subject Practicum. Nowadays, she works in a public school in the Community of Madrid as a teacher of Primary Education and English. From her current diary, the text written during several months of the current course is taken as a sample. The inquiry is carried out according to the guidelines of the qualitative methodology. An indexing tree is made categorizing and encoding the information collected in both diaries. It is used as an instrument of data analysis and the text paragraph is adopted as a textual unit. Results provide accurate information on the professional skills that are being put into play and the degree of dedication to the different tasks of the world of education. The relevant conclusion is that research competence, together with the tasks of experimenting and innovating, show low percentages in both journals. But, certainly, the elaboration of a professional diary, understood as a strategy that invites critical reflection on one's own practice, when conveniently focused, stands as a proposal to address this important function entrusted to teachers in recent decades.