Student teachers' perceptions of conditions for reflection in digital supervision

Abstract

Reflection constitutes a central component of the knowledge base of the teaching profession; however, in practice it may become routinized and have limited significance for professional learning. Within teacher education, supervision increasingly takes place in digital contexts, raising questions about the conditions required for such supervision to support reflection. In this study, we examine which conditions student teachers describe as significant for reflective processes in digital supervision. The study is based on six focus group interviews with a total of 36 student teachers. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. The design gives access to how student teachers perceive these conditions, not to reflection as it unfolded in individual supervision sessions. The theoretical framework draws on e-mentoring as an analytical perspective for understanding how relational, communicative, and technological conditions interact in technology-mediated supervision. Our analysis identified three main themes: structured and technology-supported reflection; relationships, dialogue, and perceived presence; and structural conditions, competence, and enactment. Student teachers described digital supervision as supporting reflection when it is clearly structured, grounded in concrete experiences, and supported by tools that make students' thinking visible and elaborated over time. The possibility of storing and revisiting feedback was experienced as particularly important for sustained reflective development. Relational conditions were also described as consequential, as accessibility, responsiveness, and personalized feedback may strengthen trust and participation, while limited access to non-verbal cues and disrupted conversational flow may constrain reflective processes. Technological and organizational conditions were described as further shaping supervision, with flexibility and accessibility perceived as beneficial, whereas technical challenges, unclear expectations, and varying levels of digital competence may reduce the potential for reflection. Drawing on student teachers' reported experiences, we argue that the conditions for reflection in digital supervision emerge through the interplay of pedagogical, relational, technological, and organizational factors, and depend on more than technological access alone.