International Journal of Technology and Design Education

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-020-09626-6

Critically reflective practice in visual communication design

teaching for higher education undergraduate program

Anwer Ali1 

Accepted: 25 September 2020

© Springer Nature B.V. 2020

Abstract
The study explores the impact of critical reflection on visual communication design teach-
ing for undergraduate programs in Pakistan. Critical reflection is a self-initiated thinking
tool with practical implications to improve teaching and professional practices. The quali-
tative phenomenological research included teachers and practitioners from the private and
public sector, art and design institutions to learn about reflective practices in their lived
experiences. Participants shared their teaching processes, experiences, critical incidents,
and personal and social influences to analyze the significance of the critically reflective
practice. Four significant themes emerged from the data; participants’ perception of criti-
cally reflective practice, its methods, significance and challenges. Critically reflective prac-
tice is a collective process and the insights gained from this process help teachers and pro-
fessionals to transform and break routinized practices. It is not limited in its process and
methods, for most of the participants, a suitable time for reflection is between semesters.
Students’ assessment and design project evaluation is also a good time to reflect on teach-
ing and learning. Though challenges in critically reflective practice are multifaceted exter-
nal factors play a vital role in the development of critically reflective practice culture in
academic institutions. Within the given research settings the study holds ample opportuni-
ties to explore critical reflection in visual communication design education.

Keywords  Critical reflection · Visual communication · Design · Teaching and

phenomenology

Introduction

Critical thinking, logical reasoning and questioning one’s assumptions are an important
aspect of education. Generally, Higher education (HE) in Pakistan has multiple challenges
and design education is not exempted; lack of self-critique, critical pedagogy and theo-
retical knowledge are some examples. Since its creation number of universities in Pakistan
have been increased, but the quality of HE has not improved sufficiently (Hoodbhoy 2009).

* Anwer Ali
moohib@gmail.com
1
School of Art, Design and Architecture (SADA), University of Gujrat (UOG), Gujrat, Pakistan

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The British colonials introduced art and design education in the Indian subcontinent to
meet their rapidly expanding industrial ambitions (Kantawala 2012). Education that lacked
critical thinking, concept development, philosophy, or history, students were taught imita-
tion techniques in art and design. The prime objective of art and design education was
skill development. The asymmetrical emphasis towards practical knowledge over theory,
research and critical analysis is still visible in art and design education in Pakistan.
Teaching is a challenging profession it entails a constant effort to update one’s knowl-
edge. Teaching visual communication design (VCD) for some time I have often come
across situations where students losing their interest in the class, feeling difficulty in under-
standing a phenomenon resulting in less effective pedagogy. Such situations would follow
a strong realization to ‘stop and look back’. Critically reflective practice (CRP) provides
an opportunity not only to analyze such situations but to come up with effective solutions.
CRP is a self-initiated method to improve learning and teaching as teacher training for HE
is rare (Farah 2014) chance in Pakistan. This study is an attempt to understand the impact
of CRP in VCD teaching and to determine whether it can be an effective teaching strategy.
The research encompasses the HE undergraduate VCD program in the socio-cultural con-
text of Pakistan.

Literature

To determine the impact and effectiveness of CRP in VCD teaching the review explores
the available studies on CRP. The literature review covers critical incident, processes and
methods involved in CRP, studio-based experiential learning in HE and VCD.

Critically reflective practice (CRP)

The roots of CRP can be traced back to the ancient Greek philosophers in modern history
John Dewey (Dewey 1933/1993) and Donald A. Schön (1983) are considered the pioneers,
ever since it has been extensively studied subject in different fields. There are multiple ter-
minologies for CRP within the scope of reflection in academic discourses, lacking a con-
stant definition (Van Woerkom 2010). CRP in teaching is an ongoing intentional and criti-
cal examination process of suppositions that appraise one’s teaching practice (Brookfield
2017). Analyzing Dewey’s writing Rodgers (2002) extracts four reflection standards. First,
it’s a process of meaning-making, second, it’s a meticulous, structured, and disciplined
method of thinking, third, based on interaction with others; reflection requires to occur in a
community, and fourth, it needs attitudes that values the individual and intellectual devel-
opment of oneself and the others as well (p. 863).
According to Schön reflection is of two types. First, reflection-in-action is simultane-
ous and done during the action. Second, reflection-on-action which is structured and done
when the action is finished. Neil Thompson and Jan Pascal criticized Schön for overlook-
ing reflection-for-action. The authors elaborate reflection-for-action by referring to it to
plan, to think before happening of an event which enables us to prepare on our prior expe-
rience (2012).
Larrivee advocates that critical reflection is a deep exploratory process that challenges
assumptions, questions practices, beliefs and expectations. She criticizes the general per-
ception of reflective thinking, critical thinking, reflective judgment and the way these terms
are used to admit ambiguities and accept problems (2000).

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Another term that is often used with reflective practice is reflexivity or reflexion. Smith
(2011) maintains that reflexivity is a critical reflection in action. Thompson and Pascal
assert reflexivity is to make certain that reflective practice is critically reflective practice,
for them both reflexivity and reflectivity are interchangeable terms (2012).

Critical incident

An unexpected significant event, scenario, or situation that a teacher faces inside or outside
of the classroom is known as a critical incident. A ‘typical’ incidents that lead the teacher
to critically reflect and improve, resulting in professional development (Joshi 2018).
Brookfield (2017) explains that CRP is helpful for conscious and logical practices, to
get through the ups and downs of teaching, to evade guilt, to uplift and engage classrooms,
to create a democratic urge and to increases trust. Reflective practice will facilitate a prac-
titioner towards professional autonomy and responsibility (Mathew et al. 2017). In coun-
tries like Pakistan where teacher training concept for higher education is rare (Farah 2014)
and research traditions are inappreciable (Memon 2007; Khan 2010) such practices will
aid teachers to articulate their learning to generate new knowledge (Frascara and Winkler
2008).

CRP process and methodology

Larrivee (2000) elaborates that there are three key steps towards reflective practices; dedi-
cating time for reflection in seclusion, second solving problems constantly and third ques-
tioning the status quo. Similarly, Loughran argues that if a problem is not viewed as a prob-
lem the problem is not solved then (2002). Brookfield (2017) outlines four lenses to filter
assumptions and to see ourselves with unfamiliar angles, i.e., students’ eyes, colleague’s
perception, theory and personal experience (p. 61–75). Ellmers, Bennett and Brown elabo-
rate a four step reflective process for design projects. Step one is to pause the design activ-
ity and look back at the process, step two requires critical reflection on acute incidents or
events, step three is thinking and connecting the project with further development within
the project and step four is thinking and connecting potential approaches to future projects
or design practices (Fig. 1) (Ellmers 2014).
According to Blaiklock (2010), there’re no standard methods to teach CRP. Although
VCD practice is underpinned by reflection, design professionals prefer to work intuitively.
He stresses that designers instinctively avoid critical reflection of the design process and
rarely go beyond project parameters. Kirk and Pitches (2013) proclaim that traditional text-
based reflection is not preferred in art and design, citing a study they further emphasize

Fig. 1  Four steps of a reflective process for design projects (Ellmers 2014) developed for the study

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on the usage of expression and explanation methods of reflection in teaching strategies for
creative practices (p. 218).
According to Akbari reflective practices is retrospective, having a disproportionate
emphasis in academia and neglected in the real context of practice. Furthermore, he men-
tions that the general conception of reflective practice lacks moral, emancipatory and ethi-
cal dimensions in it. He establishes his argument by citing that rather being a “high-order
cognitive/affective/socially conscious activity” reflection is abridged to a set of techniques
ultimately losing its spirit (2007, p. 201).

Experiential learning in VCD for higher education

Experiential learning is a method or procedure of learning through experience or learn-

ing by doing. This cyclical process of learning is based on experiencing, reflecting, think-
ing, and acting. Learning for art students is not text-driven (Kolb 2005). Ellmers (2014)
describe traditionally design learning is through studio- and project-based in which stu-
dents are introduced with design principles through different design projects aiming to
improve their level of expertise.

Visual communication design

VCD is a social process in which people exchange visual messages (Kenney 2010). In
VCD, a client initiates a brief, considering specific requirements for the communication
through the design. After deciding a budget with the client, the designer creates a (visual)
message for the target market or consumer on this brief (Fig. 2).
The designing process has a shared understanding of economy, society, culture and
technology (Fig. 3) that determine the effectiveness of the message. In the modern world
environmental and sustainability concerns are important aspects of eco-design.
‘Graphic Design’ is the most widely accepted term compared to VCD (Frascara 2004).
According to Logan, there’s a shortage of an articulated knowledge foundation and defi-
ciency of empirical research in terms of graphic design (2008). Ellmers et al. (2009) cite
that conventionally, the basis of graphic design education is founded on “studio-based
learning, project-based learning, and public critique”. According to Frascara (2004), VCD
is an interdisciplinary field that amalgamates social science, art, technology, and craft.
Blaiklock (2010) suggests that within the VCD education and practice reflection is very
successful as it lays the theoretical foundation for it. In art and design education according
to the author students experience difficulty in comprehending and articulating the connec-
tion between practice, procedures and research in design. He also mentions three levels of
reflection i.e., is the technical reflection, descriptive reflection and dialogic reflection. The
CRP in the VCD process is depicted in Fig. 4 from a study by Ellmers et al. (2009).

Fig. 2  Visual communication professional practice workflow (Blaiklock 2010, p. 2)

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Fig. 3  Visual communication
design developed for this study

Fig. 4  Structured critical reflec-

tive learning framework (Ellmers
et al. 2009)

Conclusion

Though CRP has been studied extensively, working on it through the VCD perspective
is both demanding and rewarding, especially in HE in Pakistan. The nature of VCD
knowledge and its multidisciplinary facets makes it challenging to articulate for both

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professional designers and academicians. Such circumstances raise questions about the
lack of critical inquiry and deficiency of theoretical discourse for the studio and project-
based education. The deficiency in critical questioning and theoretical underpinning
of practical knowledge in design teaching and profession are major concerns in VCD
research (Barnes 2012). The literature suggests that to determine the impact and effec-
tiveness of CRP in VCD education more studies are needed extensively.

Methodology

A thorough review of the literature stipulates that to address the impact or effectiveness
of CRP in VCD teaching for undergraduate studies some relevant sub-questions need
to be addressed as well. Such as what are the methods of CRP that teachers/practition-
ers are applying in their profession? What is the significance of CRP in studio-based
learning? What are the potential limitations and challenges that VCD teachers face in
CRP? What are the important factors that influence CRP in VCD education? To address
these questions the study considers the natural setting of the participants; their views,
experiences, the situation, and context where they live and work to know and interpret
the meanings they have about the world (Creswell 2009). Phenomenology is not limited
to the description it’s also seen as an interpretative process. To interpret the findings a
critical lens is very important (Creswell and Poth 2018). Teaching for more than 5 years
in the public sector HE and working in the design industry for 6  years I have expe-
rienced the importance of critical thinking and questioning. The experiences enabled
me to understand the academic and administrative hierarchies and how  they influence
learning and teaching. I maintained a reflective journal for my teaching practice in VCD
major studio subject, but it cannot be claimed free from personal biases, fears, miscon-
ceptions and ambiguities (Koole et al. 2011) to include in this study.
To understand the problem and the fundamental phenomenon in the study (Creswell
and Poth 2018) VCD teachers and practitioners from public/private HE art and design
institutions in Pakistan were involved through purposeful sampling. Semis-structured
interviews were conducted from eight participants (three in-person and five online)
ranging from 45 to 90 min. Participants were selected considering their age, education,
and teaching experience. Along with detailed interviews, 18 people responded to the
online qualitative survey questionnaire (Table 1).
The interviewees were assigned pseudonyms (Creswell 2009) ‘Interviewee-1’to
‘Interviewee-8’ respectively (Table  1). Similarly, the online qualitative survey ques-
tionnaire respondents were given pseudonyms ‘Respondent-1’ to ‘Respondent-18’
(Table 2).
The questionnaire was carefully crafted to gain maximum insight on the subject. In
phenomenology, textual and structural analysis of collected data is essential (Creswell and
Poth 2018). The data obtained from interviews (transcripts) and online questionnaires were
compiled in MS Word™ documents. Each document was read multiple times for coding,
automated coding was preferred for this study. Codes are a simple way of assigning desig-
nations to different aspects of data to make data analysis convenient (Merriam 2009). The

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Table 1  Interviewees data summary

Pseudonym Gender Age Current position Teaching
experience
(years)

Interviewee-1 Male 53 Associate Professor/Head of Department 25

Interviewee-2 Male 45 Associate Professor/Head of Department 8
Interviewee-3 Female 40 Visiting Scholar/Freelance Designer 17
Interviewee-4 Male 45 Assistant Professor/Freelance Designer 17
Interviewee-5 Male 45 Visiting Scholar/Visual Artist/Freelance Designer/ 17
Interviewee-6 Male 58 Visiting Scholar/Freelance Designer 16
Interviewee-7 Male 47 Assistant Professor 17
Interviewee -8 Female 35 Assistant Professor 13

Table 2  Online (questionnaire) respondents data summary

No. Pseudonym Gender Age Institution/Position/City

1 Respondent-1 Female – COMSATS University, Lahore

2 Respondent-2 Male 49 Teacher/Visual Artist, Lahore
3 Respondent-3 Male 45 Visiting Teacher/Freelance, Karachi
4 Respondent-4 Male 42 Visiting Teacher/Creative, Lahore
5 Respondent-5 Female 47 IVSAA, Karachi
6 Respondent-6 Male 42 BNU, Lahore
7 Respondent-7 Female 39 BNU, Lahore
8 Respondent-8 Male 36 IVSAA, Karachi
9 Respondent-9 Female 36 Creative/Visiting Teacher, Karachi
10 Respondent-10 Female 31 IVSAA, Karachi
11 Respondent-11 Male 29 Designer/BNU, Lahore
12 Respondent-12 Female 23 BNU, Lahore
13 Respondent-13 Male 33 NCA, Rawalpindi
14 Respondent-14 Male 32 UOS, Hyderabad
15 Respondent-15 Female 28 AJKU, Muzaffarabad
16 Respondent-16 Female – NCA, Rawalpindi
17 Respondent-17 Female 35 UOS, Hyderabad
18 Respondent-18 Male 29 GCU, Lahore

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Fig. 5  Codes and themes

codes were further categorized, ultimately based on these categories significant themes
were established. Themes are the response to the research question, these are extensive
information units composed of codes derived from the data (Creswell and Poth 2018)
(Fig. 5).

Findings

The phenomenological research approach enables the researcher to get the essence of the
phenomenon as the participants experienced it and to know the meanings in the world they
live in (Collingridge and Gantt 2008). During the data collection, important considerations
were kept in mind for ethical validity. Four significant themes emerged from the data. To
address the impact of CRP, it is important to understand the perception of CRP and its
methods used by the research participants which is addressed in Theme 1 and Theme 2
respectively. To determine the effectiveness of CRP as a teaching strategy Theme 3 dis-
cussed its significance and Theme 4 mentioned the challenges faced by the participants in
practicing critical reflection (Tables 4, 5, 6).

Theme 1: Participants’ Perception of CRP

Data shows that almost all participants agreed on the positive impacts of CRP on VCD
teaching and learning. But in the lived experiences of the participants, it is not as struc-
tured and planned as reviewed in the literature. Some participants limit it to professional

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Table 3  Summary of Theme 1: participants’ perception of CRP

Participant Perception of CRP

Interviewee-1 Perception through the (design) process, observing students in class during their work
Understanding of reality, knowledge, power, and reflectivity
Colonial tendencies are still prevalent in our society
Difference between Eastern and Western societies
Religion is a basic element in the socio-cultural fabric of the (Eastern) society
Need to focus on the ‘critical social theory’
Interviewee-2 Critical lens to look teaching (pedagogy) and practice in the field
Interviewee-3 CRP is not limited to a particular field
A collective process to reflect on projects, teaching, or family matters, etc.
Interviewee-4 Reflection is seeing ourselves and our practice in a new light
This ‘seeing’ leads to new insights
Building new anchors for our thoughts and actions
Interviewee -5 Teaching comes with enormous responsibility
To question oneself as a teacher is a challenge
Contested teaching methodology
A teacher has to be relevant most importantly
To connect with students teachers should understand this generation
A good designer understands the audience

practices whereas others consider it a collective practice that can be implemented in all
aspects of life. See summary of the participants’ perception of CRP in Table 3.
Interviewee-1 who is one of the senior participants in the study elaborated “I perceive
things through the process, during class, while students working, developing imagery
I observe students’ exposure and their confidence”. He was very critical both about the
idea of CRP and its implementation in a non-Western research setting he emphasized that
the colonial tendencies are still prevalent in society. He continued that to get a complete
picture of CRP the understanding of reality, knowledge and power is very important con-
sidering the social differences between East and West. Thus the challenge to adapt and
transform Western theories according to the cultural context of our society is a huge task.
He elaborated that the social history of this region is richer than that of the West. Unlike
Western societies religion is an important element in the social fabric of Pakistani society.
Participant Interviewee-5 was critical about teaching methodology, he emphasized that
education comes with enormous responsibility and to question oneself as a teacher is a
challenge. He argued that as a designer we design according to the audience so a good
teacher should understand the generation of students to plan effective and relevant lessons.
CRP is not limited to a particular field for Interviewee-3 “It’s a collective reflective process
where I reflect on my projects, teaching, or family matters, etc.”. Interviewee-4 asserted
that “As we reflect we see ourselves and our practice in a new light. This ‘seeing’ leads to
new insights, changing our current practices often destroying what exists and building new
anchors for our thoughts and actions”.

Theme 2: CRP methods

According to the data critical reflection is not limited to a single method. Most of the par-
ticipants preferred dialogic reflection over written reflection. The study also indicates that
participants found it convenient to reflect during project/assignment evaluation. For some

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Table 4  Summary of Theme 2: CRP methods

Participant CRP Methods

Interviewee-1 Preference on classroom dynamics and personal attitude over reflective writing
Assignment structure determines students’ response
Preferred ‘feedback’ or ‘discussion’ over ‘criticism’ or ‘crit’
Teachers should improve evaluation methodology
Interviewee-2 Reflection is not limited to descriptive reflection
Diagraming is also a kind of reflection
Dialogic reflection approaches involve feedbacks, reviews and group discussions
Reflection on global and local design trends
To critically analyze multiple dimensions of a problem
Interviewee-3 Effective CRP assures originality in ideas and design projects
There are challenges in using social media for reflection and criticism
To voice opinions on social media a tolerant society is needed
Interviewee-4 Practiced descriptive critical reflection at the start of the teaching career
A quick and random review of daily activities before going to bed
The end of a semester the most suitable time for CRP
Looking at students’ work is also a reflection
CRP in VCD education helps to validate that the design project is original
Interviewee-5 Questioning oneself, interaction with students, understanding of class dynamic and course
evaluation
Interviewee-8 Memes, video games, and digital media help teachers to connect with students and to
make the course content more relevant
Pinterest and Whatsapp helpful for interactive teaching
University content management system is a handy tool for CRP
Respondent-4 The teacher should question himself critically if students are not improving
Respondent-7 Reflective writing is very helpful to see the students’ understanding of a subject matter
Respondent-10 Explored inquiry-based learning through Google Classroom
Respondent-11 Using the class as a community to get feedback

participants, social media was a helpful tool for CRP. The participants’ insights on CRP
methods is summed up in Table 4.
For most of the participants, the suitable time for critical reflection is between semesters
i.e., before the start of a semester and after the end of a semester. Interviewee-2 stated that
reflection is not limited to descriptive reflection “There are a lot of diagraming involve
in our department for reflection” he also mentioned that dialogic reflection methods and
approaches involve feedbacks, peer reviews, externals, group discussions, reflection on
global and local design trends, and encouraging faculty/students to critically analyze mul-
tiple dimensions of a problem. Similarly, Respondent-11 stressed that using the class as a
community to get feedback both in groups and one-to-one sessions was an effective way to
critically analyze oneself as a teacher.
Interviewee-1 preferred to focus on classroom dynamics and personal attitude over
reflective writing. But for Respondent-7 reflective writing is very helpful to see the stu-
dents’ understanding of a subject matter. Interviewee-4 mentioned that he practiced
descriptive critical reflection at the start of his teaching career but the habit changed along
the way due to an extensive work schedule, later on, he practiced to have a quick and ran-
dom review of his daily activities before going to bed. Likewise, Interviewee-5 stressed
that “Questioning oneself as a teacher, interaction with students, understanding of class
dynamic and course evaluation are important factors in critical teaching”.

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Some participants mentioned that during assessment and evaluation they were able
to critically reflect on their teaching methods, course content, and students’ responses.
Interviewee-1 stated that “students response is the result of an assignment structure that a
teacher has prepared”, according to Respondent-4 if students are not improving with every
exercise then the teacher should question himself critically. Interviewee-1 further stressed
that generally students’ design project assessment is known as ‘criticism’ or ‘crit’ but he
preferred terms like ‘feedback’ or ‘discussion’ he pointed that teachers should improve
evaluation methodology.
Interviewee-4 considered the end of a semester the most suitable time for CRP, he said
that grading takes a lot of effort, time and attention, for him looking at students’ work is
also a reflection. One of the important aspects of CRP in VCD education is to determine
whether the concept, design solution, design outcome, or project is original and not plagia-
rized. Effective CRP can lead to assess and evaluate the design process to avoid plagiarism
as mentioned by Interviewee-3.
According to the participants, social and digital media platforms are also helpful in the
process of reflection. Interviewee-7 mentioned writing a blog for CRP during his graduate
design studies was helpful for his final research. Respondent-10 stated that she explored
inquiry-based learning through Google Classroom. Interviewee-8 suggested that memes,
video games, and digital media help teachers to connect with students and to make the
course content more relevant. She mentioned Pinterest (www.pinte​rest.com) and Whatsapp
(www.whats​app.com) for interactive teaching, university content management system is
also a handy tool for her CRP. Similarly, Interviewee-3 highlighted the challenges involved
in using social media for reflection and criticism, she expressed that to voice opinions on
social media we need a tolerant society.

Theme 3: Significance of CRP

The research participants agreed that CRP has a significant role in their personal and pro-
fessional development. Considering the cultural aspect and the researcher’s position, one
of the participants stressed that the literature on CRP should be analyzed critically before
implementing it. According to the study, CRP enables VCD teachers to effectively assess
students’ design process, for an authentic outcome, it is also helpful in design research.
CRP prepares teachers to handle in-class and out-of-class emergent scenarios. The signifi-
cance of CRP is summarized in Table 5.
CRP is a ‘lifeline of progression’ expressed Respondent-3, Respondent-8 stated that
CRP provides ‘critical insight’ which transforms work both intellectually and practically.
Interviewee-6 suggested that “for true innovations, CRP is essential because if you are not
thinking critically you are routinizing your practice”. Respondent-5 emphasized that “I
can’t regurgitate the same assignments/activities for a very long time and I need to keep
revisiting, and questioning to keep my interest in the subject/activity/process”.
Interviewee-1 conveyed “I’m not in favor of blindly applying an idea without critical
thinking. As a researcher, you should have the capability to process the literature before
transforming it to your students. You’re the agent of your culture”.
The undergraduate level of design education is too broad for students to learn critical
reflection as expressed by Interviewee-2 but he agreed “it’s about seeding CRP in the stu-
dents”. Interviewee-7 emphasized that descriptive reflection can be helpful for articulation

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Table 5  Summary of Theme 3: significance of CRP

Participant Significance of CRP

Interviewee-1 Process the literature critically before transforming it to your students

The teacher is the agent of a culture
Consider the difference between reflectivity and reflexivity
In reflexivity, you need to locate your position
Interviewee-2 The undergraduate level is too broad for students to learn critical reflection
Interviewee-3 Coming up with eighty thousand words is a daunting task
Handling gender, language and cultural differences through CRP
Interviewee-5 Lack of critical reflection and ignoring the rigor in the design process can lead
to unauthentic work
Insights on a plagiarized project
Interviewee-6 For true innovations, CRP is essential
Lack of critical thinking routinizes practice
Interviewee-7 Articulation and theoretical underpinning of design learning through CRP
Humans tend to forget unless we write things down
Some people prefer practice-based research over theoretical research
Project track Ph.D. program as an alternative to the traditional research track
Assistance to emotionally struggling students in regular design studies
CRP helped to appreciate diverse ideas from students in their projects
Respondent-3 CRP is a ‘lifeline of progression’
Respondent-5 Self-review and questioning the subject/activity/process
Reflection requires (more) time and distance
Respondent-7 Explored experiential learning through CRP
Incorporated studio work in a theory subject exams to achieve effective results
Respondent-8 CRP transforms work both intellectually and practically
Respondent-12 CRP is both retrospection and prospection

and theoretical underpinning of design learning “during the research, you can use these
documents or notes and review it for different insights because we humans tend to for-
get unless we write things down”. He also admitted that “in art and design, some people
prefer practice-based research over theoretical research. We have this project track Ph.D.
programs for people who don’t want to write eighty thousand words research paper”. Sim-
ilarly, Interviewee-3 mentioned that for an experiential learner like her coming up with
eighty thousand words is a daunting task.
For effective transformation through CRP Interviewee-1 highlighted “Reflection is a
complete theory with multiple facets. You need to mold the whole notion of criticality con-
sidering the difference between reflectivity and reflexivity. In reflexivity you need to locate
your position before applying criticality otherwise it’s futile”.
Respondent-5 suggested that “Transformation implies immediacy and quick solutions,
whereas reflection requires more time and distance”. For Respondent-12 CRP is both retro-
spection and prospection “analyzing my practices every week change the way I plan future
assignments and the way the research and making the process has to be conducted”.
The research participants shared critical insights, events and challenges from their rou-
tine practices. Interviewee-7 shared that CRP enabled his team to accommodate emotion-
ally struggling students in regular design studies, it also enabled him to appreciate diverse
ideas from students in their projects. Interviewee-3 narrated her experience that through
CRP she was able to handle gender, language and cultural differences when she started

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teaching in Pakistan. According to the Interviewee-5 lack of critical reflection and ignoring
the rigor in the design process can lead to unauthentic work, he shared an instance where
a student managed to display a plagiarized project. Respondent-7 through CRP figured out
that students’ understanding was far better in experiential learning. She incorporated studio
work in a theory subject exams to achieve effective results.

Theme 4: Challenges, limitations and influences in CRP

Research participants mentioned different factors that influence CRP in design teaching and
learning. The notion of power in different settings and on different levels have both positive
and negative influences on teaching in general. As shared by the participants there’s a gulf
between teachers, students and professional practitioners in HE design education. Though
critical reflection is a self-initiated practice, there are multiple cultural, religious, politi-
cal and hierarchical barriers in HE. Participants also recommended different solutions to
develop a culture of CRP in institutions to improve design teaching and learning. See the
summary of Theme 4 in Table 6.
In introspective CRP egos, biases, absence of self-motivation, holding comfort zones,
lack of acceptance, the dearth of critical assessment of assumptions, preference of emotions
over the rationale and lack of analysis of personal mistakes are important challenges. In a
socio-cultural context of CRP that involves people, places and situations participants men-
tioned factors that can limit it like ‘lack of collaboration’, ‘collective memory of a society’
and ‘family and cultural influences’. Expressing her dissatisfaction Interviewee-8 said that
intolerance in society is the most unsettling aspect of CRP “There are cultural, religious
and political barriers in teaching and the repercussions against such barriers are based on
intolerance. Even there are discrepancies in government textbooks and curriculum”.
Participants shared some crucial challenges and limitations in critical reflection and its
implementation as Interviewee-6 mentioned a “gap between teachers, professional prac-
titioners, and students”. According to Respondent-10 “failure of a student is more of a
Table 6  Summary of Theme 4: challenges, limitations and influences in CRP
Participant Challenges, Limitations and Influences in CRP

Interviewee-1 Teacher-centered education

Positive and negative aspects of power
Teacher recruitment process in HE
Absence of training opportunities for newly hired educators
Interviewee-5 Lack of HE teachers training in art and design
Interviewee-6 The gap between teachers, professional practitioners, and students
Interviewee-7 Authoritative role of a teacher in class in our culture
Exploitation through unproductive activities
Interviewee-8 Intolerance in society is the most unsettling aspect of CRP
Cultural, religious and political barriers in teaching
Discrepancies in government textbooks and curriculum
Respondent-1 Determining actual issues and finding constructive solutions
Ineffectiveness of ‘Employee Performance Appraisal Form’ in universities
Respondent-7 Need to upgrade design knowledge
Respondent-9 Insitution can play role in implimentation of CRP
Respondent-10 Failure of a student
Knowledge transfer from teacher to student

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 A. Ali

reflection on the tutor’s shortcomings than the student’s”, similarly, Respondent-10 consid-
ers “the realization that I might not be successful in transferring the processes and knowl-
edge to my students” a challenge. For Interviewee-1 “teacher-centered education” is a criti-
cal challenge for reflective practice.
Respondent-7 shared her perspective that “in a fast-paced field like design (which
involves technology) what you know might be outdated”. Respondent-9 sought that “if the
institutions organize it a bit better as a collective effort CRP might be more effective”.
For Respondent-1 “determining actual issues and finding constructive solutions for it” is a
challenge in practicing critical reflection.
The research participants also mentioned some important factors that can influence CRP
like the role of the institution, organization, or state in a larger perspective. Interviewee-1
stated that the notion of power has both positive and negative aspects, it can be productive to
fulfill certain responsibilities. Interviewee-7 mentioned that traditionally in our culture teacher
enjoys an authoritative role in class which has negative impacts he also added that senior man-
agement exploits teachers through unproductive activities. Respondent-1 identified that “apart
from submitting a semesterly ‘Employee Performance Appraisal Form’ to the university,
which requires each employee to list their duties/additional duties that were performed during
the respective semester, there’s not much in the way of help on CRP”. Similarly, Interviewee-1
criticized the teacher recruitment process in HE and the absence of training opportunities for
newly hired educators. Interviewee-5 stated, “it’s like on the job training and its kind of guilty
that I feel to teach without getting trained. But where to get training? Who would train art and
design teachers for higher education?”. Some participants suggested that teacher training can
be an effective way to introduce and enhance CRP skills in art and design education.

Discussion and conclusion

This study aimed to explore the impact of CRP in the VCD undergraduate program in Paki-
stani HE. The significance of CRP was learned through shared processes, experiences, critical
incidents, and personal and social influences of the research participants. The study also men-
tioned challenges, limitations and important factors involved in CRP.
Though the practical notion of reflection and reflexivity is self-initiated and to establish
it as a standard method for effective pedagogy or professional practice is challenging, until
validating its significance, effectiveness and influences with a constructivist world view. The
following points were learned in this study:

• CRP has a wider scope of application, for an effective CRP the understanding of socio-
cultural context is fundamental
• Descriptive critical reflection is helpful but it is not a frequent method for CRP in VCD,
participants preferred dialogic and various other methods for reflection
• Evaluation or project assessment is an important event for teachers to critically reflect on
their teaching methods, course content, and students’ responses CRP also helps design
teachers to check the originality of a concept
• The data showed that digital and social media platforms helped teachers and practitioners
for CRP but there are limitations
• It can facilitate articulation and the theoretical underpinning of practical knowledge,
though artists and designers prefer studio practices over formal research writing

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Critically reflective practice in visual communication design…

• CRP provides the opportunity for transformation in VCD teaching and professional prac-
tices at the same time it can be challenging
• Institution, organization, or state in a larger perspective can play their role to facilitate edu-
cators to reflect and critically analyze learning situations

The research shows that there are no set methods, process and techniques for CRP nei-
ther organizations, institutions or state playing a vital role to introduce and implement such
practices in the broader context of art and design HE in Pakistan. The study established that
critical reflection is self-initiated, done voluntarily and unless the practitioner starts a critical
self-examination, teaching and professional practices are not fruitful.

Recommendation for further research

The study can contribute to the existing literature on CRP (especially) in Pakistani higher
education VCD programs. As qualitative research done through phenomenological inves-
tigation this study focused on the lived experiences of VCD teachers and practitioners in
higher education for an undergraduate program. The research can be expanded by a larger
number of participants for future studies. Considering the important factors mentioned
in research, the finding indicates that CRP can be an effective strategy in VCD teaching.
According to the study, there are three important aspects of CRP first, the complex socio-
cultural context of the phenomenon, second, understanding the perception of CRP among
the participants within the mentioned settings. Third, the scope of the research and its limi-
tations considering academic requirements, availability of time and resources, nature of the
task and the mechanism of the implementation of potential solutions. Further studies can
encompass these aspects in detail. Some of the core concerns in VCD education in Paki-
stan is the lack of new knowledge generation and theoretical underpinning of studio-based
learning such studies can contribute to these issues as well.

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