It’s not a Book. It’s a BoK Ruminating in the Margins on the Role of Self-Reflective Journaling in Fostering Personal and Professional Socialization

Abstract

This presentation offers a case study approach to rethink the contemporary understandings and implementations of journaling in higher education. Drawing on educational theory and lived experience, the author presents the Book of Ken (BoK) as a tool for self-reflection, critical thinking, and transformative learning. Through unrestricted creative processes, the BoK served as a method of discovery for students within an undergraduate social work course that emphasized the role of the individual throughout the learning process. Using page entries as data, the author demonstrates what creative journaling looks like in both substance and style and its relativity to personal and professional socialization in teaching and learning environments. From adopting reflective processing methodology, the author details a newfound comprehensive awareness about oneself and the various intersectionalities that make up the self. Such realizations exhibit the effectiveness of the BoK in fostering critical consciousness and personal and professional development. A recommendation follows for increased application of self-reflective journaling in professional education contexts, with the BoK as the means to do so.

Keywords: self-reflection, journaling, Book of Ken, BoK, personal socialization,
professional socialization