Reading Nursing Practice as Social Text: from Critical Metatheories to Personal theories in action 

Introduction
This article explores the pedagogy of critical reflection from a philosophical perspective that offers a metatheoretical guide to personal theory development in nursing.

Reflection within critical theory is increasingly cited as an appropriate pedagogy of nursing knowledge in education and practice (Pearson, 1994; Street, 1991; Ray, 1992; Cox, Hickson & Taylor, 2991; Palmer, Burns & Bulman, 1994) and research (Wells, 1995; Allen, 1995).  Starting with a personal definition of critical reflection, I move on to suggest reasons that contribute to critical reflection’s growing active audience within nursing.