 Critical reflection was an important part of my being and becoming a professional early years teacher. It meant I started to change my focus towards what and why of teacher inquiry. What is critical reflection? Critical reflection draws on Dewey's idea of inquiry and Sean's work on technical rationality. The author Fouk emphasises the ability to identify, examine and change deeply rooted assumptions. Other authors, Han, Blank and Berson believe being critical begins with identifying a problem as an opportunity to transform, not as a barrier to conform. Reflective practice focuses on the power dimensions of assumptive thinking and how practice might bring about change. How do I reflect critically? Reflective learning is shaped by my social, historical and cultural context, the community I live in and my workplace. I come from different settings, I bring different ideas, knowledge, expectations and interests. In critical reflection, my thinking became more sophisticated. I was exposed to and aware of dominant assumptions, especially those which maintain the status quo. For example, during my work integrated learning, I saw that boys were told to play with blocks and girls were told to play with dolls. This highlighted gender stereotypes that I could critically reflect on. Fouk says, once these hidden ideas are exposed, people who hold them are given the power to change them. In this example, I critically reflected on who made me believe what I believed about gender stereotypes and I began to challenge the practice where one gender plays or behaves in a certain way. Critically reflected on why is a teacher a good teacher? I had to ask myself, what do I know about good early years teachers? Whose ideas influence how I understand good teaching? Why do I know, believe or feel this way? Critical reflection is concerned with the why, the reasons for and the consequences of what I do. Through critical reflection, I moved from thinking how and what about being a teacher to why a teacher is a good teacher. That's my journey. I have shared the important signposts of being and becoming a professional early years teacher. But it is not the end of my journey. At many moments, I had to stop and ask for directions and go back to a signpost. For example, even though I was advancing, I still had to self reflect about memories, beliefs or experiences that shaped what I saw or experienced. I still needed the guidance of others to help me reflect. Then I could understand myself and my practice as an early years teacher better to become a leader and bring about change. The puzzle isn't yet complete.