Critical Incident
Mihaela CHIRU
Institute of Educational Sciences, BucharestHistory
At origins, the critical incident speaks of an individual reflection upon a gap in one’s own
background and thus belongs to the family of methods that also includes biography,
journal, letter or portfolio. While is worthy of being written down for a person, it may not
be and most often it is not considered so by other people. Even the same reference
person, if invited to classify certain events in his / her private or professional life at
different times and according to different criteria, will probably not be consistent in the
designation of all the critical incidents experienced. It is certain that as we become aware
of the nature and depth of the critical incident, we activate the most appropriate
intervention resources in the given situation, leaving room at the same time for specific
creativity.
The collection of critical incidents under no circumstances follows a certain pattern; it is
peculiar to the personal narration style of any person who has chosen this manner of
evoking, liberating, sharing. The access to the information contained in personal notes is
only possible with the author’s permission, for it is a concentrated or short form of
experiential intimacy. Copyright is also valid here, since it expresses the right of
intellectual property over the significance given to stages of personal portfolio.
The autobiographic meaning of an “incident” is normal or natural event, and the “critical”
attribute is given by the fact that it bears personal thought and behaviour values and
models in response – prompt or delayed – to a situational stimulus.
In an inter-personal sense, a critical incident is the revelation of a significant moment, a
turning point in the life of a person, group or community. The act involves from the very