scholarly journals Editors’ Introduction to the Special Issue of the Journal of Transformative Education on Assessing Transformative Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-305
Author(s):  
Kris Acheson ◽  
John M. Dirkx
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Transformative Education ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Jack Mezirow ◽  
Education Community ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Over 40 Years

Over 40 years ago, Jack Mezirow introduced the idea of transformative learning (TL) to the adult education community. Representing a profound shift in how one thinks and feels about one’s self and the socio-cultural context in which one is embedded, transformative learning has since evolved to reflect numerous theoretical lenses and its framework continues to be extended and elaborated. As TL theory expands within different contexts and across different disciplines, particularly within postsecondary education, the term transformative learning is often employed with scant connection to the theoretical framework in which it was initially grounded. Learners and educators alike frequently describe learning experiences as transformative, yet little consensus exists around a definition of transformative leaning However, if the field is to continue to evolve theoretically, we cannot accept these claims of transformation at face value. The phenomenon must be measured in some manner. The field continues to struggle with several perennial issues related to assessment. This special issue of the Journal of Transformative Education seeks to address the need to wrestle with these underlying theoretical and conceptual issues by critiquing the state of the field, introducing new approaches to operationalizing the phenomenon, and advancing new trajectories for research. We approach this charge through two major threads explored through eight papers that represent Methodological Innovations and Cases of Methodological Application. We close this introduction to the Special Issue with key themes represented in the eight papers and recommendations for addressing the challenges of assessing the processes and outcomes of transformative learning.

Transformative Learning

2011 ◽  
pp. 913-917
Author(s):  
Victor X. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Continuing Education ◽  
Columbia University ◽  
Emeritus Professor ◽  
Adult And Continuing Education ◽  
Teachers College ◽  
Jack Mezirow ◽  
Adult And Continuing

Mention of transformative learning immediately reminds scholars and learners of its chief proponent, Jack Mezirow, who is Emeritus Professor of Adult and Continuing Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, Former Chairman, Department of Higher and Adult Education, and Director for Adult Education. It was Mezirow who popularized the theory of transformative learning in the early 1980s. Mezirow’s theory is such that individuals’ meaning perspectives are transformed through a process of construing and appropriating new or revised interpretations of the meaning of an experience as a guide to awareness, feeling, and action (Jarvis, 2002, p. 188). Later, scholars such as Cranton and King, expanded this theory of transformative learning by publishing two more books in this area. Cranton (1994) published a book titled Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning. King (2005) published another titled Bringing Transformative Learning to Life. Both books, including Mezirow’s original books, have greatly enhanced the theory in the field of adult learning.

scholarly journals Transformative Education Research Conference – An Incredible Learning Opportunity

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-73
Author(s):  
Kausalya D. Khadka ◽  
Anupama Manandhar
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Education Research ◽  
International Research ◽  
Transformative Education ◽  
The Other ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Learning Opportunity ◽  
Research Conference ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Education Community

This non-refereed contribution to the special issue of Journal of Education and Research is a joint reflective note which describes the personal contexts and experiences of the two Masters of Ceremony at the First International Conference on Transformative Education Research and Sustainable Development (TERSD) held on 21-23 October 2016 in Dhulikhel, Nepal. We, one after the other, without any formal background to the paper, relate our own individual experiences and learning of the event. More specifically, we have portrayed our personal journeys to the international conference hall, and described our reflective ideas and feelings on running the three-day event among the national and international research scholars and delegates. We conclude with some final thoughts on how we could embrace the learning opportunity and by making a commitment to joining the transformative education community.

scholarly journals E-Learning and Transformative Learning in Adult Training

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Evgenia Pavlakou ◽  
Konstantinos Kalachanis ◽  
Sophia Kefali ◽  
Eleni Tsiouni
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Asynchronous Communication ◽  
Temporal Constraints ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Video Presentations ◽  
Perceptual Systems ◽  
E Mail

Transformative learning refers to the process of transforming frameworks through which adults interpret the experiences, values, feelings, and shape their actions and living conditions, combined with the cultural context in which they are socialized. In this process the adult re-evaluates the experiences he has gained since his childhood, resulting in a new knowledge through critical thinking. Transformative learning is applied to adult education where the aim is to acquire new professional skills based on the needs of learners. The ability to apply distance learning asynchronously releases it from spatial or temporal constraints, making it suitable for the implementation of transformative learning. The trainer can take advantage of the technological applications (video, presentations, etc. asynchronous communication, and e mail) and authoritative scientific sources of the internet. This activates the trainee in a heuristic course towards the knowledge that will move his interest and will change his / her perceptual systems by leading him / herself into self-realization. Therefore, the use of distance learning in adult education is fully in line with the principles of transforming learning.

Whither Transformative Education? Taking Stock Well into the Twenty-First Century

2021 ◽  
pp. 154134462110451
Author(s):  
Allyson Washburn
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Transformative Education ◽  
First Century ◽  
Transformative Learning Theory ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
And Behavior

This article develops a framework for this special issue of JTE, and assesses the assessment of transformative learning. What and whom are the contributors assessing? For what ends? And how effectively? The call for manuscripts cited two “megatrends” in the transformative learning literature: 1. The importance of deep and transformative learning experiences that profoundly affect adult learners’ sense of self and their relationships and behavior in their community and broader world; 2. The need to clearly document these learning experiences and interventions and rigorously assess their outcomes, both proximal and distal. In what follows, I pose questions that these trends suggested to me and use them to take stock of transformative learning theory and education in the 21st century. At the end of each section, I synthesize what I found to be relevant from my review of the articles in this issue, highlighting what I see to be major contributions.

Transformative Learning

Education ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad Hoggan
Keyword(s):  
Community Colleges ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Perspective Transformation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Transformation Theory ◽  
Jack Mezirow ◽  
Transformative Potential

Originating and most often used in the discipline of adult education, the term transformative learning “refers to processes that result in significant and irreversible changes in the way a person experiences, conceptualizes, and interacts with the world” (“Transformative Learning as a Metatheory: Definition, Criteria, and Typology.” Adult Education Quarterly 66.1 [2016]: p. 71, cited under Origins and Overviews). Its origins are in a white paper published in 1978, wherein Jack Mezirow of Teachers College, Columbia University, reported the results of a study of women’s re-entry work programs in community colleges across the United States (Education for Perspective Transformation. Women’s Re-Entry Programs in Community Colleges [1978], cited under Origins and Overviews). In this report, he coined the term perspective transformation to describe the profound changes experienced by some of the women in their study. Over the next several decades, Mezirow developed and continually refined this concept into a comprehensive theory of adult learning, always maintaining a focus on the transformative potential of learning, i.e., its ability to help learners change in fundamental ways rather than merely adding knowledge or skills. During this theory development, his use of terms extended beyond perspective transformation, as he referred to his work as transformation theory and then transformative (or transformational) learning theory. From these beginnings, a large base of literature emerged addressing the profound changes that are possible from learning in adulthood. Of the various names used over time by Mezirow and others, transformative learning is the most ubiquitous term in this scholarship. It is used to refer to Mezirow’s evolving theory of adult learning, but it is also used to refer to any of a number of theories that focus on significant changes that learning can have on people, especially those changes that are not adequately encompassed by the usual descriptors: knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Many of these theories were developed independent of Mezirow’s work, sometimes even prior to it. It is probably most accurate to say that transformative learning is not a single theory, but rather a collection of theories around a similar phenomenon. This collection of theories (and more commonly called “approaches” to transformative learning) derived from numerous, disparate disciplinary perspectives that often had little theoretical connection with each other. Therefore, when scholars write about transformative learning, they may be referring to Jack Mezirow’s theory, another theory in the adult education literature that addresses transformation, or the range of theories (or approaches) as a whole. Nevertheless, beginning with Mezirow there has arisen a literature around the phenomenon of the transformative potential of adult learning. Although historically this literature has been mostly by North American scholars, it is increasingly being used by scholars in other countries (especially Europe) and disciplines. This article organizes and presents some of the most prominent pieces within that literature.

scholarly journals A New Model of Adult Transformative Learning: Contextualizing Spiritual Intelligence (SQ) Theory

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. White
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Spiritual Intelligence ◽  
Transformative Learning Theory ◽  
New Model ◽  
Jack Mezirow ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Primary Focus

<em>In 1978, Jack Mezirow divulged the theory of adult transformative learning. For over thirty-years, transformative learning theory has inspired a considerable amount of empirical research and theoretical musing. The primary focus of this research has been exploring ways to expand the transformative learning process in adult education. The objective of this study is to extend the theoretical exploration of transformative learning by advocating a new model of the transformative learning process that contextualizes empirical research findings of neurologists, cognitive scientists and psychologists that is being termed here collectively as spiritual intelligence (SQ) theory.</em>

Understanding functional illiteracy from a policy, adult education, and cognition point of view: Towards a joint referent framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-122
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Bulajić ◽  
Miomir Despotović ◽  
Thomas Lachmann
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Functional Illiteracy ◽  
Scale Levels ◽  
Components Of Reading ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract. The article discusses the emergence of a functional literacy construct and the rediscovery of illiteracy in industrialized countries during the second half of the 20th century. It offers a short explanation of how the construct evolved over time. In addition, it explores how functional (il)literacy is conceived differently by research discourses of cognitive and neural studies, on the one hand, and by prescriptive and normative international policy documents and adult education, on the other hand. Furthermore, it analyses how literacy skills surveys such as the Level One Study (leo.) or the PIAAC may help to bridge the gap between cognitive and more practical and educational approaches to literacy, the goal being to place the functional illiteracy (FI) construct within its existing scale levels. It also sheds more light on the way in which FI can be perceived in terms of different cognitive processes and underlying components of reading. By building on the previous work of other authors and previous definitions, the article brings together different views of FI and offers a perspective for a needed operational definition of the concept, which would be an appropriate reference point for future educational, political, and scientific utilization.

Religious Narrative

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Armin Geertz
Keyword(s):  
Special Issue ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Religious Narrative ◽  
The Many ◽  
Definition Of

This introduction to the special issue on narrative discusses various ways of approaching religious narrative. It looks at various evolutionary hypotheses and distinguishes between three fundamental aspects of narrative: 1. the neurobiological, psychological, social and cultural mechanisms and processes, 2. the many media and methods used in human communication, and 3. the variety of expressive genres. The introduction ends with a definition of narrative.

Features and Discussion Aspects of the Concepts of Occasion and Event

2021 ◽  
pp. 223-227
Author(s):  
Liliia Syrota
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Organizational Aspect ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
Definition Of

The purpose of the article is to compare worldview, philosophical and scientific approaches to the definition of the concepts of celebration and event.  To suggest your own definition of the event. Methodology. The author uses general scientific research methods (analysis, synthesis, systematization, comparison, opposition, description, specification). The article also based on semantic, functional research methods. The scientific novelty. The concept of “down” is the closest in meaning to the event In the socio-cultural context, since it has the organizational aspect (the stage of preparation, conduct) that dominates the event. Conclusions. An event is a set of steps/actions aimed at creating family, corporate or official mass meetings. It has always been aimed at the development and implementation of a service.

scholarly journals Transformative Learning: a Concept and Powerful Vision for Adult Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-131
Author(s):  
Md Mahfuzar Rahman ◽  
AK Mahbubul Hoque
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Factual Knowledge ◽  
Multiple Points ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
Medical College ◽  
Beliefs And Values ◽  
Substantial Change

Transformative learning is a process of learning that individuals to changes their critically assumptions and beliefs and consciously making and implementing plans that bring about new ways. It is a fundamentally rational and analytical process. It is also a process of getting beyond gaining factual knowledge alone to instead become learns in some meaningful way. It involves questioning assumptions, beliefs and values, and considering multiple points of view, while always seeking to verify reasoning. This learning is to make interpretations from the person's own beliefs, judgments and feelings and consciously define the meaning of the experience1 or a process of learning that creates a substantial change in the habits, ideas and/or outlook of an individual. This article highlights concept and theories that deals with the paradigm shift of changes needed among adult learners, role of educators and learners towards development of individual and social lives in addition to existing perspective (traditional) of teaching & learning practice. Practices of transformative learning vision and process in adult education have the scope to bring improved critical thinking and a way of changing life style.Anwer Khan Modern Medical College Journal Vol. 8, No. 2: Jul 2017, P 128-131

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