This literature review paper aims to explore the current state of transformative learning theory in a global context by examining how scholars from different world regions understand, utilize, and develop transformative learning theory in their own contexts. Transformative learning theory has been a significant framework for investigating…

As life course research has long recognized, work and careers are what Pearlin (1988; p.259) describes as "durable arrangements" that serve to "organize experience over time." However, understanding (a) the specific impacts of the alienations and contradictions of work and society under capitalism as well as (b) the analytic…

This article describes a bounded action research case study that examines how reading and discussing a graphic narrative (March Book Two, a comic autobiography of John Lewis's life as a civil rights activist) enabled transformations in a group of seven adult student participants at a Canadian postsecondary institution. Data primarily gathered from…

Social-ecological systems face increasing disruptions and challenges, many deriving from human actions, and learning is frequently touted as "the way out" for addressing them. Using a systematic review of 26 studies that span about 20 years and cover four continents, this article interrogates the link between learning, action, and…

This exploratory study identifies aspects of pedagogical design and teaching practice that enabled creative capacities through the lens of the researcher's lived experience. A guiding research question in this investigation follows: (a) "What is the nature of the relationship between creative activity and transformative learning" and (b)…

This paper presents analysis of evidence on the ways in which the connection between technology and scholarship supported a Community of Practice (CoP) for instructors in a Faculty of Education in Canada. The goal is to reflect on different types of pedagogical practices of CoP members. We discuss the ways in which both social learning and online…

This exploratory study uses transformative learning theory as a lens to interpret and understand the challenges and successes experienced by education students who elect to teach or intern abroad. Transformative learning is a deeper-level learning that challenges learners to understand themselves and their world in new, more nuanced ways. We…

Since the 1970s, immigrant studies have taken a feminist turn. This paper takes stock of how Canadian adult educators have contributed to this field and vice versa. Through an ethnographic content analysis of [Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education] CASAE proceedings since 2000 and other related scholarly publications, the paper…

The purpose of this research was to develop an inclusive evaluation of "transformative learning theory" that encompassed varied perspectives of transformative learning. We constructed a validated quantitative survey to assess the potential outcomes and processes of how transformative learning may be experienced by college-educated…

In this paper I make the case that transformative learning theory, a specific adult learning theory, and an arts-informed research method have important value for teacher professional practice and teacher education. I refer to two phases of a study involving women who have immigrated to Maritime Canada and were teachers in their countries of…

This article presents the author's keynote address delivered at the "North Eastern Ontario Education Network 2011 Research Carousel: Evidence in the Classroom--Affecting Student Achievement at the Grassroots Level." In this address, the author first discusses teachers and learning in the literature on adult and professional learning.…

This study examines the study-abroad experiences of pre-service teacher candidates at the Faculty of Education, York University, using transformative learning theory. Disorienting experiences are a crucial first step for perspective transformation; students reported facing racial dynamics, "outsider" status, risk-taking behavior and…

This social constructivist/constructionist research explores changes in female therapists' intimate relationships after they began working with survivors of female sexual violence. Discourse analysis found that working with survivors shifted participants' initially naive understanding of female sexual violence, as they developed a critical…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been held up as powerful structures for teachers' continuing professional development. In this work, the author has applied transformative learning theory to highlight the psychic risks of collaborative teacher learning, as well as the need for practical efforts to improve student learning--the means…

The New Approaches to Lifelong Learning (NALL) project is a Canada-wide 5-year research initiative during which more than 70 academic and community members are working collaboratively within a framework of informal learning to address the following issues: informal computer-based learning, recognition of prior learning, informal learning in a…