This article argues that transformative learning becomes increasingly essential for educators in the changing landscape of the adult and higher education institutions of the United States that has continuously hosted highest numbers of international students among other countries. First, it presents a context discussing learning for…

A disorienting dilemma is related to a sense of loss of balance or normalcy complicated by a problem that seemingly has an unsatisfactory solution. According to Mezirow (1998), disorienting dilemmas are also connected to events that have been set into motion, causing a learner to engage in self-examination resulting from feelings emanating from an…

In adult education there is always a problem of prefabricated and in many respect fixed opinions and views of the world. In this sense, I will argue, that the starting point of radical education should be in the destruction of these walls of belief that people build around themselves in order to feel safe. In this connection I will talk about…

Emotional reactions to text are manifestations of learners' inner selves. Adult learners can engage in the process of meaning making by working with images and integrating them into their holistic beings. (SK)

Adult educators are encouraged to promote transformative learning through facilitative relationships, but they are not adequately prepared or supported to manage the dynamics of such relationships. Solutions include adopting an existential systems perspective, researching effective facilitation, revising preparatory curricula, developing a code of…

Assumptions underlying teaching for transformation and cultural relevance include (1) how is spirituality defined; (2) transformative learning involves cognitive, affective and symbolic/spiritual aspects; (3) transformative learning must attend to sociocultural dimensions (personal, cultural, structural, political, sacred); and (4) instructors…

In summarizing the shared themes of the authors of the previous chapters, this chapter explores the role of the transformative educator, the transformative classroom environment, the transformative text, and the student when teaching for change.

Asserts that coercive restraint is justified when grave social injuries are sustained. Argues that adult education theories that advocate enlightenment of perpetrators are inadequate. Urges a pedagogy of coercive restraint to alleviate social injustice. (SK)

This chapter addresses ethical issues that can arise for an educator who ascribes to and practices from the theoretical perspective of transformative learning.

Three adult educators who conducted a summer institute for 40 graduate students discuss how their positionalities influence conceptions of pedagogy and multiculturalism and shape inclusive teaching/learning interactions. They describe the sometimes uneasy intersections of the personal, the professional, and the political. (Contains 18 references.)…

This chapter uses the classroom experiences of two black women professors as a lens to examine how transformational theory affects learning and teaching. It also explores the ways in which dimensions of power have an impact on student-teacher interactions.

In the mid-1960s, the foundations of Participatory Research were being laid in Tanzania and around the world through the work of muckraking adult educators--President Julius Nyerere, Marja-Liisa Swantz, Orlando Fals Borda, Rajesh Tandon, Budd Hall and many more of their friends and colleagues. At the same time, a bunch of American kids were over…

Thich Nhat Hanh, a 76-year-old Buddhist monk of the Vietnamese meditation school, exemplifies mindfulness in his daily life and teaches these principles around the world. Preferring to be called "Thay" which means teacher, he has written over 75 books on such subjects as mindfulness in daily living and its relation to social action. His teachings…

This paper, which is directed toward adult educators, presents a new approach to understanding the concept of marginalization, as well as a series of educational proposals regarding working with marginalized people that are drawn from transformative learning theory. First, marginalization is defined as being out of religious, legal, and…

This book is designed to influence adult educators to make more intentional choices toward developmental growth in their work with adult learners. Part 1 provides a rationale for attending to developmental growth of adult learners and a framework of intentions to encourage such development. Chapter 1 describes characteristics of adult learners and…