This article describes four emerging theoretical approaches in transformative learning (TL). Elaborations of existing theories, descriptions of new theories, and analyses of TL processes are reviewed. Implications for understanding key TL concepts of experience, reflection, dialogue, disorientation, self, agency, autonomy, and time are discussed…

The aim of the article is to present transformational giftedness (TG) in the context of the theory of personality development. TG refers to individuals who strive to make a positive difference in the world in order to create a better place to live. Robert Sternberg divided TG into the following categories: self-realized giftedness, other-realized…

This article outlines how the international push for inclusive education cannot be aligned with current education systems centred on neoliberal ideals of individualism, measurement, and competition. The way that these systems are organised means that a proportion of (usually marginalised) students are necessarily excluded. In order to meaningfully…

Jiddu Krishnamurti was a contemporary of the first non-European Nobel Laureate from Asia, Rabindranath Tagore. Their educational ideas and practices of reform were deeply informed by their own troubled experiences of schooling within the highly mechanised industrial model of education imported from colonial England. Both were school dropouts and…

This interactive conceptual essay analyzes Glennon Doyle's memoir "Untamed" (2020) to open new possibilities for transformation of the self and consequently as a vehicle to embrace wholehearted living in educational spaces. This article is designed to be read and discussed alongside a trusted educator ally in order to arrive at new…

This article aims at expanding transformation theory through the work of the philosopher Richard Rorty. His concept of redescription allows us to distinguish between good learning and transformative learning and to counteract the critique of conceptional looseness. In addition, Rorty's thesis of contingency and his notion of irony are going to be…

Context: Athletic training education is experiencing major reform. As professionals consider the implications of these initiatives, the perspective transformation approach to change processes and future impact provides a viable model for all constituents. Objectives: Transformative learning is used as a construct for framing perspective…

This book is for educators who believe that schools need to be improved and are hopeful that real change can be achieved. The authors argue that if educators want to create more equitable, socially just, and learner-focused schools, then they need a more robust, transformational theory of school change--an UnCommon Theory. After describing the…

The aim of this paper is to offer a timely theory of education that abstains as much as feasibly possible from 'taking sides' in current ideological disputes. It begins by presenting a basic definition demarcating the concept of 'education' from other processes of human learning and formation, yet in a way that allows circumventing various…

There is a well-established area of work in mathematics education focusing on mathematics for social justice. Much of the work, however, is concerned with "individual" students' understanding the world symbolically -- as evident in the notions of reading and writing the world using mathematics -- while failing to address a transformative…

The paper explores how might teacher educators engage with teachers' difficult knowledge and negotiate competing moral truths, when this effort obviously fails to provide adequate 'answers' or 'solutions'. Although the paper is theoretical, this question's point of departure is an incident from a series of teacher workshops in Cyprus. The question…

A core component of invitational education is taking an intentionally inviting stance, whereby the teacher achieves and maintains an optimally inviting environment by intentionally practicing care, trust, respect, and optimism with students. These elements are rooted in the affective domain. Affective teaching involves the use of empathy. Humans…

Despite decades of research on the global mind-set concept, no cohesive framework has emerged through which this way-of-thinking can be developed in learners, leading some to perceive the global mind-set as elusive. To move the literature forward, I propose a theory-driven pedagogy which combines insights from the extant global mind-set literature…

It is not every day that a former student greets a teacher with, "Your course changed my life." The authors are the professor and student of the transformative course. Alicia Gonzales wanted to understand how to work with students to co-construct an environment where persistent problem solving in a technologically rich classroom was the…

Learning design in a global classroom offers an approach to adult and higher education that is grounded in a comprehensive understanding of how God has created people to learn--one that is informed by the social and cultural context in which the learning takes place. This article introduces an approach to learning design which integrates…