Both "Bildung" and transformative learning theory focus on the transformative nature of education. Even though they have been developed in different continents and fairly independently of each other, they intersect, and at face value, they might appear to be very similar to each other. Both notions, though are perceived differently by…

This article discusses the contributions of different worldviews to the debates on what a transformative sustainability education could be. It focuses on mainstream and alternative strands of thought present in the West, as well as Indigenous worldviews, taking the Zapatistas as an example. The Zapatista social movement of Mexico fights for the…

This article examines the experience of six participants in the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (BTS) delegation program. Human rights education is central to this program that operates between Canada and Guatemala. Key findings from this research include participants' rethinking of their own power and privilege upon returning to…

Adult educators and scholars have long recognized the Highlander Education and Research Center in Tennessee as a model for adult civic education that is transformative for individuals and society. In 2004, researchers at Harvard University identified Highlander as one of the most successful initiatives worldwide with long-term impact on societal…

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can result in positive "side effects," such as concentration and individual well-being, highly desirable to schools operating within a neoliberalist agenda emphasizing performativity. However, employing a critical literature review, we argue that adverse side effects also occur, though…

Transformative education exists in a complex, dynamic, and ambiguous state seeking structural definitions and relationships within an interdisciplinary arena often critiqued for its limitations as an individual--rather than social--practice. This type of education encompasses learning processes that may facilitate the development of civic-minded,…

This article employs transformative learning and decolonial theories to investigate the efficacy of simulation pedagogy for undergraduate student learning about refugees and the internally displaced. The simulation of refugee experience was adapted from the Doctors Without Borders' "Forced From Home" exhibit and facilitated by an…

Unchecked climate change poses a self-inflicted existential risk to humanity as it exacerbates the multiple-crisis syndrome facing global society. In international policy, education for sustainable development is widely flagged as transformative. To realize that transformative potential, sustainability educators are exploring the nexus between…

Between 2005 and 2017 yielded fertile ground for research studies and articles about transformative learning and the arts within the field of adult education. The main questions this article seeks to answer are: What art forms are being used for transformative learning, how are they being used, and with what effect? The article begins by…

The following article describes how one organization, the Coady International Institute, met multiple monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning objectives while still staying true to its roots in transformative adult education. The Learning from Stories of Change (LSC) methodology brought together stories-based techniques with aspects of the…

This article documents the author's experience participating in a course taught primarily by food activist, Dr. Vandana Shiva, and run by the Earth University in Uttarakhand, India. Drawing on Gandhi's four pillars of nonviolent action, this article links individual course participants' experiences of transformative learning to the transformation…

This article explores both the prerequisites and barriers of perspective transformation in the context of two Eastern European societies as examples of post-totalitarian states. Although personal cognitive development is considered as an outcome of perspective transformation, I will demonstrate that certain manifestations of cognitive development…

The purpose of this article is to describe the successes and challenges of an innovative community engagement initiative in Bermuda, Education for All, in order to enlarge our understanding of how a community uses storytelling as a catalyst for transformative learning. Sponsored by the Coalition for Community Activism, community members and…

This article addresses a significant gap in the transformative learning literature as it relates to collective transformation, a transformation that is a level beyond individual transformation and is differentiated from the designed and imposed forms of social or organizational change. We consider collective transformation as an emergent and…

Joanna Macy's "Work that Reconnects" (WTR) is a transformative learning process that endeavors to help participants acknowledge, experience, and understand the emotions that may either empower or inhibit action to address the ecological crisis. The WTR seeks to work through grief, fear, and despair to animate a sense of active,…