This study renews a doctoral dissertation written in 2003 on transformative learning following job loss. An abbreviated literature review compares corporate and worker circumstances from the original study to the present time. Findings show that corporations choose reductions in force due to pressure from investors instead of productivity, and…

Adversity has always been a part of life, however, today's hurricanes and earthquakes in increasingly populated areas, violent unrest creating a global refugee crisis, battlefield stress and work-place harassment, and the challenges of aging populations are demanding a better understanding of how individuals cope with adversity regardless of the…

Participation has become so central to adult education for community development that even the World Bank supports participatory programming. This article analyses how participation is conceptualised in "Training for Transformation" (TfT), a Freirean-inspired curriculum used in international community development settings. TfT seeks to…

After more than three decades of development, transformative learning theory is currently a major theory of adult learning. It has also attracted substantial critique, leading to further development, application and differentiation. Recent contributions to this vast scholarship show a quest for a more unified theory. This article examines…

Events or experiences that have a transformative effect on people's lives can have an even greater impact if they are documented and disseminated through books, articles, or other forms of media. Whether one learns of such episodes through personal interaction or published sources, these personal stories enrich and inform one's own life, providing…

In this article, we interpreted, in light of Mezirow's theory of transformative learning, interviews with 13 educators regarding their work with marginalized adult learners in prisons in the northeastern United States. Transformative learning may have been aided by the educators' response to unplanned activating events, humor, and respect, and…

The catalyst for learning and change in transformative learning theory has mostly been explained in terms of a disorientation in a relatively stable life. This article explores a South African, nonformal adult learning program, as a source of "orienting dilemmas," which catalyze learning and change in lives that are regularly and…

Ostensibly, the orientation towards learning outcomes in adult English language and literacy delivery ensures that the focus is on standardised skill development and knowledge acquisition of students. Such measureable development is seen as foundational to broader employability skills and job readiness. It is an agenda however which ignores the…

Adult educators are often part-time workers or volunteers and, as such, they must simultaneously negotiate multiple professional identities. This negotiation process may trigger conflict among professional identities, which can provide an opportunity for transformational learning. In this case study, the authors explore this conflict and learning…

This article reports on interpretive research, influenced by a feminist theoretical framework, with 8 women, in their 20s to 60s, who work or volunteer in feminist nonprofit organizations. Particular emphasis is placed on their experience of transformative learning in these organizations; the linkages with the theory of transformative learning;…

This case study focuses upon the transformational experiences of 28 social service and pastoral workers engaged in a Reflection Circle Process (RCP) in San Antonio, TX. The RCP involves the writing of a holistic journal entry, known as a process note, coupled with an in-depth exploration of the note with the help of a group of trusted peers, known…

This qualitative phenomenological study engaged 20 young, low-income credit union members who participated in financial education classes at Denver Community Credit Union. The study explored learning experiences that generated changes in money management behaviors and sought evidence of transformational learning in a nonformal education setting.…

Learning is generally viewed as a positive process bringing benefits to the individual, leading to growth and self-development. But is this always the case? This article draws on empirical research with refugees and considers the processes of transforming experience and learning that accompanies transition to life in the United Kingdom. I will…

This paper elaborates on a number of key criticisms of Mezirow's transformative learning theory as well as providing arguments that validate it. Our paper exemplifies how Mezirow's theory can help adult educators and prospective school teachers understand that social structures and belief systems can influence student learning, that learners make…

The purpose of this heuristic study was to explore the ways in which spirituality informed and impacted educators' own experience of learning as a transformative inner encounter. It inquired into the experience of learning from a spiritual perspective in order to determine the extent to which transformative learning could be described as a…