Empirical models of transformative learning offer important insights into the core characteristics of this concept. Whereas previous analyses were limited to specific social groups or topical terrains, this article empirically typifies the phases of transformative learning on the basis of a comparative analysis of various social groups and topical…

Service-learning practitioners design community engagement activities to affect students in powerful and even transformative ways. This qualitative study explores the long-term impacts (3-16 years after graduation) of participation in a senior-level service-learning course. Through interviews with 20 randomly selected participants, the researchers…

In this article, we sought a relation between orientation to higher education and curricular experiences, and elucidated the nature of transformative curricular experiences. Twenty-four graduates from humanities and science degrees in the year 2000 were interviewed approximately five years later to obtain their retrospective views on the purpose…

Given the call for change in medical school curriculum towards a more humanistic approach, it remains clear that there is an urgent need to study the effects of personal development classes on medical students' skill level. Using participants from an ethical influence communications class, this study explored the impact of the use of…

Is empowering peace education primarily about providing individuals with skills to respond to violence they experience and capabilities to enhance their own lives? Or is inspiring social transformation to alter forms of injustice that contribute to violence an equally valid and important dimension of an empowering peace education program? This…

This study focuses on the question of why student teachers stay in teaching even after a profound "practice shock," i.e., a shock that in itself seems to characterize the complex and emotionally challenging first year of student teaching. Using a line drawing technique, the study investigates student teachers' views of their first year…

This article identifies college as the logical space for the articulation of civil rights through the complete integration of students with incarceration histories into the intellectual and social fabric of the institution. Academic institutions provide a fertile ground where possibilities for personal and social change are realized, networks are…

We conducted a qualitative study of the experiences of 23 Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE) participants to determine what participants found significant about their course and to what course elements they attributed this significance. Participants experienced personal transformations, which they attributed to spending extended time in pristine…

The purpose of this collective-case study was to explore the characteristics of transformational figures. This study revealed that interpersonal encounters were seen as a catalyst that assisted study participants through the process of transformation. Ten themes emerged from the cross-case analysis: Imposed and Intentional Influence; Metaphors of…

This paper documents the impact of a study visit to south India in 2007 on students following courses in initial teacher education at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK. The research was conducted by the two course leaders and employed a varied methodology, involving open-ended questionnaires, self-reporting of emotions, video diaries,…

The incorporation of human immune deficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) into identity over time was examined by collecting data from the same 11 HIV-positive individuals at 3 points in time (in 1995, early 1998, and late 1999). By the time of their semi-structured interviews in late 1999, the seven men and four women…