The purpose of this dissertation was to experiment with qualitative research methodologies while exploring the complexities of doctoral education, research practices, philosophies of inquiry, and other topics intersecting with(in) educational scholarship. My vision for this work was fueled by postmodernist critiques of humanist education,…

What is missing in present-day physical education teacher education research is the individual female doctoral student perspective and how individuals come to understand academic research culture within the neoliberal university. Through a critical autoethnography, this paper uncovered a transformative learning journey of one doctoral student as…

This study emphasizes the importance of faculty development and training as a means to prepare faculty to design the capstone course as a high-impact educational practice. Specifically, this research explores transformative learning in the capstone class as a vehicle for reflection on personal and professional ethics. Students enrolled in a…

In this qualitative inquiry, we studied the lived experiences of counselor trainees who participated in a short-term study abroad program in Dublin, Ireland. It was found that counselor trainees self-reported transformative growth as a result of their cultural immersion. Specifically, counselor trainees identified an increase in cultural…

Qualitative, case study methods were used to examine students' expectations of and experiences with studying women and leadership. Participants were 48 undergraduate students enrolled in an elective course titled Women and Leadership offered in the Leadership Studies minor curriculum at a liberal arts institution. Students perceived women and…

Transformative Learning Theory and pedagogies leverage disruptive experiences as catalysts for learning and teaching. By facilitating processes of critical analysis and reflection that challenge assumptions, transformative learning reframes what counts as knowledge and the sources and processes for gaining and producing it. Students develop a…

While research on K-12 environmental education (EE) has been quite robust, there has been less focus on effective approaches for mature-age adult learners. This qualitative study examined perceptions of barriers to sustainability in American, mature-age adult learners. Results revealed two interacting, superordinate themes: personal relevance and…

This study explored the transformative learning experiences of emerging adults through book reading in the context of the digital age. Qualitative in-person interviews were conducted with twenty-eight emerging adults, half of whom were seminary students and half of whom were campus ministry professionals. Half were women and half were men. The…

This study extended research on transformational service learning by examining the impact that a community placement context can have on college students' transformational processes. Kiely's "Transformational Service-Learning Process Model" was used as a framework to better understand how context, dissonance, and student reactions are…

The development of college students' cultural competence is important in an increasingly diverse world. This exploratory, qualitative, action research study examined how 158 first-year students understood and applied core concepts after participating in a standardized diversity and social justice lesson plan designed using transformative education…

This article explores late modern Black and Muslim young men's and women's experiences of higher education. Carrying out qualitative research with 14 male and female young people, these students claimed that their Youth and Community Work course at their university made available an alternative representational space, enabling them to develop a…

This article reports a qualitative study that examined students' experiences of creating podcasts within an undergraduate music education course. Future music educators used digital media technology to assemble and share reflections on significant interactions with music throughout their lives, combining spoken narrative and musical excerpts…

Undergraduate epistemology typically transitions from an absolute perspective with a reliance on external knowledge authority to a more open epistemology that utilizes metacognition to evaluate knowledge claims. In the undergraduate agricultural classroom, student epistemic development, combined with deeply embedded agricultural beliefs and…

This article presents an overview of the findings of a recently completed study exploring the potentially transformative impact upon learners of recognition of prior informal learning (RPL). The specific transformative dimension being reported is learner identity. In addition to providing a starting point for an evidence base within Scotland, the…

Contemporary higher education has been affected by policy pressures built around "flexibility". The policies of widening student participation and expanding flexible online delivery combine to provide the opportunity for a university education to students hitherto largely excluded. Flexible employment policies have increasingly placed…