This article provides an overview of the literature on transformative learning over the previous 45 years, describes its current condition as a relatively mature collection of theories, and calls for greater clarity, new iterations of theory, and productive and substantive steps forward. It then provides an overview of the contributions in this…

This chapter describes transformative learning as a catch-all term to describe many disparate phenomena related to learning processes involved in human transformation. It argues for the distinction between individual theories used to understand these phenomena and the metatheoretical work of analyzing across theories. This article then reviews…

This article presents a framework for ethics for radical and transformative education. Taking as a starting point ethical perspectives by which educators of adults are justified in imposing upon, coercing, and manipulating adult learners in the name of social justice, this article highlights the necessary connection between pedagogies and learning…

This article traces three key critiques (insufficient consideration of emotions, insufficient attention to social interaction, and insufficient theoretical foundations) of Mezirow's theory of transformative learning in the field of adult education, with emphasis on discussions that have played out in the pages of the "International Journal of…

This is a response to "The Ethical Knower: Rethinking Our Pedagogy in the Age of Trump" by Elana Michelson. We appreciate Michelson's critical evaluation of the appropriateness of transformative learning and the use of personal narrative, as well as the frames and tools she offers to help us deal with current challenges such as…

Mezirow's theory of perspective transformation has proved to be a great asset to the scholarship of adult education and has provided a solid theoretical base for understanding complex learning phenomena. However, in the discussions surrounding Mezirow's work, a certain "stuckness" appears which we think is unproductive. Critiques of…

To overcome situational hurdles when researching transformative learning in adults, we outline a research approach using single-case research designs and smartphone data collection apps. This approach allows researchers to better understand learners' current lived experiences and determine the effects of transformative learning interventions on…

Based on 13,776 student respondents to the Campus Religious and Spiritual Climate Survey (CRSCS) across three academic years at 52 colleges and universities, this study examined how aspects of the campus climate for religious and spiritual diversity related to student perceptions of transformational learning in college. Perceived transformational…

This article depicts the literature on transformative learning theory in two ways. First, it conveys an historical evolution of the theory that has taken place over the past four decades. Second, it reviews the research literature on transformative learning within the field of adult education over the past 12 years in terms of its portrayal and…

This study explored the processes by which a group of breast cancer survivors experienced positive learning and growth from their cancer experiences. The author argues that such learning and growth can be considered transformative learning, especially from ontological perspectives of the theory. The participants' change process consisted of…

This article is a report on research into the role of fiction in promoting transformative learning in higher education settings. Participants were 131 undergraduate and graduate students from two universities in the United States. To determine the type of learning promoted by reading fiction, we performed qualitative analyses on participants'…

This article presents findings from a research study wherein participants demonstrated the use of similes, metaphors, and analogies, termed "conceptual metaphors," in response to disorienting dilemmas instigated by breast cancer. In this qualitative case study of 18 breast cancer survivors, conceptual metaphors were used in three…