Although critical ethnographers have explored in some depth the ways that social critique informs how youth assess their schooling experiences, the implications of social critique by educators themselves have been of much less interest. Yet, numerous professional educational movements have been wrought from social critique or, at the very least,…

Teachers who have participated in Summer Institutes of the National Writing Project (NWP) have often claimed "it changed my life." What do teachers mean when they say this? What does it mean to "transform" in a professional development setting, and what might researchers and professional development providers gain from an…

Electronic portfolios have developed as a medium for learning that makes use of the learners' own reflections on connections among portfolio artifacts. This study used a portfolio-based, mid-program reflection of undergraduate students to elaborate a framework for reflective learning and raise questions about related assessment practices.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a retrospective reflection over unconscious, emergent learning among employees of an organization and to suggest how to capture these moments of experiential learning for future organizational learning. Design/methodology/approach: Action research in organizations is undertaken in interaction with…

The authors review research literature on coherent theoretically based approaches to the use of reflective processes within programmes of initial professional education for new academic staff. Employing a novel methodology that incorporates practitioner perspectives, they establish a framework that highlights the role of personal and social…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been held up as powerful structures for teachers' continuing professional development. In this work, the author has applied transformative learning theory to highlight the psychic risks of collaborative teacher learning, as well as the need for practical efforts to improve student learning--the means…

This study, involving both phenomenological interviews and a survey questionnaire, was designed to gain an in-depth understanding of the "genogram as process." With a particular focus on the transformative aspects of genogram work, this study examined the experiences and perceptions of eight graduate students as they constructed and presented…

A critical reflection of the efficacy of my teaching and the pedagogies I embody is potentially important because under the continual threat of "No Child Left Behind" and some research that may devalue qualitative research, I want to support my students in their efforts, while offering them a well-rounded understanding of different pedagogies and…

Recent literature has described how the capacity for concurrent self-assessment--ongoing moment-to-moment self-monitoring--is an important component of the professional competence of physicians. Self-monitoring refers to the ability to notice our own actions, curiosity to examine the effects of those actions, and willingness to use those…

This study aimed to investigate the transformational impact of introducing significant new learning technology in an Australian university over the time period 2007-2009. The exploration of this transformation is grounded in a social-ecological systems approach to the management of technology enhanced learning environments in the face of constant…

The author responds to Collard and Law's criticisms, in "The Limits of Perspective Transformation" (1989), of his writings on transformation theory. He states that there are significant mediating factors that impede taking collective social action because of a transformed perspective and that learning transformations and social action both can…

Analysis of 23 studies revealed support for Mezirow's ideals for transformative learning: promoting rational discourse and critical reflection. Essential teaching practices include group ownership, experiential activities, affective learning, contextual awareness, and value-laden content. Research needs were identified. (Contains 57 references.)…

Reflects on the challenges of achieving equity in dialogue through a description of graduate student experiences in adult education and attempts to foster transformative learning while teaching in China. Contains 38 references. (SK)

To teach for transformation, teachers can provide an environment that focuses on the following transformative learning facets: activating events, articulation of assumptions, critical reflection, openness to alternatives, discourse, revision of assumptions, and action upon revisions. (SK)

This paper highlights a distinctive way to research and present issues within education using metaphor and the qualitative narrative methodology known as auto ethnography. Auto ethnographic writing links the personal to the cultural and is recognised as a methodology that combines the method with the writing of the text, which in turn explicates…