In recent discussions about educational accountability, participants have joined one of two warring camps. In one corner are the advocates of results-driven accountability who claim that test scores are the most accurate measure of the quality of schools, teachers, and school leaders. In the opposite corner are the advocates of input-driven…

The racially-based academic achievement gap demonstrates that schools are not equally successful with all students. There are gaps in discipline; placement in remedial, gifted, and honors classes; assignment to special education programs; grade point averages; dropout and graduation rates as well as in funding and resources. The elimination of…

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of three science teachers attempting to transform their practice by conducting action research on feminist science teaching. The teachers engaged in systematic, self-critical inquiry of their own practice and joined 8 other science teachers to engage in collaborative conversations about the…

This chapter discusses the challenges of fostering spirituality in the higher education classroom and its relationship to the practice of transformative learning.

How do and should students develop--emotionally, socially, intellectually, morally, and spiritually--on a college campus and, more particularly, as members of a residential learning community? What advantages does a learning community offer over the more fragmented and specialized cafeteria of courses in place on most campuses? What new structures…

This article revisits the pedagogical dilemma of maintaining neutrality in the religious studies/theology classroom. I argue that if the boundary between teaching about religion and actually teaching spirituality seems to be vanishing, it is because the boundary was inappropriately constructed in the first place. To the extent that the religious…

In this article the authors discuss issues faced by early career researchers, including the dichotomy, which many research textbooks and journal articles create and perpetuate between qualitative and quantitative research methodology despite considerable literature to support the use of mixed methods. The authors review current research literature…

Critical reflection promotes the questioning of assumptions, the rendering visible of the otherwise invisible. This article describes and analyzes the teaching and learning of critical reflection in the context of an internship program at the University of Sydney within the framework of completing a reflexive report for assessment. The authors…

Societal and organizational change requires people to change their professional identity continuously. Starting from two theoretical traditions that address identity and learning, the authors analysed the learning narratives of two sets of learners--participants in a two-year experiential learning programme and student interns, both in the domain…

Stemming from a 1998 Columbia University conference on transformative learning, this 3-part book contains 12 articles that examine the concept of how adults learn to change ("transform") their frames of reference. The following are included in Part One: Developing Concepts of Transformative Learning: "Learning To Think Like an Adult: Core Concepts…

A relevant question for educators is how adult learning and education can cultivate change with individuals and groups. M.D. Hohn (1998) identifies four types of change: change by exception, incremental change, pendulum change, and paradigm change. A change agent tries to bring about a change deliberately. The change process is transformative, is…

What is considered legitimate learning is culturally and contextually specific, depending on what values are involved. Different values are engaged depending on whether legitimate learning is considered transformation of the individual in relation to self, in relation to society, or in relation to the workplace. (SK)

Narrative analysis of interviews with 11 HIV-positive adults in 1995, 1998, and 1999 found the following: (1) perspective transformation remained stable; (2) changes in meaning schemas in 1998 had been acted on; (3) new meanings included increased appreciation for the human condition and an expanded view of intimacy; and (4) social interaction was…

Interviews with 12 adult educators in English and English as a second language revealed that most were not aware of transformative learning, Freire's critical theory, or Mezirow's perspective transformation. They were also aware of the need to balance teaching ideals with practicalities, barriers facing students, and negotiation between learner…

Data from an Australian evaluation of competency-based training (CBT) suggest that it emphasizes development of procedural, technical knowledge over reflective problem solving and precludes transformative learning. CBT's empowerment discourses are often belied by workplace realities. Identities of workers and vocational educators are circumscribed…