This paper approaches the question of Spinoza and education via the work of Louis Althusser. One important aim is to show how Spinoza's description of the imagination underpins Althusser's description of the ideological 'infrastructure' of educational practices and institutions. To achieve this, I begin by addressing Spinoza's treatment of the…

This paper seeks to make use of the theological concept of conversion as a means of understanding and explicating the process of insight and understanding as it is experienced by students, and, in so doing, make proposals that can aid in both in pedagogy and classroom processes. Philosopher and theologian Bernard Lonergan described a cognitive…

Professional identity development (PID), which involves transformational learning, is crucial for counselors and trainees. However most current training approaches focus more on specific tasks related to PID without focusing on the transformational learning aspect. Mindfulness is an important component for transformational learning; however,…

The Transformative Experience Questionnaire (TEQ) has previously been used only in formal science learning environments to examine how students' learning experiences extend beyond the classroom into their daily lives. In the present study, an example of how this tool can be useful to assess transformative experiences in an informal learning…

We present a transformative professional development project with a focus on equity, diversity and social justice (EDSJ) to raise cultural awareness among faculty, increase agency, and promote positive change through transformative projects. Twenty-three faculty members from nine different colleges located at a Research I university were provided…

This study explores the transformative nature of the National Writing Project (NWP). It employs an interpretive phenomenological analysis approach and self-efficacy theory in order to understand the perceptions of K-12 teachers who attended the NWP in Southeast Texas in the last five years. Using interviews, reflexive journals, and a reflective…

Although the practice of peer mentoring has had a place in education for many years, it has not routinely served as a platform for racialized students to use their voice in constructing their classroom learning. The history of music programs in the United States, with their dependence on Eurocentric music and disregard for the music of racialized…

Storytelling is one of many instructional strategies used in leadership education with the promise of providing transformative learning through individual and communal meaning-making. In this application manuscript, we offer examples and discussion of how learners identify storytelling in course design and approach, and their perception of its…

Drawing on theories from transcultural theory, I examined Chinese immigrant mothers' transcultural perspectives on mothering and learning. Recent adult educational studies contain limited research on the effects of cultural influence on mothering and learning by immigrant mothers from their perspective. Based on 30 semi-structured interviews among…

This study aimed to explore how participation in small-group discipleship fosters a transformative learning experience among undergraduate students in a selected Christian university in Indonesia. Seven semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with 20 undergraduate students and nine very recent graduates from various schools, males…

There is existing literature which supports the academic use of critical thinking skills integrated into instructional pedagogy in higher education and its benefits to academic and social development. However, developing the skills, such as those that increase religious tolerance, is mostly absent from scholarly research despite the noted…

A service-learning pilot project involving occupational therapy (OT) students and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is described. The purpose of this pilot project, developed using Transformative Learning Theory, was to determine if service-learning could be a viable approach to provide in-depth learning in areas…

This study explores how academics create safe spaces in university classrooms to engage in dialogue about education protest actions in South Africa. Utilising the research methodology of narrative inquiry and the theoretical framework of Pedagogy of Compassion, this paper explores how academics reflect on their responses to change and protest…

The work of the authors as teacher educators spans contexts (in the United States and Southern Africa) that share both similarities and differences. In both contexts, the authors, as a team of teacher educators, seek out ways to improve the experiences that they offer beginning teachers in programs. In this commentary, the authors review the…

Critical theory and transformative learning are two seminal theories that have incited a deluge of literature, fueled many discussions, and triggered much debate. Their relevance is enduring, and they are undeniably a great asset to the scholarship of adult education, but the two theories are far from fully developed or explored. Our purpose in…