Docents as transformative educators of travelers

Abstract

While transformative travel research mainly focuses on visitors' perspectives, those of local volunteers who guide these visitor experiences, such as museum docents, are left unexplored. This gap is worth investigating, considering that meaningful social interactions are identified as one of the main triggers of travelers' transformative experiences. Building on the transformative learning theory, we integrate the concept of emotional intelligence to examine how docents perceive their role as transformative educators to travelers. We apply a qualitative multi-method approach that combines photo elicitations and personal interviews with 31 museum docents. The findings suggest that docents use emotional intelligence to navigate the disorienting dilemma, guide travelers through self-reflection and critical assessment, and cultivate their commitment to education.