Transformational Learning

Abstract

The ultimate goal of Transformational Learning (TL) is ‘to achieve self-emancipation through self-knowledge, to overcome systematically induced distortions of perception and communication, and strengthen one’s autonomy through rational discourse’. As TL theory has been evolving since its birth, terms used in this theory are diversely defined, although the core idea remains the same. These key terms are: making meaning, meaning schemes, meaning perspectives, habits of mind and points of view, transforming meaning perspective, meaning reflection and critical reflection, types of learning, and learning processes. Related to the criticism of a too strong emphasis on rationality, Stuckey, Tylor, and Cranton refer to ‘the extrarational perspective on TL emphasizing emotive, imaginal, spiritual, and arts-based facets of learning, those that reach beyond rationality’. The Mirror of Talents case study is a clear example of how, in adult education programmes aiming to enhance the social inclusion of elderly people, TL can be scaffold by using storytelling and theatre play.