Transformative Learning Process Research Articles

The dynamic welfare habitus and its impact on Brazilian migration to Lisbon and Barcelona

Little is known on how people’s way of thinking and doing around welfare provision – what we call the welfare habitus – plays a role in migration and how such cultural references change over the migration process. Through an empirical case study on Brazilian migration to Southern Europe, this article explores the dynamism of the welfare habitus focusing on three elements. First, the welfare-related resource environment in the countries of origin and destination. Second, the role of the welfare habitus in shaping migration aspirations. Third, the transformative learning process taking place during the life course and the migration experience. The article draws on a literature review, the analysis of secondary quantitative data and 24 in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews collected in 2016 in Lisbon and Barcelona among men and women born in Brazil selected at different stages of the life course –young people without children, parents of school-aged children and people aged 55 or more. Drawing on practice theory the paper looks at the interaction between external structures, habitus and everyday actions around welfare provision in contexts of migration. Doing so, the paper contributes to a better understanding of the effect of welfare provisions in the country of origin on migration focusing on the temporal perspective.

Becoming Thou as transformation in interfaith dialogue

ABSTRACT Within current interfaith dialogue scholarship, perspective transformation towards the religious other is one of the most desired outcomes. However, exactly how such transformed perspectives come about and the characteristics of thistransformation have not been adequately researched. In this study, we examine transformative learning within interfaith dialogue. Using a theoretical framework that combines Buber’s philosophy of dialogue and transformative learning theory, we equate the transformative process with the dynamics of becoming Thou. Through thematic analysis of qualitative interview data, we found that transformative learning within this context is contingent upon the creation of genuine and deep relatedness, that are constitutive of becoming Thou. Our findings report how dynamic relatedness serves as a foundation, a catalyst, and culmination of transformative learning processes. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings and suggestions for future research.

How transformative learning nurtures ecological thinking. Evidence from the Students Swap Stuff project

Purpose There is a growing call for novel approaches in education with respect to sustainable development. Transformative learning lacks empirical research. This paper responds to that gap and aims at analysing how transformative learning nurtures ecological thinking. Design/methodology/approach The Students Swap Stuff sustainability project is the result of a transformative and action-oriented learning process within the course Corporate Social Responsibility of the Master Environmental, Health and Safety Management, Faculty of Economics and Business at KU Leuven, Brussels, Belgium. Framed by the appreciative inquiry method, students set up a swapping system to limit overconsumption, waste and spillage caused by students’ stay in Brussels for a semester or longer. The paper is focusing on participatory action research, using semi-structured interviews with twenty-two participating students exploring whether their assumptions regarding the dominant paradigms in management have been transformed. Forty-nine participants in the closet swap completed a questionnaire related to their motivations. Findings The project was helpful in rethinking the traditional economic system and in decentering the economic element allowing for a different way of thinking, integrating trust and restoring the value of just giving. Four insights from the Students Swap Stuff project are relevant for other action-oriented learning approaches: start from a specific framework to guide the action; give enough time to dream what might be, but always link it to delivering what will be; insert sufficient moments of reflection; and give the students ample opportunities to express their feelings during the project. Research limitations/implications First, the research focused on one case, the Students Swap Stuff, with a limited number of students participating in the project. The aim of action-oriented learning, however, was not mere action, but the action had to lead to insights that are helpful for other cases and situations. Second, the interviews were set up between peers. Information about their background, such as families, preferred activities during leisure time, attitudes in favor of the environment, were not directly integrated in the semi-structured questions. This could be part of follow-up research emphasizing aspects of environmental psychology. Practical implications This study reveals that transformative and action-oriented learning demand a lot from students and lecturers. To avoid confusion on the concept “action,” praxis could be used to emphasize that thinking and doing exist simultaneously. Students learn in a natural way, but do not always see the effects immediately. Lecturers have to respond to this in a constructive way and have to include reflection moments on a regular basis. Originality/value Apart from the dominant research on students as objects, there is little research with students. This paper goes further by combining two stances: students as co-creators of knowledge; and students as participants in action research.

Reorganisation of stroke care in prehospital emergency medical services: results through transformative learning

Background: Rapid recanalisation is important when treating ischaemic stroke patients. In Finland, the reorganisation of the prehospital emergency medical system and the establishment of emergency medicine as an independent speciality occurred some years ago. These reforms offered the opportunity to develop new prehospital and in-hospital pathways for stroke patients. Methods: In this retrospective study, we examined the immediate impact of implementing a new operating model in prehospital stroke care. We introduced a modified “load-and-go” model using a transformative learning process. We observed the immediate effects of the reorganisation by comparing prehospital time intervals three months before and three months after the reorganisation. Results: The new operating model was implemented using a transformative learning process. There was an immediate reduction of 35.1% from 21.4 to 13.9 minutes (P < 0.001) in the median on-scene time and of 18.2% from 52.7 to 43.1 minutes (P < 0.05) in the median total time, i.e. the time interval between the alarm from the dispatch centre to patient hand-over to ED. Conclusion: By using a transformative learning process in implementing a modified load-and-go operation model in the EMS, we could immediately reduce median on-scene time and median total time in the treatment of acute stroke patients.

Transformation Toward Cultural Competence: Occupational Therapy Students’ International Immersive Experiences

International immersion learning experiences can be impactful, even transformational, if properly implemented to include opportunities for critical reflection. Research suggests that programs that thoroughly integrate continuous reflection promote development of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for growth in cultural competence. Critical reflection allows for examination of complex social issues and challenges students to think beyond their own social realities. This project focused on the development of cultural competence in preprofessional undergraduate occupational therapy students through participation in an immersive learning program in Guatemala. Specifically, a mixed-methods approach, including a quantitative measurement tool and qualitative analysis of student reflections during the immersive program, was utilized to measure the development of cultural competence. Results of pre- and postexperience cultural competence development as measured by the Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals–Student Version (IAPCC-SV) are reported. Qualitative analysis of reflection sessions audio-recorded over the 2-week immersion program period revealed student descriptions of dissonance, transformative learning, and the shaping of social action as it pertains to their future practice as occupational therapists. Furthermore, reflections emphasized the importance of building relationships, both within the learning group and with members of the local target community, to support student development through this transformative learning process.

Longitudinal Study to Develop and Evaluate the Impacts of a “Transformational” Undergraduate ECE Design Program: Study Results and Best Practices Report

Previous research identified influencers for transformative learning: critical awareness of culture, professional identity development, participation in communities of mentoring and learning, holistic skill integration through reflection, and development of professional integrity through affective awareness. To implement these Evidence-Based Instructional Practices (EBIPs), instructors at Oregon State University conducted a longitudinal study. Emancipatory Action Research (EAR) methodology was used to measure the effects of these influencers when integrated into a Capstone Design engineering program. The researchers found that both interventions did have significant impacts on students’ progression through a process of transformative learning because they reached a “crossroads of questioning.”

Using Mindfulness to Promote Transformative Learning in Implicit Racial Bias Training

Implicit bias classes have become a common practice with the aim of creating more inclusive work and learning environments. Such classes are aimed at helping individuals identify unconscious habits of mind and behaviors around race, which can be a disorienting experience. By seeing such classes through the lens of transformative learning theory, the instructor can help students through the disorienting experience with a transformative learning process. Transformative learning is a process of changing perspectives and habits of mind, ultimately resulting in changes in behavior. Recent research around the practice of mindfulness reveals a strong indication that a regular mindfulness practice can aid in helping individuals change habits of mind and behavior. The article provides brief examples of how teaching students about the neuroscience of bias, coupled with leading mindfulness techniques, enhances students’ grasp of concepts around bias to better embed the learning in multiple ways. Mindfulness becomes a tool for helping students develop awareness of their biases and for transforming inherited habits of mind into more positive and inclusive mind-sets.

What Factors Matter for the Sustainable Professional Development of Teachers? Analysis from Four Countries

Abstract In the 21st century, teachers’ learning is viewed through the lens of sustainable development as a holistic, transformative and collaborative learning process. Acknowledging that teacher professional development is a prerequisite for educational quality, it becomes necessary to look for professional development factors that could be relevant to sustainable professional development. The article explores factors of sustainable professional development of teachers based on data of TALIS 2018 from four Baltic countries (Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania). The study also discusses distinct characteristics of teacher professional development in the analyzed countries. Although traditional forms and methods of professional development still prevail in all countries, teachers also learn through active cooperation. Finnish teachers, more often than teachers in the other countries, worked in teams and shared material, knowledge, etc. with each other; Estonian teachers, more so than teachers in the other countries, took part in long-term training; Latvian teachers were more likely than teachers in the other countries to observe other teachers’ classes and provide feedback. Lithuanian teachers were perhaps the most active in terms of learning, but young teachers with fewer years of service were more likely to engage in long-term and collaborative activities. Finally, the implications for further research are discussed.

Daring in dance–Bachelor Students in Dance Developing Life Skills for the 21st Century

Abstract This article investigates how to find connections between dance education and the development of life skills for the 21st century by interpreting students’ experiences of daring in dance. The article draws on a section of my PhD thesis that focuses on BA students’ lived experiences in modern and contemporary dance. The project is informed by hermeneutic phenomenology, and the material consists of eleven students log books and interviews. One of the main themes in the material is daring in dance, which is connected to a transformative learning process. In this article I dig more deeply into the embodied dimension of such learning process and discuss how the result of this process can be interpreted as developing life skills for the 21st century. The analysis shows that becoming a professional dancer is a vulnerable process, encompassing both fear of failure and learning to trust one’s own competencies. Several of these competencies point toward skills recognised as important to learning in the 21st century, such as flexibility, problem solving, self-direction and social skills. By focusing on everyday embodied experiences of daring in dance, this research provides one example of the development of life skills in higher education based in empirical research.

Simulation learning to train healthcare students in person-centered dementia care

ABSTRACT In coming decades, healthcare providers will treat a greater number of individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias than ever. Simulation-based learning provides experiential learning opportunities to enhance clinical training, but little is known about how dementia simulation training improves understanding of dementia or how it changes in participants’ ability to deliver high-quality healthcare to individuals living with dementia. In this study, we examine how a simulation training program may prepare healthcare trainees to treat individuals living with dementia. We conducted eight in-depth, one-on-one interviews with healthcare trainees who participated in the Virtual Dementia Tour (VDT) program and faculty who added VDT to their curricula, and also examined 20 reflection papers from students following participation in VDT. A thematic analysis of qualitative data led us to three themes: 1) dementia simulation complements and enhances traditional teaching methods, 2) dementia simulation helps students to understand the experiences of people living with dementia, and 3) experiential learning inspired students to reflect on actions they would take as clinicians and leaders to support individuals living with dementia and their families. Based on these findings, we propose a modified transformative learning process for dementia simulation training with healthcare students.

Feeling Heard: Inclusive Education, Transformative Learning, and Productive Struggle

AbstractDevelopments in international inclusive education policy, including in prominent UN documents, often refer to the aim of a quality education for all. Yet, it remains unclear: What exactly is meant by quality education? And, under what conditions are quality educational experiences possible for all learners? In this essay, Diana Murdoch, Andrea English, Allison Hintz, and Kersti Tyson bring together research on inclusive education with philosophy of transformative learning, in particular John Dewey and phenomenology, to further the discussion on these two questions. The authors argue that teacher–learner relationships, of a particular kind, are necessary for fostering environments wherein all learners have access to quality educational experiences associated with productive struggle as an indispensable aspect of transformative learning processes. They define such relationships as “educational relationships that support students to feel heard.” In developing their argument, the authors first analyze the concept of productive struggle, an aspect of learning increasingly recognized in research and policy as an indicator of quality education. Second, they discuss three necessary, though not sufficient, conditions for the teacher to cultivate educational relationships that support students to feel heard. Third, they draw out connections between environments that support feeling heard and those that support productive struggle, and they discuss teachers' challenges and risk‐taking in creating such environments. The authors close with a discussion of implications for international policy, practice, and research.

The impact of psychological safety on transformative learning in the workplace: a quantitative study

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of psychological safety on transformative learning in the workplace. This study focused on psychological safety as a specific practice that may or may not independently contribute to transformative learning outcomes.Design/methodology/approachData was gathered from 132 employees in one US manufacturing company through a survey asking about the perception of psychological safety and the experience of transformative learning. A mediation analysis was conducted to test the effects of transformative learning processes – social support, attitude toward uncertainty and criticality – on the relationship between psychological safety and transformative learning outcomes.FindingsThe results of this study showed that psychological safety led to transformative learning outcomes mediated by transformative learning processes including social support, attitude toward uncertainty and criticality.Originality/valueExisting literature reveals little about the mechanism of how transformative learning occurs in the workplace. This study contributes to the field of human resource development by explaining the relationship between psychological safety and transformative learning, as well as first attempting to use transformative learning as a viable construct in workplace research.

Advising in Language Learning in a new speaker context: Facilitating linguistic shifts

This article explores a specific example of advising for language learning utilized to support new speakers of Irish in the workplace. Advising in language learning (ALL) aims to provide a context that enables learners to achieve goals in a resourceful and fulfilling way and, ultimately, to equip them with the independent learning skills necessary to sustain, and transfer, their experiences in different settings. Key to this is the skilled work of language learning advisors.This study analyzes learning interventions between an advisor and a group of fifteen adults. It focuses on their language practices and experiences as observed during an immersion program in an Irish-speaking region. Data in the Participatory Action Research were collected at audio-recorded private and group language advising consultations and facilitated discussions on language anxiety; and in participant diaries and advisor observations. Change in learners’ attitudes; their reception by native speakers, reaction to language exchanges; transformative learning processes; and the advisor’s skillful interventions are examined. The study concludes with reflections and recommendations on the potential role of a local ALL framework to establish positive conditions for the growth of minority languages in revitalization contexts, and lays the foundations for further research on advising for new speakerness.

Changing lives: Transformative learning and financial attitudes of Filipino women migrants in Italy

Faced with impoverishment after the financial crisis of 2008, Filipino women migrants in Italy struggle to sustain their financial commitments to their families in the Philippines. Research shows that financial literacy and entrepreneurship (FLE) education can improve financial management and decision-making processes. Spanning a period of eighteen months, this case study aimed at investigating whether the existing training modules organised by Atikha, the Filipino Women Council and the ALSE OF-LIFE Consortium in Italy have led to changes in the financial attitudes of the thirty-three interviewed Filipinas who attended the programs in the last ten years. This paper seeks to highlight the value of FLE training in promoting the transformative interpretation of individual perspectives in line with Mezirow’s Transformative Learning process. The training programs can be viewed as empowering interventions, capable of contributing to the development of new personal and financial goals. The interviewees’ responses to the in-depth, semi-structured interviews showed that the FLE programs have helped participants critically assess how to develop more productive attitudes towards financial management, and identify sustainable forms of support to their left-behind families.

Transformative Learning in Field Education: Students Bridging the Theory/Practice Gap

Abstract In a four-year, four cohort study utilising a series of six focus groups, forty Masters of Social Work students preparing to graduate defined their personal and professional experiences of transformation in their respective social work field education settings. Using an inductive thematic analysis, students highlighted four key themes in their transformative learning (TL) process: (i) defining the nature of disorienting dilemmas in field education; (ii) critical self-reflection, coping and moving through disorienting dilemmas; (iii) identifying the transformative outcomes in a field context; and (iv) facilitative factors to TL in field education. The findings illuminate the essential role of the field supervisor in creating ‘relationship’. The field supervisor/student relationship is the conduit to students’ deep learning, critical reflection, identity shifts and empathy supporting the student’s navigation through their disorientating moments towards transformative and meaningful outcomes. This study extends our understanding of the role of TL theory within experiential learning contexts and the feasibility of its use in the social work field education experience.

Looking inward, outward, and forward: Exploring the process of transformative learning in teacher education for a sustainable future

Sustainability education plays a pivotal role in driving change in the present and shaping our global future. This study explores the process of transformative learning among 67 preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) enrolled in a sustainability science course by analyzing six assignments submitted throughout the semester. Using a combined deductive–inductive coding procedure guided by transformative learning theory, our analyses document how PSTs looked inward (e.g., thinking, feeling), outward (e.g., making connections, relating to others), and forward (e.g., taking action) toward building a sustainable future. During the course, all PSTs experienced a disorienting dilemma, the foundation upon which transformative learning takes place. However, few PSTs demonstrated higher-level perspective transformation. When imagining alternative futures, PSTs drew on limited exposure to sustainability-oriented curricula and practices at internship sites, and perhaps as a consequence, most PSTs reflected foremost on their own lifestyles and consumer actions as primary areas for transformation. Moreover, PSTs rarely viewed themselves as potential agents of collective, policy-directed, or collaborative change. Importantly, it was uncommon for PSTs to reflect on their potential role as agents of change as educators who can cultivate sustainability within their classrooms and through their students. Returning to the inward-, outward-, and forward-looking framework, this paper closes with several recommendations for improving the transformative potential of teacher education—particularly towards preparing PSTs to recognize and actualize their potential to influence both what sustainability science content is taught, how these curricula are addressed, and their role in the classroom as agents of societal transformation toward sustainability.

비서의 경력전환 경험을 통한 전환학습 과정에 관한 연구

이 연구는 비서직에서 다른 직무로 경력전환을 실시한 비서 경력자들의 경력전환 경험에 대해 알아보고 그들의 전환학습 과정이 어떠했는지 탐구하는 데 목적이 있다. 이 연구에서는 질적 사례연구를 사용하여 2년 이상의 비서경력을 가지고 경력전환을 시행한 9명을 대상으로 일대일 심층면접(depth interview)을 수행하였다. 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 비서직에서 다른 직무로 경력전환을 한 연구 참여자들은 그들이 처한 상황에 만족하지 않고 적극적으로 경력전환을 하는 한편 그와 동시에 조직과 사회 속에서 인정받는 비서직의 장점을 자산으로 본인의 경력개발에 활용했다. 둘째, 연구 참여자들은 현실을 긍정적으로 극복하기 위한 방향으로 경력전환을 꾀했고 조직 내 경력전환을 위해서는 임원, 팀장, 팀원들과의 소통과 관계가 중요한 것으로 확인되었다. 셋째, 비서의 경력전환 경험을 통한 전환학습 과정 탐구에서는 전환학습 과정이 연구 참여자 모두 같은 모양으로 나오는 것이 아니라 그들이 처한 상황, 성격, 예기치 못한 사건과 만남에 따라 어느 단계가 생략되어 나타나는 과정이 도출되었다. 넷째, 연구 참여자들은 모두 경력전환에 어린 시절부터의 가정환경과 학창시절의 경험, 친구, 지인들의 영향을 많이 받는 것으로 파악되었다. 이 연구는 처음으로 비서의 경력전환을 전환학습의 관점에서 연구하였다는 점에서 학문적 의의가 있다.

Toward Grounding Transnational Feminism in Borderland Spaces

This article discusses our efforts to ground transnational feminist practice locally in borderland spaces and to detach this practice, to the extent possible, from the overall structure of Euro-centered knowledge in mental health. We recognize that transnational training and research in psychology has the potential to offer scholar-practitioners the opportunity to engage in transformative intercultural learning processes. However, these processes can become forms of colonization in which dominant knowledge systems originating in the United States are positioned to exert undue influence on vulnerable communities whose members sometimes unwittingly give consent to participate. We situate ourselves and discuss our conceptual framework. We present how we co-constructed a borderland learning space in a particular training program and analyze challenges we encountered in this process. We discuss our research collaboration, highlighting our efforts to ground aspects of the research process also in a borderland space. Finally, we offer recommendations for transnational feminist training and research.

Supporting transformational learning processes for person-centred healthcare research in doctoral education: a critical creative reflection

Supporting transformational learning processes for person-centred healthcare research in doctoral education: a critical creative reflection

“We All Have a Little More Homework to Do:”: A Constructivist Grounded Theory of Transformative Learning Processes for Practicing Music Teachers Encountering Social Justice

The purpose of this study was to investigate processes that led practicing music educators in a graduate course to examine their beliefs and practices regarding inclusion, responsiveness, equity, and justice. Using Charmaz’s constructivist approach to grounded theory, we interviewed 22 participants from MUS 8XX: Philosophy of Music Education. Constant comparative analysis yielded an explanatory framework, which we presented as a model and named “transformative learning processes (TLP) for practicing music teachers encountering social justice.” TLP comprises four interrelated components: “building Gemütlichkeit,” “grappling with difficult material,” “emotional intensity,” and “course structures,” with “stories” acting as a hub for each of the interconnected categories. By describing processes that led practicing teachers to examine their mindsets and plan to change their practices, TLP could provide guidance for music teacher educators at the graduate level regarding how to approach social justice topics in their teaching.