University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Education. / This study explores adult educators' working knowledge in the facilitation of transformative learning. It explores transformative learning from the perspective of the educators involved, considering their experiences and their descriptions of incidents. Although there is a growing interest in research into transformative learning, there are few studies that explore the ways educators foster transformative learning. This has been identified as a key direction for research (Taylor 1997, 2000). The theoretical framework for this study is developed through two approaches; namely, through the literature of transformative learning in adult education and through concepts of narrative, discourse and identity. This thesis argues that Mezirow's theory of transformative learning has limitations when considering social interactions involved in transformative learning. The narrative approach, developed from the literatures of social work, narrative therapy, organisational learning, discursive psychology and education, is introduced to explore issues involved in facilitating transformative learning. In this study I utilise narrative research because of its potential to explore working knowledge in a comprehensive, contextualised way. I investigate educators' working knowledge through in-depth interviews, inviting educators to relate stories of transformative learning from their practice. The educators' working knowledge is then analysed through metaphor analysis and case examples. The educators in this study used a range of metaphors when talking about their practice of transformative learning. The metaphors indicate that these educators provide a multifaceted role to foster transformative learning. Through writing and analysing selected stories of practice as case examples, this thesis presents the facilitation of transformative learning as narrative intervention. I conclude that facilitation of transformative learning requires capabilities in reading issues and positioning self within interactions. Further) I explore the ways that educators' professional identities are being produced through their working knowledge.

This qualitative study investigated how transformative learning and membership in a community of practice influenced leadership development. It sought a phenomenological understanding of how participants made meaning of their experiences in a collegiate leadership development organization. Data were collected utilizing in-depth interviews and field observations during a prolonged period of engagement in the setting. An inductive approach was taken in data analysis using a constant comparative method in development of coding categories of recurring concepts and identification of themes. A creative synthesis of the findings is told through a richly descriptive metaphoric narrative tale of novice freshmen following a transformative spiral path to become master senior-class leaders and is graphically displayed in a leadership development model. A crystallization concept of triangulating the data and the creative analytic practice criteria of substantive contribution, aesthetic merit, reflexivity, impact, and expression of a reality framed the validity and authenticity of the study. Findings and conclusions from this ethnographic case study included the value of a holistic approach to transformative learning and leadership development; relationships founded in an ethic of caring are instrumental in fostering transformative learning and leadership development; individual meaning of leadership is constructed through participation in relational and cultural contexts; cultural values shape leadership developmental objectives and outcomes; and location “on the edge” is a very powerful teaching place and learning site for leadership development.

This qualitative study investigated how transformative learning and membership in a community of practice influenced leadership development. It sought a phenomenological understanding of how participants made meaning of their experiences in a collegiate leadership development organization. Data were collected utilizing in-depth interviews and field observations during a prolonged period of engagement in the setting. An inductive approach was taken in data analysis using a constant comparative method in development of coding categories of recurring concepts and identification of themes. A creative synthesis of the findings is told through a richly descriptive metaphoric narrative tale of novice freshmen following a transformative spiral path to become master senior-class leaders and is graphically displayed in a leadership development model. A crystallization concept of triangulating the data and the creative analytic practice criteria of substantive contribution, aesthetic merit, reflexivity, impact, and expression of a reality framed the validity and authenticity of the study. Findings and conclusions from this ethnographic case study included the value of a holistic approach to transformative learning and leadership development; relationships founded in an ethic of caring are instrumental in fostering transformative learning and leadership development; individual meaning of leadership is constructed through participation in relational and cultural contexts; cultural values shape leadership developmental objectives and outcomes; and location “on the edge” is a very powerful teaching place and learning site for leadership development.

Thesis (Ph. D., Education)--University of Idaho, May 2008. / Major professor: Roger Scott. Includes bibliographical references (leaves ). Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

There is growing agreement that integrative “whole person” approaches promoting transformative learning are important aspects of sustainability education. Increasingly, universities are using permaculture in teaching sustainability. Permaculture is an ecological design methodology for meeting human needs while increasing ecosystem health. This study investigates the implications of integrating permaculture into university sustainability curricula. Following “movement-relevant” research, this study also seeks to provide useful information to the permaculture movement about the challenges and opportunities posed by integration with academia. An interpretive approach was utilized, involving participant observation and interviews with students and instructors who had participated in permaculture courses at universities. The study finds that educational partnerships between the permaculture movement and academia can be mutually beneficial, advancing goals of both parties related to student engagement, enhancement of curricula, and the practice of sustainability. In particular, permaculture courses offer significant opportunities for advancing an integrative, “whole person” approach supporting transformative sustainability learning. / Graduate / 0745 / 0534 / 0515 / czimmer@uvic.ca

How can we help university students make connections between ‘academic knowledge’, and their roles as members of local and global communities? How do we create a forum for students to engage in issues of social and ecological justice through critical thought, moral commitment and meaningful engagement in their learning and coming to know as global citizens? We are an interdisciplinary group of researchers and instructors who have collaboratively developed, and are now co-teaching an international, interactive, fully online university course: Introduction to Global Citizenship, available to students at five universities around the world. Our course combines academic rigour with personal reflection and group discussion. It provides students with a broad understanding of barriers and bridges to global citizenship, brings greater awareness of key global issues, and encourages individual and collective action and accountability on issues of sustainability and social justice. Pilot delivery of our course in 2005-2006 suggests that it offers students an extremely challenging, thought-provoking, international educational experience, as we learn about and discuss global issues together. In this working session, we hope describe our experiences with this course project, and to facilitate a productive dialogue with colleagues around teaching strategies for transformative learning in higher education. What ‘kinds’ of transformative learning are we seeking and how can we recognize it? Which instructional strategies facilitate deeper critical analysis and personal reflection? What roles might technology and interdisciplinarity play in this undertaking? Which investigative approaches might help us move our institutions beyond lipservice to global education?

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Apr. 29, 2008). Advisor: Carolyn Kenny, PhD. "Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership & Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October, 2007"--from the title page. Keywords: transformative learning, middle-age, portraiture; artists, phenomenology, Jungian psychology, midlife, depth psychology, life change. Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-273).

Mining has left many long-lasting effects, often negative. Mining continues to this day and questions persist; “what are the legacies of mining, to what extent do our approval and assessment processes consider these effects, are we learning from our past experiences and how can we amplify our learning?” To answer these questions I interviewed people from the mining community of Snow Lake, Manitoba as well as mining and assessment experts from across Canada. Data collected though document analysis and semi-structured interviews with 24 participants were analyzed using mining legacy, EA, and transformative learning frameworks. Results reinforce a suite of negative legacy effects identified in the literature. EA may be the best tool we currently have for long-term planning but data show it is unable to fully consider legacy effects. Learning is important for moving towards sustainability; however, a community’s economic dependence and mining friendly culture can act as barriers to learning. / May 2016

Arts organisations in receipt of public funding should seek to understand the impact of their work, for a variety of reasons. Contemporary outcome-based arts evaluation practice dichotomises impact as intrinsic or instrumental with the latter perspective defining what counts. However, a widely held belief in the transformative power of the arts is apparent in both arts policy and practice. It therefore follows that if evaluation is fundamentally about discerning value then arts evaluation should recognise transformation as core. I contend that visually-based research methods offer alternative ways of seeing and knowing from the methods that dominate arts evaluation practice. As a result, I consider how these methods might help to identify what is transformative within the context of a community arts project. To explore how evaluation can better reflect the transformative power of the arts, I ask three research questions. Firstly, can participants’ experience be theorised and understood as transformative arts-based learning? Secondly, to what extent can participants’ experience of a community arts project be understood through visually-based research methods? Thirdly, what are the implications for existing practices of arts evaluation? I explore these questions in relation to a single participatory arts project. The Happy Lands, funded (primarily) by Creative Scotland, brought together communities across Fife with a professional film crew to create a feature length film based on local stories of mining culture. Employing visual ethnography my research methods included image-elicited interviews with 19 participants over a 20 month period, participant observation during the making of the film, and documentary research. The theoretical contribution I make extends Morgan’s (2010) conception of the transformative potential of travel to the transformative power of the arts, which I define in terms of inspiration, interconnection and insight. I propose a conceptual framework that views the experience of ‘sameness’ (interconnection) and ‘Otherness’ (inspiration) as conducive to the possibility of voice (insight). The interaction of self, other and artwork in the context of the participatory (community) arts project leads to the creation of shared identity (identities) and a sense of belonging manifest in the symbolic status of objects and behaviour (‘spirit of place’) associated with the arts project. Visual research methods, combining subjective meaning-making and objective (representational) qualities, offer opportunities to understand and (re)present participants’ experience. I advance a methodological contribution that suggests image elicitation offers an epistemologically appropriate approach to understanding participant experiences of an inherently visual project. The identification of sense of place and spirit of place can be viewed as indicative of a transformative environment. I contend that the creation of an outcome acknowledging the transformative environment of the arts project would respond to the needs of government but also the beliefs of arts educators effectively redressing the balance of instrumental versus intrinsic worth. Moreover, the subjective and objective possibilities afforded by visually-based research methods would enable the latter to speak creatively, in language(s) reflecting their values. As a result my findings are offered as one possible version of a humanities-inspired approach to arts evaluation (Belfiore and Bennett, 2010b).