This dissertation aims to foster a discussion among adult education practitioners on the connections between transformative learning theory and ethnoculture-based community service learning. Based on the concept of perspective transformation described by Jack Mezirow (1991), the study explores how perspective transformation occurs in a ethnoculturally based community service-learning course whose focus is on helping students to understand themselves within the context of their ethnic and cultural identity. As a practitioner of adult education I am looking for ways that my research, teaching, and practice are connected. The dissertation employed qualitative research, in particular drawing on ten in-depth interviews, and participant observation, and reflection papers to examine a variety of perspectives in order to analyze the implications of transformative learning theory for practitioners working with refugee and immigrant students. My research data consistently speaks of a heightened sense of cultural identity and personal development, a greater mastery of leadership skills, an enhanced self-esteem, and more complex patterns of thought in the form of critical reflection. Most of the immigrants and refugee students expressed that CIRCLE expose to a large and diverse immigrants and refugee community had significant and positive effects on their identity development process. In summary, my study suggests that the ethnoculturally-based community service can and often does have a transformational impact on participants.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-2297 |
| Date | 01 January 2004 |
| Creators | Regmi, Shekhar K |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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