Transformative learning theory involves three dimensions of perspective transformation: psychological changes in understanding of self, convictional revision of belief systems, and behavioral changes in lifestyle. The educator's role is to assist learners in becoming aware of their own assumptions and others' assumptions by providing practice recognizing different frames of reference. Learners must welcome diversity, collaborate with peers, and help each other learn. One story describes a student named Gladys who did not want to critically reflect on her beliefs and values, wanting only to recount her experiences, showing that personal change can threaten relationships.

1. Transformative Learning
PHD EM 307: Adult and Community Education
MR. BUTCH M. BERNAS

2. From Wikipedia:
Transformative learning theory says that the process of "perspective transformation" has
three dimensions: psychological (changes in understanding of the self), convictional (revision of
belief systems), and behavioral (changes in lifestyle).
Role of the Educator
In order to foster transformative learning, the educator's role is to assist learners in
becoming aware and critical of assumptions. This includes their own assumptions that lead to
their interpretations, beliefs, habits of mind, or points of view, as well as the assumptions of
others. Educators must provide learners practice in recognizing frames of reference. By doing
so, educators encourage practice in redefining problems from different perspectives. The goal
is to create a community of learners who are "united in a shared experience of trying to make
meaning of their life experience".
Role of the Learner
The educator becomes a facilitator when the goal of learning is for learners to construct
knowledge about themselves, others, and social norms. As a result, learners play an important
role in the learning environment and process.[34] Learners must create norms within the
classroom that include civility, respect, and responsibility for helping one another learn.
Learners must welcome diversity within the learning environment and aim for peer
collaboration.

3. Transformative Learning
In the 1970‘s, Jack Mezirow suggested that the goal of
adult educators must be to guide learners to transform;
that is, literally to grow and mature intellectually and in
turn, change as a person through critical reflection on
one’s assumptions, beliefs and values. The notion that
learning results in varying degrees of change is not a
problem for most adult educators. That adult education
should strive to directly effect change at a personal level
was a significant departure from traditional education in
which such change was an indirect result of learning.

4. Transformative Learning
In directed learning then, change relates more to achieving technical
competencies or mastering subject matter, and less to a change in one’s
perspective. In transformational learning, however, “…learners are
encouraged to challenge, defend, and explain their beliefs, to assess
evidence and reasons for these beliefs; and to judge arguments”
(Grabove, 1997, p. 91), the ultimate goal of which is personal growth,
independence, and independent thinking. As Mezirow (1997, p. 8) writes,
“the educator’s responsibility is to help learners reach their objectives in
such a way that they will function as more autonomous, socially
responsible thinkers.”
There has been and continues to be considerable debate among
educators regarding the ethical implications of deliberately setting out to
effect personal change in learners. But what if learners don’t want to
grow?

5. Transformative Learning
Lawrence Daloz, an adult educator in the United States,
wrote about just such a student in “The Story of Gladys Who
Refused to Grow.” Daloz acted as a mentor and academic
advisor to a woman named Gladys, a woman in her 60’s who
had returned to college to get a diploma after raising a family
and running a business for most of her life. For the most part
Gladys did well and was content with her course work, but she
did not deal well with any requirement to think critically about
her own beliefs and values, to identify her assumptions and
challenge them. Gladys just wanted to finish her program and
write a book about her experiences with running a business.

6. Transformative Learning
She was not at all interested in reflecting on the meaning of
these experiences, she simply wanted to recount them. Believing his
role to be going beyond simply assisting Gladys with her courses,
Daloz is baffled by her unwillingness to develop her critical thinking
skills. However, he then has the opportunity to meet her family and
he begins to see that her life extends well beyond her education.
Her unwillingness to change relates to her relationships which
would be threatened if she were to “transform” or grow:
...change demands a complex kind of renegotiation of relationships among
spouses, children, friends, parents, and teachers… Sometimes it is just plain
simpler to stay right where they are, or at least to appear that way. That seems to
be what Gladys chose to do (Daloz, p. 7).

7. Transformative Learning
Daloz chooses to set aside his “teacherly narcissism” and leave Gladys be although he
continues to be bothered by the question of whether he actually failed her in the end.
Are our adult literacy students affected similarly by learning? As cited in Merriam
and Caferella (1999), Fingeret investigated the relationships of low literacy adults
and found that they developed extensive interpersonal relationships based on an
exchange of goods and services that related to the individual’s illiteracy. For
example, in exchange for reading or writing something, the learner might babysit
for the person helping him/her out with this. However, no longer needing to
exchange babysitting for assistance with reading and writing tasks obviously
changes the relationship.

8. Transformative Learning
As Fingeret suggests, learning which decreases a learner’s
dependence on others can have the unintended result of isolating
the learner from important sources of support.
Most educators agree that Mezirow’s notion of transformational
learning has made an important contribution to adult education by
drawing attention to the benefits of fostering critical thinking skills.
Whether or not personal growth should be a direct goal or an
indirect consequence of learning, however, remains a bone of
contention in the field.

9. Transformative Learning
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10. THANK YOU
BUTCH MATILDO JALA BERNAS