Journal of Transformative Education

Over 40 years ago, Jack Mezirow introduced the idea of transformative learning (TL) to the adult education community. Representing a profound shift in how one thinks and feels about one’s self and the socio-cultural context in which one is embedded, transformative learning has since evolved to reflect numerous theoretical lenses and its framework continues to be extended and elaborated. As TL theory expands within different contexts and across different disciplines, particularly within postsecondary education, the term transformative learning is often employed with scant connection to the theoretical framework in which it was initially grounded. Learners and educators alike frequently describe learning experiences as transformative, yet little consensus exists around a definition of transformative leaning However, if the field is to continue to evolve theoretically, we cannot accept these claims of transformation at face value. The phenomenon must be measured in some manner. The field continues to struggle with several perennial issues related to assessment. This special issue of the Journal of Transformative Education seeks to address the need to wrestle with these underlying theoretical and conceptual issues by critiquing the state of the field, introducing new approaches to operationalizing the phenomenon, and advancing new trajectories for research. We approach this charge through two major threads explored through eight papers that represent Methodological Innovations and Cases of Methodological Application. We close this introduction to the Special Issue with key themes represented in the eight papers and recommendations for addressing the challenges of assessing the processes and outcomes of transformative learning.

This article develops a framework for this special issue of JTE, and assesses the assessment of transformative learning. What and whom are the contributors assessing? For what ends? And how effectively? The call for manuscripts cited two “megatrends” in the transformative learning literature: 1. The importance of deep and transformative learning experiences that profoundly affect adult learners’ sense of self and their relationships and behavior in their community and broader world; 2. The need to clearly document these learning experiences and interventions and rigorously assess their outcomes, both proximal and distal. In what follows, I pose questions that these trends suggested to me and use them to take stock of transformative learning theory and education in the 21st century. At the end of each section, I synthesize what I found to be relevant from my review of the articles in this issue, highlighting what I see to be major contributions.

In this article, the authors speak to the paradox of assessing transformative learning (TL) in higher education. TL theory, developed by Jack Mezirow, is a theory of learning to describe the process of change in how individuals view the world based on previous experiences. Recognizing that the 10 phases of Mezirow’s TL theory are fluid and intertwined, three prominent aspects resonated within the individual narratives: the importance of a disorienting dilemma, the qualities of self-reflection, and liberatory actions. By exploring the complexities, challenges, and possibilities encountered in their classrooms, the shared narratives reveal how students were engaged in TL and embedded within are holistic assessment processes the authors enacted with learners. Throughout this dialogical narrative inquiry focused on assessment, the authors underwent their own TL in the presence of each other, confessing uncertainties and vulnerabilities, thus showcasing the potential to transform understanding with and through reciprocal learning.

Reflection is a key component of the transformative learning process. In this study, we take steps to define components of reflection and link them to a computer-based, quantitative method of content analysis called Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC). This method can be used to evaluate common forms of reflective writing such as journals, reflective essays, and blog posts. It has several advantages over more common qualitative approaches for measuring reflection. We test the efficacy of this quantitative measurement approach with data from 98 study abroad university students. The results indicate strong explanatory power that tracks well with theory and observation of the reflective process. Our approach follows procedures for construct validation of the measurement method. As an early step to use quantitative methods with reflection, the LIWC shows promise. However, much more research must be done to extend these initial findings both in measurement and theory development.

This article presents the development, results, validation, and implications of the TRansformative Outcomes and PrOcesses Scale (TROPOS), a 30-item, exploratory instrument to assess transformative learning (TL) among participants in educational programs. Core findings include a reliable (α = .884) and internally valid instrument with moderate correlation between transformative processes and outcomes (r = .593). This study reflects the importance of critical reflection’s association with TL (r = .541) but also places potential constraints on its prominence as a central component of TL, raising subtle questions into additional moderating or mediating constructs impacting TL.

Transformative learning (TL) goals are becoming commonplace in higher education, continuing education, and other adult learning contexts; however, valid and reliable assessments of TL are not so common. This imbalance begs the development of assessment methods that allow for a deeper understanding of how, when, and why deep reshaping of self takes place. We believe the Beliefs, Events, and Values Inventory (BEVI) to be an effective quantitative measure of TL based on the alignment of its scales with constructs identified by Hoggan’s meta-analysis of TL research. In this article, we summarize the theoretical crosswalk between Hoggan and the BEVI, offer statistical evidence of construct validity for the BEVI as a measure of TL, and provide guidance for interpreting TL scores. We discuss implications of this methodology for higher education as well as other adult learning contexts such as mental health and wellness.

The following article describes how one organization, the Coady International Institute, met multiple monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning objectives while still staying true to its roots in transformative adult education. The Learning from Stories of Change (LSC) methodology brought together stories-based techniques with aspects of the Most Significant Change and the SenseMaker frameworks. The combination of methods was designed to facilitate reflection and a degree of participatory analysis in an online environment that reached over 400 graduates in 64 countries. It produced a rich set of data that provided key insights into program design and confirmed the transformative adult education model—particularly, that increases in knowledge and skills must be accompanied by changes in attitudes and motivations in order to make the leap from concepts to practice. This leads to individual behavioral changes that will in turn initiate positive social change in communities around the world.

Narratives, both personal and social, guide how we live and how we are acculturated into our social worlds. As we make changes in our lives, our personal stories change and, in turn, have the potential to influence the social narratives of which we are a part. Likewise, when there are changes in the culture and social worlds around us, that social narrative changes, thereby affecting our personal narratives. In other words, personal and social narratives are strongly linked and mutually influence each other. We may feel and know these transformations take place and understand the ways in which our lives are affected. However, we often struggle to document these shifts. This article suggests using the practical theory, Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) (Pearce, 2007), for narrative analysis to identify and surface personal and social narrative transformations.

This article describes a bounded action research case study that examines how reading and discussing a graphic narrative (March Book Two, a comic autobiography of John Lewis’s life as a civil rights activist) enabled transformations in a group of seven adult student participants at a Canadian postsecondary institution. Data primarily gathered from photocopies of student work, including reflective journal entries, postsemester interviews, and the primary researcher’s daily reflexive and reflective research journal entries, were evaluated with Kitchenham and Chasteauneuf’s framework of assessing transformative learning with critical reflection types such as objective and subjective reframing of assumptions. The authors found that both the participants and the primary researcher engaged in a number of shifts, including engaging in systemic critical self-reflection of and on assumptions.

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Transformative Learning Outcomes and Processes Survey (TROPOS) in the workplace context. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis of the data gathered from 132 employees of a steel manufacturing company in the United States have shown that the TROPOS is an appropriate instrument for measuring transformative learning in the workplace context. Implications for transformative learning research and practice will be discussed.