Expanding Transformation Theory

Expanding Transformation Theory offers a deeper understanding of the philosophy, principles and major components of Transformation Theory, which was developed by Jack Mezirow

Expanding Transformation Theory offers a deeper understanding of the philosophy, principles and major components of Transformation Theory, which was developed by Jack Mezirow. It provides a thorough comprehension of the affinities of the theory with other emancipatory theoretical views and provides the readers with an expanded insight of the core theoretical framework that will support their research and educational practice. The book juxtaposes Mezirow’s perspective with those of ten major emancipatory educationalists – Dewey, Freire, Gould, Marsick, Socrates, Kegan, Greene, Argyris, Illeris, and Jarvis, respectively, who all share the idea of learning with the aim of changing problematic perceptions and behaviours. Such issues as convergences and divergences among the theoretical perspectives, as well as the impact of the theoretical ideas that Mezirow incorporated in his work, are addressed. The work of Mezirow is further reviewed in order to pinpoint the dimensions which appear to have been confirmed and endure over time, and, in turn, those that seem to need expansion or even revision. This book will be of great interest to researchers, academics, students, and adult educators who are interested in transformative learning theory and emancipatory education

This book offers a concise and comprehensive exploration of the theory of transformative learning by European researchers. Exploring Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning as a ‘living theory’, the editors and contributors ask whether there a uniquely European perspective on this theory that reflects Europe’s traditions and contexts. What is the nature of that perspective, and how is it similar or different to those espoused in the USA? This book outlines how the theory of transformative learning has been developed by European researchers, and how it has built upon, critiqued, and enriched the Transformation Theory proposed by Mezirow. Consequently, this volume outlines new theoretical perspectives for the future evolution of transformative learning and explores theoretical perspectives that can be put into practice in a range of fields. This wide-ranging volume will be of interest and value to all those interested in transformative learning theory.

This handbook offers an expanded discourse on transformative learning by making the turn into new passageways to explore the phenomenon of transformation. It curates diverse discourses, knowledges and practices of transformation, in ways that both includes and departs from the adult learning mainstay of transformative learning and adult education. The purpose of this handbook is not to resolve or unify a theory of transformation and all the disciplinary contributions that clearly promote a living concept of transformation. Instead, the intent is to catalyze a more complex and deeper inquiry into the “Why of transformation.” Each discipline, culture, ethics and practice has its own specialized care and reasons for paying attention to transformation. How can scholars, practitioners, and active members of discourses on transformative learning make a difference? How can they foster and create conditions that allow us to move on to other, unaddressed or understudied questions? To answer these questions, the editors and their authors employ the metaphor of the many turns into passageways to convey the potential of transformation that may emerge from the many connecting passageways between, for instance, people and society, theory and practice, knowledge created by diverse disciplines and fields/professions, individual and collective transformations, and individual and social action.

Transformative learning involves experiencing a deep, structural shift in the basic premises of thought, feelings, and actions. It is a shift of consciousness that dramatically and permanently alters our way of being in the world. Such a shift involves our understanding of ourselves and our self-locations; our relationships with other humans and with the natural world; our understanding of relations of power in interlocking structures of class, race and gender; our body awarenesses; our visions of alternative approaches to living; and our sense of possibilities for social justice and peace and personal joy. The editors of this collection make several challenges to the existing field of transformative learning - the first is to theoreticians, who have attempted to describe the nature of transformative learning without regard to the content of transformative learning. The editors argue that transformative learning theory cannot be constructed in a content-neutral or context-free way. Their second challenge, which assumes the importance content for transformative learning, is to educators as practitioners. The editors argue that transformative learning requires new educational practices consistent with the content. Arts-based research and arts-based teaching/learning practices are one example of such new educational practices. Education for the soul, or spiritual practices such as meditation or modified martial arts or indigenous peoples' forms of teaching/learning, is another example. Each article in the collection presents a possible model of these new practices.

The debate on industrial policy has been in full swing among the academic circles in recent years. The crux of this debate is not whether China needs industrial policies, but rather, the kind of industrial policies it wants. Given the profound changes to the domestic and international environments, and institutional background during China's industrial development, industrial policies must be able to make up for 'market failures,' while avoiding 'government failures'. To this end, it is suggested to establish a 'market-friendly' industrial policy system dominated by functional industrial policies, in accordance with the requirements of building an 'interactive and cooperative' government-market relationship to help transform and upgrade China's industries.

During the 21st century organizations will undergo a level of radical and global change that has rarely been seen before. This transformation will come as a result of the environmental, social and economic challenges that now confront organisations in all their activities. But are our understandings and theories of change up to the task of meeting these challenges? Will we be able to develop sustaining visions of how organizations might contribute to the long-term viability of our interdependent global communities? Organizational Transformation for Sustainability: An Integral Metatheory offers some innovative answers to the big questions involved in organizational sustainability and the radical changes that organizations will need to undergo as we move into the third millennium. This new approach comes from the emerging field of integral metatheory. Edwards shows how a "Big Picture" view of organisational transformation can contribute to our understanding of, and search for, organisational sustainability. There are four key themes to the book: i) the need for integrative metatheories for organisational change; ii) the development of a general research method for building metatheory; iii) the description of an integral metatheory for organisational sustainability; and iv) the discussion of the implications of this metatheory for organisational change and social policy regarding sustainability. This book brings a unique and important orienting perspective to these issues.