Understanding and promoting transformative learning

Jack Mezirow's theory of transformative learning has developed over nearly two decades into a comprehensive and complex description of how learners construe, validate, and reformulate the meaning of their experiences. But what exactly is transformative learning? How does it differ from other concepts of adult learning? How can educators actively foster transformative learning with adult learners? In this book, Patricia Cranton describes the theory and process of transformative learning in terms of experiences with which we are all familiar: from the learner who is struck by a new concept or a different way of thinking about something to the learner who changes her personal life on the basis of new insights. Drawing on numerous examples from nearly twenty years of experience as an adult educator and researcher, Cranton relates transformative learning to current adult education perspectives. She describes how learners undergo transformative learning. She examines individual differences among learners, and she presents practical strategies for fostering and supporting transformative learning - including questioning techniques, journal writing, consciousness-raising exercises, and experiential activities. Cranton also describes approaches the educator can use - such as fostering group interaction and encouraging learner networks - to provide support for the transformative learning process and help learners to support each other.