In the current ever changing world – the liquid modernity – the most pressing psychological challenge to all of us is to create and maintain a personal balance between mental stability and mental flexibility. In Transformative Learning and Identity Knud Illeris, one of the leading thinkers on the way people learn, explores, updates and re-defines the concept and understanding of transformative learning while linking the concept of transformative learning to the concept of identity. He thoroughly discusses what transformative learning is or could be in a broader learning theoretical perspective, including various concepts of learning by change, as opposed to learning by addition, and ends up with a new, short and distinct definition. He also explores and discusses the concept of identity and presents a general model depicting the complexity of identities today. Building on the work of Mezirow, various perspectives of transformative learning are analysed and discussed, including; transformative learning in different life ages; progressive and regressive transformations; motivation and identity defence; development of identity; personality and competence, and transformative learning in school, education, working life, and in relation to current and future life conditions. This vital new book by one of the leading learning theorists of our time will prove of lasting interest to academics, teachers, instructors, leaders and researchers in the field of adult learning and education. It will also appeal to many students and researchers of psychology and sociology in general.

In the current ever changing world – the liquid modernity – the most pressing psychological challenge to all of us is to create and maintain a personal balance between mental stability and mental flexibility. In Transformative Learning and Identity Knud Illeris, one of the leading thinkers on the way people learn, explores, updates and re-defines the concept and understanding of transformative learning while linking the concept of transformative learning to the concept of identity. He thoroughly discusses what transformative learning is or could be in a broader learning theoretical perspective, including various concepts of learning by change, as opposed to learning by addition, and ends up with a new, short and distinct definition. He also explores and discusses the concept of identity and presents a general model depicting the complexity of identities today. Building on the work of Mezirow, various perspectives of transformative learning are analysed and discussed, including; transformative learning in different life ages; progressive and regressive transformations; motivation and identity defence; development of identity; personality and competence, and transformative learning in school, education, working life, and in relation to current and future life conditions. This vital new book by one of the leading learning theorists of our time will prove of lasting interest to academics, teachers, instructors, leaders and researchers in the field of adult learning and education. It will also appeal to many students and researchers of psychology and sociology in general.

The similarities between the United States and South Africa with respect to race, power, oppression and economic inequities are striking, and a better understanding of these parallels can provide educational gains for students and educators in both countries. Through shared experiences and perspectives, this volume presents scholarly work from U.S. and South African scholars that advance educational practice in support of social justice and transformative learning. It provides a comprehensive framework for developing transformational learning experiences that facilitates leadership for social justice, and a deeper understanding of the factors influencing personal, national and global identity.

Transformative Learning in Healthcare and Helping Professions Education: Building Resilient Professional Identities is a co-edited book (Carter, Boden, and Peno) with invited chapters from educators who share our passion for learning in healthcare and the helping professions. The purpose of the book is to introduce professional learners (students, residents, and others in professional training) to transformative learning for building resilient professional identities amid practice environments that include widespread burnout and compassion fatigue. With a diverse set of authors engaged in clinical and educational practice in academic medicine, nursing, dentistry, physical therapy, mental health counseling, science education, psychology, social work, and inter-professional collaborative practice, we offer strategies for building resilience throughout the years of professional training and into professional practice. We do so through the experiences of authors involved in healthcare and the helping professions to illustrate how some are coping with the challenges of burnout and compassion fatigue through learning that can be transformative. This book explores the nature of professional identity formation by examining ways that professionals in training can thrive amid the challenges of today’s stressful practice environments. First-hand stories of resilience illustrate how learners, as well as educators in these professions, are addressing adversity, career decision-making, service to the underserved, and the self-care needed to provide excellent care for others. The prominence of transformative learning within adult learning theory is illustrated for its potential to revise the meaning that learners make of their experiences and open up new possibilities for renewed vitality in professional education and practice environments. The book has two primary audiences: professional learners in healthcare and helping professions education, and their educators who are often professional practitioners themselves. These educators have a significant role in influencing the next generation of professionals by serving as mentors, role models, and teachers. The importance of fostering learning that is transformative has never been more important than it is today for those who will work in these demanding professions. We invite readers to discover experiences and strategies for achieving individual wellbeing, as well as opportunities for building a culture within professional education and practice settings that will foster resilience.

This edited volume sets the groundwork for a dialogue between transformative learning and continental theories of Bildung in adulthood. Both theoretical frameworks bring meaning to the complex learning process of individuals as they develop a more critical worldview. In this volume, a variety of authors from different countries and theoretical backgrounds offer new understandings about Bildung and transformative learning through discussion of theoretical analyses, educational practices, and empirical research. As a result, readers gain greater insight into these theories and related implications for teaching for change. From the various chapters an exciting relationship between both theories begins to emerge and provides impetus for greater discussion and further research about two important theories of change in the field of adult education. /div

Transformative learning is a process in which we question all the assumptions about the world and ourselves that make up our worldview, visualize alternative assumptions, and then test them in practice. The author describes the process, offering a critique of contemporary assumptions, and suggests alternatives to illustrate the process.

Birgit Phillips explores the concept of transformative travel as it pertains to long-term independent travelers and offers a broad philosophical understanding of the complex socio-cultural processes involved in identity negotiation. She examines both the elements that contribute to the transformation of values and identities and the mechanisms by which this transformation occurs. By deploying a pluralistic, reflexive, interpretive research approach, Phillips foregrounds the personal experiences of the individual study participants and the meanings they attach to their travel experiences. In addition, since the study spanned over 14 years, the author is able to provide a wide-ranging picture of the complete travel experience, from initial motivations to post-travel reintegration as well as the long-term effects on traveler values and identities.