This article examines the processes of knowledge acquisition and transmission among adults within two "communities of practice" in Humboldt Park/"Paseo Boricua," a Puerto Rican community located on Chicago's near-northwest side. In particular, we examine the ways in which two adult women engaged in learning processes and…

Empirical models of transformative learning offer important insights into the core characteristics of this concept. Whereas previous analyses were limited to specific social groups or topical terrains, this article empirically typifies the phases of transformative learning on the basis of a comparative analysis of various social groups and topical…

Transformative learning theory and practice-based theory both offer compelling but distinct accounts of adult learning. The vicissitudes of individual meaning-making is the focus of transformative learning theory whereas practice-based accounts view participation in social practices as the key to understanding learning. Despite their differing…

This article describes a case study of adult learning in a Canadian multisite Community Cardiovascular Hearts in Motion program. The researcher highlights the informal learning of 40 adult participants in this 12-week community-based cardiac rehabilitation/education program in five rural Nova Scotia communities. The effects of this learning and…

The author identifies six flaws that commonly occur in explanations of transformative learning, and suggests that transformative learning may not exist as an identifiable phenomenon. He proposes that we abandon the term "transformative learning," and adopt the straightforward term "good learning." Good learning, he argues, has nine aspects.

At the time of this research, protests of farmers against new environmental policy measures received much media attention. News reports suggested that farmers' organizations rejected the idea that modern farming techniques cause damage to the environment and even tried to undermine attempts to reconcile the goals of modern agriculture with…

The group of middle-aged and elderly women represents the lowest usage rate of information and communication technology (ICT) in Taiwan. This article reports how a social intervention program, the Taiwan Women Up (TWU) program, has helped such group to successfully learn ICT skills with the support of members of nonprofit organizations. The study…

This article presents the authors' response to Michael Newman's "Calling Transformative Learning into Question: Some Mutinous Thoughts". The authors begin by noting their appreciation of Michael Newman's challenge to transformative learning theory. In their response, the authors review and comment on the fatal flaws presented by Newman and then…

Situated learning theory understands learning to be a sociocultural activity, and individuals experience identity development as they participate in communities of practice. The purpose of this study was to understand how Korean older adults' computer learning in a classroom is a situated activity and how this learning influences older adults'…

The authors describe research aimed at developing a more comprehensive framework for project-based learning in work contexts. This grows out of a cross-cultural reanalysis of data from two previous studies using two different frameworks: actor-centered learning network theory and a critical pragmatist lens on action reflection learning. Findings…

As global interaction and cultural diversity become prominent, cultural competence has received more attention. To understand nonprofit organizations' (NPO's) international workers' learning process in terms of cultural competence, this study used a cultural competence attainment model as a theoretical framework, enlisted 10 Taiwanese…

Although the loss of certainty in the age of postmodernism is questioning knowledge production in general, the emerging discourse of lifelong learning demands a different theory of adult learning in particular. This article aims to offer a conceptual tool for describing learning in adulthood in terms of postmodern and lifelong learning conditions.…

Oral history interviews form the basis of an investigation into both the context and the everyday actions that contributed to the learning environment for women within the Catholic Worker Movement during the 1930s and 1940s. Findings reveal that narrators (a) were grounded in a variety of learning environments including family, Catholic Church,…

Medical advances and lifestyle changes have resulted in older adults living longer and healthier lives. Nevertheless, older adulthood, as other life stages, requires change in work, family, and health. Self-directed learning (SDL) is one way of negotiating these transitions. The purpose of this study was to understand this process of learning.…