In work-related instrumental learning contexts, the role of reflective activities is unclear. Kolb's experiential learning theory and Mezirow's transformative learning theory predict skill adaptation as an outcome. This prediction was tested by manipulating reflective activities and assessing participants' response and error rates…

This article traces the development of the "second" and arguably more well-known "genre" of participatory action research (PAR). The article argues that the origins of PAR are highly distributed and cannot really be traced back to the ideas of a single person or even a single group of researchers. Instead, the development of…

In this selection, the author provides a re-representation of data that honors the voice of participants, allowing readers the opportunity to draw their own interpretations about what the participants' lived experiences mean. Developed from a study designed to explore the lived experiences of 18- to 25-year-olds transitioning from high school…

Intentionally designing international perspectives into adult educator preparation programs is a step toward developing instructors' social and instructional cache of understandings about learning, knowledge, and facilitative methodologies that transcend their own Western cultural influences. In a class offered through an MA in adult learning…

This article provokes critical reflection about the role of adult educators in contemporary processes of social control. It does so through presenting an empirical case study of an important liberal adult education program (Living Room Learning) and through introducing the work of British sociologist, Nikolas Rose. Rose's provocative ideas about…

This study elaborates on how a disorienting dilemma, a life-event crisis, may trigger reflection. The study comprised an analysis of interviews with involuntarily childless women, who were in the process of negotiating emotionally chaotic experiences. The implications for Jack Mezirow's theory of transformative learning are explored. Compared with…

Researchers have yet to agree on an approach that supports how adults best learn novel motor skills in formal educational contexts. The literature fails to adequately discuss adult motor learning from the standpoint of adult education. Instead, the subject is addressed by other disciplines. This review attempts to integrate perspectives across…

The concept of reflection is common to a range of learning theories and therefore carries various meanings and differing significance. Within theories of adult education, reflection is predominantly conceptualized as the rational analytical process through which human beings extract knowledge from their experience. This article critiques this…

This qualitative study sought to understand older adults' (elders) transformative learning through bereavement in late life. Nine bereaved elders were engaged through in-depth interviews. Data analysis via the constant comparative method indicated deep changes in views of death-related issues as well as ongoing life-related issues. The process of…

Two collaborative writing partners sought to deepen their understanding of transformative learning by conducting several spirals of grounded theory research on their own collaborative relationship. Drawing from adult education, business, and social science literature and including descriptive analysis of their records of activity and interaction…

The Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI) measures teachers' profiles on five contrasting views of what it means "to teach." The inventory can be used in aiding self-reflection, developing statements of teaching philosophy, engendering conversations about teaching, and recognizing legitimate variations on excellence in teaching. Available at…

There is a growing interest in the concept of critical reflection in the adult learning and management literature. In this article, the author examines four different intellectual traditions that inform the use of the term "critical reflection" on the different ideals they express and the different definitions of critical reflection they use. On…

Upon graduation from University Without Walls (UWW), Robin said, "During first semester you told us that if we allowed it to, this experience [writing a prior learning portfolio] would change us. I was so angry with you for saying that because I liked who I was and didn't want to change. But you were right. And I'm glad." For the past 39 years the…

This case study analyzes the introduction of democracy and human rights into the educational program of Tostan, a nongovernmental organization working in Africa. The authors show how Tostan's original educational approach created a meaningful context for integrating democracy and human rights into its curriculum, a process that took place from…

The study of the process of reflection has a dignified history. However, few have linked reflection to the development of the self in such a way that the form of reflection is understood to influence the resultant type of self. This article explores the process of reflection using a framework of meaning making, internalization, and externalization…