Transformational learning is fundamentally concerned with construing meaning from experience as a guide to action. In his theory of perspective transformation, Mezirow presents a significant conceptualization of that process, but it is flawed in one major aspect: It fails to account for context. We examine the absence of context in the theory itself, then focus on the decontextualized form of rationality that underlies the process of critical reflection central to perspective transformation. Finally, we propose a contextualized view of rationality which maintains the essential link between meaning and experience.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bernstein, R
(1983). Beyond objectivism and relativism: Science, hermeneutics, and praxs.Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
2.
Chodorow, N.
(1978). The reproduction of mothering: Psychoanalysis and the sociology of gender.Berkeley: University of California Press.
3.
Collard, S.
, & Law, M. (1989). The limits of perspective transformation: A critique of Mezirow's theory. Adult Education Quarterly, 39,99-107.
4.
Gilligan, C.
(1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
5.
Griffin, C.
(1987). Adult education as social policy.London: Croom Helm.
6.
Griffin, C.
(1988). Critical thinking and critical theory in adult education. Transatlantic dialogue: A research exchange (pp. 176-180) Leeds, England: SCUTREA/ AERC/CASAE.
7.
Hart, M.
(1985). Thematization of power, the search for common interests, and self-reflection: Towards a comprehensive concept of emancipatory education. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 4,119-134.
8.
Hart, M.
(1990). Critical theory and beyond: Further perspectives on emancipatory education. Adult Education Quarterly, 40,125-138.
9.
Hawkesworth, M.
(1989). Knowers, knowing, known: Feminist theory and claims of truth. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 14,533-557.
10.
Kuhn, T.
(1970). The structure of scientific revolutions (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
11.
Merriam, S.
(1987). Adult learning and theory building: A review. Adult Education Quarterly,37, 187-198.
12.
Mezirow, J.
(1978). Education for perspective transformation: Re-entry programs in community colleges.New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.
13.
Mezirow, J.
(1981). A critical theory of adult learning and education. Adult Education, 32, 3-24.
14.
Mezirow, J.
(1985a). Concept and action in adult education. Adult Education Quarterly, 35,142-151.
15.
Mezirow, J.
(1985b). A critical theory of self-directed learning. In S. Brookfield (Ed.), self-directed learning: From theory to practice (pp. 17-30). New Directions for Continuing Education, No. 25. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
16.
Mezirow, J.
(1988). Transformation theory. In C. Warren (Ed.), Proceedings of the 29th Annual Adult Education Research Conference (pp. 223-227). Calgary, Canada: University of Calgary.
17.
Mezirow, J.
(1989). Transformation theory and social action: A response to Collard and Law. Adult Education Quarterly, 39,169-175.
18.
Mezirow, J.
(1990a). Fostering critical reflection in adulthood. A guide to transformative and emancipatory learning.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
19.
Mezirow, J.
(1990b). A transformation theory of adult learning. Proceedings of the 31st Annual Adult Education Research Conference (pp. 141-146). Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
20.
Mishler, E.
(1979). Meaning in context: Is there any other kind? Harvard Education Review, 49,1-19.
21.
Rogers, C.
(1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications, and theory.Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
22.
Sandel, M.
(1982). Liberalism and the limits of justice.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
23.
Weedon, C.
(1987). Feminist practice and poststructuralist theory.Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
24.
Welton, M.
(1990). Shaking the foundations: Critical perspectives on adult development and learning. Unpublished manuscript.
