The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between adult learning and life mission. This was a qualitative, exploratory study intended to generate theory by studying the impact of mission on learning. A model emerged from the research that proposes the relationship of life mission to self-directed learning and to transformational learning. This study suggests that adult educators can improve the learning process by providing the means for learners to understand their life mission and how it relates to their own learning. Life mission explication may also support a change in the learning experience from being more teacher-directed to being more student-directed. The study proposes that emancipatory learning must include not only awareness building but also purpose seeking.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Belenky, M. F.
, Clinchy, B. M., Goldberger, N. R., & Tarule, J. M. (1986). Women's ways of knowing. New York: Basic Books.
2.
Brookfield, S. D.
(1990). The skillful teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
3.
Cochran, L.
(1990). The sense of vocation: A study of career and life development. Albany: State University of New York.
4.
Covey, S. R.
(1989). The seven habits of highly effective people. New York: Simon & Schuster.
5.
Dewey, J.
(1916). Democracy and education. New York: Free Press.
6.
Dewey, J.
(1938). Experience and education. London: Collier MacMillan.
7.
Ewert, G. D.
(1991). Habermas and education: A comprehensive overview of the influence of Habermas in educational literature. Review of Educational Research, 61(3), 345-378.
8.
Fowler, J. W.
(1981). Stages of faith. San Francisco: Harper.
9.
Freire, P.
(1993). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum. (Originally published in 1970.)
10.
Glaser, B. G.
, & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Chicago: Aldine.
11.
Goetz, J. P.
, & LeCompte, M. D. (1984). Ethnography and qualitative design in educational research. Orlando, FL: Academic.
12.
Gould, R. L.
(1978). Transformations. New York: Simon and Schuster.
13.
Howard, G. S.
(1988). Science, values, and teleological explanations of human action. Counseling and Values, 32(2), 93-110.
14.
Jarvis, P.
(1983, May). The lifelong religious development of the individual and the place of adult education. In Lifelong learning: The adult years (pp. 20-23).
15.
Jarvis, P.
(1993). Learning as a religious phenomenon. In P. Jarvis & N. Walters (Eds.), Adult education and theological interpretations (pp. 3-16). Malabar, FL: Krieger.
16.
Leider, R. J.
(1985). The power of purpose. New York: Ballantine.
17.
Levinson, D. J.
(1978). The seasons of a man's life. New York: Ballantine.
18.
Lindeman, E. C.
(1926). The meaning of adult education. New York: New Republic.
19.
Lindeman, E. C.
(1956). In R. Gessner (Ed.), The democratic man: Selected writings of Eduard: C. Lindeman. Boston: Beacon.
20.
Mezirow, J.
(1978). Perspective transformation. Adult Education, 28(2), 100-110.
21.
Mezirow, J.
(1990). How critical reflection triggers transformative learning. In J. Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Fostering critical reflection in adulthood (pp. 1-20). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
22.
Mezirow, J.
(1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Mezirow, J.
(1996). Beyond Freire and Habermas: Confusion, a response to Bruce Pietrykowski. Adult Education Quarterly, 46(4), 237-239.
25.
Rehm, M.
(1990). Vocation as personal calling: A question for education. The Journal of Educational Thought, 24(2), 114-125.
26.
Rehm, M. L. (1987). The art and aesthetic of vocation: Implications for education. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota.
27.
Rogers, C. R.
(1961). On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
28.
Sherrill, L. J.
(1955). The struggle of the soul. New York: MacMillan.
29.
Sinetar, M.
(1987). Do what you love, the money will follow. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.
30.
Stephan, N.
(1989). Finding your life mission. Walpole, NH: Stillpoint.
31.
Strauss, A.
, & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
32.
Strauss, A.
, & Corbin, J. (1994). Grounded theory methodology. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
33.
Taylor, E. W.
(1997). Transformative learning—A review. Adult Education Quarterly, 48(1), 34-59.
34.
Wilson, G. F. (1994). Becoming an effective mission educator: A manual for missionary candidates, mission interns, and mission staff. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University.
35.
Woodfield, A.
(1976). Teleology. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University.
36.
Woolf, H. B.
(Ed.). (1979). Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, MA: G & C Merriam.
