Transformative learning theory

The main outcome of the HEART project, this entire digital toolkit, tries to ensure that art educators can promote a transformative learning process for the participants of their education. Transformative learning theory is a theory of adult learning which attempts to describe and analyze how adults learn to make a meaning of their experience (Mezirow 1991, 198) so to promote transformative learning is also to promote the learner to challenge and transform their meaning perspectives (Mezirow 1991, 201).

Transformative learning theory has three main pillars, which are critical reflection, dialogue and experience (Mezirow 1991). In addition, empathy is also a key element since understanding the emotional dimension of learning is important for transformative learning to happen since emotions are central to critical reflection; empathy provides the learner with the ability to identify with the perspectives of others and lessens the likelihood of prejudgment and increases the opportunity for shared understandings (Taylor & Cranton 2013, 37–38). Transformative learning is thus not about just acquiring new information or learning new skills, but rather fundamentally changing one's understanding of the world. This includes for example changes and shifts in one's own perspective, beliefs, assumptions or values. So in transformative learning some existing ways of thinking and understanding change through a reflective process that is usually connected to life events, exposure to different and diverse perspectives or values or engaging in dialogue with other people. Transformative learning is often associated with personal growth and development. For example, getting familiar with the contents of this toolkit can be a source of transformative, reflective process for educators and change the way they view intangible cultural heritage and how they approach it in their educating.

Learning can be understood as a meaning making process in which experiences are interpreted and put into context. Mezirow presented that “meaning perspectives” or “frames of reference” guide the meaning-making process. Frames of reference are mainly learned through the socialization process, and therefore they often form unconsciously and uncritically. Through transformative learning, they can be brought to consciousness and transformed through critical reflection. (Heldal Stray & Saetra 2017, 5–6.)

Transformative learning theory has communicative learning as a basic focus part of the theory, since it highlights the importance of interaction in learning; this in practice can mean for example that learning occurs when people in the process of creating art together share ideas and give feedback to others. Communicative learning is tied into transformative learning experiences since they can come from experiencing new perspectives and values, which is usually the case when interacting with other people and more so in community art projects that connect and bring people together. 

Transformative learning as a whole in practice, in the case of cultural heritage, can mean that before, you didn’t care or think about cultural heritage, but after going through a workshop or some other transformative experience or a moment in your life, you start to become more conscious of cultural heritage and do critical reflection and adopt new views or behaviors that respect your own or someone else's cultural heritage more. Through learning more about the many meanings that intangible cultural heritage has regarding to individuals and communities’ identities and lifestyles, culture and society as well as promotion of human rights, new frames of references are built!

Transformative learning theory — Practices & Facilitation

If you want to facilitate transformative learning process, you should: 

• Provide new information as a resource that should be incorporated by the learner into things they already know
• Help learners to recognize their preconceptions or earlier understanding of the subject
• Help learners to participate in discussion: encourage them to be open about their frames of reference and sharing them
• Guide learners to critical reflection: periodically encourage learners to reflect on their understanding of the subject
• As an educator, act rather as a facilitator rather than an authority on the subject
• Aim to create a learning environment that supports shared problem solving and peer collaboration, empathy and openness, acceptance of diversity and equal opportunities for participation (Mezirow 1997, 9–11.)
• Ethically evaluate the influence of the educator in the learning process (reflexivity)
• Make sure the learners fully understand transformation as a process
• Ethically consider the selection criteria through which beliefs, values and ideas should become questioned or problematized in the learning process (Mezirow 1991, 201)

So how exactly is transformative learning used in practice? According to Mezirow (1997, 10), for example learning contracts, group projects, role play, case studies, and simulations are classroom methods associated with transformative education and learning. So, for example, all the project pilots done by the HEART-project partners in collaboration with art educators and heritage experts are within the methods of transformative education. Pilots have provided opportunities for the participants to do reflection that leads to a clearer personal insight, so they have led to transformative learning experiences. One example of this happened in University of Eastern Finland’s pilot: the participants started to notice many things in their daily life, more as valuable intangible cultural heritage that should be safeguarded now and in the future. The participants reflected on their understanding of intangible cultural heritage and its meaning for oneself and the community of the village and this led to not only appreciation of cultural sustainability but also to motivation for safeguarding and practicing their own heritage.

Community-based art as a way to promote transformative learning

Koo (2018, 4) claims that artmaking (especially art with hands-on aspects) contributes to transformative learning in a unique way. Koo’s (2018, 21) studies show that transformative learning occurred in three main areas through artmaking:

In addition, Koo (2018, 21) argues that transformative learning through artmaking is not just about learning how to make some things. It is about moment to re-think one´s presumptions towards it. Artmaking and art itself are mainly an experience for people. That is why community-based art education can benefit from transformative learning theory and community based-art and transformative learning also share many of the same principles of transformativity: dialogue, mutuality, participatory action, experience, empathy and freedom.

Transformative learning in HEART

Flashes of what transformative learning is can be seen in throughout this whole digital toolkit, one of the goals in the HEART project was to lead a transformative learning process that can be seen in the contents of both the pilots and this toolkit. It is important that learning about intangible cultural heritage via communal art is more than just learning about the heritage itself; it’s also learning about the community, the society, the creative process of creating art as well as learning about others and the self.

References

Heldal Stray, J. & Saetra, E. 2017. Teaching for democracy: Transformative learning theory mediating policy and practice. Nordic Journal of Pedagogy and Critique 3: 1–16. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321726128_Teaching_for_democracy_Transformative_learning_theory_mediating_policy_and_practice 

Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice. New directions for adult and continuing education 74: 5–12. https://www.ecolas.eu/eng/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Mezirow-Transformative-Learning.pdf 

Koo, S. 2018. Manual Transformation: Exploring Adult Transformative Learning Through Hands-on Artmaking. Marilyn Zurmuehlen Working Papers in Art Education 2018(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.17077/2326-7070.1508 

Mezirow, J. (1991) Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers. 

Taylor, E. W., Cranton, P. (2013) A Theory in Progress? Issues in Transformative Learning Theory. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults. Vol. 4, No. 1.