Tracing the Link Between Transformative Education and Social Action Through Stories of Change

2021 ◽  
pp. 154134462110451
Author(s):  
Molly den Heyer ◽  
Eric Smith ◽  
Catherine Irving
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Evaluation Research ◽  
Transformative Education ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
International Institute ◽  
Most Significant Change ◽  
Education Model ◽  
Combination Of Methods ◽  
Participatory Analysis

The following article describes how one organization, the Coady International Institute, met multiple monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning objectives while still staying true to its roots in transformative adult education. The Learning from Stories of Change (LSC) methodology brought together stories-based techniques with aspects of the Most Significant Change and the SenseMaker frameworks. The combination of methods was designed to facilitate reflection and a degree of participatory analysis in an online environment that reached over 400 graduates in 64 countries. It produced a rich set of data that provided key insights into program design and confirmed the transformative adult education model—particularly, that increases in knowledge and skills must be accompanied by changes in attitudes and motivations in order to make the leap from concepts to practice. This leads to individual behavioral changes that will in turn initiate positive social change in communities around the world.

scholarly journals Editors’ Introduction to the Special Issue of the Journal of Transformative Education on Assessing Transformative Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-305
Author(s):  
Kris Acheson ◽  
John M. Dirkx
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Transformative Education ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Jack Mezirow ◽  
Education Community ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Over 40 Years

Over 40 years ago, Jack Mezirow introduced the idea of transformative learning (TL) to the adult education community. Representing a profound shift in how one thinks and feels about one’s self and the socio-cultural context in which one is embedded, transformative learning has since evolved to reflect numerous theoretical lenses and its framework continues to be extended and elaborated. As TL theory expands within different contexts and across different disciplines, particularly within postsecondary education, the term transformative learning is often employed with scant connection to the theoretical framework in which it was initially grounded. Learners and educators alike frequently describe learning experiences as transformative, yet little consensus exists around a definition of transformative leaning However, if the field is to continue to evolve theoretically, we cannot accept these claims of transformation at face value. The phenomenon must be measured in some manner. The field continues to struggle with several perennial issues related to assessment. This special issue of the Journal of Transformative Education seeks to address the need to wrestle with these underlying theoretical and conceptual issues by critiquing the state of the field, introducing new approaches to operationalizing the phenomenon, and advancing new trajectories for research. We approach this charge through two major threads explored through eight papers that represent Methodological Innovations and Cases of Methodological Application. We close this introduction to the Special Issue with key themes represented in the eight papers and recommendations for addressing the challenges of assessing the processes and outcomes of transformative learning.

scholarly journals The Audience “Talking Back”: Alan M. Thomas’ Educational Television Experiment in Democratic Decision Making

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Errol Salamon
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Educational Television ◽  
Adult Educator ◽  
Prise De Décision ◽  
Educational Broadcasting ◽  
Canadian Association ◽  
Television Experiment

In 1959, adult educator Alan M. Thomas outlined a pioneering concept of the active broadcast audience in Canada. Thomas affirmed that the audience’s potential to be a force for two-way communication and direct democracy had been unfulfilled. Twenty years later, Thomas put this concept into practice. As president and chair of the Canadian Association for Adult Education, he developed a participatory television series with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation called People Talking Back. The six-part series was an activist experiment in democratic decision-making to facilitate social action and learning outside of formal educational institutions. This Research in Brief brings together Thomas’ concept of the audience with his adult educational broadcasting scholarship and research on People Talking Back, all of which have remained relatively unrecognized by communication scholars.En 1959, l’éducateur d’adultes Alan M. Thomas a initié une approche pionnière envers le public des médias au Canada. Selon lui, on n’avait pas encore développé le potentiel de ce public d’être une force en communication bidirectionnelle et en démocratie directe. Vingt ans plus tard, Thomas a pu mettre son initiative en œuvre. En effet, en tant que président de la Canadian Association for Adult Education, il a créé avec la Société Radio-Canada une émission de télévision participative intitulée People Talking Back (« Les gens répondent »). Cette série activiste de six épisodes a expérimenté la prise de décision démocratique dans le but de faciliter l’apprentissage et l’action sociale de ses téléspectateurs hors du cadre d’un établissement d’enseignement formel. Cette Recherche en bref établit un lien entre la conception du public formulée par Thomas et l’étude de celui-ci relative à People Talking Back de la radiodiffusion appliquée à l’éducation des adultes. Les initiatives de Thomas ont reçu jusqu’à présent peu d’attention de la part des chercheurs en communication.

scholarly journals Application of Freire’s Adult Education Model for Modifying the Psychological Constructs of Health Belief Model in Self-medication Behaviors of Elderly: a randomized controlled trial

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katayon Bakhtiar ◽  
Arash Ardalan ◽  
Marzieh Araban ◽  
Farzad Ebrahimzadeh ◽  
Mohammad Almasian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Health Belief Model ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Health Belief ◽  
Self Medication ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Education Model ◽  
Belief Model

Abstract Background: As people age, they are more likely to engage in self-medication and suffer from its adverse effects. The present study aimed to modifying knowledge, psychological constructs of Health Belief Model (HBM), and self-medication behaviors using Freire’s Adult Education Model (FAEM) among elderlies in Khorramabad, Iran, from 2017 to 2018. Methods: This research was of a prospective randomized controlled trial conducted on 132 elderly individuals older than 60 who were referred from health care centers. The participants were selected using multistage sampling method and randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. The data collection instruments included a questionnaire which was designed based on both HBM and the self-medication behaviors questionnaires. The phases of the adult education approach were used to modify the psychological constructs of HBM and self-medication behaviors. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20 with a significance level of 0.05. Descriptive statistical tests, the chi-squared test, paired t-test, independent t-test, and univariate modeling were employed for this purpose. Results: The mean age of the elderly was 66.28 ± 7.18 years. There was no significant difference between groups in terms of self-medicating. Unawareness of the effects of medicines were the most important causes of self-medication (p=0.50). The two groups were not significantly different in terms of knowledge, HBM constructs, and self-medication behaviors (p>0.05). However, they came up to be considerably different for the above variables after the intervention was completed (p<0.05). When the findings were adjusted for the effects of confounding variables, there were significant differences between almost all constructs of HBM and their behaviors (p < 0.05). However, the perceived barrier modality of HBM did not reach to a significant level of difference between two groups. Conclusion: The psychological constructs of HBM were affected at the phases of listening to the problem and reflecting on it. Self-medication was tempered at the action-reflection phase with shared creation and evaluation of the action plan geared towards the achievement of the behavioral objectives. The results might be of importance for healthcare professionals involved incare of older patients.

scholarly journals An Adult Education Model of Resident Participation: Building Community Capacity and Strengthening Neighborhood-Based Activities in a Comprehensive Community Initiative (CCI).

10.18060/175 ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Brisson ◽  
Susan Roll
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Community Organizing ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Resident Participation ◽  
Change Effort ◽  
Comprehensive Community Initiatives ◽  
Education Model

Comprehensive Community Initiatives (CCIs) are of growing interest to social work and the social services field as they are an effort to move away from remediation of individual problems within neighborhoods to a comprehensive change effort that builds resident and institutional capacity for long term sustainability of healthy communities. Built on ongoing lessons learned from the community development field, CCIs are largely foundation supported projects that engage low-income neighborhood residents in a holistic change effort. However, based on what is known about community organizing, CCIs will likely face challenges as long as they involve a top-down approach with an outside funder entering a community to make change. This manuscript frames an adult education model of resident participation that can be used in CCIs and provides a case example illustrating the model in action. A discussion of how the model can be an effective means for communities to take advantage of outside resources while maintaining their power and voice for change is offered in conclusion.

scholarly journals A Social Justice Field Education Model for Addressing Isolation and Other Social Determinants of Behavioral Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 667-667
Author(s):  
Karen Bullock ◽  
Kim Stansbury ◽  
David Fitzpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Education Model

Abstract Behavioral health and substance use disorders are significant problems among older adults who are experiencing homelessness. This presentation describes the components of a social work field education model for preparing practitioners to work effectively in community-based agencies using the Hartford Practicum Partnership in Aging Educational (HPPAE) model. A planned and systematic transition from one field setting to another with the goal of giving students a range of practice experiences with various service delivery systems to address social isolation and other social determinants of health. This exploration of demographic and social action factors that may impede or foster success among community-dwelling older adults offer insight and guidance for constructing a conceptual and theoretical model a social justice framework in geriatric social work practice and research.

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