This article discusses a unit of work, developed by this author, that encouraged students to "express themselves" by using language to make a difference (i.e., to protest an issue of particular concern.) While the culminating task for this unit was a spoken task requiring students to reflect upon what they had done and how successful…

"Who is responsible for developing, ensuring, and assessing learning outcomes--student affairs, academic affairs, or both?" This question yielded a spirited debate between faculty members and student affairs professionals in the author's course Disability in Higher Education and Society. The author was prompted to learn more about this…

A gap exists between research and practice within the field of intellectual disability. In particular, researchers suggest that personal choice enhances quality of life. Following Bourdieu's suggestion to focus on improving the practice of theory rather than the theory of practice, this paper is a reflexive ethnography detailing my struggles to…

A common thread within a growing globalism is the creation of an emerging knowledge-based workforce. This paper will discuss a message supported by adult education theory that is beginning to manifest itself in human resource development and the growing globalism that steeped in communication and information. Theoretical implications are reviewed…

Describes the use of transformative learning theory to evaluate a family-empowerment project focusing on life skills (N=34). Results reveal evidence of transformative learning outcomes such as an empowered sense of self and new connections with others. Participants also spoke of factors built into the program designed to foster transformative…

This chapter provides a framework to facilitate self-awareness, self-knowledge, diversity training, and cultural awareness and appreciation for all adults, based on understanding the development of sexual identity and workplace issues for LGBTQ adults. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

This article reflects on Peter Mayo's synthesis of ideas from two key figures in critical educational studies: Gramsci and Freire. The author identifies a number of distinguishing features of Mayo's work and considers some of the implications of his analysis for our understanding of transformative intellectual activity.

This document contains the Phase III report from the "What Works in Oklahoma Schools" study. As opposed to describing the findings from the study that was conducted, it provides a tool-kit that can be used by Oklahoma principals and teachers to determine the best courses of action for their schools and classrooms. The tools provided in…

Education officials are emphasizing and placing resources in art education, but are schools ready to respond to this call? The authors discuss four approaches to the arts in education: discipline-based, interdisciplinary, utilitarian, and transformational art education. They do this by highlighting a successful arts education institute, the…

In this chapter from his forthcoming book, Tom Romano reflects on the zigzag path that he has followed in making a life for himself in teaching.

Along with discussion of format and design of electronic portfolios, this article addresses the larger question of what happens to teachers when they invest in creating a professional portfolio. Are they able to transform this experience into more authentic assessment with their own students? Beside acquiring proficiency in using portfolio…

Recent international policy literature on Education for Sustainable Development puts forward utopian concepts of sustainable development and transformed learning as objects for educational thinking and practice. This paper, drawing on three illustrative educational investigations with youth in a South African context, critically examines how we…

Established in 1940, Lady Gowrie Child Centres in Australia provide integrated early childhood programs and develop and share project work, information, resources and training at local and national levels. While changes in social policy compromised their provision of integrated programs, the centre in Adelaide has made real strides towards moving…

This volume brings together the expert and timely writings of educational practitioners and researchers struggling to reform their classrooms to reach and teach diverse student populations. The contributors describe the importance of bringing one's own identity, culture, and history to discussions with disenfranchised communities. This book brings…

The link between development and learning is explicit in Mezirow's theory of transformational learning. Indeed, numerous studies have documented that growth and development are outcomes of transformational learning. What has not been questioned, and what is argued in this Forum article, is that it appears one must already be at a mature level of…