The requirement that a doctoral dissertation must contribute an original body of knowledge can present a quandary to the doctoral candidate, how does one pursue this route without embracing risk? Through reflective storytelling, this narrative delves into the transformative journey of a teacher-researcher navigating the doctoral study environment.…

This paper examines the stories of transformative learning of two men reflecting on their recovery from addictions and trauma. We employ the Hero's journey as a useful frame within which to understand their stories of becoming more and progressing towards a recovered self. The article challenges the dominant biomedical model of addiction, and of…

Unleash the transformative power of storytelling to build belonging, ignite critical consciousness, and amplify students' voices. This dynamic book equips educators who work with middle and high school aged youth to teach storytelling in their classrooms or community organizations. Through inspiring examples and hands-on teaching strategies, the…

Building on the concept of transformative learning and exploring the role of reflection in graduate professional education, this article uses student and educator reflections from the graduate course on reading practices to narrate four stories of learning. These stories, structured based on the "4Ls" model of reflection, describe what…

This study examined the Racial Equity Consciousness Institute, a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative founded by Ron Idoko in 2020 at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Race and Social Problems. Using cognitive-behavioral principles, RECI aims to address systemic racism and its effects on communities of color. The research…

This article emerges from an approach to transformative learning where students are challenged to explore taken-for-granted assumptions about their experiences in the world. We outline the 6-Part Story Method (6PSM), which uses abstract images to provide a structured storytelling process that enables reflexive learning. This is documented through…

This essay reevaluates the role of reflection in experiential learning programs, contrasting traditional solitary ref lection methods with contemporary approaches that integrate collaboration and multimodal expression. These new approaches highlight a shift toward more flexible and interactive methods, reflecting the influence of new technologies…

Drawing upon Heron and Reason's (1997) participatory inquiry paradigm and extended epistemology, this article explores how six Master of Social Work (MSW) students engaged in sensory arts-based critical reflection concerning their social location, identities, social justice, and social policy. We share our process for creating sensory arts-based…

We examine the benefits of developing critically reflexive learners through life story performance embedded in a Critical Reflexive Model. Students are invited to work with their life stories in a safe, dialogical space and to deconstruct various forms of power and its influence on their lives. Using a mix of creative and embodied methodologies,…

This handbook offers an expanded discourse on transformative learning by making the turn into new passageways to explore the phenomenon of transformation. It curates diverse discourses, knowledges and practices of transformation, in ways that both includes and departs from the adult learning mainstay of transformative learning and adult education.…

The most practical principle in contextualisation emanates from our understanding of the experience of everyday life. However, this principle is not confined to such understanding. The central question regarding contextualisation is embedded in the "cultural contours" of counselling. In addition to the centrality of the cultural…

Anderson addresses the use of digital storytelling to deepen reflective practice for graduate social work students, describing how students created personal digital stories of adversity, presented them to their peers, and wrote reflection papers on the process and the effect of sharing their videos. Thematic analysis of students' papers reveals…

Who is the self that teaches (Palmer, 1998)? One way of uncovering a teacher's self may be to allow beginning preservice teachers the opportunity to share their education stories, which may then allow them to explore their initial self-concepts of their roles as future teachers. This study used narrative inquiry and the arts-based activities of a…

In an effort to better understand leadership educator preparation, this qualitative study explores leadership educators' identity constructions, or (re)presentations of experiences, beliefs, and practices that contribute to one's professional identity. We used three narrative approaches (storytelling, symbolic interactionism, and anticipatory…

Professionals in the field of adult and higher education recognize the path into any learning community is riddled with complexities of life exigencies. This author states that he found "light at the end of the tunnel" in an experiential, transformative study abroad course in Spanish language and culture. Transformative learning abroad…