2020 Transformative Learning Conference

Expanding Transformative Learning Contexts

One area in need of learners' transformative growth is in human interactions with the environment. Recent increased attention on climate change suggests that humans may benefit from examining our complex relationship to the earth. The Western Eurocentric perspective on mankind as dominators or masters of their domain has alienated us from the earth, focusing instead on technology, political control, and market value (O'Sullivan, 1999). The result is decreased appreciation and understanding of the natural world and its interconnectedness with our lives, politics, economics, social justice, and survival.

Because of the complex interactions between political, social, educational, and ecological systems, a planetary view of transformative learning can frame the learner’s experiences and better lead to an expansion of their perspectives. This new perspective may allow them to more clearly and creatively imagine and understand problems with our current societal choices and then start to solve these problems through dismantling and rebuilding the interwoven systems underlying the problem. This may manifest as activism as they seek to reorganize whole systems to address fundamental issues.

This session will reconnect participants to nature, allow reflection on their perspectives of the environment using a planetary view, and result in group dialogue. This experiential learning will also model how participants may setup similar scenarios and discussions with their learners.