2016 Annual Conference

In this study, Transformative Learning Theory (TL) was used to examine adult learning experience in Eastern context. In-depth interviews were conducted with four school leaders in China. Their TL experiences were examined in the following areas: Education philosophy, self-perception, ways of thinking, and ways of doing.

International adult educators, researchers, and practitioners working with adult learners in Eastern context will find this research intriguing because this research provides one way of understanding the adult learner population they are working with by demonstrating how Eastern educational philosophy and Eastern ways of doing influence Eastern adult learners’ perceptions of meaningful TL experiences. Governmental and non-governmental organizations helping countries from non-Western contexts develop adult education programs will find this research beneficial as well because this research indicates that Eastern ways of thinking and Eastern self-perception are important learning characteristics of adult learners from the East.

Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory (TL) has not been widely used in Eastern adult learning context. To help bridge this gap, this study utilizes TL to examine the learning experiences of four Chinese school principals after they finished a professional development program as an adult learner. In-depth interviews were conducted.

Data analysis indicates that the research participants’ TL experiences occurred in the following four areas: educational philosophy, self-perception, ways of thinking, and ways of doing. Within each area, the changes happened in each participant’s meaning perspectives are examined through the lens of TL at the levels of “frame of reference,” “habits of mind,” and “points of view.”

The findings present the following hypothesis for future research study: Adult learners from the East perceive meaningful TL experiences differently than adult learners from the West. The participants of this study experienced higher level of TL changes in the areas of educational philosophy and ways of doing and experienced lower levels of TL changes in the areas of self perception and ways of thinking.