Educational Psychology—Limitations and Possibilities

Transformative Learning 357
and knowledges, taking on roles, building competence, and ultimately the development of a more
inclusive and critical worldview.
Transformative learning is also seen as way of thinking about the education of adults. Fostering
transformative learning in the classroom includes the most significant learning in adulthood,
that of communicative learning. Communicative learning involves critically examining
the underlying assumptions of problematic social, political, cultural ideas, values, beliefs, and
feelings—questioning their justification through rational dialogue. Mezirow does not see fostering
transformative learning as an “add-on” educational practice or technique. He views it as the
very essence of adult education, such that the goal of transformative learning is to help learners
become more autonomous thinkers so they are able to negotiate the meaning-making process
rather than uncritically acting on the meaning of others. Ideal conditions to strive for when
fostering transformative learning in the classroom include: (a) a process that ensures learners
have information that is thorough and valid; (b) a classroom environment that is safe, free from
oppression and coercion; (c) learners who are encouraged to be open to varied and contested
perspectives and are willing to assess and validate these perspectives as objectively as possible;
(d) methods that promote and encourage critical reflection about the inherent underlying assumptions
and related consequences; (e) an equitable opportunity to question, dialogue, and reflect on
the various issues; and (f) and an overall goal of striving for objectivity and rational consensus.
This approach to education rests on the belief that there is inherent purpose, logic, and ideal
associated with transformative learning. Significant learning in the classroom involves the transformation
of meaning structures through an ongoing process of critical reflection, discourse,
and acting on one’s beliefs in relationship to the larger sociocultural context. It is this approach
that provides a rationale for educators in choosing the best practices for fostering transformative
learning.
PAULO FREIRE: AN EMANCIPATORY TRANSFORMATION
Paulo Freire (1970) was a radical educational reformist from Brazil (Latin America), who
portrayed a practical and theoretical approach to emancipation through transformative education.
His work is based on experiences with teaching adults who had limited literacy skills in the Third
World, where he used an educational method that was such a threat to those in power he was exiled
from Brazil in 1959. Freire wanted people to develop a theory of existence, which views people
as subjects, not objects, who are constantly reflecting and acting on the transformation of their
world so it can become a more equitable place for all to live. This transformation, or unveiling
of reality, is an ongoing, never ending, and a dynamic process. Unlike Mezirow’s emphasis on
personal transformation and the choice to act politically, Freire is much more concerned about a
social transformation via the unveiling or demythologizing of reality by the oppressed through
the awakening of their critical consciousness, where they learn to become aware of political,
social, and economic contradictions and to take action against the conditions that are oppressive.
This awakening or kindling of one’s critical consciousness is the consequence of his educational
process. In Freire’s (1970) words: “[The] more radical he [sic] is, the more fully he enters into
reality so that, knowing it better, he can better transform it. He is not afraid to confront, to listen
to see the world unveiled. He is not afraid to meet the people or enter into dialogue with them.
He does not consider himself the proprietor of history or of men [sic], or the liberator of the
oppressed; but he does commit himself, within history, to fight at their side” (pp. 23–25).
The latter quote reflects most accurately the intent of his work, that of fostering an emancipatory
transformative process. The process is conscientizaçao or conscientization (Freire 1970), where
the oppressed learn to realize the sociopolitical and economic contradictions in their world
and take action against its oppressive elements. For Freire education is never neutral. It either
inculcates through assimilation of unquestioned values of the dominant group reinforcing the