Transformative learning involves experiencing a deep, structural shift in the basic premises of thought, feelings, and actions. It is a shift of consciousness that dramatically and permanently alters our way of being in the world. Such a shift involves our understanding of ourselves and our self-locations; our relationships with other humans and with the natural world; our understanding of relations of power in interlocking structures of class, race and gender; our body awarenesses; our visions of alternative approaches to living; and our sense of possibilities for social justice and peace and personal joy. The editors of this collection make several challenges to the existing field of transformative learning - the first is to theoreticians, who have attempted to describe the nature of transformative learning without regard to the content of transformative learning. The editors argue that transformative learning theory cannot be constructed in a content-neutral or context-free way. Their second challenge, which assumes the importance content for transformative learning, is to educators as practitioners. The editors argue that transformative learning requires new educational practices consistent with the content. Arts-based research and arts-based teaching/learning practices are one example of such new educational practices. Education for the soul, or spiritual practices such as meditation or modified martial arts or indigenous peoples' forms of teaching/learning, is another example. Each article in the collection presents a possible model of these new practices.

Expanding Transformation Theory offers a deeper understanding of the philosophy, principles and major components of Transformation Theory, which was developed by Jack Mezirow. It provides a thorough comprehension of the affinities of the theory with other emancipatory theoretical views and provides the readers with an expanded insight of the core theoretical framework that will support their research and educational practice. The book juxtaposes Mezirow’s perspective with those of ten major emancipatory educationalists – Dewey, Freire, Gould, Marsick, Socrates, Kegan, Greene, Argyris, Illeris, and Jarvis, respectively, who all share the idea of learning with the aim of changing problematic perceptions and behaviours. Such issues as convergences and divergences among the theoretical perspectives, as well as the impact of the theoretical ideas that Mezirow incorporated in his work, are addressed. The work of Mezirow is further reviewed in order to pinpoint the dimensions which appear to have been confirmed and endure over time, and, in turn, those that seem to need expansion or even revision. This book will be of great interest to researchers, academics, students, and adult educators who are interested in transformative learning theory and emancipatory education

THE WILEY-BLACKWELL HANDBOOK OF Transpersonal Psychology “The new Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology is a necessity today. Many transpersonal psychologists and psychotherapists have been waiting for such a comprehensive work. Congratulations to Harris Friedman and Glenn Hartelius. May this book contribute to an increasingly adventurous, creative, and vibrant universe.” Ingo B. Jahrsetz, President, The European Transpersonal Association “The Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology is an outstanding, comprehensive overview of the field. It is a valuable resource for professional transpersonal practitioners, and an excellent introduction for those who are new to this wide-ranging discipline.” Frances Vaughan, PhD. Psychologist, author of Shadows of the Sacred: Seeing Through Spiritual Illusions “Finally, the vast literature on transpersonal psychology has been collected in what is clearly the essential handbook for psychologists and others who have either too apologetically endorsed or too critically rejected what undoubtedly will define psychology in the future. If you are not a transpersonal psychologist now, you will be after exploring this handbook. No longer can one dismiss the range of topics confronted by transpersonal psychologists nor demand methodological restraints that refuse to confront the realities transpersonal psychologists explore. This is a marvelous handbook—critical, expansive, and like much of what transpersonal psychologists study, sublime.” Ralph W. Hood Jr., University of Tennessee, Chattanooga With contributions from more than fifty scholars, this is the most inclusive resource yet published on transpersonal psychology, which advocates a rounded approach to human well-being, integrating ancient beliefs and modern knowledge. Proponents view the field as encompassing Jungian principles, psychotherapeutic techniques such as Holotropic Breathwork, and the meditative practices found in Hinduism and Buddhism. Alongside the core commentary on transpersonal theories—including holotropic states; science, with chapters on neurobiology and psychometrics; and relevance to feminism or concepts of social justice—the volume includes sections describing transpersonal experiences, accounts of differing approaches to healing, wellness, and personal development, and material addressing the emerging field of transpersonal studies. Chapters on shamanism and psychedelic therapies evoke the multifarious interests of the transpersonal psychology community. The result is a richly flavored distillation of the underlying principles and active ingredients in the field.

Transformative learning is a process in which we question all the assumptions about the world and ourselves that make up our worldview, visualize alternative assumptions, and then test them in practice. The author describes the process, offering a critique of contemporary assumptions, and suggests alternatives to illustrate the process.

The Nature of Transformation: Environmental Adult Education is based on 15 years of educating for social-environmental change around the world. It is for adult and community educators, trainers, literacy and health care practitioners, social activists, community artists and animators, labour educators, and professors in higher education interested in weaving environmental issues in to their educational practice. It is also for environmental activists and educators who want to link social issues to environmental issues and problems. This book is a contribution to the discourse and practice of adult education in the community and/or the academy, aimed to respond creativity and critically the contemporary socio-environmental crisis and to encourage hope and a stronger sense of political agency through an ecological approach to teaching, and learning. The Nature of Transformation includes a discussion of key adult education theories we used to augment our educational practice, provides a plethora educational activities, shares workshop design considerations and some of the challenges we faced in our wok, as well as stories from adult and community educators around the world. The book concludes with a list of resources to enhance understandings of adult education theory and practice. The Nature of Transformation illustrates how to critically and creatively integrate the rest of nature, concepts of ecological and gender and justice, citizenship, critical environmental consciousness and activism into educating and learning in community settings, organisations, education institutions or workplaces. In particular, there is an emphasis on using the arts as a tool for learning and change. With its emphasis on acknowledging and confronting ecological oppression, working towards socio-environmental justice, ensuring hope and fun are integral to the learning process, encouraging defiance, agency and creativity, challenging assumptions, and helping people to find solutions environmental adult education is a valuable player in any pedagogical quest for change and transformation.

This collection highlights the experiences of an international group of educators as they explore the art of teaching, the philosophy of learning, and the tensions of working across socially constructed borders.

This book lays out the principles and practices of transformative sustainability education using a relational way of thinking and being. Elizabeth A. Lange advocates for a new approach to environmental and sustainability education, that of rethinking the Western way of knowing and being and engendering a frank discussion about the societal elements that are generating climate, environmental, economic, and social issues. Highlighting the importance of Indigenous and life-giving cultures, the book covers educational theory, transformation stories of adult learners, social and economic critique, and visions of changemakers. Each chapter also has a strong pedagogical element, with entry points for learners and embodied practices and examples of taking action at micro/meso/macro levels woven throughout. Overall, this book enacts a relational approach to transformative sustainability education that draws from post humanist theory, process thought, relational ontology, decolonization theory, Indigenous philosophy, and a spirituality that builds a sense of sacred towards the living world. Written in an imaginative, storytelling manner, this book will be a great resource for formal and nonformal environmental and sustainability educators.