Using Transformative Learning Theory to Explore the ... · transformative learning emphasizes the process and self-reflection of experiences, it helps participants develop new roles
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
OPEN ACCESS
EURASIA Journal of Mathematics Science and Technology Education ISSN: 1305-8223 (online) 1305-8215 (print)
2017 13(6):2665-2682 DOI 10.12973/eurasia.2017.01246a
Knollenberg et al. (2014) referred to volunteer tourism organizations as intermediaries, focus
on volunteer tourism bodies (including for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations),
their role in commercializing volunteer tourism, and the possible negative effects that may
arise from their involvement. Wilner et al. (2012) also pointed out the problem with volunteer
tourism viewed organizations from the perspective of the effectiveness of resource
management, arguing that transformative learning must take place in an integrated
management platform to effectively promote social learning. Although these two studies
examined volunteer tourism organizations from different perspectives, they both appear to
R.-F. Chao / Mechanisms for Transformative Learning
2676
ignore the question of how to join the three main stakeholders in volunteer tourism to generate
joint benefits.
In this regard, Chao (2014b) suggested that local intermediary organizations might be
able to forge a link between these three stakeholders. Chao (2014b) focused on the
implementation of environmental conservation; in other words, how to ensure that local
residents (or community volunteers) can continue to carry out environmental protection work.
He advised that the role of local intermediary organizations is to act as a communication
platform between internal resources and external resources, provide a communication channel
for information between producers and providers and between requesters and suppliers, and
provide the necessary long term support and assistance to local environmental protection
organizations (Chao, 2014b).
Borrowing from Chao (2014b), Figure 1 shows the linkages between the three types of
stakeholders for activities removing invasive species in Green Island. Community volunteers
are the driving force and foundation of the removal work; thus, transforming their views helps
with the ongoing sustainability of invasive species removal work. From an environmental
education perspective, the ultimate goal of community volunteers is to become guardians of
the local environment. Community volunteers can use volunteer tourism activities to share
their experiences and thoughts regarding the removal work, and voluntourists can participate
in removal activities to reflect on their relationship with the environment, which is finally
Figure 1. Civic participation in the operational framework of transformative learning for environmental
education
EURASIA J Math Sci and Tech Ed
2677
translated into the ultimate goal of taking practical action to form environmental protection
habits. At the same time, local intermediary organizations act as a bridge between the
community volunteers and voluntourists, implementing resource integration, education and
training, activity design, and marketing activities, so that the three types of stakeholders can
acquire participation values from the resource maintenance process and ensure continued
environmental sustainability.
CONCLUSION
Resolving rapidly worsening environmental problems is an issue that people in the
modern world must face jointly. The application of scientific knowledge in taking practical
action is the key to science education in the twenty-first century (Coll, Lay, & Taylor, 2008;
Kuo & Perng, 2016; McFarlane, 2013). However, before taking practical action, the correct
views must be established (Özdemir & Clark, 2007; Zhou, 2010); therefore, adults who are no
longer enrolled in school must continuously revise their views based on the progress of science
and create a new relationship with society and the environment. During the adult learning
process, transformative learning provides an excellent theoretical basis, which allows the
learner’s thoughts, emotions, and actions to be formed unconsciously through their
experiences (Hodge, 2014), and thus leads to actual participation actions.
The present study, based on transformative learning theory, analyzes the changes in the
learning process for community volunteers and voluntourists during the process of the
removing the invasive common sun skink species. Experience is central to transformative
learning; however, in the initial period, it is difficult to motivate community participation
(Frey & Berkes, 2014). The results of the present study use the outcomes of environmental
education for children to show the effect of their activities on parents and community
residents’ willingness to participate in the invasive species removal. In addition, everyday
dialogues and exchanges between community residents play an important role in the
transformative learning process. This process is primarily the formation of new ideas through
participation experiences, which achieves social recognition through community interaction
and increases participants’ self-confidence in establishing a self-concept. This process also
allows participants involved in the removal of invasive species to obtain legitimacy through
collective community concepts, ultimately making community participants into the guardians
of the local environment.
Voluntourists participate in the removal of the invasive species through the tourism
process. Although voluntourists only participate in the process for a short period, their
contribution acts as an infusion of transformative experiences for the individual. Through
reflection, these participants establish a new relationship between their roles and the
environment, with dialogue taking on particular importance. Dialogue among community
volunteers acts as a feedback mechanism that increases the self-confidence and environmental
commitment of the community volunteers. Through sharing and dialogue in an individual’s
R.-F. Chao / Mechanisms for Transformative Learning
2678
everyday life, volunteers can reflect on the new concepts formed by transformative
experiences and form everyday environmental protection habits as the ultimate goal.
Local organizations play a bridging and supporting role between community volunteers
and voluntourists. These organizations serve as a platform providing resource integration,
education and training, activity design, and marketing activities, thus allowing the three types
of volunteer tourism stakeholders to be closely integrated and ensuring that the maximum
environmental benefits are maintained.
Longitudinal data analysis is a method of empirical research that is still lacking in the
field of transformative learning. The present study uses participant observation to address the
shortcomings in previous research on transformative learning. However, research on the use
of transformative learning in volunteer tourism has only started to appear in recent years, and
at present, few relevant studies exist. For example, self-reflection, dialogue, and intercultural
experience are three components (Taylor, 2008) that can be included in future research. Since
the participants in the present study are all residents of Taiwan, regardless of whether they
are community volunteers or voluntourists, it is difficult to obtain the effect of transformative
learning of intercultural experience on the roles of volunteers. This is an important limitation
of the research. Future research can examine transformative learning among cross-national
voluntourists to make a further contribution to the transformative learning theory and
application of volunteer tourism.
REFERENCES
Akçay, R. C. (2012). Transformational learning theory and transformation in adult education. Journal of National Education, 196, 5–19.
Anderson, L. G., Rocliffe, S., Haddaway, N. R., & Dunn, A. M. (2015). The role of tourism and recreation in the spread of non-native species: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS One, 10(10), e0140833. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140833.
Barbieri, C., Santos, C., & Katsube, Y. (2012). Volunteer tourism: On-the-ground observations from Rwanda. Tourism Management, 33(3), 509–516. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2011.05.009.
Baumgartner, L. M. (2001). An update on transformational learning. In S. B. Merriam (Ed.), The new update on adult learning theory (pp. 15–24). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Bonanno, G. (2016). Alien species: To remove or not to remove? That is the question. Environmental Science and Policy, 59, 67–73. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2016.02.011.
Broomhall, S., Pitman, T., Majocha, E., & Mcewan, J. (2010). Articulating lifelong learning in tourism: Dialogue between humanities scholars and travel providers. Canberra: Australian Learning and Teaching Council.
Chao, R.-F. (2014a). Volunteer tourism as the approach to environmental management: A case study of Green Island in Taiwan. Journal of Environmental Protection & Ecology, 15(3A), 1377–1384.
Chao, R.-F. (2014b): Innovation strategies of local intermediary organizations for environmental protection: A case study of Green Island, Taiwan. International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 7(2), 87–97.
EURASIA J Math Sci and Tech Ed
2679
Chao, R.-F., & Lin, T.-E. (2017). Effect of citizen action on suppression of invasive alien lizard population: A case of the removal of Eutropis multifasciata on Green Island, Taiwan. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 15. (In press)
Chao, R.-F., Lin, T.-E., Lin, L.-K., & Pei, K. (2009). The survey and remove of invasive alien animals in Green Island. Taitung, Taiwan: Taitung County Government. (In Chinese)
Chen, P.-C., Chang, M.-H., Chen, S.-F., Li, Z.-L., Chen, S.-L., Lin, H.-C., & Chu, C.-W. (2008). The research of terrestrial vertebrate fauna on the Green Island. Kaohsiung, Taiwan: Marine National Park Headquarters. (In Chinese; with English abstract)
Çimen, O., & Yılmaz, M. (2014). The influence of transformative learning based environmental education on pre-service biology teachers’ perception of environmental problems. Bartın University Journal of Education Faculty, 3(1), 339–359.
Coghlan, A., & Gooch, M. (2011). Applying a transformative learning framework to volunteer tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 19(6), 713–728. doi:10.1080/09669582.2010.542246
Coll, R. K., Lay, M. C., & Taylor, N. (2008). Scientists and scientific thinking: Understanding scientific thinking through an investigation of scientists’ views about superstitions and religious beliefs. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 4(3), 197-214.
Collins, T. D., Gaved, M. B., Mulholland, P., Kerawalla, L. J., Twiner, A., Scanlon, E., Jones, A., Littleton, K., Conole, G., & Tosunoglu, C. (2008). Supporting location-based inquiry learning across school, field and home contexts’. In Proceedings of the 7th world conference on mobile and contextual learning (mLearn-2008), Telford, UK.
Cranton, P. (1994). Understanding and promoting transformative learning. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Damerell, P., Howe, C., & Milner-Gulland, E. J. (2013). Child-orientated environmental education influences adult knowledge and household behaviour. Environmental Research Letters, 8(1), 015016. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/015016
Dirkx, J. M. (2006). Engaging emotions in adult learning: A Jungian perspective on emotion and transformative learning. In E. W. Taylor (Ed.), Teaching for change: Fostering transformative learning in the classroom (pp. 15–26). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Dirkx, J. M. (2012). Self-formation and transformative learning: A response to "calling transformative learning into question: some mutinous thoughts," by Michael Newman. Adult Education Quarterly, 62(4), 399–405. doi:10.1177/0741713612456420.
Dolan, R. W., Harris, K. A., & Adler, M. (2015). Community involvement to address a long-standing invasive species problem: Aspects of civic ecology in practice. Ecological Restoration, 33(3), 316–325. doi:10.3368/er.33.3.316
Dorin-Paul, B. (2013). Sustainable tourism and its forms: A theoretical approach. Annals of Faculty of Economics, 1(1), 759–767.
Edwards, R. (2014). Citizen science and lifelong learning. Studies in the Education of Adults, 46(2), 132–144. doi:10.1080/02660830.2014.11661662
Eilks, I. (2015). Science education and education for sustainable development: Justifications, models, practices and perspectives. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 11(1), 149–158. doi:10.12973/eurasia.2015.1313a
Falk, J. H., Ballantyne, R., Packer, J., & Benckendorff, P. (2012). Travel and learning: A neglected tourism research area. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(2), 908–927. doi:10.1016/j.annals.2011.11.016
Feinstein, B. C. (2004). Learning and transformation in the context of Hawaiian traditional ecological knowledge. Adult Education Quarterly, 54(2), 105–120.doi:10.1177/0741713603260275
R.-F. Chao / Mechanisms for Transformative Learning
2680
Frey, J., & Berkes, F. (2014). Can partnerships and community-based conservation reverse the decline of coral reef social-ecological systems? International Journal of the Commons, 8(1), 26–46. doi:10.18352/ijc.408
Glen, A. S., Atkinson, R., Campbell, K. J., Hagen, E., Holmes, N. D., Keitt, B. S., Parkes, J. P., Saunders, A., Sawyer, J., & Torres, H. (2013). Eradicating multiple invasive species on inhabited islands: the next big step in island restoration? Biological Invasions, 15(12), 2589–2603. doi:10.1007/s10530-013-0495-y
Gruenewald, D. (2003). The best of both worlds: A critical pedagogy of place. Educational Researcher, 32(4), 3–12.doi:10.3102/0013189X032004003
Hall, C. M. (2015). Tourism and biological exchange and invasions: A missing dimension in sustainable tourism? Tourism Recreation Research, 40(1), 81–94. doi:10.1080/02508281.2015.1005943
Harvey, R. G., Perez, L., & Mazzotti, F. J. (2016). Not seeing is not believing: Volunteer beliefs about Burmese pythons in Florida and implications for public participation in invasive species removal. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 59(5), 789–807.doi:10.1080/09640568.2015.1040489
Hodge, S. (2014). Transformative learning as an “inter-practice” phenomenon. Adult Education Quarterly, 64(2), 165–181. doi:10.1177/0741713613520405
Kitchin, R., & Tate, N. (2013). Conducting research in human geography: Theory, methodology and practice. London: Routledge.
Knollenberg, W., McGehee, N. G., Boley, B. B., & Clemmons, D. (2014). Motivation-based transformative learning and potential voluntourist: Facilitating more sustainable outcomes. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 22(6), 922–941. doi:10.1080/09669582.2014.902065
Koutika, L. S., Rainey, H. J., & Dassonville, N. (2011). Impacts of Solidago gigantea, Prunus serotina, Heracleum mantegazzianum and Fallopia japonica invasions on ecosystems. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 9(2), 73–83. doi:10.15666/aeer/0901_073083
Kuo, F. S., & Perng, Y. H. (2016). The educational strategies of citizens’ identification and recognition for sustainable urban development in Taipei. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 12(6), 1685-1696. doi:10.12973/eurasia.2016.1560a
Lepp, A. (2009). Leisure and obligation: An investigation of voluntourist’ experience at Kenya’s Taita Discovery Center. Journal of Leisure Research, 41(2), 253–260.
Lin, T.-E. (2008). No skink: Introduction and pest control of invasive Mabuya multifasciata. Quarterly Journal of Nature Conservation, 61, 30–36. (In Chinese).
Lüko, I., & Kollarics, T. (2013). The significance of environmental sustainability in adult environmental education. International Journal of Environmental Protection, 3(4), 1–9.
MacKeracher, D. (2012). The role of experience in transformative learning. In E. W. Taylor, & P. Cranton (Eds.), Handbook of transformative learning: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 342–354). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Marks, R., Stuckey, M., Belova, N., & Eilks, I. (2014). The societal dimension in German science education–form tradition towards selected cases and recent developments. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technological Education, 10, 285-296. doi:10.12973/eurasia.2014.1083a
McFarlane, D. A. (2013). Understanding the challenges of science education in the 21st century: New opportunities for scientific literacy. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 4(1), 35–44. doi:10.18052/www.scipress.com/ILSHS.4.35
McGehee, N. G., & Andereck, K. (2009). Volunteer tourism and the “voluntoured”: The case of Tijuana, Mexico. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17(1), 39–54. doi:10.1080/09669580802159693
EURASIA J Math Sci and Tech Ed
2681
McGehee, N. G., & Santos, C. (2005). Social change, discourse, and volunteer tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 32(3), 760–779. doi:10.1016/j.annals.2004.12.002
McIntosh, A. J., & Zahra, A. (2007). A cultural encounter through volunteer tourism: Towards the ideals of sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 15(5), 541–556. doi: 10.2167/jost701.0
Mezirow, J. & Taylor, E. W. (2009). Transformative learning in practice. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Mezirow, J. (1975). Education for perspective transformation: Women’s reentry programs in community colleges. New York: Center for Adult Education, Teachers College, Columbia University.
Mezirow, J. (1996). Contemporary paradigms of learning. Adult Education Quarterly, 46(3), 158–172. doi:10.1177/074171369604600303
Mezirow, J. (1998). On critical reflection. Adult Learning Quarterly, 48(3), 185–198. doi:10.1177/074171369804800305
Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to think like an adult: Core concepts of transformation theory. In J. Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 3–33). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Mezirow, J. (2003). Transformative learning as discourse. Journal of Transformative Education, 1(1), 58–63. doi:10.1177/1541344603252172
Mezriow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Milton, B., Cleveland, E., & Bennett-Gates, D. (1995). Changing perceptions of nature, self, and others: A report on a park/school program. The Journal of Environmental Education, 26(3), 32–39.doi:10.1080/00958964.1995.9941443
Newman, M. (2012). Calling transformative learning in question: Some mutinous thought. Adult Education Quarterly, 62(1), 36–55. doi:10.1177/0741713610392768
Nohl, A. M. (2009). Spontaneous action and transformative learning: Empirical investigations and pragmatist reflections. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 41(3), 287–306. doi:10.1111/j.1469-5812.2008.00417.x
Orams, M. B. (1997). The effectiveness of environmental education: Can we turn tourists into 'Greenies'? Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research, 3, 295-306. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1603(199712)3:4%3C295::AID-PTH85%3E3.3.CO;2-4
Özdemir, G., & Clark, D. B. (2007). An overview of conceptual change theories. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 3(4), 351-361.
Packer, J., & Ballantyne, R. (2004). Is educational leisure a contradiction in terms? Exploring the synergy of education and entertainment. Annals of Leisure Research, 7(1), 54–71. doi:10.1080/11745398.2004.10600939
Randler, C. (2008). Teaching species identification - a prerequisite for learning biodiversity and understanding ecology. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 4(3), 223–231.
Randler, C., & Bogner, F. X. (2006). Cognitive achievements in identification skills. Journal of Biological Education, 40(4), 161–165. doi:10.1080/00219266.2006.9656038
Rattan, J. K., Eagles, P. F., & Mair, H. L. (2012). Volunteer tourism: Its role in creating conservation awareness. Journal of Ecotourism, 11(1), 1–15. doi:10.1080/14724049.2011.604129
R.-F. Chao / Mechanisms for Transformative Learning
2682
Sá-Oliveira, J. C., Araújo, F. L., Filho, R. G. T., dos Santos, W. S., & Ferrari, S. F. (2016). Education as controlling factor of invasive species (Achatina fulica) in an Amazonian City, Brazil. Creative Education, 7, 159–170. doi:10.4236/ce.2016.71016
Sharma, G. P., & Raghubanshi, A. S. (2011). Lantana camara L. invasion and impact on herb layer diversity and soil properties in a dry deciduous forest of India. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 9(3), 253–264. doi:10.15666/aeer/0903_253264
Simberloff, D., Martin, J. L., Genovesi, P., Maris, V., Wardle, D. A., Aronson, J., Courchamp, F., Galil, B., García-Berthou, E., Pascal, M., Pyšek, P., Sousa, R., Tabacchi, E., & Vilà, M. (2013). Impacts of biological invasions: What's what and the way forward. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 28(1), 58–66. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2012.07.013
Taylor, E. W. (1994). Intercultural competency: A transformative learning process. Adult Education Quarterly, 44(3), 154–174. doi:10.1177/074171369404400303
Taylor, E. W. (1997). Building upon the theoretical debate: A critical review of the empirical studies of Mezirow's transformative learning theory. Adult Education Quarterly, 48(1), 34–59. doi:10.1177/074171369704800104.
Taylor, E. W. (2000). Analyzing research on transformative learning theory. In J. Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 285–328). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Taylor, E. W. (2007). An update of transformative learning theory: A critical review of the empirical research (1999-2005). International Journal of Lifelong Education, 26(2), 173–191. doi:10.1080/02601370701219475
Taylor, E. W. (2008). Transformative learning theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 119, 5–15.
Taylor, E. W., & Cranton, P. (2013). A theory in progress? Issues in transformative learning theory. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 4(1), 35–47. doi:10.3384/rela.2000-7426.rela5000.
Uyanık, G. (2016). Effect of environmental education based on transformational learning theory on perceptions towards environmental problems and permanency of learning. International Electronic Journal of Environmental Education, 6(2), 126–140. doi:10.18497/iejee-green.59815
Wearing, S., & McGehee, N. G. (2013). Volunteer tourism: A review. Tourism Management, 38, 120–130. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2013.03.002
Wilner, K. B., Wiber, M., Charles, A., Kearney, J., Landry, M., Wilson, L., & Coastal CURA Team. (2012). Transformative learning for better resource management: The role of critical reflection. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 55(10), 1331–1347. doi:10.1080/09640568.2011.646679
Yiming, L., Zhengjun, W., & Duncan, R. P. (2006). Why islands are easier to invade: Human influences on bullfrog invasion in the Zhoushan archipelago and neighboring mainland China. Oecologia, 148(1), 129–136. doi:10.1007/s00442-006-0355-x
Zhou, G. (2010). Conceptual change in science: A process of argumentation. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 6(2), 101-110.