Transformative+learning

Internationalisation is fundamentally a process of change. A deep engagement with internationalisation can be transformative for organisations and individuals. An educational theory that sits neatly with internationalisation and higher education is Mezirow's thinkinging on Transformative Learning. Mezirow (2000) said that transformations often occur after individuals clarify meaning from events such as:

1. A disorienting dilemma. 2. Self-examination with feelings of fear, anger, guilt, or shame. 3. A critical assessment of assumptions. 4. Recognition that one’s discontent and the process of transformation are shared. 5. Exploration of options for new roles, relationships, and actions. 6. Planning a course of action. 7. Acquiring knowledge and skills for implementing one’s plans. 8. Provisional trying of new roles. 9. Building competence and self-confidence in new roles and relationships. 10. A reintegration into one’s life on the basis of conditions dictated by one’s new perspective. (Mezirow, 2000, p. 22)

Mezirow’s (2000) work is very much concerned with the individual //qua// existent and the ways in which they interpret the world to give their lives meaning and avoid “the threat of chaos” (p. 3). The prime focus of transformative learning is “to become critically aware of one’s own tacit assumptions and expectations and those of others and assessing their relevance for making an interpretation” (Mezirow, 2000, p. 4). The list below contains suggestions for activities that have transformational potential. Note that some speak to the development of 'good' teaching practice. Others are clearly based on internationalisation themes, including the acquisition of culture-specific and culture-general knowledge :


 * Make a commitment to critically explore what it means to become a better teacher in the Biggsian sense. Think about the role of culture in this process;
 * Think about what ‘a cosmopolitan disposition’ means;
 * Think about what globalisation and internationalisation mean for you personally;
 * Think about what globalisation and internationalisation mean for your discipline and your teaching;
 * Seek out a mentor;
 * Be bold and take calculated risks in your teaching whilst maintaining a safe environment for your students;
 * Have trusted colleagues peer review your work and observe the teaching of others;
 * Expose yourself to different cultures and other ways of seeing the world through travel, teaching international students (including transnational teaching where possible), reading and, where possible, undertaking collaborative research with colleagues from other countries and cultures;
 * Take a sabbatical in another country; one with a culture different from your own;
 * Learn another language;
 * Host an international student in a short-to-medium term ‘homestay’ arrangement;
 * Participate in academic development activities that expand your thinking and impact on your teaching, especially in relation to internationalised curricula;
 * There is much to be said for a group of like-minded educators working together from the point of view of supporting each other, sharing responsibilities, and pursuing common educational goals. This applies at the departmental level as well as within networks which extend into other academic, service, and administrative units across the university and, indeed, beyond the university itself. With this in mind:
 * 1) Seek out like-minded individuals in and beyond your institution;
 * 2) Take out memberships with professional associations that relate to your discipline;
 * 3) Publish about teaching and learning in your discipline, including internationalisation themes;
 * 4) Attend conferences, including ones with internationalisation themes;
 * 5) Apply for collaborative grants that focus on international and intercultural themes in teaching and learning and/or your discipline;
 * 6) Be confident yet humble and critically reflective of your place in the world.

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: Jossey-Bass.
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