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Context and Rationality In Mezirow's Theory of Transformational Learning

Department of Adult Education at the University of Georgia

Arthur L. Wilson

Department of Adult Education at the University of Georgia

Transformational learning is fundamentally concerned with construing meaning from experience as a guide to action. In his theory of perspective transformation, Mezirow presents a significant conceptualization of that process, but it is flawed in one major aspect: It fails to account for context. We examine the absence of context in the theory itself, then focus on the decontextualized form of rationality that underlies the process of critical reflection central to perspective transformation. Finally, we propose a contextualized view of rationality which maintains the essential link between meaning and experience.

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