Violence Against Women in Adult Education: A Review of the Literature

Submitted in Fulfillment of Adult Education 51 for the !egree of "aster of Adult Education St# Francis $avier %niversit&

'& Susan (# )oung * + ,+-* St# Francis $avier %niversit&

!r# Eli.abeth Lange

Antigonish/ 0ova Scotia August/ * 11

1able of 2ontents Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................48 References......................................................................................................................................50

" 3ntroduction Violence Against Women: 1he 4ersonal is 4olitical This literature review reveals that male violence against women is embedded in a political, societal, and historical context !aguire, "#8$% &aples, '00(% )rice, '005% *odanis, '00(+. ,hile feminists and their allies have wor-ed diligentl. for .ears to show evidence that male violence against women is pervasive, there is still a consistent lac- of acceptance of the research in societ. generall. and in adult education in particular. /dditionall., there are still few legal and moral conse0uences for perpetrators. ,hile man. Canadians -now that violence against women is a serious issue, the. ma. not -now that the statistics are staggering, showing epidemic proportions internationall. and in Canada )rice, '005% 1reire 2 3ordan, '004+. This complex and multi4la.ered issue is enormous and this literature review cannot begin to address this matter ade0uatel.. 5owever, m. '0 .ears of professional involvement in the field, m. own personal experiences of violence, and an unwavering commitment to wor- toward eradicating male violence against women, has led to a profound personal and professional -nowledge of the issue. 6 have been deepl. honoured and guided b. the man. women who have shared their experiences and stories of violence with me. /dditionall., 6 have had the opportunit. to wor- on local and provincial boards and committees within the sector and with communit. partners from other sectors. ,hen 5anisch '007+ wrote the essa. The Personal is Political in "#7#, the phrase captured the imagination of feminists at a time in the ,omen8s 9iberation !ovement when people were beginning to understand that an individual8s experience was connected with the larger political struggle. /s a woman who has experienced male violence personall. and listened to hundreds of women8s stories of their experiences of male violence, 6 have been

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motivated to wor- simultaneousl. on healing m.self personall. while activel. see-ing political s.stemic changes to eradicate male violence against women. 9i-e 5anisch, and man. other feminists, 6 believe the personal and the political are integrated. 5utline of Sections 6n this literature review, 6 begin b. exploring the international and Canadian context and definitions of violence against women b. drawing on a wide range of researchers and writers in the field and touch briefl. on two other sectors that are beginning to address the issue. :ubse0uentl., 6 delve into the foundational theories and philosophies of adult education, and review feminist theories in the field. &ext, 6 consider transformative learning theor., both in its original form and in the more political and inclusive form into which it has changed into over the .ears# 6 begin to lin- the three sectors of violence against women, adult education, and transformative learning together. Then, 6 discuss the rationale and choice of methodolog. for m. research pro;ect. <inall., 6 identif. the gaps in the literature. Search Strateg& and Sco6e 6 first began m. search b. reviewing -e. adult education ;ournals such as The Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, Adult Education Quarterly, and New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education and The Journal of Transformative Education. I looked for articles about or references to violence against women. 6 used search terms li-e rape, sexual assault, interpersonal violence, and domestic violence. There were ver. few articles or boo-s about the issue of violence against women in the adult education field. 5owever, two authors did emerge= 3o.ce :tal-er "##8, '005+, refers to violence against women as part of misog.n.% and 3enn. 5orsman "###, '007, '0""+, who has written a boo-, articles, and started an interactive and d.namic website about violence against

women in adult education. &onetheless, when 6 used the same search terms in other ;ournals outside of the adult education field such as Gender Studies, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, New Directions for ental !ealth Ser"ices, Violence A#ainst $o%en, A##ression and Violent

&eha"ior, and others, there were man. articles about violence against women, but few related to adult education or learning. This showed a lac- of connection and cross4over between the sectors. &ext, 6 did an advanced search in ,ile. >nline 9ibrar. and :age, using similar search terms. There were 45,##$ responses in a range of ;ournals in disciplines such as sociolog., gender studies, midwifer., public health, ps.chiatr., epidemiolog., business, marriage and famil., famil. court, law and polic., forensic nursing, and clinical ps.cholog.. ?espite some sectors being more directl. involved in violence against women, such as gender studies, it was clear that other sectors have begun to address this issue with more vigour than adult education. 6 had the opportunit. to attend four adult education conferences= the eighth international Transformative 9earning Conference '00#+, the Canadian /ssociation for the :tudies of /dult @ducation C/:/@+, '0"0, !ontreal, Canada+, the /dult @ducation Research Conference /@RC+ '0"0, :acramento, California+, and the ;oint /@RCAC/:/@ '0"", Toronto, Canada+. ,hile there, 6 attended a range of wor-shops, seminars, and poster sessions. 6 spo-e to publishers at the conferences about recent literature in the adult education sector related to violence against women. 6 did get several new articles, but there were ver. few boo-s or articles connecting adult education and violence against women. Violence Against Women 6 open this section with a brief overview of historical Canadian legal histor. then move into international and Canadian definitions and statistics. 6 offer a critical political and social

framewor- that is essential to understand how and wh. violence against women and girls occurs. &ext, 6 loo- at the wor- of several researchers in the health care and legal sectors where some researchers are beginning to ac-nowledge and respond to the insidiousness of the issue. 'rief 5verview of 2anadian Legal (istor& :heeh. '00'+, a law professor at >ttawa Bniversit. specialiCing in sexual assault law, provides a brief overview of historical issues related to violence against women. <rom the !iddle /ges on, she states, women8s public roles were severel. restricted and the. were considered legal propert. of men. Rape, for example, was considered a crime against the husband or father of the woman or girl and even then onl. if non4consent and penetration could be proved. /s well, a man could beat his wife if she needed discipline, as long as the stic- was no wider than his thumb. :heeh. concludes that violence against women was not a societal, legal, or political issue until women started to protest. /fter the first wave of feminists fought for some rights, beginning in the "#th and earl. '0th Centur., some progress was made, such as white women gaining legal status as persons in "#'# :heeh., '00', p. 4$7+. 1able 1: Feminist 1imeline <irst ,ave :econd ,ave "$008s 4 "#'08s "#408s "##08s Third ,ave "##08s 4 '0008s <ourth ,ave '0008s

5owever, despite the second wave of feminists valiantl. struggling for more e0ualit. and the "#$0 Ro.al Commission on the :tatus of ,omen in Canada, violence against women was still far from being addressed sufficientl.. :heeh. offers an infamous incident in Canadian histor. as cited b. 1onn.castle and Riga-os+=

5 That women8s struggle for e0ualit. and freedom from violence was a long term one was painfull. illustrated b. a notorious exchange in the 5ouse of Commons in "#8' when women )arliamentarians attempted to put the issue and statistics of wife battering on the legislative agenda and the 5ouse erupted in prolonged laughter and general derision 1onn.castle and Riga-os+ p. 4$8+. ,hile this response is historicall. relevant and shows the general view of violence against women thirt. .ears ago, it also shows us how far we have come. That behaviour would no longer be acceptable in the 5ouse of Commons. Third4,ave feminists, according to :heeh. '00'+, have brought a Dcritical anal.sis and new understandings of e0ualit. to the issue of the legal treatment of violence against womenE p. 4$#+. There were changes in the legal language related to sexual assault in the "#80s that aimed for e0ualit., but :heeh. asserts that the wa. people understand rape and domestic violence has not changed. 5ow the new laws are applied is often ignored b. police, law.ers, and ;udges, and the language, being gender neutral, conceals the victims p. 4$#+. :heeh. goes on to sa. that the Canadian Charter of 'i#hts and (reedo%s "#8'+, allegedl. based on e0ualit., is often used against women. <eminist law.ers have demanded additional changes in the Canadian Criminal Code in "##' based on the Charter) Bltimatel., claims :heeh. '00'+, as long as societ. continues to perpetuate the m.ths surrounding stranger rape, as long as we refuse to dismantle the false construct of gender neutralit., and as long as we sta. in denial about the level of partner violence and sexual violence, and how interwoven povert. is with the whole issue, criminal law involvement ma. be more detrimental than helpful. :heeh. concludes that societ. needs to Dde4emphasiCe law as the solution, and support the women8s movement% which continues to put the pressure on the state and thereb. creates the political conditions for further engagement with lawE p. 485+. :heeh.

proposes the solution to reducing violence against women is to increase inter4disciplinar. connection and recogniCe a multi4pronged approach is critical. !efining the 1erms /ll the researchers and activists in the field of violence against women that 6 read agree that there is a structural and gender4based framewor- surrounding the issue of violence against women. Thirt. five .ears ago, 1rownmiller "#$5+ bro-e the silence that surrounded rape of women b. men when she wrote the political and feminist boo- A#ainst *ur $ill+ en, $o%en

and 'ape) /n explosion of second wave feminism during the "#$0s and "#80s brought man. issues to light, including the extensive amount of violence that women were experiencing. ,omen began to tal- to each other, and then publicl., about their experiences of violence. 6n "#84, the 1adgle. Report disclosed that 54F of females under "8 had experienced sexual assault as reported in ,agner, '008+. ,hen 1elen-., Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule "#8$+ interviewed "(5 women about their experiences of self4concept, education, relationships, and gender, the. discovered an overwhelming theme of violence in their lives. <or example, the authors found that all of the women in the small group of what the. referred to as DsilentE p. "5+, had experienced ph.sical and sexual abuse and that one in five of the college women spo-e about childhood sexual abuse. /s the public exposure of the amount of violence that women experienced in their private lives was revealed over the .ears, a broader definition was re0uired. ?eGesered. '0""+ proposes that different disciplines have developed definitions to fit their goals. The public health approach has different ob;ectives than the legal sector. <or example, the ,orld 5ealth >rganiCation ,5>+ '005+ used the broad definition developed b. the Bnited &ations see definition below+ in an inter4disciplinar. research about violence against women in "0 countries.

?eGesered. suggests that definitions that onl. include ph.sical abuse or sexual assault are not helpful to the problem as there are a number of factors involved in violence against women that reflect women8s actual experiences. The approach to defining violence broadl., he goes on to sa., is a critical one because women spea- of horrible ps.chological abuse that debilitates and terroriCes them without ph.sical harm. <urther, women that experience violence in intimate relationships often sa. the. would rather be hit than have the ongoing emotional and verbal abuse that undermines their ver. being p. "5+. The Bnited &ations developed a consultative process that produced a broad definition that man. Canadian and international experts accept. This definition was used in the "##( ?eclaration on the @limination of Hiolence /gainst ,omen ,alb., '005% 3ohnson, '007+= /n. act of gender4based violence that results in, or is li-el. to result in, ph.sical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrar. deprivation of libert., whether occurring in public or private life. Hiolence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to ph.sical, sexual and ps.chological violence occurring in the famil., including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowr.4 related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non4spousal violence and violence related to exploitation% ph.sical, sexual and ps.chological violence occurring within the general communit., including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at wor-, in educational institutions and elsewhere% traffic-ing in women and forced prostitution% and ph.sical, sexual and ps.chological violence perpetrated or condoned b. the :tate, wherever it occurs 3ohnson, '007, pp. 84#+. /lthough ,alb. supports the wide inclusion of this definition, she also criticiCes this definition as a watered down approach to gender4based violence. /ppl.ing a gender4based anal.sis is generall. accepted within the feminist and violence against women field although in the last decade the depoliticiCation of this anal.sis is occurring across the globe @nglish and 6rving, '00$+. This depoliticiCation, b. using terms li-e Dfamil. violenceE or Dspousal violenceE, decreases the acceptance of violence against women as an

insidious, ongoing issue that is based in the patriarchal histor. of men8s control of women. *odanis '004+, a Canadian researcher who completed an international stud. on violence against women in '$ countries, states that the Dstructure of gender ine0ualit. is associated with a culture of violence against womenE p. 7$0+. ,hile )rice '005+ aligns with *odanis '004+ and ,alb. '005+ in lin-ing the definition of violence against women with a gendered perspective, she also pierces into another la.er of gender anal.sis. 6n the process of defining violence against women, )rice explicitl. ac-nowledges the ideas of doCens of seminal feminist theorists and writers such as ?wor-in, !acGinnon, :mart, Clar- and 9ewis, 1rownmiller, and others. )rice states that Dpersonal violence is fundamentall. genderedE p. ''+. /s well, she adds that Ddefinitions of violence should be grounded in women8s experiences rather than men8s perceptionsE p. ''+. )rice asserts that sex violence targets women and girls onl. because the. are female and that this gender factor cannot be ignored. )rice sees gender oppression and sex violence as being at the heart of violence against women. <rom the smallest of personal interactions to the broadest government institutions, )rice states, male supremac. is used to -eep women sub;ugated b. the constant threat or fear of violence, alwa.s with an undertone of sexAsexualit.. D:ociall., being female means being vulnerable, being subordinate and, at least sometimes, being the ob;ect of hateE p. "7+. !an. experts in the field agree that the impact of violence on an individual woman depends on man. factors such as class, race, abilit., financial resources, etc. 1arrett 2 :t. )ierre, '0""% 1reire 2 3ordan, '004% )aterson, :., '00#% :tatistics Canada, '00#% *odanis, '004+. 5orsman "###, '007, '0""+, an adult educator who writes about violence against women, agrees with ,alb. '005+, *odanis '004+, and )rice '005+ that violence against women ta-es

man. forms and needs to seen within the context that it occurs. 5orsman '0""+ states that we need to see the entire extent of violence and include the individual and the state, encompassing both the private and the public. <urther, she adds, we also need to include other oppressions that b. their nature promote violence such as racism, ableism, povert., sexism, and homophobia, among others. 6n alignment with this concept, 1arrett and :t. )ierre '0""+ state that the most consistent 0ualit. associated with women as-ing for help when the. are see-ing violence is economic resources. ,hen the. are poor, the. do not as- for help. ,hen the. have economic and financial resources, the. use the legal s.stem more fre0uentl. and call the police more often. Statistics 3ohnson '00', '005, '007+, an international and Canadian researcher, reveals high incidences of violence in Canada. :he reviews and compares all the Canadian surve.s completed about violence against women from "##(4'004. /lthough she '005+ cautions readers about the ethical and methodological limitations when as-ing women about their experiences of violence, she does summariCe with alarming Canadian statistics= D5alf of all Canadian women have experienced at least one episode of sexual or ph.sical violence in their adult lifetimeE p. ''$+. <urther, 3ohnson '005+ goes on to sa. that in Canada in '00(A04, emergenc. shelters provided a ver. high number of women safe housing= 58,000 abused women and (7,000 children. These numbers are not going to change, 3ohnson '007+ concludes b. asserting that societ. needs to completel. change attitudes toward women if violence is going to be prevented. 6n an international stud. of violence against women in '$ countries, *odanis '004+ reveals that in countries where women are more highl. educated and participate more in the political sphere, there is less sexual violence. 5owever, the stud. also reveals that this is not true in the case of ph.sical violence. This research also shows that women experience five times

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more fear than men and that, of the '$ countries included in the research, Canada ran-ed eighth in fre0uenc. of sexual violence and first in pre"alence of physical "iolence m. italics+. /lthough 1arrett and :t. )ierre '0""+ state that the rates of women experiencing intimate partner violence can var. widel.Ifrom 0.4F to 54FIthe. add that Dthat intimate partner violence continues to be a ma;or ris- factor threatening women8s ps.chological and ph.sical well4beingE p. 48+. Framewor7 and 2onte8t The definitions of violence against women and the support for a gender4based anal.sis offers considerable evidence that violence against women occurs within a political, social, economic, and legal framewor- that is based on historical structures of patriarch.. 3ane ?oe '004+, the fifth woman raped in "#87 b. a serial rapist, offers insight into how the s.stemic oppression of women contributes to violence against women in her boo-, The Story of Jane Doe+ A &oo, a-out 'ape. :he successfull. sued the !etropolitan Toronto )olice in a civil case and as a result the /uditor Jeneral made recommendations to improve police response to sexual assault in "###, '005, and '0"0. ?oe provides an effective and focused framewor- on how the s.stem implicitl. supports violence against women. :he offers this perspective= K:imilar to racismL, men benefit in s.stemic and obvious wa.s from a societ. that is inherentl. sexist. !en earn more than women, hold more positions of power, are not responsible for the unpaid wor- of mothering, wal- freel. and are free to wal- alone. The. need not worr. about unwanted pregnancies, bod. image, aging and financial securit. with an.where near the same intensit. as women. The. do not consciousl. fear the stranger rapist or feel compelled to monitor the actions of strange women around them. The. are not taught at a ver. earl. age that there is a damned good chance the. will experience a form of male violence staved off onl. b. their lifelong vigilance and the curtailing of certain actions, pleasures and freedoms the. might otherwise en;o.. 6n Canada, the government statistics are that one in four men would rape if given the opportunit. p. $#+.

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?oe states that the socialiCation of people b. gender creates an environment that ma-es male violence against women invisible. <urther, she proposes that the response of societ. colludes in the invisibilit. b. accepting the restrictions involved for women and the freedom for men. /long with ?oe '004+, :ev8er '00'+ supports the view that societ. generall. sta.s in ignorance about the issue. :he sa.s that nothing can explain ade0uatel. wh. this incredibl. difficult social phenomenon of violence against women and girls that occurs in epidemic proportions continues to exist. :he states that there is lac- of punishment in the criminal ;ustice s.stem, that misog.n. is still part of societ., and that gender differences are still part of our socialiCation. :ev8er also adds that there have been some strides forward in the last 40 .ears. :he concludes that the solutions are not simple but multi4level and complex and re0uire a societal paradigm shift in thin-ing and behaving. 5orsman "###, '007, '0""+ aligns with :ev8er8s '00'+ and ?oe8s '004+ view that a paradigm shift must occur to end violence against women. :he '0""+ also sees violence as part of the larger s.stem and sees the root causes as lin-ed to the entire societ.. Hiolence is not onl. perpetrated b. individuals, it is also s.stemic. The institutions and s.stems of societ. support and allow violence to continue. ,hen a court gives a suspended sentence to an abusive husband, when the limitations of welfare leave a woman trapped with an abusive partner, when the onl. ;obs available in a racist, sexist societ. do not allow a woman to afford safe transportation, da.care or accommodation, institutions are perpetuating violence. http=AAwww.learningandviolence.netAviolenceAassumeviolence.htm+. :imilar to others in the field, 5orsman "###+ states that the political, economic, and legal parameters are deepl. embedded in our institutions and therefore integrall. related to societ.8s expectations. <urther, 5orsman "###+ explicitl. argues that we Dcreate a climate which condones male violenceE p. '#"+.

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/long the same lines, 1usch, Gularni, !c)hail, and Rice '00$+ support the idea that societ. continues to be in denial about the level and impact of violence against women. The. state that violence against women must not return to a private, personal issue alone, but must be lin-ed to the collective and political structures. )aterson '00#+ also recogniCes the responsibilit. for ending violence against women must be with the state and adds that societ. needs to stop blaming the victim. <urther, she lin-s societ.8s lac- of allocation of economic resources directl. to issues of violence against women as another wa. that societ. implicitl. supports the issue. 5ther Sectors: (ealth care and Legal S&stems >verall, other sectors have begun to explore and research violence against women more effectivel. than education. 3ordan '00#+, a researcher in the B:, did a literature review of the top disciplines publishing articles about the issue of violence against women. <or example, ps.cholog., ps.chiatr., nursing, medicine, sociolog., public health, pharmac., and statistics all had between seven and #8 authors publishing articles about violence against women and between $5 and ",88( citations. 5owever, education was at the bottom of the list of ten disciplines, with one author and one citation. Two s.stems in >ntario that are doing research in and responding more effectivel. to violence against women than the education s.stem are the health care and legal s.stems. <or example, the health care sector has set up specialiCed teams in >ntario hospitals to respond more effectivel. to women disclosing violence. Researchers within the health care sector, !ason and )elliCCari '007+, reveal statistics of violence against women that the. gathered are congruent with others=

"( ,omen were more than twice as li-el. to have been beaten, five times more li-el. to have been cho-ed, and almost twice as li-el. to have had a -nife or gun used against them. ,omen were also three times more li-el. to be in;ured b. their partners and five times more li-el. to re0uire medical attention, than were men p. '"+. !ason, a researcher with the Centre for Research in ,omen8s 5ealth in Toronto, and )elliCCari, a !edical >fficer of 5ealth in :tratford, >ntario, support the idea of and participate in multi4 sectoral approaches as a necessar. solution to end violence against women. The authors create recommendations within their field and develop guidelines for policies, education, and a coordinated response which includes communit., legal, healthcare, and violence against women sector specific involvement. ,ithin the legal s.stem, specialiCed domestic violence courts have been developed with Crown /ttorne.s who are educated about the issue, and who sta. in the specialiCed court for at least two .ears. 6n Toronto, 9egal /id has added a specific domestic violence phone line in the waiting area of some court rooms. 9egal Clinics have added women experiencing violence to their client base and often wor- in communit. committees with other agencies related to violence against women issues. :heeh. '00'+ recogniCes that even with these and other changes, the response to violence against women has not progressed ver. much in Canada. :he states that a multi4pronged approach is important. Hiolence against women has not subsided in Canada because women8s vulnerabilit. to male violence and our abilit. to harness law are inextricabl. lin-ed to women8s social, economic, and political position in Canada, in relation to those who hold power. Thus, while law is an important tool in advancing women8s e0ualit. rights, law alone cannot end this violence until all women8s e0ualit. is full. realiCed p. 4$(+. 9aw.ers li-e :heeh. recogniCe how important the legal structure is to change the approach to violence against women, but also advocates bridge building across sectors to provide solutions. >ne sector alone cannot solve the issue as it is too complex and deepl. rooted.

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Adult Education Foundations of Adult Education in 2anada Canada8s histor. shows adult educators strongl. committed to social change and responsive to citiCen8s needs. >ur roots are based on the immense flood of immigration into this countr. :cott, "##8% ,elton, "##8+ and educators and the various la.ers of Canadian government have attempted to respond to citiCens8 educational needs in a variet. of wa.s Thomas, '005+. <rom the Toronto :chool 1oard night classes in the mid4"800s to government sponsored training programs in the earl. "#008s, a range of adult education forums have flourished !artin, "##8+. ,elton "##8+ states that there are three prominent historical education developments from the "#(0s and "#40s that shaped the adult education movement in this countr.= the &ational <arm Radio <orum, the CitiCenship <orum and the influential &ational <ilm 1oard Circuit start. /s well, ,elton discusses the remar-able /ntigonish !ovement which flourished in &ova :cotia in the "#(0s under the leadership of priests dedicated to Demancipate the oppressed peoples labouring in the mines, at sea, on the farms and in householdE p. 4"+. 6n addition, <rontier College was a remar-able and radical approach to educating citiCens. /fter ,orld ,ar 66, ,elton "##8+ states, the commitment to social reform began to disintegrate and business interests became predominant but !artin "##8+ argues that there was a continued momentum and growth for social change between "#70 and "#80. 1. the "#80s, though, !artin does agree that there was an increasingl. conservative and corporate political and social structure worldwide. 6n addition to the corporate shift, or perhaps in response to it, there was a shift in Canada and across the globe to professionaliCing adult education Thomas, '005+.

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1oth the political and the professionaliCation shift have impacted the field of adult education in Canada tremendousl.. 5owever, <enwic- and :pencer '007+ tal- about three Dmain and enduring traditionsE p. "$+ that draw all adult educators together= the passion to support the more vulnerable in our societ., the critical anal.sis necessar. to grasp the social structures, and the focus on how these are lived b. Canadians. These traditions have grounded and supported adult educators for man. .ears. 5owever, the field of adult education has expanded to include a range of approaches and philosophies which were previousl. excluded such as feminist pedagog., critical thin-ing, andI particularl. with the onset of the ,orld ,ide ,ebIattention to global awareness. 6f we draw on tradition while expanding critical thin-ing and broadening inclusivit., this apparent paradox ma. support adult educators and other citiCens to resist the increasing conservative driven globalism. !efinitions of Adult Education 6n the process of exploring for a definition of adult education to include here, 6 re4 discovered the definitions of adult education were complex and challenging. @nglish '005b+, for example, comments in the introduction to the International Encyclopedia of Adult Education that an. attempts to define adult education in the '"st Centur. are not constructive. /dult education has expanded across sectors to include areas such as religion, health, and development. 1ridge building is part of the solution in this global societ.. @nglish does state that the purpose of the @nc.clopedia is to offer a level of organiCation within a socio4political context that recogniCes there are more 0uestions than answers. 6ncluding marginaliCed views is essential when wrestling with thorn. matters of constructing -nowledge, as @nglish has done, .et we must also sta. grounded in tradition and roots. 6n the midst of ac-nowledging complexit. and

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diversit., @nglish adds that there are still basic ideas that need to be included to create a common understanding in an. discussion about adult education, such as literac., learning, and critical thin-ing. The boundaries of the field are folding and unfolding, and @nglish shows a decided preference for sta.ing fluid rather than rigid. :elman, Coo-e, :elman, and ?ampier "##8+ also refuse a definitive explanation of adult education in The (oundations of Adult Education in Canada) There are terms that the authors feel ma. be helpful to explore, such as andragog., continuing education, communit. education, lifelong learning, and others. 6t is important, the. also add, to include both formal and informal adult educators and to ac-nowledge that Canada is a countr. based on immigrants. :imilar to @nglish, these authors include philosoph., approaches, and principlesIli-e inclusivit.Iand explore the wh. adults want to participate in adult education as part of the definition. The. conclude that adult education, li-e the societ. surrounding it, is in a constant state of flux. @lias and !erriam "##5+ also den. a simple definition of adult education in Philosophical (oundations of Adult Education) The. propose that adult educators define education differentl., depending on their philosophical approach and belief s.stems. )recise definitions in one area lead to problems in another. The. do define six philosophical s.stems, which are expanded on in the section below. ,hile the editors of "##8+, :cott, :pencer, and Thomas, adroitl. avoid a direct definition, b. pure necessit. the. included some viewsIsuch as histor., labour education, universit. extension, self4directed learningIand excluded othersIsuch as 0ueer theor. and the disabilit. movement. 5owever, in their search for clarit. and organiCation, their structure revealed la.ers of definition= context, which connects the histor. of adult education and how it

"$

relates to the present da.% the different purposes of adult education% and, finall., present da. challenges and future visions. 5owever, in the opening chapter of .earnin# for .ife+ Canadian 'eadin#s for Adult Education, :elman "##8+ offers a more definitive definition= DcitiCenship educationE, which he states means a wa. to promote active, effective, and s-illed adult involvement in a democratic societ. p. '4+. 5e does not limit himself to that term or the definition, and does add context, but this definition offers substance. ,hile 1roc-ett and !erriam '00$+ also explore philosophical orientations and context in The Profession and Practice of Adult Education, the., too, eventuall. land on a definition of adult education= Dacti"ities intentionally desi#ned for the purpose of -rin#in# a-out learnin# a%on# those whose a#e, social roles, or self/perception define the% as adults italics in original+E p. 8+. Ta.lor and Tisdell '00"+, li-e @lias and !erriam "##5+, agree that the philosophical approach of an educator la.s the foundation for the individual8s definition. The. develop a rubric that enfolds not onl. @lias and !erriam8s six philosophical orientations, but include more plus uses five guiding 0uestions that include one8s Dworldview of human-indE p. 8+. >nl. in self4reflection and self4-nowledge can a definition be reached, the. argue, and one must alwa.s add location of one8s place of privilege andAor oppression. The rubric lifted the definition issue up to a macro level. 4hiloso6hies of Adult Education @lias and !erriam "##5+ suggest that understanding the philosophical s.stem of adult education is essential to develop clear thin-ing about one8s own beliefs as an adult educator. The. have carved out six basic philosophies used in all t.pes of adult education that are generall. accepted to be a solid foundation within adult education= liberal, progressive,

"8

behaviourist, humanistic, radical, and anal.tic. /n adult educator8s choice of philosoph., whether explicit or implicit, impacts the learners both inside and outside the classroom. ,hen an adult educator -nows his or her own values and beliefs, it is possible to be explicit about these to learners and to facilitate the learner8s ;ourne. in discovering their own beliefs. Ta.lor and Tisdell8s '00"+ process of enfolding @lias and !erriam8s six philosophical orientation with others, invites clarit. and offers the adult educator an opportunit. to explore belief s.stems and values to assist with la.ing a foundation. Ta.lor and Tisdell divide the rubric into autonomous learners, such as the humanist and the critical4humanist, and the relational and affective areas of learning. The. ac-nowledge the feminist scholars who have focused more on bringing women to the centre of education and -nowledge development. Ta.lor and Tisdell also define the role of the educator as a wa. to help learners face ine0uit. and manage conflict in a safe environment. The. offer examples of the process of unveiling often invisible la.ers of ine0uities, how the multiple levels of privilege and oppression are revealed, and show how learners can begin to understand and articulate these issues. <reire "#$0+, a radical 1raCilian educator who wor-ed with peasants who lived in povert. and were illiterate, developed a class anal.sis that laid the foundation for critical pedagog.. 5e explores the connection between the coloniCer and the coloniCed, or the oppressor and the oppressed. <reire demands that both recogniCe that the social, political, and economic contradictions that imprison our minds and hearts. 6t is not enough to ;ust see the contradictions, however, both the oppressed and oppressors must also ta-e action against the oppressive elements. D&o pedagog. which is trul. liberating can remain distant from the oppressed b. treating them as unfortunates and b. presenting for their emulation models from among the

"#

oppressors. The oppressed must be their own example in the struggle for their redemptionE p. 54+. <reire developed the term the Dban-ing modelM to refer to conventional schooling. 6n this model, students are viewed as empt., li-e a pigg.ban-, waiting to be filled with -nowledge b. the educator. 5e supports the concept of co4creation between student and teachers. <reire states that education is never value neutral, and @lias and !erriam "##5+ draw on <reire8s wor- to exemplif. this idea in the following passage= 1esides its relevance for literac. education and the education of the oppressed in our societ., the real relevance of <reire8s philosoph. and methodolog. lies in its 0uestioning of two basic educational assumptions. The first of these assumptions is the presumed neutralit. of education. 6n ,estern educational thought, education is often regarded as the public transmission of neutral bits of information about the world. ,hat is taught is viewed as devoid of an. ideological content. 6n <reire8s anal.sis of the relationship between education and culture, it is culture that produces education and uses it for its own self4perpetuation because the assumptions of the culture are contained in the educational process. @ducation is clearl. non4neutral and value laden p."75+. @lias and !erriam articulate how critical it is to recogniCe the construction underl.ing one8s own beliefs that needs to be made explicit. Collins "##8+ also challenges adult educators to identif. their own philosophical beliefs and to be critical of the philosophical s.stems, especiall. those that support the neo4liberal shift in adult education. ,hile he concedes that the field of adult education has activel. sought increased professional status over the .ears and that this can be helpful, he criticiCes both the goal of professionaliCation and the wa. that technical rationalit. has infused the field. Collins calls for adult educators to use emancipator. andragog. to stop the mammoth boulder of corporate globaliCationIin the form of mandator. ongoing lifelong education, for exampleI from rolling over ordinar. people. The field, he proposes, is being relegated to serve the privileged elite in power. Collins challenges adult educators to build a critical approach

'0

including feminist, critical, and global theories to ensure ordinar. and marginaliCed citiCens have access to genuine life long learning. 1roo-field "##5, '00", '005+ is an adult educator who ac-nowledges @lias and !erriam8s "##5+ philosophical approach as fundamental to adult education, but aligns more closel. with emancipator. andragog.. 5e expands on @lias and !erriam8s six s.stems to include more current ones such as radical humanism, neo4!arxism, /fricentrism, postmodernism, and poststructuralism. 1roo-field "##5+ states that adult educators should be developing critical s-ills b. as-ing tough 0uestions about what is behind the s.stems that are in place. To be a critical educator, he states, we need to be critical learners, constantl. 0uestioning what is going on behind the scenes. 1roo-field '00"+ further proposes that an increased understanding of power can assist adult educators in gaining a more comprehensive -nowledge of how, not if, we use power in our dail. lives. 5e challenges adult educators to undermine dominant power relations b. ta-ing action and living congruentl. with our values. <inall., 1roo-field '005+, li-e Collins "##8+, criti0ues the present da. shift of adult education toward a liberal4humanist philosoph.. 1roo-field8s vision moderniCes and expands on <reire8s "#$0+ brilliant ideas of liberation to include contemporar. philosophies that embrace a more global and inclusive view. Hella '00'+, li-e 1roo-field '005+, supports the foundational components of @lias and !erriam "##5+ and of <reire "#$0+, but she also suggests a paradigm shift. :he re;ects &ewtonian thin-ing that the universe is a vast machine with separate parts. 6nstead, she proposes that 0uantum thin-ing, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, can develop into a broad, inclusive humanistic paradigm. :he supports educators and learners to shift their consciousness inside of mutuall. respectful relationships. Hella describes individuals, the world, and the universe as interconnected at all levels.

'"

:cott "##8+, similar to others, supports the basic premise that practitioners need to -now the range of philosophies available and to in0uire into their own philosophical leanings. :he proposes that all adult educators need to be critical and reflective of their own framewor- so that the. can confront the forces that ob;ectif. and alienate us. ,e need to focus, :cott advocates, on Dpreserving what promotes human compassion and changing what is not life4givingE p. "05+. 6n a similar vein, !orin "##8+ states that personal transformation is no longer enough in societ., as it was in the "#70s. JlobaliCation, feminism, critical theor., economic and political restructuring along with the explosion of the internet have all contributed to the 0uic- sands of a shifting world view. :he sees the level of stress on the earth and our societies as reaching epic proportions. The corporate elite, as !orin refers to those in power, manipulate the media to convince people that the economic shifts the. want are re0uired to maintain stabilit.. D1eing conscious might be the onl. viable choice, since the elite8s henchman have been at wor- for a long time and the. are ahead of us with the most sophisticated technological tools and nearl. unlimited financial resourcesE p. $0+. !orin calls on adult educators to shift to a new paradigm, similar to Hella '00'+, from the &ewtonian view of the universe as static and predetermined to the @insteinian perspective of a fluid evolution where events occur at a global or universal level. Self9!irected Learning ,hile self4directed learning is not encapsulated as a philosoph. in the same wa. that @lias and !erriam "##5+ or 1roo-field '005+ describe, Gnowles "#$5+ developed an adult education theor. that profoundl. shifted adult education to a more facilitative approach over thirt.4five .ears ago. ,hile limited when viewed through the lens of cultural and gender sensitivit., the values and philosoph. underpinning Gnowles8 seminal wor- defined a new role

''

for educators and learners. Gnowles describes self4directed learning succinctl. in the following passage= Na process in which individuals ta-e the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identif.ing human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes p."8+. / decade later, Golb "#84+ built on foundational adult educators 9ewin, ?ewe. and )iaget to present the e0uall. influential experiential learning theor.= K@xperiential learning theor.L offers the foundation for an approach to education and learning as a lifelong process that is soundl. based in intellectual traditions of social ps.cholog., philosoph., and cognitive ps.cholog.. The experiential learning model pursues a framewor- for examining and strengthening the critical lin-ages among education, wor- and personal development. 6t offers a s.stem of competencies for describing ;ob demands and corresponding educational ob;ectives and emphasiCes the critical lin-ages that can be developed between the classroom and the Dreal world= with experiential learning methods p. 4+. These components of adult education are uni0ue and contributed vastl. to the field of adult education, despite the limitations of the liberal individual focus. Feminist 1heories in Adult Education !ost feminists agree that there are man. -inds of feminisms Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule, "##7% 1utterwic-, "##8, '005% Jouthro, '005% hoo-s, "#84, "##0, '000% 3ohnson41aile., '005% :mith, "#8$, "##", "###% :tal-er, "##8, '005% Tisdell, "##8, '005% + Tisdell '005+, for example, includes Dliberal, radical, ps.choanal.tic, !arxist, socialist, 1lac- feminist thought, cultural, postmodern, poststructural, postcolonial, global and third4world feminismE p. '54+. ,hile there are man. approaches within each strand, feminism concentrates on ending the patriarchal control of women b. using activism. /dditionall., Tisdell '005+ offers three broad categories of feminism= an individual focus, such as liberalism and

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ps.choanal.sis% a structural, cultural, and standpoint focus, such as radical, !arxist, socialist, and cultural% and a poststructural, postmodern, and postcolonial focus, which examine the relations of oppression and privilege. @nglish and 6rving '008+ reflect that feminism exposes the exclusion of women constructing -nowledge historicall. and then places them at the centre b. appl.ing the DThree RsE of feminism= recuperation, reconstruction, and reflexivit.. 3ohnson41aile. '005+ places context around how biCarre the exclusion of women actuall. is in our culture. :he states that Dwomen ma-e up over half the world8s population and over half the learners in higher education and adult settings, KbutL ma;or education and adult education theories were normed on menE p. '75+. 1utterwic- "##8, '005+ exposes three significant beliefs underl.ing the broader feminist categories named b. Tisdell '005+. <irst, similar to @lias and !erriam "##5+ and man. other adult educators, 1utterwic- '005+ agrees that education is not neutral. 5owever, as a feminist, she goes further than some adult educators to also state that the Dthe social locations of power relations and the identities and sub;ectivities of teachers and learners their gender, race, class, sexualit., culture and language+ both within and outside the learning environment matterE p. '5$+. <inall., the feminist viewpoint points firml. to gender as significant. Revealing that women learn differentl. and that how the. learn is lin-ed to their self4 concept, 1elen-. et al. "#8$+ investigate and expose gender differences in their seminal wor$o%en0s $ays of 1nowin#) 1elen-. et al. interviewed "(5 women, from the most deprived to the most advantaged over five .ears. <ive epistemological categories were created about the wa. women view truth, -nowledge, and authorit.= 1able *: Five E6istemological 2ategories/ Womens Ways of Knowing

'4

". '. (. 4. 5.

:ilence

mindless, voiceless, denies self, bows to external authorit. Received Gnowledge can receive -nowledge but cannot create -nowledge, dualistic thin-ing :ub;ective Gnowledge personal, private, intuitivel. -nown -nowledge, become personal authorit., 0uest for self )rocedural Gnowledge uses ob;ective wa.s to get and share -nowledge, can hold two contradictor. truths, uses separate and connected wa.s of -nowing Constructed Gnowledge -nowledge is contextual, can create -nowledge, both sub;ective and ob;ective are valuable, can tolerate ambiguit. and paradoxes 1elen-. et al. "#8$+ articulate how women can learn to come into their own power,

claim and trust their own minds, and begin to participate in creating -nowledge. 6n the search for their own truth and voice, 1elen-. et al. suggest that women arrive at this conclusion= DAll ,nowled#e is constructed, and the ,nower is an inti%ate part of the ,nownE p. "($+. This understanding expands the possibilities of context and adds la.ers of complexit. for women. ,omen8s self4concepts and wa.s of -nowing are intertwined and are different from the wa. men learn. Tisdell "##8+ criti0ues the model developed b. 1elen-. et al. "#8$+ because, she states, it is grounded in liberal feminism and thus is concerned with women as individuals and not with the larger political and social structures. 1utterwic- '005+ also criti0ues the idea proposed b. 1elen-. et al. "#8$+ that silence is Dinherentl. oppressiveE p. '70+. 6nstead, she suggests that we Dneed to explore the multiple meanings of silenceE p. '70+. 6n response to criti0ues from others and also from their own growth as researchers and academics, 1elen-. et al. "##7+ published a reflective boo- of essa.s ten .ears later called 1nowled#e, Difference, and Power) This boo- adds a global, postmodern context to the original stud.. Joldberger "##7+ proposes in her essa. in the boo- that the following shift adds context when one views the original

'5

research= DK,henL context is factored into the stud. of -nowing, one begins to see the advantages of thin-ing of the five categories as strategies for -nowing rather than person t.pes+E p. (7'+. >ther feminist adult educators, such as :tal-er "##8+, have focused on bringing women into the centre b. researching how women have significantl. and activel. participated as leaders in educational organiCations, agencies, and social movements in the histor. of Canada. 1utterwic- "##8+ also highlights some of the organiCations that are often overloo-ed when the histor. of adult education is being discussed, such as The *oung ,omen8s Christian /ssociation, the ,omen8s Christian Temperance Bnion, the &ational Council of ,omen, the Canadian <ederation of Bniversit. ,omen, and ,omen8s 6nstitutes. /dditionall., the Canadian Congress for 9earning >pportunities for ,omen, the onl. feminist adult education organiCation in Canada, is rarel. included in discussion of adult education. The oppression of women has limited both the level of involvement and the ac-nowledgement of women8s engagement :tal-er, "##8+. The historical and present da. barriers built b. misog.n., racism, and other excluding practices are often ignored and need to be uncovered. 6t is important that we validate women8s experiences and at the same time criti0ue existing social, economic, and political structures Jouthro and Taber, '007+. 1utterwic- "##8+ suggests that the process of ma-ing -nowledge, of who is included and who is not, is part of Da political process embedded with issues of power and authorit.E p. "05+. ,hen the barriers that exclude women from participating full. in societ. are exposed, the. show how strong women must have been to overcome these difficulties. :tal-er "##8+ states that this process of revealing and including also honours women8s contributions. 6n addition, :tal-er '005+ challenges adult educators to recogniCe that

'7

e0ualit. has not .et been achieved and that Dpatriarch., oppression, and abuse still exist despite generations of effortE p.77(+. @nglish and 6rving '00$+, commissioned b. the Canadian Council for 9earning to research gender and learning in Canada, conclude that there are still ongoing barriers that blocfull access to education for women. The. conclude that increased collaboration between sectors is re0uired, the depoliticiCation of gender impacts the field, and the ongoing exclusionar. practices of <irst &ations people, disabled, and rural communities causes harm. Research, the. suggest, should be more explicitl. lin-ed to naming a political agenda. The same authors '008+ reflect on the process of completing the earlier research on gender and learning b. deconstructing their experience of how power was misAused b. the representatives of the Canadian Council on 9earning. D>nce the multila.ered acts of power and oppression are identified, the. must be addressed, thus providing new anal.ses and strategies for social ;ustice movementsE p. '$"+. The. argue that we must address power issues and ta-e action to be effective and ma-e a difference. /lthough hoo-s "#84, "##0, '000+, similar to other feminists, explores the contradictor. and complex struggles involved in creating a more inclusive global feminism, she also expands feminism to include all people from multiple locations. :he challenges us to recogniCe that women and men need to wor- as allies while understanding that there are multiple locations that we come from. /dditionall., hoo-s confronts resistance to change and the difficulties of ta-ing responsibilit. for actions. /s <reire "#$0+ insists that the oppressed peasants in 1raCil need to recogniCe how narrow and harmful that role is and that the., too, must change, so hoo-s proposes that women need to wor- through their pain of being oppressed and own the wa.s that the. contribute to sexism, racism, ableism, and other exclusionar. behaviours. These behaviours,

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she goes on to sa., marginaliCe people and contribute to oppression. hoo-s '000+ explicitl. honours the feminist movement as responsible for DdemandKingL respect for women8s academic wor-, recognition of that wor- past and present, and an end to gender biases in curriculum and pedagog.E p. '"+. ,hile some of the feminists in adult education refer to violence against women 1elen-. et al., "#8$, "##7% 1utterwic-, '005% hoo-s, '000% :tal-er, "##8, '005%+, 5orsman "###, '007, '0""+ is the onl. adult educator 6 came across in m. literature search who exposes the epidemic of violence against women and explicitl. lin-s it with adult education. :he advocates increasing the awareness within the field of adult education and broadening the commitment to social action to stop violence against women. This paradigm shift and commitment to social activism in relation to violence against women would benefit and change adult educators and learners who have experienced violence. 5orsman "###+ suggests that recogniCing and committing to ma-ing violence and its impacts consistentl. visible in all formal and informal adult education settings is a daunting tas-, but that it would profoundl. change the practice of education and reverberate throughout societ.. 1ransformative Learning 1heor& 5riginal 1heor& !eCirow "#$8+ created the framewor- for what became -nown as the transformative learning theor. when his wife went bac- to postsecondar. school in the "#$0s and he began to research adult women returning to school. 5owever, Cranton "##8+ proposes that the theor. is based on a wide range of philosophies and a multitude of ideas from Dps.cholog., sociolog., philosoph., and educationE p. "#8+. !eCirow8s brilliant wor- has captured the imagination and attention of adult educators and learners ali-e over the (0 .ears since its inception. <or example,

'8

adult educators now gather ever. two .ears for an 6nternational Transformative 9earning Conference, now in its eighth season, and publish a separate ;ournal, Journal of Transfor%ati"e Education .earnin#. Transformative learning theor. has undergone tremendous alteration over time, with dialogue and discourse between educators in the field Ta.lor, '00#+. ,hen !eCirow "#$8+ first wrote about transformative learning theor., he focused primaril. on the individual process of transformation in a rational manner= Transformation in meaning perspective is precipitated by lifes dilemmas which cannot be resolved by simply ac uiring more information, enhancing problem solving skills or adding to ones competencies. !esolution of these dilemmas and transforming our meaning perspectives re uire that we become critically aware of the fact that we are caught in our own history and are reliving it and of the cultural and psychological assumptions which structure the way we see ourselves and others "p. #$%&. Cranton '005+ identifies critical reflection as the core of !eCirow8s transformative learning theor.. Through this process of shifting of critical reflection, our frame of reference shifts, Cranton states, and then we can anchor into a stronger sense of being, become more conscious, and awa-en to soul p. 7(5+. Adding 4olitical and Social 2onte8t :ome adult educators and academics have challenged !eCirow8s "#$8+ initial construct of transformation as an individual, rational ;ourne.. <or example, Collard and 9aw "#8#+ suggest that some of the ideas within the original theor. can create the Dimpression that emancipation can be realiCed without social actionE p. "05+. <urther, the. argue, !eCirow8s "#$8+ theor. does not address the inherent structural ine0ualities within the s.stem. Collard and 9aw "#8#+ propose that !eCirow8s "#$8+ wor- and theor. is essentiall. liberal democratic in

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character. Collard and 9aw "#8#+ set the stage for the ongoing discourse about transformative learning that has led to a significant division in the transformative learning discussions= personal transformation, which is rooted primaril. in individual ps.cholog., compared to social change transformation, which is connected with social and critical theor. :cott, "##8b+. !eCirow "#8#+ responds directl. to Collard and 9aw8s criti0ues of the transformative learning theor. b. ac-nowledging that it is an Demerging, and certainl. incomplete, theor. of transformative learningE p. "$4+. <urther, !eCirow "#8#+ also ac-nowledges that Dan. learning theor. must be understood in the broader context of a comprehensive social theor.E p. "$5+. !eCirow "##4+ ac-nowledges that he values the discussions with colleagues and also ta-es responsibilit. for areas that need clarif.ing b. addressing assumptions and incomplete ideas p. '('+. !eCirow "##4+ states= 'n adult educator cannot be neutral in his or her conviction that social change is necessary to create a society in which all adult learners may participate fully and freely in critically reflective discourse. ( 's citi)ens, educators should become partisan activists to work toward creating such a society "p. *+$&. ,owever, -e)irow "#../& also goes on to say that 0( what we cannot do as educators "italics in original& is to act as advocates, organi)ers, or leaders in effecting collective social change1 "p. *+#&. The discourse about the level of social and2or personal transformation needed to really change continues to shift over time. 'lthough -e)irow defends the concept of autonomous thinking as the goal of adult education in transformative learning in #..3, ten years later "*$$4& he defines transformative learning as a rational process still but also

(0

ac-nowledges that some of the learning ma. happen outside of our conscious awareness and ma. include Demotional, intuitive, s.mbolic, imaginistic, andAor contemplative modes of learningE p. "'4+. ,hile the rational transformation of an individual8s frame of referenceIa world view that includes values, beliefs, and conceptsIis still the core of the theor., the shift to include other dimensions is clear. !eCirow '007+ states the process of the change to include other views can ma-e the individual8s frame of reference Dmore inclusive, discriminating, open, reflective, and emotionall. able to changeE p."'4+. !eCirow '00#+ condenses the theor. into ten phases of learning= 1able ,: 1ransformative Learning 1heor&/ :"e.irow/ * )hase " )hase ' )hase ( )hase 4 )hase 5 )hase 7 )hase $ )hase 8 )hase # )hase "0 +;

/ disorienting dilemma :elf4examination with feelings of guilt or shame, sometimes turning to religion for support / critical assessment of assumptions Recognition of a connection between one8s discontent and the process of transformation @xploration of options for new roles, relationships, and action )lanning a course of action /c0uiring -nowledge and s-ills for implementing one8s plans )rovisional tr.ing of new roles 1uilding competence and self4confidence in new roles and relationships / reintegration into one8s life on the basis of conditions dictated b. one8s new perspective

!eCirow '00#+ clearl. define this model as a reconstructive theor. that generates a structure that explains the learning process within adult education. 6t does not attempt, !eCirow states, to be a cultural criti0ue. !eCirow also identifies four wa.s that learning occurs= Db. elaborating
existing meaning schemes, learning new meaning schemes, transforming meaning schemes, and transforming meaning perspectivesE p. ''+.

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/dditionall., !eCirow adroitl. addresses criticisms levelled at the theor. b. colleagues. The ma;or issues raised actuall. can be reframed to include ongoing development of the theor., he states. >verall, !eCirow responds to criticisms b. shifting and changing, or b. defending. <or example, !eCirow accepts >8:ullivan8s concept of cosmolog. as relevant and helpful in the process of transformative learning, but re;ects the idea that there is too much focus on rationalit. in transformative learning. Ta.lor completed an extensive literature review of transformative learning in '00$, and discovered that the model of transformative learning is successful at identif.ing the phases of the transformative process and how the adult learning ma-es meaning, especiall. how paradigm shifts wor-. Critical reflection is still viewed as core to the model. 5owever, the research also shows that more consideration is needed in five areas= how context is included, the t.pe of catal.sts, different wa.s of -nowing, the significance of relationships, and an expansion of the definition of the result of a perspective transformation p. "$4+. )lus, Ta.lor discovered that there was a gap in literature about how educators might cultivate transformative learning and how relevant it was specificall. in the classroom. In uite a different stream than -e)irow, radical educator and thinker 5reire "#.3$& focuses on emancipation through education in his work. ,e articulates and challenges the more traditional methods of education -nown as ban-ing methods where the educator deposits -nowledge in the learners. 6nstead, he promotes the ideas of people wor-ing alongside as both educators and learners simultaneousl.. <reire proposes a theory of conscienti)ation that proposes that we need to be constantly shifting between action and reflection to reach effectively for social 6ustice. 5reire defines this area of crossover as pra7is8the balance of theory and practice.

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,e challenges us to learn to become conscious of social, political, and economic inconsistencies and then to ta-e action against repressive or oppressive elements. >ppression is both the realit. of the world and a part of consciousness, he states. @ach of us has the innate abilit. to fight against the external structures that create the roles and demands of the oppressedAoppressor. <urther, <reire challenges oppressors to recogniCe how this status bloc-s them and suggests the. must become free of the inherent limitations of being an oppressor. ,hile the concept of reaching for increased individual and social consciousness through liberation is appealing, ,eiler "##"+ challenges the polarit. of <reire8s ideas. ,hile reaching for ;ustice is critical, ,eiler states that we also need to recogniCe the complexit. of interactions between people b. including the locations of power, oppression, and privilege in the anal.sis. :omeone ma., for example, be in a position of privilege b. having economic securit., but also experience oppression as a woman of colour. <reire writes as though all peasants were illiterate and oppressed. Real life is more complicated than <reire often represents it, ,eiler states, and we need to include these complications in our anal.sis. ,hile <reire "#$0+ and !eCirow "#$8, "#8#, "##", "##4, '00', '00#+ ma. seem to be in two different streams, Cranton "##8+ suggests that the political and the personal are lin-ed within the two men= /lthough the contexts of <reire8s and !eCirow8s wor- differ sharpl.I<reire wor-ing with the oppressed people of 1raCil and !eCirow8s imagination being spar-ed b. the experiences of his wife returning to collegeIthe parallels between the two approaches are remar-able. !eCirow "##"+ ac-nowledges the influence of <reire8s wor- on his thin-ing p. "#4+. 5owever, !eCirow "##"+ articulates that the educator needs to help the learner transform their meaning perspective. The individual, states !eCirow '00#+ then becomes more Dinclusive,

((

discriminating, reflective, open, and emotionall. able to changeE p. ''+. The transformation process as described b. !eCirow does not extend to political transformation, as <reire demands. ,hile !eCirow '007+ embraces man. of his colleagues8 criticisms, such as ?ir-x8s "##8+ suggestions to include <reire8s "#$0+ emphasis on liberation from oppression with rational thought and critical reflection as referred to b. !eCirow, '00#+, !eCirow himself does not see political action as a necessar. outcome of personal transformation. 6nstead, he focuses on the individual transformation of a person inside the structure of transformative learning. ,hile Tennant '005+ also sees transformative learning as based in personal change, he argues that self transformation is not enough= 6nvariabl., self4-nowledge is not sufficient for transformative change. 6t is also necessar. to act on those things that wor- against transformative change to sustain it= t.picall. such things as ever.da. habits, patterns of interpersonal relationships, communit. and organiCational structures in which one is embedded, and broader social structures and agencies that oppress, den., or overl. shape who .ou are p. "0#+. /lthough Tennant states that transformative education is both social and individual, he goes a step further and suggests that it Dis seen as a distinct and explicit form of provision supporting transformative learning among individuals, groups, organiCations, and communitiesE p. "0'+. 5e challenges other adult educators to ta-e a more critical approach to the wa. in which the. practice transformative education. Conversel., ?ir-x '007+ proposes in a dialogue with !eCirow '007+ that the individual needs to delve into the interior landscape b. doing what he refers to as Dsoul wor- or inner wor-E p. "'5+. This process, ?ir-x postulates, allows one to become more integrated as an individual. 1. balancing intellectual, emotional, and spiritual selves so that we can see how the inner and outer worlds interrelate. ?ir-x '008+ explores this concept more full. several .ears later when

(4

he describes how critical emotions are to the transformative process as a means to deepen consciousness and integrate the personalit.. <urther, ?ir-x connects this self exploration and see-ing for meaning as often lin-ed to an increasing connection with a sense of something more than the individual p. "7+. :cott "##$+ also connects emotions with the rational process of transformation. :he states that Dgrieving is integral to transformationE p. 4"+ because it can deepen our consciousness of our soul wor-. 5owever, she also lin-s the political action with the interior wor-, but suggests that our personal transformation must come first. This is so that we can ta-e social and political action in an unambiguous manner without our inner distortions impacting our political action. :cott also states that, while we need to discuss and reflect before we can integrate intellectuall., we need to immerse ourselves into our Dinterior worldE p. 48+. In addition to immersing ourselves into our interior world, as 9irk7 "*$$4& and :cott "#..3& suggest, ;ange "*$$.& proposes that the transformational process can be enhanced by creating a sacred space that offers opportunities to integrate into the natural world. In this process, we recogni)e the self in deep relation socially, and can engage holistically with the whole person. ;ange is filling in the gaps identified by Taylor "*$$3& in his literature review of transformative learning. :he pulls away from the duality of personal or political by grounding and containing the discussion in an integrated fashion< 0(deep transformation, which changes our ways of being, doing, and thinking in a profound way, re uires the creation of a learning sanctuary for both facilitator and participants1 "p. #./&.

(5

)ulling further awa. from the construct of dualistic thin-ing, >8:ullivan '008+ envelops the previous criti0ues when he moves the discussion of personal and political transformation to a new level. 5e espouses a profound personal, global, and ecological transformation of humanit.= 6 believe that transformative learning involves a massive change in consciousness that could bring about a new order of social ;ustice and ecological balance. :ome form of massive shift in power would accompan. this radical change. There is no singular location where transformative learning ta-es place. 6t can accompan. deep changes in personal perspectives but it can e0uall. come from the catal.tic forces of large social movements. 6t is embedded in the struggles around power and its connection to une0ual access to power pp. (04("+. <or >8:ullivan, transformative learning is both personal and political, and inclusive of the totalit. of the universe. 5e articulates an anguished call for an immense shift in our relationship with ourselves, our communit., the planet, and the universe that moves us be.ond the division of binar. thin-ing into pluralistic wa.s of being. -e)irow "*$$.& acknowledges =:ullivans work using transformative learning as a means to arrive at a new 0cosmology1 "p. *%&, a way of integrating how we think, feel, and take action in relation to each other and the world around us. The '00# Transformative 9earning Conference, 'efra%in# Social Sustaina-ility in a ulticultural $orld, advanced the integration of the Transformative 9earning Theor. and the concept of pluralism. This conference focused on globaliCation, sustainabilit., and political context b. inviting presenters to explore these themes. :essions and papers included a variet. of themes such as= Translations in Conte2t+ An E2ploration into the Need for Continuous Incre%ental Transfor%ations in Anti/'acis% .earnin#s3 Transfor%in# Social Syste%s+ o"in#

fro% Do%ination to Partnership3 and 'ace, *ppression, and En"iron%ental Justice+ .in,in# Social and Ecolo#ical Sustaina-ility. !eCirow, also at the conference, said in an aside to me, D6 didn8t intend to start a whole movement Kwhen 6 first began to loo- at transformative learningLE

(7

personal communication, &ovember"#, '00#+. &onetheless, over the last thirt. .ears, the transformative learning theor. has indeed developed into a robust movement. Lin7ing the Sectors Adult Education with Violence Against Women The general lac- of awareness of the issue of violence against women in the adult education field has been explicitl. identified and researched b. 5orsman "###, '007, '0""+. /s an adult educator in literac. .ears ago, she began to wonder wh. so man. women learners were significantl. struggling in class. 5orsman "###+ states that Deducators and the education s.stem must recogniCe the impact of women8s and girls8 experiences of violence on their attempts to learnE p. ""+. :he '0""+ declares that when educators, program designers, and administrators ignore the matter of violence, then the learning environment is not supportive of the range of strategies needed to respond to learners who are survivors. ?enial, she asserts, bloc-s the supports needed to address the issue of violence against women. <urther, 5orsman "###+ challenges all educators to increase their -nowledge and s-ills about responding to survivors of trauma. 5orsman "###, '007, '0""+ proposes a similar solution to Routine Bniversal )recautions developed in the healthcare s.stem for protection of staff and patients% staff alwa.s use protective barriers such as latex gloves, whether a patient discloses that he or she has a contagious disease or not. 5orsman "###+ suggests that Dall learnin#s %ust -e carried out in reco#nition of the needs of sur"i"ors of trau%a italics in original+) 6t is needs of trauma survivors that should be DnormaliCedE as an ever.da. part of educationE pp. ('4((+. 5orsman "###+ asserts that instructors need to encourage learners to discover the Dcomplexit. of their own experience, to understand that violence is not onl. an individual matter but also a social

($

issue, and that the aftermath of violence has an impact on learningE p. 4#+. /s a result of the paradigm shift that 5orsman suggests, adult education could become one of the sectors to undergo a transformation to engage in recogniCing violence against women as having a pervasive impact on learners and engage in political action to change the structures that allow it to occur. Adult Education/ Violence Against Women/ and 1ransformative Learning !eCirow "#$8+ initiall. described an individual8s ;ourne. of transformation solel. as rational. /fter much discourse in the adult education field over the .ears, the original theor. has developed into a far more complex and multi la.ered theor.. Transformative learning now includes the rational, but also the emotional, the extra4rational, and the spiritual inside a framewor- of multicultural and political understanding Collard 2 9aw, "#8#% Cranton, "##8, '007% ?ir-x, '007% !eCirow, "##4, "##$, '00', '00#% :cott, "##$, "##8b% Ta.lor, '00$, '00#%+. /dditionall., some adult educators believe that a s.nthesis of the personal and the political is necessar. for genuine transformation 9ange, '00#% >8:ullivan, '008% Tennant, '005% Tisdell, '005+. 5orsman "###, '007, '0""+ challenges all adult educators to transform personall. and politicall. b. accepting responsibilit. for creating an open learning environment where violence against women is named as common and particular strategies are implemented to respond to survivors more effectivel.. <eminist theories articulate the root causes of women8s lac- of inclusion and the reasons wh. violence against women happens. ,hen 5anisch '007+ suggested that the personal was political in "#7#, she could not have imagined that some of the adult educators committed to transformative learning theor. would propose a similar idea fort. .ears later. <or adult educators to increase their -nowledge about violence against women, begin to consistentl.

(8

respond more sensitivel., and to engage with the issue politicall., a paradigm shift needs to occur. Rationale for Research 4ro<ect 6n the last several .ears in >ntario, :urvivors8 Councils have started to evolve in communities. Recentl., :tatus of ,omen Canada provided O'00,000 to the provincial shelter networ-, >ntario /ssociation of 6nterval and Transition 5ouses, to develop a template for shelters and communities to use to develop :urvivors8 Councils. The goal is to create a stable council of women survivors to provide direction on polic. and service provision at the local and provincial level. The survivors who participate on the councils are engaged in the issue of violence against women at a personal and political level. 6 will interview eight women who sit on :urvivors8 Councils to explore if the. have experienced transformative learning b. participating on the Council. 6n this research with survivors 6 will explore if the. experience transformative learning b. participating in social action on the council. 6 intend to begin to fill in the gaps of research in the adult education literature, violence against women, and transformative learning. Research "ethodolog& 5verview The new researcher is re0uired to develop a solid bridge between abstract philosophical s.stems and a range of concrete methods. The ultimate goal is to discover the perfect research framewor- on one shore and use developing personal philosophical belief s.stem to lin- with the methodolog. or tools existing on the opposite shore. )atton '00'+, a s-illed 0ualitative researcher and academic, offers a potent distinction between 0uantitative and 0ualitative research methods as a starting point. Puantitative research, he states, uses large samples with strictl.

(#

limited 0uestions developed with pre4determined categories to test generaliCations. )atton also adds that 0ualitative research uses rich, detailed descriptive data from a variet. of sources for more in depth meaning. 5e asserts that 0ualitative research can be disciplined and rigorous as well as imaginative and creative. >atton "*$$*& proposes that one of the strong points of the 0ualitative method is the Dinductive, naturalistic in0uir. strateg. of approaching a setting without predetermined h.pothesesE p. "'#+. These can be applied in forms such as ethnograph., autoethnograph., realit. testing, social constructionism, constructivism, phenomenolog., heuristic in0uir., hermeneutics, narratolog., grounded theor., and orientiational. -erriam and :impson "*$$*& take a slightly different approach than >atton in how they categori)e the forms of ualitative research. They identify forms of ualitative research as positivist, interpretive, or critical forms. 'dditionally, they assert that there are five approaches available for the ualitative researcher< biography, ethnography, case study, grounded theory, and phenomenology "which they include as philosophical in uiry&. They also add a section on action, participatory, critical, and feminist research designs. Bell "*$$$&, has a slightly different take than either >atton or -erriam and :impson by proposing si7 types of research, of which three are identical to -erriam and :impson8case study, ethnography, and action research8but Bell includes survey, e7perimental, and narrative in uiry. 5owever, all three of these experts in the 0ualitative research field agree that the researcher should discover a personal philosophical framework and then adapt various research methods to the needs of the study "Bell, *$$$?

40

-erriam and :impson, *$$*? >atton, *$$*&. 'dditionally, all support the concept that -erriam and :impson state when they say that there is no value@free research and that each researcher must identify a personal bias. 5inally, they state that there is no impartial knowledge that results from research. Critical and Feminist Theories 's a new researcher, I began to delve more deeply into the types of research that matched my burgeoning philosophy and biases< critical and feminist theory. Ahile Bincheloe and -c;aren "*$$*& assert that there is no one critical theory, they do contend that critical theorists acknowledge 0multiple forms of power, includingNracial, gender, sexual axes of domination p. '8'+.E The authors articulate that aligning politicall. on the side of in;ustice while wor-ing toward empowering people is foundational to critical theor. p. '#"+. 1eing a critical theorist, the. propose, involves acceptance of the fundamental nature of power imbalance and to be engaged in social activist wor-, similar to feminist research. <eminist research, writes 9ather "#87+, has Dthe overt ideological goalNto correct both the in"isi-ility and the distortion of female experience in wa.s relevant to ending womenQs une0ual social positionE italics in original+ p. 77+. /ligned closel. with this concept, <risb., -aguire, and !eid '00#+ declare that feminist theories are a necessar. opposition to hegemonic ideas about how we experience life and the most effective wa. to ma-e changes. /dditionall., !aguire "#8$+ proposes that feminist participator. research Daim s+ at three t.pes of change=Ndevelopment of critical consciousness of both researchers and participants? improvement of the lives of those involved in the research

4"

process? transformation of fundamental societal structures and relationships1 "p. *.&. Ahile most feminists concur that feminist theory, like critical theory, has room for many streams and not 6ust one, they also generally agree that there are definitive characteristics of feminist methodology. ,ester, !alos, and :-inner "*$$C& define these succinctly as research that is grounded in womens e7perience, re6ects separation between the researcher and the researched, acknowledges power imbalances, is open to and values people from marginali)ed groups, is politically active, encourages refle7ivity, and understands that the choice of research tools is a political choice. What is Methodology? Berka "*$$C& distinguishes between methodology as a theoretical and philosophical framework and methods as how the material is gathered in the process of doing the research "p. CCC&. :imilar to Berka, 5ester, et al. '005+ describe the difference between methodolog. and methods in research as follows= !ethodolog. is not simpl. a posh wa. of sa.ing method. There is, however, no single unified definition of the term. <or example, for RamaCanoglu 5olland, '00'+, methodolog. is a complex political process concerned with establishing the contested connections between epistemolog. 0uestions about what can be -nown and the interrelationship between -nowledge, experience and realit.+, theor. ideas about how things wor-+, ontolog. categorisation and classification of these ideas and how the. fit together+% as well as reflections on the validit., ethics and accountabilit. of the -nowledge that is produced p. "0+. The researcher builds the bridge between methodology8the overall framework of the larger epistemological and ontological issues8and the details of the methods8how these ideas come into play when choosing the

4'

details such as which uestions to ask or where to have the interviews. This bridging between the larger framework and the smaller details is an ongoing back and forth process as each shore slowly comes into clearer view. The researcher needs to elucidate philosophical assumptions about reality, beliefs about research, and how knowledge is owned and organi)ed "Berka, p. CCC&. Ahen 5risby, et al. "*$$.& describe feminist theories as attempting to peel away traditional ways that e7clude those on the edge and bolsters traditional gender divisions, the shore comes into clearer focus. 's well as highlighting critical change within society by identifying a7es of intersectionality such as class, race, age, etc., feminist theory brings gender specifically into the centre. 5eminist research not only offers ways to include marginali)ed women and options for change and transformation, it also concentrates on how women specifically have been e7cluded from the creation of knowledge and the development of hegemony "5risby, et al., p. *C&. The evidence is clear that the issue of violence against women is gender based when the research is reviewed, and, most importantly, when one listens to survivors of violence ">rice, *$$C&. Dach step along the research path has political implications. The philosophical presupposition of my research is that the historical, political, and social environment within society allows male violence against women and children to occur in epidemic proportions with few conse uences to the

4(

perpetrators. There are epistemological assumptions underlying this assertion. -any of us, mostly feminists, stubbornly drag the evidence about womens e7periences of violence into the light, aiming for the central stage, but mostly failing. 5or me, the process feels similar to convincing the fish that water is not the only environment on this planet. Dven when the information8that there is ongoing horrific violence against women and children all over the globe8is continually revealed, as it has been increasingly over the last forty years, the information alone is not enough to make the changes re uired to stop the violence. This paper is limited in its capacity to e7plore the psychological, intellectual, and perhaps spiritual reasons why societies continue to refuse to take the consistent level of action necessary to stop violence against women and children. Critical Ethnography /s 6 build additional substance to the bridge connecting abstract ideas with concrete action, different parts of the shore come into focus, sometimes slowl. and sometimes 0uic-l.. This process builds clarit. of m. philosophical beliefs as 6 search for the matching methodolog.. @thnograph. alone does not capture m. attention as a method congruent with m. philosophical belief s.stems or research possibilities. ?awson '005+ and !erriam and :impson '00'+ define ethnograph. generall. as a research methodolog. that reveals larger patterns of culture b. observing or immersing oneself in a certain wa. of life. ,hen 6 read Thomas8 '00(+ description of critical ethnograph., however, m. mind and heart resonated more full.. 5e describes critical ethnograph. as a wa. of revealing and resisting the larger cultural patterns of the une0ual power relations that are invisibl. embedded in the fabric of societ.. <urther, he

44

proposes that critical ethnograph. offers the most effective means of stripping awa. the illusions of false meanings that obscure institutional forms of power and exposes alternative meanings of realit.. Thomas also identifies this methodolog. as solidl. based in social action as a wa. Dto transform both ourselves and the world around us in small but perceptible wa.sE p. $"+. :imilar to critical theorists, feminist researchers, and critical ethnographers, ;ather "#.%4& re6ects positivist ideology and value neutral research. :he also challenges researchers to develop 0empirical approaches for the building of emancipatory social theory1 "p. 4/& and becoming critically self@refle7ive. Ahile ;ather specifically uses neo@-ar7ist critical ethnography in relation to the education sector, the consistent e7posure of the roots of social delusions is congruent with Thomas emphasis. 'dditionally, ;ather adds four helpful methods to ensure rigorous consistency and solid pra7is in research design< #. *. Triangulation< using data sources, methods, and theories !efle7ive :ub6ectivity< how the researchers assumptions have been affected by the data +. 5ace Ealidity< recycling categories, analysis, and conclusions through participants /. Catalytic Ealidity< documenting if participants have e7perienced increasing consciousness and activism as a result of the research process "p. 3%&.

45

;ather suggests rigour in research will further the cause of open research and that critical ethnography 0is an important perspective in the development of a human science that contributes to social change1 "p. 34&. :imilar to critical ethnography but including the feminist approach of women being at the centre, :mith "#.%3, #...& adopts the phrase institutional ethnography, which incorporates the daily, lived e7periences of womens e7periences in the larger social matri7 of relations. 'dditionally, :mith "#.%3& articulates that historically women have been peripheral to the hegemonic and institutionally based world views. :he "#...& also integrates the concept of the 0ruling relations1 "p.3#& of the economic structure of capitalism as a way of distancing people from daily, individual lives in the body. :mith "#.%3& adds that institutional ethnography invites a larger view of how the individual is linked into the usually invisible social relations "p. #C+&. /lthough &aples '00(+ is similar to other feminists and critical theorists, she explicitl. incorporates critical, self4reflexive ethnograph. within a feminist framewor- similar to 9ather "#87+. &aples is also overt and specific about the progressive constellations of the axes of intersectionalit.. Race, class, and gender matter in research in the '"st Centur., but &aples also expands to include the multidimensional, embodied perspectives of the participants and the researcher s+ that standpoint epistemolog. offers. The participantAresearcher interaction can be seen as more complex b. revealing some of the complicating factors such as intellectual abilit., geographical location, ph.sical abilit., and ethnicit.. These intersections that create power imbalances shift b. being exposed. &aples also adds that there is not .et an anal.sis of survivor

47

discourse that clarifies the multiple wa.s that survivors identif. and interpret their experience b. including these complex intersectionalities. 6 chose critical ethnograph. as a research method because it exposes the roots of oppressionIof which violence against women is one elementIembedded in our cultural interactions. 6 use the feminist framewor- of engaging women8s lived experiences at the centre of the research pro;ect. 6 plan to review preliminar. -e. findings with the survivors 6 have interviewed, and an additional self4identified group of survivors involved in a provincial 1oard of ?irectors. /dditionall., 6 intend to include m. critical self4reflections in how the multi4 la.ered interactions between researcherAresearched occur throughout the process of the research. <inall., 6 will go to the communities with an open invitation to review the findings when the research is complete. 2riti=ue of the Literature 3dentif&ing >a6s in the Literature The adult education sector has historicall. been focused on social change as well as being responsive to citiCens8 needs, but has not engaged with or responded to the issue of violence against women. ,hile some adult educators espouse a range of philosophies to meet the needs of learners @lias 2 !erriam, "##5% Hella, '00'+, others engage in a more critical pedagogical approach to the philosophical s.stems that infuse adult education and to the political s.stems that dominate our increasingl. global societies and economies 1roo-field, '005, Collins, "##8% <reire, "#$0% !orin, "##8+. ,hile some feminist theorists articulate the s.stemic political issues of patriarchal oppression of women and support political action as an essential tool to move forward, onl. a few recogniCe and ta-e action about the issue of violence against women 1elen-. et al., "#8$%

4$

1utterwic-, '005% hoo-s, '000% 5orsman, "###% :tal-er, "##8, '005+. Hiolence against women is a form of misog.n. rooted in more complex s.stemic issues. /lthough feminists have led the wa. in articulating the issues of patriarch. and the exclusion of women from the construction -nowledge 1elen-. et al., "#8$, "##7% 1utterwic-, "##8, '005% @nglish 2 6rving, '00$, '008% hoo-s, '000% 3ohnson41aile., '005% :tal-er, "##8, '005% Tisdell, "##8, '005+, dealing with the issue of violence against women in the adult education field is wea-. /s a result of the adult education field not engaging with the issue of violence against women, there is a lac- of literature, even though there is extensive research that shows the high numbers of women in Canada and the world who experience ongoing violence 1arrett, '0""% 1elen-. et al., "#8$, "##7% 5orsman, "###, '007, '0""% 3ohnson41aile., '005% )rice, '005% ,alb., '005% *odanis, '004+. 5orsman "###+ is one of the few adult educators who have engaged in specific research that exposes the high numbers of women who have experienced violence and the impact that it has on them as learners. :he challenges funders, administrators, and educators to begin to delve into the impact of violence more consistentl. so that the. can respond more effectivel.. >ther sectors, such as the health care and legal s.stems, have begun to recogniCe the pervasiveness of violence against women and ta-e action to identif. and support women using their services. Therefore the. have started to address the issue and wor- in partnership across sectors and are engaged s.stemicall. in wor-ing toward ending violence against women. )eople in the field of adult education can learn from other sectors different wa.s to engage in and respond to the issue of violence against women.

48

2onclusion 5istoricall., women have not been e0ual to men and this has created the s.stemic political, societal, legal, and economic environment that allows violence to occur and not hold perpetrators responsible 1usch, Gularni, !c)hail, and Rice, '00$% ?oe, '004% 5orsman, "###, '007, '0""% &aples, '00(% )atterson, '00#% )rice, '005% :ev8er, '00'% *odanis, '00(+. ?espite the research that shows high numbers of women in Canada and around the globe experience violence, as a societ., we are still not committed, collectivel. or individuall., to ending violence against women. ,hile some disciplines and sectors have begun to develop a response to this issue b. engaging in multi4disciplinar. research and wor-ing in partnerships to ta-e action to end violence against womenIsuch as the health care and legal s.stemsIthose in the field of adult education have not. /dult education has been committed to social change historicall. and its foundations are rooted in examining philosophical s.stems and personal belief s.stems. 5owever, since the shift in the "#80s to more conservative politics, the thrust toward globaliCation, and a push for professionaliCation, adult education as a sector has not increased its commitment to social activism. / number of adult educators, especiall. critical and feminist theorists expose and challenge hegemonic and patriarchal s.stems of thin-ing. :ome feminist theorists such as !aguire "#8$+ suggest that the dominant hegemon. conspires to create a blan-et of invisibilit. around the issue of violence against women. The literature reveals that violence against women is almost invisible in adult education as there are onl. a ver. few adult educators who address the issue specificall.. /s a powerful section of adult education, transformative learning has expanded from its original inception thirt. .ears ago as an individual, rational approach to embrace a wider, holistic

4#

matrix of personal change and political transformation. Transforming the individual and social forces simultaneousl. is essential to respond to the colossal global attempts to impose a conservative and capitalist philosoph. that excludes the poor, the vulnerable, and the powerless from participating full. in societ.. ,omen who experience violence are often ver. vulnerable and the s.stem is created to exclude these women. Transformative learning can be used as a wa. to engage those in the adult education sector to confront the issue of violence against women s.stemicall. and politicall. as well as in formal and informal education settings with each learner. !. research pro;ect specificall. engages these three sectors of violence against women, adult education, and transformative learning b. interviewing survivors of violence about their possible transformative learning in the process of becoming social activists in the violence against women sector. 6n the process of this research, transformative learning can be used as a catal.st to engage the adult education sector in identif.ing and responding personall. and politicall. to the issue of violence against women. 6f adult educators learn about and accept the fre0uenc. of violence against women, the. could integrate the issue as a recogniCed critical component within the field. ,hen an overall acceptance of the issue is in place, each adult educator or facilitator, in the classroom or outside of it, could incorporate a general screening method, similar to routine universal screening within the health care s.stem, to ensure an increased sensitivit. to and -nowledge of the possible impact of violence on the learner. Thus, adult educators can engage in transformative learning about violence against women and then engage personall. as educators and politicall. as a sector in the arena of violence against women. >nce again, the personal is the political 5anisch, '007+.

50

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