Transformative learning theory articulates a process whereby students experience a change in perspectives that expands and transforms their worldview. Despite being well established and regarded within the literature relating to adult and continuing education, Mezirow's (1978) seminal education theory remains largely absent in the research…

This article explores how one cohort of first-in-family students narrated their movement into and through university, proposed as a form of boundary crossing. These metaphors emerged from the stories that students told about their persistence, with references ranging from institutional or organisational boundaries through to those imposed by self…

When we consider disability and the curriculum, we usually mean preparing professionals to work with people with disabilities or including students with disabilities. Here, I provide a personal description of these ideas colliding. It's Fall 2017, and I'm taking a course on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). That means it's about…

The authors of various practitioner and scholarly documents suggest markedly contrasting understandings about the nature of "policy." These divergent conceptions raise the question: What is at stake by understanding the nature of policy in one way as opposed to another? The purpose of this philosophical inquiry is to interrogate the…

This article describes a writing assignment called Conversations with Myself (CWM) in which students "talk back" to subtractive dominant narratives through a two-part process of text analysis and autobiographical, dialogic writing. The author presents a case study of Stephen (all names are pseudonyms) to illustrate how literacy supported…

The transition of early career researchers into academic posts is understood to be a crucial career step and marks a point at which representation of women declines significantly. The research adopts a participatory qualitative research methodology through career narrative interviews and group discussions with women engineers recently appointed…

The constructivist framework of career development provides the theoretical foundation for narrative approaches to career counselling practices. Within the constructivist paradigm, a crucial role is played by the thematic stories created by individuals to learn, make meaning of their experiences, life, and career, as well as to construct their own…

This study examines the experiences of two Pakistani doctoral researchers at the University of Jyväskylä (JYU), Finland, highlighting the disconnect between the university's internationalization policies and the realities faced by non-Western students. Employing autoethnography, the study reveals systemic Eurocentric biases and linguistic…

This study is an endeavour to explicate the dissonance of the linguistic quality outcome of study abroad (SA) experiences by exploring the second language (L2) motivation of six academic sojourners in Manchester. A person-in-context approach revealed that developing intimate relationships with 'native-speakers', providing L2-mediated interaction…

As transgender students become an increasingly visible segment of college student populations, policies allowing students to indicate chosen names and pronouns will offer crucial support while also helping transform campuses into more gender-inclusive spaces. Successful implementation of these policies requires educated and supportive faculty.…

The present study explores the role of writing in undergraduate education students' learning experiences in the United States. It focuses on how writing about previously significant experiences in the forms of narratives and journal entries transforms international education students' perceptions and identities and provides them with the space for…

"Testimonios" are used as a method to help understand and share the authors' lived experiences as "tocayos" with society and the human world, and to create interaction between both of them. The term "tocayo" is used to identify people who share the same name. The purpose of this paper is to share the lived experiences…

According to the American Immigration Council (2021), 14 percent of the United States population is foreign-born. Immigrants have enriched American culture and enhanced our influence in the world. People feel a need to belong and have an inherent desire for deep, lasting, and meaningful connections (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Research suggests…

The academic and emotional difficulties that stem from learning disorders can extend from childhood into adulthood. The Understand Me and My Surroundings is an art therapy directive that incorporates Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory designed to help adult clients reflect on their experiences. A case study demonstrates how this process…

This project explores how students from refugee backgrounds describe the role of community cultural wealth in their movement into and through their university experience. It analyzes the educational journey of five students from refugee backgrounds. The participants' countries of origin include Egypt, Eritrea, Japan, Togo, and Vietnam. The study…