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Adult Education Quarterly

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Developmental Perspective
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Learning of Adults Í)SAGE

Marginalized by Race,
Class, and Gender

Sandra D. Bridwell'

Abstract
Using Kegan's constructive-developmental theory, this study examines transformative
learning among six low-income and homeless women of Color pursuing their GED in
a shelter-based literacy program. Narrative analysis of two developmental interview
instruments indicated that some participants' epistemological perspectives and
knowledge construction became more complex over time. Some participants also
applied transformative learning to other aspects of their lives. The study suggests
that groups often regarded as marginalized by race, class, and gender may experience
growth in epistemological complexity in environments where transformative learning
goals are purposefully supported.

Keywords
constructive-developmental theory, transformative learning, narrative analysis

Mezirow's conceptualization of tbe reciprocity between transformation tbeory and

democratic values for realizing "full development of the human potential" (Mezirow
& Associates, 2000, p. 16) has inspired the adult education field for 30 years. Recently,
researchers (Merriam, 2001; E. W. Taylor, 2008) have heralded new and diverse

'Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA, USA

Corresponding Author:
Sandra D. Bridwell, Cambridge College, School of Education, Department of Educational Leadership,
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Email: sandra.bridwell@go.cambridgecollege.edu
128 Adult Education Quarterly 63(2)

interpretations of Mezirow's dominant theory, including emancipatory learning, that

expand the concept of transformative learning.
The purpose of this study was to use a constructive-developmental lens (Drago-
Severson, 2004a; Kegan, 1982, 1994, 2000) to examine the epistemological perspec-
tives of six low-income and homeless women of Color in their roles as learners at a
shelter-based adult literacy program in one of Boston's poorest neighborhoods. Three
questions guided the investigation: From which ways of knowing do low-income and
homeless women of Color make meaning of their experiences? How do low-income
and homeless women of Color construct knowledge and make meaning of education
in their roles as learners? How, if at all, do they exhibit change over time?
This study engages some features of the dominant theory that are problematic in
adult education, particularly in relation to marginalized adults. Because adult develop-
ment research has largely privileged learners with economic and educational advan-
tages (Drago-Severson, 2004b, 2009; Kegan, 1994; K. Taylor, 2006), theory about
other constituencies is underdeveloped. Furthermore, Mezirow's assumptions about
how less privileged adult learners access, understand, and experience transformative
learning emphasize critical reflection and discourse as preconditions:

Finding one's voice for free full participation in discourse include elements of
maturity, education, safety, health, economic security, and emotional intelli-
gence. Hungry, homeless, desperate, threatened, sick, or frightened adults are
less able to participate effectively in discourse to help us better understand the
meaning of our experiences. (Mezirow, 2000, p. 15)

Some scholars argue that these assumptions about necessary preconditions and
equal access to resources discount the realities of many adults (Belenky & Stanton,
2000; K. Taylor, 2006). Merriam's (2004) observation that all cognitive development
models (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1997; King & Kitchener, 1994;
Piaget, 1972) "assume that being able to critically reflect on fundamental assumptions
require one to be at the more 'developed' stages'" (p. 63) raises a related concern.
Based on my analysis of developmental narratives, I show that The Shelter (pseud-
onym) supported transformative learning and growth toward more complex epistemo-
logical perspectives among low-income and homeless women of Color who are often
regarded as marginalized.

Conceptual Context
I ground this study in constructive-developmental theory (CDT), which examines the
ability to view one's reality from increasingly complex perspectives (Drago-Severson,
2004a; Kegan, 1982; Kegan et al., 2001). This framework highlights transformative
learning among marginalized groups, here, African American and homeless women,
whose epistemological growth has not been widely studied. Drago-Severson (2004a)
noted that Kegan's CDT facilitated understanding of how the adult learners in the
Bridwell \ 29

study [Kegan et al., 2001] made sense of their learning; their motives and goals for
learning; their expectations of themselves and their teachers; their understanding of
themselves in their social roles as students, workers, and parents; and their develop-
ment as learners over time." (p. 17)

The current investigation aligns with goals based in critical theory: helping adults real-
ize the ways dominant ideology limits their sense of life's potential, equipping indi-
viduals to better conñ-ont hegemonic ideologies that oppress marginalized groups in
particular (Brookfield, 2005), and supporting women and people of Color to achieve
developmental complexity, including questioning forms of social oppression (Belenky
et al., 1997; K. Taylor, 2006). The study also aligns with post-feminist pedagogy that
focuses on how gender, race, class, and social structures inform individual identity and
development (Hurtado, 1996; Tisdell, 2000). In surveying the literature, I highlight the
epistemological perspectives of poor women of Color within the contexts of transfor-
mative learning theory, CDT, and the intersections of these two theories.

Epistemological Perspectives of Women of Color

If epistemological perspectives (or, ways of making meaning) influence teaching and
learning (Belenky et al., 1997), and if understanding these perspectives helps in struc-
turing learning environments to support development, then expanding the knowledge
base to include the perspectives of all learners is important. Including poor and
women of Color whose self-accounts are less well represented in the literature
(Collins, 2000; hooks, 1994; Lorde, 1984) is especially important.
Adult basic education (ABE) traditionally serves economically disadvantaged, work-
ing poor, unemployed, welfare recipients, and homeless constituencies (U.S. Department
of Education, 2001) who are disproportionately represented by people of Color, immi-
grants, and women (D'Amico, 2004). Because adult development theory has focused on
more privileged learners, knowledge of how these adults experience learning is sparse,
and strategies for supporting and challenging their development are lacking.
Noting this research gap on marginalized groups. Hurtado (1996) asserted the
following:

Being poor, of Color, and also a woman results in daily experiences that create
a systematically different relationship to knowledge (including its production,
comprehension, and integration). This unique relationship—these special ways
of knowing—has gone largely undocumented in academic writings, (p. 372)

Women of Color often negotiate their relationship to knowledge in ways that tran-
scend the negative effects of marginalization. This negotiation occurs in several ways
and has been documented by feminist scholars in various contexts. For example,
Johnson-Bailey and Alfi-ed (2006) contend that people of African descent negotiate
between cultures by questioning Eurocentric world views and ways of knowing.
130 Adult Educatior) Quarterly 63(2)

Luttreil (1997) used the life stories of White working elass women in ABE and Black
women in a workplace literacy program to argue that identit>' is shaped in response to
social inequalities and that these women used silence and defiance as survival strate-
gies. Black women's narratives about higher education reentry have featured accounts
of racism and marginalization (Johnson-Bailey & Cervero, 1996; Lorde, 1984). Coker
(2003) concluded that Black women reentering higher education viewed education as
a vehicle for empowerment and personal success. However, personal motivation was
intertwined with family and community development goals, thus influencing their
relationship with knowledge.
Feminist scholars have identified essential mechanisms for generating knowledge,
which are a response to multiple marginalized identities, including anger, silence/
outspokenness, withdrawal, and shifting consciousness. These mechanisms influence
the special ways of knowing for women of Color for whom transmitting and using
knowledge is not neutral and all knowledge is political (Hurtado, 1996). Viewing the
acquisition of knowledge as a political act is consistent with emancipatory learning
(Freiré, 1973, 1990), leading to a greater capacity to question hegemonic structures
(Brookfield, 2005). Similarly, Collins (2000), using critical theory to discuss Black
feminist thought, notes that academic power dynamics privilege the dominant group's
perspective on what constitutes knowledge. "Like other subordinate groups, African
American women not only have developed a distinctive Black women's standpoint,
but have done so by using alternative ways of producing and validating knowledge"
(p. 252). In a related perspective, Brooks (2000) theorized a link between women's
transformative learning experiences and aspects of personal growth: moving from
alienation to agency; confronting authority; developing awareness of cultural, histori-
cal, and political structures of marginality; and gaining personal power through sup-
portive relationships among ethnically diverse working-class women.

Transformative Learning Theory

Both transformative theory and CDT subscribe to the notion that meaning is socially
constructed and that development occurs over a life span.

Transformative learning refers to the process by which we transform our taken-

for-granted frames of reference (meaning perspectives, habits of mind, mind-
sets) to make them more inclusive, open, emotionally capable of change, and
reflective so that they may generate beliefs and opinions that will prove more
true and justified to guide action. (Mezirow, 2000, p. 8)

The transformative process consists of phases of clarifying meaning: First, there is

a disorienting dilemma, which is followed by a critical assessment of assumptions, and
buildings toward competence and self-confidence in new roles and relationships
(Mezirow, 2000).
ßridweii \ 31

Kegan's Constructive-Developmental Theory

Constructive-developmental theory emphasizes the ways that understanding and con-

structing experiences can become more complex over time (Kegan et al., 2001). When
ways of knowing change, people comprehend information differently and have
enhanced cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal capacities for managing the com-
plexities of work and life (Drago-Severson, 2004a). And this broader understanding
of self and others (Kegan, 1982, 1994) informs new ways of fostering transformative
learning.
CDT is based on three fundamental ideas on adult development: constructivism,
whereby people actively construct or make meaning of their experiences (i.e., their
realities); developmentalism, the way one makes meaning or constructs reality can
change over time; and subject-object balance, which refers to "the relationship
between what we can take a perspective on (hold as 'object') and what we are embed-
ded in and cannot see or be responsible for (are 'subject to')" (Drago-Severson, 2009,
p. 37). Thus, Kegan (1994) notes that "subject-object theory is a 'constructive-
developmental' approach to human experience. It looks at the growth or transforma-
tion of how we construct meaning" (p. 198).
Kegan's CDT encompasses six qualitatively different meaning-making systems
(or, ways of constructing reality) ranging from the incorporative that occurs in infants,
the impulsive that occtirs in young children, through the inter-individual that is more
theoretical and rarely found in the adult population. Of the six, the instrumental (Stage
2), the socializing (Stage 3), and the self-authoring (Stage 4) are prevalent in adult-
hood. Each way of knowing is guided by particular orientations and concerns. For
instrumental knowers (Stage 2), the guiding orientations are self-interest, purpose,
wants, and concrete needs; for socializing knowers (Stage 3), it is valuing others'
(external authority) expectations and opinions, whereas for self-authoring knowers
(Stage 4) it is valuing the self and internal authority.
Adults construct knowledge and the meaning of education in ways consistent with
their system of making meaning (Drago-Severson, 2004a; Kegan, 1982; Portnow,
Popp, Broderick, Drago-Severson, & Kegan, 1998). CDT describes orientation to
knowledge in the three predominant adult ways of knowing as "What's in it for me?"
(instrumental); "What do you think I should know?" (socializing); and "What do I
want and need to know and learn?" and "What is important for me to know to keep
learning and growing?" (self-authoring; Drago-Severson, 2004a).

Theory Intersections
What is the connection between transformative learning and CDT as it relates to
understanding ABE and marginalized learners' experiences? Kegan et al. (2001)
explained the connection first by distinguishing between informational learning that
pertains to changes in what we know and transformative learning that refers to
132 Adult Educatior) Quarterly 63(2)

changes in how we know. He emphasized that individuals may experience many kinds
of transformation, including "one's fund of knowledge, one's confidence as a learner,
one's self-perception as a learner, one's motives in learning, one's self esteem . . . all
worthy of teachers' thinking about how to facilitate them"(Kegan, 2000, p. 50).
However, these transformations may not represent qualitative change in one's capac-
ity to view reality from increasingly complex perspectives because they can occur
without transformation in how we know.
Using CDT to study less privileged populations is relatively recent. In the first study
of this kind (Kegan et al., 2001), the Adult Development Research Team found that
differences in developmental capacity were not highly associated with levels of formal
education and that some of the 41 ABE and English for Speakers of Other Language
(ESOL) learners studied showed developmental change within one year's time.
Popular education, which according to Degener (2001) is another name for trans-
formative education, supports emancipatory goals for marginalized and disenfran-
chised communities (Freiré, 1973, 1990), that is, moving learners from a more passive
focus on accumulating information toward greater capacity for self-agency including
taking political action. The homeless represent a particularly vulnerable subgroup that
would benefit from emancipatory learning goals. However, there is little longitudinal
data on factors associated with increased risks of homelessness or recurring homeless-
ness of women in shelters (Metrauz & Culhane, 1999).
Rivera (2003) studied 50 homeless and formerly homeless women in a shelter-
based literacy program that used a popular education model. She found that the women
experienced increased self-esteem, were inspired to help other low-income women,
became advocates for their own rights, and were more involved in their children's'
education. My study is based in that same family shelter literacy program. It applies
CDT to extend knowledge about the kinds of changes the women experienced moving
beyond information learning, or a focus on what we know, to evidence of transforma-
tion in how we know.

Method
Narrative descriptions of knowledge construction and making meaning of personal
experiences are central to this study. I focused on narratives for three reasons. First,
feminist scholars value sharing personal stories as a means of fostering women's
transformative learning (Flannery & Hayes, 2000). Second, there is a compelling
argument, articulated by Brooks (2000) who examined transformative learning in
relation to women's development, for conceptualizing women's learning as a narra-
tive process. Third, personal narrative replicates Kegan et al.'s (2001) methodology
in the instruments used for studying less privileged ABE/ESOL learners.

Data
Site selection. The Shelter (pseudonym) is located in one of Boston's most economi-
cally depressed neighborhoods. It was selected because it represented best practices as
a "holding environment," defined by Kegan (2000) as an environment that supports an
Bridwell \ 33

individual's existing developmental position while providing experiences that encour-

age growth toward greater complexity. The Shelter challenges and supports develop-
ment by attending to the needs of the whole person. It is a comprehensive service
facility with classrooms, administrative and support staff offices, kitchen, day care,
and shelter space. In addition to ABE instruction, the curriculum included learning
strategies, self-assessment, goal setting, health, computer skills, a career club, and a
class called Loves Herself Regardless that focused on self-esteem, self-awareness,
self-care, and leadership skills.

Selection of participants. Purposeful sampling was used to identify subjects who might
provide rich information (Maxwell, 2005). Selection criteria specified American-bom,
English-speaking African American women. Six women were identified and agreed to
participate. Table 1 shows learner characteristics at the start of the program. The
women ranged in age from 20 to 41 years. All were mothers who had from one to five
children. Two were shelter residents and four resided in subsidized housing. Their
previous experience as students ranged from 2 to 11 years.

Instruments. Two developmental interview protocols, the Adult Development Project

Experience of Learning Interview (ELI; Kegan et al., 2001) and the Subject-Object
Interview (SOI; Lahey, Souvaine, Kegan, Goodman & Felix, 1988), were used in data
collection.
The Experience of Learning Interview (EU). The ELI is a qualitative interview focus-
ing on learners' perspective on previous learning experiences, on teaching and learn-
ing, and on change in ways of knowing in these contexts (Drago-Severson, 2004b).
It was administered to understand participants' goals and motives and how these
were being nurtured in the program and in other social roles. The protocol includes
information about the interview and questions on demographics, educational history,
and the learner's views on learning and teaching, including views of the program.
Learners' theories about learning and teaching are explored by generating a story
with follow-up questions. For example, "What do you think makes a person a really
good learner (or student)?" would be followed by probes about "How do successful
students become successful?" and "What do you see as a student's job?" (Drago-
Severson, 2004b, p. 11).
The Subject-Object Interview (SOI). The SOI examines adults' meaning making sys-
tem within the context of Kegan's CDT including assessing changes over time (Lahey,
Souvaine, Kegan, Goodman, & Felix, 1988). Participants are given a word to prompt
a story involving a recent experience of the feeling evoked by that word. For example,
given the word torn, a participant might tell a story of feeling torn between choices.
After hearing the story, the interviewer asks questions for assessing the developmental
level or subject-object vantage point (e.g., instrumental, socializing, self-authoring)
from which the story was told.
SOI scoring identifies gradual growth along a meaning-making continuum. Here,
for example, are SOI scores representing incremental change from an instrumental
(Stage 2) to socializing (Stage 3) way of knowing (for details on SOI scoring, see
Lahey et al., 1988):
134 Aduk Education Quarterly 63(2)

Table 1. Participant Characteristics.

Basic Schooling, Reason for Enrolling in the

Participant Family Further Schooling Program?

Patrice Two daughters, 10th grade "1 need to get my GED to

Age: 26 years single do phlebotomy."
No. of interviews: 3
Program
completed: No
Tamika Four daughters, 10th grade "1 was bored at home and
Age: 27 years single, became to show my four girls that
No. of Interviews: 3 pregnant during if 1 can do it, they can do
Program the program it too!"
completed: Yes
Margaret Two children. 11 th grade "To educate myself o go for
Age: 40 years divorced the GED."
No. of interviews: 3
Program
completed:Yes
Toni Infant son, single 12th grade "To do something with
Age: 20 years myself before it's too late."
No. of interviews: 3
Program
completed: Yes
Donna Five children, 9th grade, culinary 'To get my GED."
Age: 41 years single arts in trade
No. of interviews: 2 school
Program
completed: No
Cheryl One child, single 1 Ith grade, beauty "Tired of working nickel and
Age: 27 years school dime jobs."
No. of interviews: 1
Program
completed: No

2 - ^ 2(3) - » 2/3 - ^ 3/2 — 3(2) -^ 3

To triangulate with the interview protocols, a third data source was a staff focus
group including the program director, program counselor, and the four teachers. The
focus group provided a context for understanding staff members' personal philoso-
phies about formal program goals; discussion topics included the mission and opera-
tions of the program, personal and program goals for the cohort, and observations
about participant change.
Bridwell \ 35

Data Collection and Analysis

Data collection and analysis proceeded concurrently to add depth and maintain focus
(Drago-Severson, 2004b; Maxwell, 2005). Data were collected from September 2004
through July 2005. There were three rounds of interviews. Each interview lasted
approximately 2 hours. In the first round (September 2004), participants completed
the SOI and the ELI; the second (around January 2005) consisted of the ELI, and the
third (July 2005) consisted of the SOI and the ELI. Four participants completed three
rounds of interviews, making it possible to assess change over the year. One com-
pleted two roimds and one left the program before the second round. In total, 30 hours
of interviews were recorded and transcribed. I assessed the ELI stories by monitoring
and comparing individual interviews to generate categories that yielded emergent
themes (Drago-Severson, 2004b). The data were then examined for themes that held
across stories (Polkinghome, 1995). Stories from SOI interviews were analyzed
according to prescribed procedures (Lahey et al., 1988), which involved fine-grained
coding of individual stories for evidence of orientation toward instrumental, social-
izing, or self-authoring ways of knowing; 80% scoring reliability was achieved
between myself and a member of the Harvard Adult Development Research Team on
each participant's SOI.

Results
There are three sets of findings. The first, from the SOI, concerns development in the
women's ways of knowing over time. The second depicts their construction of knowl-
edge. The third set, drawn from the ELI, addresses their applications of transformative
learning reflecting empowerment in other aspects of life. Sentiments articulated in the
staff focus group are presented first to provide program context.

Staff Focus Group

"Dreaming beyond the GED." In the staff focus group, administrators, teachers and
counseling staff described learning goals beyond the GED:

[The program] instills a love of learning and fosters a sense of lifelong learning
. . . [it is] about taking them beyond their GED because that's such a primary
goal coming into the program, but we want so much more for all of them than
that. That's a beginning step. So I guess definitely the self-empowerment, a
sense of who they are, a sense of community and then lifelong learner. (Teacher)

Discussing "a kind of self-empowerment," the staff stressed promoting self-advocacy

skills "because so many of our women are navigating a variety of systems that are out
136 Adult Education Quarterly 63(2)

there." Therefore, "the skills to be able to advocate and speak up for themselves" were
a priority learning goal.
In addition to ABE elasses, the staff spoke of "our foundation classes" that pur-
posefully stressed building self-esteem, self-awareness, self-care, and leadership skills
that "carry over . . . we can always tie them together as kind of like the booster for
everything else." These learning goals were described as "intangibles" supporting a
holistic approach to education believed to distinguish the Shelter's adult learner pro-
gram from others.

The women come to us not just with their minds so we're not just educating
them intellectually, but they're bringing their spirits with them, they're
bringing their emotions, they're bringing their physical bodies. So we want
to help facilitate the development of all of those aspects of the women. So
everything that we do, in all of our planning and everything, all stems from
that. (Teacher)

Taken together, the curriculum and the "intangibles" "encourage students to dream
beyond the GED." This philosophy, cited by the staff and frequently referenced by the
participants as exemplified in the "Loves Herself Regardless" class, constituted "a
mentality . . . a spirit that's integrated into all of the classes."

Ways of Knowing
SOI scores showed that all six women made meaning initially with dominant instru-
mental ways of knowing. Change over the year was monitored for four of the six
women who completed all three interview rounds. Table 2 shows the SOI scores
indicating ways of knowing.

"Sometimes you need a littie pat on the back" Margaret and Toni's SOI scores indicated
change in ways of knowing (A). For example, Margaret's score suggests that she
began the program transitioning from an instrumental way of knowing with its charac-
teristic orientation to self-interests and concrete needs. At the end of the year, her
instrumental and socializing ways of knowing were simultaneously operational (3/2)
but not fully formed (3(2)), indicating grovi1;h beyond instrumental orientations toward
a socializing orientation to valued others' expectations and opinions. For example,
when asked why encouragement from teachers and staff was important, she replied as
follows:

Because sometimes you need a little pat on the back, you need that push . . . that
person will tell you, "Don't give up, you can do that, I see so much in you," and
you hear that from a lot of teachers and staff. (Interview 3)

Similarly, Toni, beginning the program with an instrumental way of knowing (2),
showed development toward a socializing orientation (2(3)) at the third interview. For
Bridwell \ 37

Table 2. Participants' Ways of Knowing.'

Participants Interviews Completed Ways of Knowing

Margaret 3 A 2(3) to 3/2 - 3(2)
Toni 3 A 2 to 2(3)
Tamika 3 2(3) to 2 - 2(3)
Patrice 3 2 - 2(3)
Donna 2 2/3 - 3/2
Cheryl 1 2/3

'A indicates change in ways of i<nowing over time.

example, she demonstrated abstract expression beyond the concrete in describing the
most helpful aspect of the program: "The framework really helped me a lot. I realized
what I didn't know and every time I come to class I see something new and I'm like
'wow.' It really helped me" (Interview 3).
By comparison, Patrice completed three interviews but showed no change. Her SOI
score 2 - 2(3) indicated a fully formed instrumental way of knowing with a developing
socializing orientation (2(3)) at the beginning of the year and that the instrumental
remained dominant. In fact, none of the subjects showed growth beyond the socializ-
ing way of knowing (Stage 3) to a developing self-authoring way of knowing (Stage 4).
I next demonstrate how the women's ways of knowing reflected in their SOI scores
informed their construction and orientation to knowledge as revealed by the ELI
narratives.

Construction of Knowledge
Adults with different ways of knowing construct knowledge and the meaning of edu-
cation in qualitatively different ways (Drago-Severson, 2004a); their orientation to
knowledge and knowledge construction is consistent with their way of knowing. For
example, instrumental knowers whose orientation to knowledge tends to be "What's
in it for me?" believe education is pursued to acquire something; socializing knowers
whose orientation to knowledge tends to be "What do you think I should know?"
pursue education to be someone; and self-authoring knowers whose orientation to
knowledge tends to be "What do I want and need to know and learn? What is impor-
tant for me to know to keep learning and growing?" pursue education to become
someone.

"It's not all about the GED." As discussed, Margaret and Toni started the year with
dominant instrumental ways of knowing and change in knowledge construction toward
socializing ways of knowing. Margaret's growth toward a socializing way of knowing
highlighting acceptance and affiliation appeared in her concern about a conflict with a
teacher that she described as a good learning experience:
138 Adult Education Quarterly 63(2)

I had a . . . I'll say a little conflict with one of my teachers, one of my favorite
teachers. Not a major conflict . . . just something I had to deal with within
myself and I had grown from that as being a person I used to be, not wanting to
talk out, I'd keep my feelings and let it build up but. . . . I was able to go to her
and we talked it out and she had some similar feelings . . . so we helped each
other grow in certain ways. (Margaret, Interview 3)

Toni's construction of knowledge was based on meeting concrete needs and goals;
her tendency to look to external authority to reveal the right skills, facts, and rules for the
results she needed was consistent with an instrumental way of knowing. Her responses
in the ELI corroborated the SOI scores. For example, she described a good teacher as
someone who would "explain everything to you... and just go slowly and ask questions
for us to respond back and see what you just told them and that's about it" (Toni,
Interview 1). Her goals for program participation changed over the year from "Getting
my GED and just leave" (Toni, Interview 1) to "It's not all about the GED. It is about
yourself, your health, everything. It's just new and different things" (Toni, Interview 3).
Toni's new orientation to valued others suggested growth toward a socializing way
of knowing and knowledge construction to meet cultural and social expectations. Like
Margaret, she experienced greater confidence as an equal participant and contributor to
group learning: "But now, we do different stuffand sometimes I help them and some-
times I ask them for help. And it's really going great. I like that" (Toni, Interview 3).
By contrast, Patrice appeared to construct knowledge for meeting her concrete
needs and goals, as in this statement of what she would gain from the program;

Oh, learning the skills in the classes, like the math, calculus—all the skills
I need to cover the GED. I don't like really working—I'll do the work if we
have to, but I don't really like working on things that doesn't have to do with
the GED. (Patrice, Interview 1)

She maintained this instrumental orientation, as her description of the most mean-
ingftil experience in the program suggests: "The thing that was really good was that I
passed my test. . . . I guess they taught me what I needed to know. If I don't pass the
test, how do you know?" (Patrice, Interview 3).

Transformative Learning
"Everything we talk about is tike ourselves." Donna and Toni's SOI scores indicated slight
qualitative growth. Their ELI interviews demonstrated transformative learning in per-
sonal and family situations. Donna's overview of the program also reflected the staff's
desired transformative outcomes:

Of all the times I've tried to go to school, I've never met teachers like this and
I always wanted teachers like this, to come down to your level... there's other
Bridwell \ 39

classes in here that you're able to express yourself, like "Love Herself class,
journals, health class, different things. It helps me to be able to express things
that I need to do or like on Fridays we have strategy, classes like leam how to
get to school on time, how to do the homework, how to take care of ourselves
better, all those things so that we can stay in school. (Donna, Interview 2)

The "Loves Herself Regardless" class was referenced most frequently as resulting
in the increased self-confidence, self-esteem, and opportunities for self-reflection that
are interpreted as transformative learning. Toni spoke of the teacher in this class, who
she considered her favorite:

"Loves Herself classes, she helped. . . . The classes basically teach us how to
love ourselves regardless. . . . Everything we talk about is like ourselves, how
to take care of ourselves, our kids, and that really helps. Some of the things they
said, I never heard about it before.. . . Like, you take care of yourself, you take
a bath, a bubble bath, to relax or release stress. (Toni, Interview 2)

Asked about ways the program changed her life, Toni replied, "The coolest thing is
the class (Loves Herself). . . . Coming to class everyday and learning new things and
to realize who I am" (Toni, Interview 3). Donna spoke similarly about the opportunity
for self-reflection in this class:

On Monday morning, I can't wait to come sometimes and sit down and just
relax without no noise, music, candle, peace of mind. Nobody's not checking
me out or whatever. And we get to express ourselves, I don't have to act like
I'm somebody or anything. I just be Donna. (Donna, Interview 2)

Transformative learning was apparent in increased self-confidence in being able to

"speak out," a specific staff goal. Tamika considered this a most noticeable change: "It
helped me speak out in the crowd" (Tamika, Interview 3). Similarly, Margaret found
this change significant:

Seem(s) like the more I'm able to speak out, like conventions, like just when we
have special people that come from different schools and certain places, I'm
able to—they call me up to speak, and the more I speak, the more I feel comfort-
able in speaking and the more I want to speak. (Margaret, Interview 3)

The women mentioned ways that their learning experiences were important in their
family life, particularly in setting a positive example for their children. Toni, for example,
spoke of using information from health class: "I never drank water. But now me and
my son drink water every day. As soon as I get my food stamps that's what we go buy
water and we eat everything now" (Toni, Interview 3). Margaret summarized this
sentiment:
140 Aduk Education Quarterly 63(2)

What we learn today . . . we teach our kids and what we speak, they learn from
what we speak. So I have learned to be respectful in front of my kids. 1 have
learned to be patient, 1 have learned that it's good to talk your feelings out and
listen to the next person. I have learned a lot of positive things of being in this
program besides the education. I just learn a lot of things about myself
(Margaret, Interview 3)

Applying transformative experiences to other aspects of life was also evident in

strategies for accessing information. Toni found classmates to be valuable resources:
"They support me. Before I got into the shelter they helped me . . . fmd information for
me, how to get information about whatever I need" (Toni, Interview 2). She also spoke
of the staff as an information source for community resources: "To know people out-
side from the school. Now I know Transitions to Work. I go there all the time . . . they
help you with your GED and taking tests, help you with college" (Toni, Interview 3).
Toni's poignant account, shared with a friend, of the Shelter's impact on her life
was in line with the staffs empowerment goals for the women "beyond the GED":

It's not about education, but—it is about education—but love herself Every
time she say I'm fat, I'm this and that, I was like you need to come to the pro-
gram because you have to love yourself regardless. . . . Everybody's equal.
1 was just telling everybody that after I came here I changed my mind. I loved
myself all day. I'll go be proud. I love myself, that's what I was telling her
about. And she was like, "Oh Toni, you really changed." And I was, "Oh, yeah,
because I love myself." (Toni, Interview 3)

Tamika noted, "The only thing that changed. . . . I don't think everybody's better
than me" (Tamika, Interview 3) and spoke positively about her program experiences.
Again, in contrast, Patrice left the program feeling less positive about her experience.
She appeared to remain solely task-oriented and was unable to apply program experi-
ence in other domains of her life: "It (program participation) didn't do nothing. . . .
How is being in the program going to make my life any easier? Unless I pass my
GED" (Patrice, Interview 1). Asked how the program had affected her life, she
responded, "I'm used to getting up early, so nothing" (Patrice, Interview 3). She also
held decidedly different views about the "Loves Herself class:

Some stuff is personal, you know what I'm saying? And then you get zeros for
not participating in stuff that—that should be your choice—if you want to par-
ticipate your life story in there or not. That shouldn't be made a point or issue
for a grade. . . . I did not like that about that class. (Patrice, Interview 3)

Outcomes for those who experienced a qualitative difference in the ways they made
meaning as well as those who applied transformative learning in other aspects of life
were consistent with the staff's goals of wanting the women to "dream beyond the
GED," as Toni explained: "It's not all about the GED. It is about yourself, your health,
everything. It's just new and different things" (Toni, Interview 3).
Bridwell 141

Discussion

This study focused on the unique ways that a group of homeless African American
women made meaning of their learning experiences and how the Shelter provided a
holding environment that supported their growth toward increased epistemological
complexity and greater self-agency. I have argued that the Shelter's transformative
learning goals supported this growth among adult learners who are regarded as mar-
ginalized by race, class, and gender. Developmental interviews showed that two of the
homeless women in this study experienced qualitative changes in the ways of know-
ing that guide knowledge construction; others experienced transformative learning
leading to growing empowerment in other aspects of their lives. CDT recognizes that
adults make meaning of their experiences in diverse ways; this recognition can inform
the design of learning environments that better support transformative learning's cen-
fral goal—helping all people move toward greater epistemological complexity.
Individuals with more complex systems for making meaning are better positioned to
challenge dominant ideologies. The Shelter's goals and support for low-income and
homeless women of Color to "dream beyond the GED" and "to be able to advocate
and speak up for themselves" were ultimately to inspire greater confidence for nego-
tiating the world from less privileged positions, reflecting also the purpose of critical
theory (Brookfield, 2005; Collins, 2000).
The Shelter's empowerment goals are also consistent with Drago-Severson's
(2004a) conceptualization of adult literacy as "something more sophisticated than
acquiring basic skills and speaks to transformative learning .. . learning that translates
to a qualitative shift in how people know and understand themselves, their worlds, and
the relationship between the two" (p. 3). Toni's change in expectations of the program
over the year from "just getting a GED" to something deeper is consistent with program
goals for the women to "dream beyond the GED." Margaret's account of her greater
confidence in "speaking out" similarly reflects the staffs goals for self-advocacy.
Participants in my study demonstrated change similar to those from popular educa-
tion. Consistent with Rivera's (2003) findings, the women in my study appeared to
have experienced increased self-esteem, were inspired to help other low-income
women, had new perspectives as role models for their children, and became better
advocates for their own rights. For example, Toni's increased self-esteem and inspira-
tion to share her positive experiences with other low-income women in the community
were apparent when she said, "I'll go be proud. I love myself, that's what I was telling
her about." Several spoke about wanting to set an example of persistence for their
children. For example, Margaret said, "What we learn today . . . we teach our kids and
what we speak, they learn from what we speak."
Fundamental to fransformative education is increased self-advocacy for all people,
particularly individuals in marginalized groups. Discussing the power dynamics of
epistemological debates, Collins (2000) stated, "Offering U.S. Black women new
knowledge about our own experiences can be empowering. But activating epistemolo-
gies that criticize prevailing knowledge and that enable us to define our own realities
on our own terms has far greater implications" (p. 273). Feminist scholars identify
142 Adult Educatior} Quarterly 63(2)

outspokenness as one of the special mechanisms that women of Color use for negotiat-
ing the world from multiple stigmatized identities (Hurtado, 1996). When the women
in my study talked about learning to "speak out," it seemed consistent with their grow-
ing capacity for self-agency in countering hegemonic constraints and acts (hooks,
1994; Lorde, 1984). Toni offered examples of greater self-agency in describing new
ways of thinking about information sources and actively accessing community
resources: "They (classmates and staff) helped . . . find information for me, how to get
information about whatever I need" and "to know people outside from the school."
Tamika described this change as one example of her learning in the program: "It
helped me speak out in the crowd." Similariy, Margaret saw change in herself "in the
way I talk" and her growing confidence in this regard: "And the more I speak, the
more I feel comfortable in speaking and the more I want to speak."
The context and the capacity for reflection as preconditions for transformative
learning are key themes in the standard literature (Mezirow, 2000). However, these
preconditions ignore marginalized adults' issues of equal access to the discourse com-
munities that foster transformative learning (Belenky & Stanton, 2000), although the
need for alternative transformative learning perspectives is clear (Merriam, 2004;
E. W. Taylor, 2008). My study highlights the Shelter as a discourse community that is
consistent with Belenky and Stanton's (2000) depiction of successful programs:
"Drawing out the voices and minds of marginalized peoples, enabling them to partici-
pate in reflective discourse communities and become more fully integrated into the
social, economic, and political life of the whole society" (p. 74).
The Shelter's self-advocacy and empowerment goals were conveyed most often in
the women's stories about the "Loves Herself Regardless" class that purposefully cre-
ated space for discourse and reflection. The women spoke about the class providing
opportunities "to realize who I am," "to get to express ourselves," and they valued the
class as the place where "Everything we talk about is like ourselves." The poignancy
of some stories suggested this program component was an exemplary context for fos-
tering reflection and discourse leading to transformative learning for low-income and
homeless women of Color.
Kegan (1982) emphasized that developmental growth is a gradual process, measur-
able over years or decades if at all (Kegan et al., 2001). Without a supportive environ-
ment, we would not expect to see measurable qualitative development in the complexity
of ways of knowing over the course of one year. My findings, especially Margaret and
Toni's measurable qualitative development, are consistent with Kegan's initial longi-
tudinal research in the 1980s and the ABE/ESOL research (Kegan et al., 2001), which
showed that, with a supportive environment, adult learners can often demonstrate
measurable increases in the complexity of their meaning making within one
year's time.
This study contributes to an evolving view of transformative learning that privi-
leges experiences of marginalized and people of Color. It also contributes to a research
shift toward factors that shape the transformative learning experience, including criti-
cal reflection, holistic approaches, and relationships (Taylor, 2008). It confirms calls
Bridwell 143

for educators to recognize barriers to transformative learning and informs creating

contexts that focus on developing reflective dialogue and engaging learners rather than
task completion solely (Scribner & Donaldson, 2001).
Identifying a best-practices site with participants who frilfilled the purposeful sam-
pling criteria was challenging given the transient nature of homeless populations.
Sampling constraints and higher dropout rates among this population limited the abil-
ity to monitor change over time. The current study used a qualitative approach for
analyzing narrative descriptions of transformative learning; it did not use a compari-
son group or account for other variables that may have contributed to or served as
barriers to change. Future studies should consider these limitations.
My findings conflrm that women like Margaret and Toni achieved growth toward
greater epistemological complexity in spite of extraordinarily marginalizing circum-
stances. These findings also attest to the power of CDT for informing ways of structur-
ing environments that stimulate epistemological growth. Although the stories of these
two women confirm the potential of human development and the ideals of democratic
values in this particular program that purposefully supported transformative learning
goals, future studies should look to broader policy and practice applications for
empowering all learners, especially marginalized populations, in the face of increasing
power and privilege imbalances.

Acknowledgment
The author acknowledges Dr. Eleanor Drago-Severson for critiquing the article.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship,
and/or publication ofthis article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of
this article.

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Author Biography
Sandra D. Bridwell, EdD, is a professor in the School of Education, Department of Educational
Leadership at Cambridge College.
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