Transformative learning
Transformative education has become new discourse of education after Brazilian philosopher, Freire, succeed in presenting new kind of method and approach for universal education. The discourse challenge traditional ways of education by humanistic and transformative model as well as adopted by liberation theology movement in Latin America.
The significance of this discourse for development country, in some extent also for modern countries, is rise new awareness of important of knowledge to arise skill and knowledge to compete in getting better opportunity of live. Education basically is transformation of knowledge from one people to another and from one book to reader. There is mutual reposes between first party to second in broadening sense of knowledge, perception, and emotion.
The kind of movement is social transformation which focus to the society and it issues. The transformation usually is participatorist, because engage people to joint in the program. In the other hand this movement also pluralist both in ideology and or areas of fellowship. Other important aspect of social transformation is it link to dominant ideology, and state policy, and international ideology or belief. Ideology is barrier and supporter of transformation of education which depend on the context of the social movement. The ideology of justice, human right, and democracy perhaps support the idea of transformation, whereas radicalism is barrier of its liberation of opposite ideology.
Transformation of knowledge covers system of belief, methodical process, understanding of the text and context, These are should support each others in line of transformation of getting better and appropriate knowledge from people to people in democratic situation.
Understanding of the text and context is most important to bring the knowledge and issues come from text of the holy, book, and other resources to the context of people live. This is the hermeneutical understanding of the reality seeing the real is not something happens without of hard process in line of cycling. To be honest, the idea of transformation completely can come from text to context, because all of them strengthen each other.
This relationship is not merely assimilative, but also pluralist; this discourse asks people to ask other in dialogue to find the common language of religious conversation and social conversation too. The goal of transformative education is how people share what they really mastered and what they did not to build of accumulation of knowledge. However, it’s not only accumulation of theoretical knowledge, but also practical. Thus, people can get real benefit of the knowledge to the corresponded reality.
Transformative learning will be effective if someone who contributes into the discourse can identify problem kindly by naming, acting, and reflecting. Object of transformation usually gap of cultural development, lower quality education, etc. transformation as the ways obliged to act in the field to transform knowledge and idea. Reflecting reflects about name and act done previously, both by same group or others. Thus, transformative learning is continual process. []
