TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING:INSIGHTS INTO WOMEN SEMINARIANS’ DECISIONS TO PURSUE ORDINATION

Abstract

The purposes of this study were (1) to discover and investigate the factors that influence women seminarians to alter their programs in order to pursue ordination, (2) to explore the connections between the emerging factors and Mezirow’s theory of perspective transformation, (3) to critique the theory on the basis of the emergent factors, (4) to explore the connections between the emergent factors and other strands of thought regarding transformative learning: consciousnessraising,development, and extra-rational/spiritual, and (5) to explore the impact of gender and traditional gender roles as a factor. Twenty-four women participated in this qualitative study. The data are presented through the stories of three composite women—Ella, Lily, and Sadie (pseudonyms). Telling the stories through composites made it possible to view the data through the lens of the four strands of thought regarding transformative learning and the impact of gender. The women had experiences related to the four strands of transformative learning to various degrees. All were impacted by gender. The study suggests four conclusions: (1) a new model for understanding the women’s decisions, (2) the importance of gender to the women’s decisions, (3) the importance of context and (4) power to the women’s decisions.