| The purpose of this study was to determine if relationships exist between transformational learning experiences and age/cohort group, life experience, and cognitive development.;The survey data indicated that cohort group had no effect on transformational learning and that cognitive development was not affected by whether or not an individual had experienced transformational learning. However, cognitive development was affected by educational level, marital status, and whether or not an individual used self-reflection. Also, cognitive development was higher in older participants than in younger participants. Meaning perspectives differed between individuals experiencing transformational learning and those who did not. However, cohort group (i.e. age) did not affect the number of Mezirow's steps that young or old participants experienced.;The interviews suggested that study participants experienced both positive and negative triggering events that differed among the five cohort groups. Also, meaning perspectives were different among the five cohort groups: individuals in older cohorts often changed attitudes, whereas individuals in younger cohorts changed behaviors. An unexpected result was that several interviewees experienced transformational learning during the teenage years in response to a negative triggering event and indicated that the event made them "grow-up faster." Seven themes resulted from the interviews: relationships, affective dimensions, health, family issues, society, career/job/vocation, and religion/spirituality and were discussed in relation to triggering events, meaning perspectives, and Mezirow's 10 steps.;In conclusion, transformational learning is not just an adult phenomenon, with young age often being compensated by greater life experience. These results suggest that both relationships and context are very important for understanding transformational learning.;Two surveys were used to collect quantitative data: (1) the Adult Age Development Experience Survey (AADE) developed for this study, which examined responses of participants from five different cohort groups in relation to Mezirow's 10 steps leading to transformational learning and the participants' meaning perspectives; and (2) the Learning Environment Preferences Survey (LEP) developed by Moore (1989), which assesses cognitive development. Some participants were interviewed to probe and explore the results from the two surveys in more depth and detail. |
