Using Transformative Learning Theory to Explore the Mechanisms of Citizen Participation for Environmental Education on the Removal of Invasive Species: The Case of Green Island, Taiwan

Ren-Fang Chao

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2017.01246a

Full Text (PDF)

Ren-Fang Chao ¹ ^*

More Detail

¹ Department of Leisure Management, I-Shou University, Taiwan^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background:
The purpose of this study is to investigate the process of participation in the transformative learning process for invasive species by community volunteers and voluntourists.

Material and methods:
The study used methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and meeting information for data analysis to produce an environmental education model for community volunteers’ and voluntourists’ transformative learning.

Results:
The results show that children play an important role in motivating adults to accept new ideas, and for both community volunteers and voluntourists, “dialogue” has an important influence on the relationship between self-reflection and new roles..

Conclusions:
In addition,during the operation of volunteer tourism, the platform provided by local intermediary organizations functioned to link stakeholders in volunteer tourism and promote transformative learning

Keywords

volunteer tourism
experience
Dialogue
Adult Education
sustainable development

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2017, Volume 13, Issue 6, 2665-2682

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.01246a

Publication date: 15 Jun 2017

Article Views: 2801

Article Downloads: 2656

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Akçay, R. C. (2012). Transformational learning theory and transformation in adult education. Journal of National Education, 196, 5–19.
Anderson, L. G., Rocliffe, S., Haddaway, N. R., & Dunn, A. M. (2015). The role of tourism and recreation in the spread of non-native species: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS One, 10(10), e0140833. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140833.
Barbieri, C., Santos, C., & Katsube, Y. (2012). Volunteer tourism: On-the-ground observations from Rwanda. Tourism Management, 33(3), 509–516. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2011.05.009.
Baumgartner, L. M. (2001). An update on transformational learning. In S. B. Merriam (Ed.), The new update on adult learning theory (pp. 15–24). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Bonanno, G. (2016). Alien species: To remove or not to remove? That is the question. Environmental Science and Policy, 59, 67–73. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2016.02.011.
Broomhall, S., Pitman, T., Majocha, E., & Mcewan, J. (2010). Articulating lifelong learning in tourism: Dialogue between humanities scholars and travel providers. Canberra: Australian Learning and Teaching Council.
Chao, R.-F. (2014a). Volunteer tourism as the approach to environmental management: A case study of Green Island in Taiwan. Journal of Environmental Protection & Ecology, 15(3A), 1377–1384.
Chao, R.-F. (2014b): Innovation strategies of local intermediary organizations for environmental protection: A case study of Green Island, Taiwan. International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 7(2), 87–97.
Chao, R.-F., & Lin, T.-E. (2017). Effect of citizen action on suppression of invasive alien lizard population: A case of the removal of Eutropis multifasciata on Green Island, Taiwan. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 15. (In press)
Chao, R.-F., Lin, T.-E., Lin, L.-K., & Pei, K. (2009). The survey and remove of invasive alien animals in Green Island. Taitung, Taiwan: Taitung County Government. (In Chinese)
Chen, P.-C., Chang, M.-H., Chen, S.-F., Li, Z.-L., Chen, S.-L., Lin, H.-C., & Chu, C.-W. (2008). The research of terrestrial vertebrate fauna on the Green Island. Kaohsiung, Taiwan: Marine National Park Headquarters. (In Chinese; with English abstract)
Çimen, O., & Yılmaz, M. (2014). The influence of transformative learning based environmental education on pre-service biology teachers’ perception of environmental problems. Bartın University Journal of Education Faculty, 3(1), 339–359.
Coghlan, A., & Gooch, M. (2011). Applying a transformative learning framework to volunteer tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 19(6), 713–728. doi:10.1080/09669582.2010.542246
Coll, R. K., Lay, M. C., & Taylor, N. (2008). Scientists and scientific thinking: Understanding scientific thinking through an investigation of scientists’ views about superstitions and religious beliefs. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 4(3), 197-214.
Collins, T. D., Gaved, M. B., Mulholland, P., Kerawalla, L. J., Twiner, A., Scanlon, E., Jones, A., Littleton, K., Conole, G., & Tosunoglu, C. (2008). Supporting location-based inquiry learning across school, field and home contexts’. In Proceedings of the 7th world conference on mobile and contextual learning (mLearn-2008), Telford, UK.
Cranton, P. (1994). Understanding and promoting transformative learning. San Francisco, California: JosseyBass.
Damerell, P., Howe, C., & Milner-Gulland, E. J. (2013). Child-orientated environmental education influences adult knowledge and household behaviour. Environmental Research Letters, 8(1), 015016. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/015016
Dirkx, J. M. (2006). Engaging emotions in adult learning: A Jungian perspective on emotion and transformative learning. In E. W. Taylor (Ed.), Teaching for change: Fostering transformative learning in the classroom (pp. 15–26). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Dirkx, J. M. (2012). Self-formation and transformative learning: A response to "calling transformative learning into question: some mutinous thoughts," by Michael Newman. Adult Education Quarterly, 62(4), 399–405. doi:10.1177/0741713612456420.
Dolan, R. W., Harris, K. A., & Adler, M. (2015). Community involvement to address a long-standing invasive species problem: Aspects of civic ecology in practice. Ecological Restoration, 33(3), 316– 325. doi:10.3368/er.33.3.316
Dorin-Paul, B. (2013). Sustainable tourism and its forms: A theoretical approach. Annals of Faculty of Economics, 1(1), 759–767.
Edwards, R. (2014). Citizen science and lifelong learning. Studies in the Education of Adults, 46(2), 132– 144. doi:10.1080/02660830.2014.11661662
Eilks, I. (2015). Science education and education for sustainable development: Justifications, models, practices and perspectives. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 11(1), 149–158. doi:10.12973/eurasia.2015.1313a
Falk, J. H., Ballantyne, R., Packer, J., & Benckendorff, P. (2012). Travel and learning: A neglected tourism research area. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(2), 908–927. doi:10.1016/j.annals.2011.11.016
Feinstein, B. C. (2004). Learning and transformation in the context of Hawaiian traditional ecological knowledge. Adult Education Quarterly, 54(2), 105–120.doi:10.1177/0741713603260275
Frey, J., & Berkes, F. (2014). Can partnerships and community-based conservation reverse the decline of coral reef social-ecological systems? International Journal of the Commons, 8(1), 26–46. doi:10.18352/ijc.408
Glen, A. S., Atkinson, R., Campbell, K. J., Hagen, E., Holmes, N. D., Keitt, B. S., Parkes, J. P., Saunders, A., Sawyer, J., & Torres, H. (2013). Eradicating multiple invasive species on inhabited islands: the next big step in island restoration? Biological Invasions, 15(12), 2589–2603. doi:10.1007/s10530-013- 0495-y
Gruenewald, D. (2003). The best of both worlds: A critical pedagogy of place. Educational Researcher, 32(4), 3–12.doi:10.3102/0013189X032004003
Hall, C. M. (2015). Tourism and biological exchange and invasions: A missing dimension in sustainable tourism? Tourism Recreation Research, 40(1), 81–94. doi:10.1080/02508281.2015.1005943
Harvey, R. G., Perez, L., & Mazzotti, F. J. (2016). Not seeing is not believing: Volunteer beliefs about Burmese pythons in Florida and implications for public participation in invasive species removal. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 59(5), 789– 807.doi:10.1080/09640568.2015.1040489
Hodge, S. (2014). Transformative learning as an “inter-practice” phenomenon. Adult Education Quarterly, 64(2), 165–181. doi:10.1177/0741713613520405
Kitchin, R., & Tate, N. (2013). Conducting research in human geography: Theory, methodology and practice. London: Routledge.
Knollenberg, W., McGehee, N. G., Boley, B. B., & Clemmons, D. (2014). Motivation-based transformative learning and potential voluntourist: Facilitating more sustainable outcomes. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 22(6), 922–941. doi:10.1080/09669582.2014.902065
Koutika, L. S., Rainey, H. J., & Dassonville, N. (2011). Impacts of Solidago gigantea, Prunus serotina, Heracleum mantegazzianum and Fallopia japonica invasions on ecosystems. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 9(2), 73–83. doi:10.15666/aeer/0901_073083
Kuo, F. S., & Perng, Y. H. (2016). The educational strategies of citizens’ identification and recognition for sustainable urban development in Taipei. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 12(6), 1685-1696. doi:10.12973/eurasia.2016.1560a
Lepp, A. (2009). Leisure and obligation: An investigation of voluntourist’ experience at Kenya’s Taita Discovery Center. Journal of Leisure Research, 41(2), 253–260.
Lin, T.-E. (2008). No skink: Introduction and pest control of invasive Mabuya multifasciata. Quarterly Journal of Nature Conservation, 61, 30–36. (In Chinese).
Lüko, I., & Kollarics, T. (2013). The significance of environmental sustainability in adult environmental education. International Journal of Environmental Protection, 3(4), 1–9.
MacKeracher, D. (2012). The role of experience in transformative learning. In E. W. Taylor, & P. Cranton (Eds.), Handbook of transformative learning: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 342–354). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Marks, R., Stuckey, M., Belova, N., & Eilks, I. (2014). The societal dimension in German science education–form tradition towards selected cases and recent developments. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technological Education, 10, 285-296. doi:10.12973/eurasia.2014.1083a
McFarlane, D. A. (2013). Understanding the challenges of science education in the 21st century: New opportunities for scientific literacy. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 4(1), 35– 44. doi:10.18052/www.scipress.com/ILSHS.4.35
McGehee, N. G., & Andereck, K. (2009). Volunteer tourism and the “voluntoured”: The case of Tijuana, Mexico. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17(1), 39–54. doi:10.1080/09669580802159693
McGehee, N. G., & Santos, C. (2005). Social change, discourse, and volunteer tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 32(3), 760–779. doi:10.1016/j.annals.2004.12.002
McIntosh, A. J., & Zahra, A. (2007). A cultural encounter through volunteer tourism: Towards the ideals of sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 15(5), 541–556. doi: 10.2167/jost701.0
Mezirow, J. & Taylor, E. W. (2009). Transformative learning in practice. San Francisco, California: JosseyBass.
Mezirow, J. (1975). Education for perspective transformation: Women’s reentry programs in community colleges. New York: Center for Adult Education, Teachers College, Columbia University.
Mezirow, J. (1978). Perspective transformation. Adult Education Quarterly, 28, 100–110. doi:10.1177/074171367802800202
Mezirow, J. (1996). Contemporary paradigms of learning. Adult Education Quarterly, 46(3), 158–172. doi:10.1177/074171369604600303
Mezirow, J. (1998). On critical reflection. Adult Learning Quarterly, 48(3), 185–198. doi:10.1177/074171369804800305
Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to think like an adult: Core concepts of transformation theory. In J. Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 3– 33). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Mezirow, J. (2003). Transformative learning as discourse. Journal of Transformative Education, 1(1), 58–63. doi:10.1177/1541344603252172
Mezriow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Milton, B., Cleveland, E., & Bennett-Gates, D. (1995). Changing perceptions of nature, self, and others: A report on a park/school program. The Journal of Environmental Education, 26(3), 32– 39.doi:10.1080/00958964.1995.9941443
Newman, M. (2012). Calling transformative learning in question: Some mutinous thought. Adult Education Quarterly, 62(1), 36–55. doi:10.1177/0741713610392768
Nohl, A. M. (2009). Spontaneous action and transformative learning: Empirical investigations and pragmatist reflections. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 41(3), 287–306. doi:10.1111/j.1469- 5812.2008.00417.x
Orams, M. B. (1997). The effectiveness of environmental education: Can we turn tourists into 'Greenies'? Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research, 3, 295-306. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099- 1603(199712)3:4%3C295::AID-PTH85%3E3.3.CO;2-4
Özdemir, G., & Clark, D. B. (2007). An overview of conceptual change theories. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 3(4), 351-361.
Packer, J., & Ballantyne, R. (2004). Is educational leisure a contradiction in terms? Exploring the synergy of education and entertainment. Annals of Leisure Research, 7(1), 54–71. doi:10.1080/11745398.2004.10600939
Randler, C. (2008). Teaching species identification - a prerequisite for learning biodiversity and understanding ecology. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 4(3), 223– 231.
Randler, C., & Bogner, F. X. (2006). Cognitive achievements in identification skills. Journal of Biological Education, 40(4), 161–165. doi:10.1080/00219266.2006.9656038
Rattan, J. K., Eagles, P. F., & Mair, H. L. (2012). Volunteer tourism: Its role in creating conservation awareness. Journal of Ecotourism, 11(1), 1–15. doi:10.1080/14724049.2011.604129
Sá-Oliveira, J. C., Araújo, F. L., Filho, R. G. T., dos Santos, W. S., & Ferrari, S. F. (2016). Education as controlling factor of invasive species (Achatina fulica) in an Amazonian City, Brazil. Creative Education, 7, 159–170. doi:10.4236/ce.2016.71016
Sharma, G. P., & Raghubanshi, A. S. (2011). Lantana camara L. invasion and impact on herb layer diversity and soil properties in a dry deciduous forest of India. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 9(3), 253–264. doi:10.15666/aeer/0903_253264
Simberloff, D., Martin, J. L., Genovesi, P., Maris, V., Wardle, D. A., Aronson, J., Courchamp, F., Galil, B., García-Berthou, E., Pascal, M., Pyšek, P., Sousa, R., Tabacchi, E., & Vilà, M. (2013). Impacts of biological invasions: What's what and the way forward. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 28(1), 58– 66. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2012.07.013
Taylor, E. W. (1994). Intercultural competency: A transformative learning process. Adult Education Quarterly, 44(3), 154–174. doi:10.1177/074171369404400303
Taylor, E. W. (1997). Building upon the theoretical debate: A critical review of the empirical studies of Mezirow's transformative learning theory. Adult Education Quarterly, 48(1), 34–59. doi:10.1177/074171369704800104.
Taylor, E. W. (2000). Analyzing research on transformative learning theory. In J. Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 285–328). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Taylor, E. W. (2007). An update of transformative learning theory: A critical review of the empirical research (1999-2005). International Journal of Lifelong Education, 26(2), 173–191. doi:10.1080/02601370701219475
Taylor, E. W. (2008). Transformative learning theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 119, 5–15.
Taylor, E. W., & Cranton, P. (2013). A theory in progress? Issues in transformative learning theory. European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults, 4(1), 35–47. doi:10.3384/rela.2000-7426.rela5000.
Uyanık, G. (2016). Effect of environmental education based on transformational learning theory on perceptions towards environmental problems and permanency of learning. International Electronic Journal of Environmental Education, 6(2), 126–140. doi:10.18497/iejee-green.59815
Wearing, S., & McGehee, N. G. (2013). Volunteer tourism: A review. Tourism Management, 38, 120–130. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2013.03.002
Wilner, K. B., Wiber, M., Charles, A., Kearney, J., Landry, M., Wilson, L., & Coastal CURA Team. (2012). Transformative learning for better resource management: The role of critical reflection. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 55(10), 1331–1347. doi:10.1080/09640568.2011.646679
Yiming, L., Zhengjun, W., & Duncan, R. P. (2006). Why islands are easier to invade: Human influences on bullfrog invasion in the Zhoushan archipelago and neighboring mainland China. Oecologia, 148(1), 129–136. doi:10.1007/s00442-006-0355-x
Zhou, G. (2010). Conceptual change in science: A process of argumentation. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 6(2), 101-110.

How to cite this article

APA

Chao, R.-F. (2017). Using Transformative Learning Theory to Explore the Mechanisms of Citizen Participation for Environmental Education on the Removal of Invasive Species: The Case of Green Island, Taiwan. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(6), 2665-2682. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.01246a

Vancouver

Chao RF. Using Transformative Learning Theory to Explore the Mechanisms of Citizen Participation for Environmental Education on the Removal of Invasive Species: The Case of Green Island, Taiwan. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2017;13(6):2665-82. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.01246a

AMA

Chao RF. Using Transformative Learning Theory to Explore the Mechanisms of Citizen Participation for Environmental Education on the Removal of Invasive Species: The Case of Green Island, Taiwan. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2017;13(6), 2665-2682. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.01246a

Chicago

Chao, Ren-Fang. "Using Transformative Learning Theory to Explore the Mechanisms of Citizen Participation for Environmental Education on the Removal of Invasive Species: The Case of Green Island, Taiwan". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2017 13 no. 6 (2017): 2665-2682. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.01246a

Harvard

Chao, R.-F. (2017). Using Transformative Learning Theory to Explore the Mechanisms of Citizen Participation for Environmental Education on the Removal of Invasive Species: The Case of Green Island, Taiwan. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(6), pp. 2665-2682. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.01246a

MLA

Chao, Ren-Fang "Using Transformative Learning Theory to Explore the Mechanisms of Citizen Participation for Environmental Education on the Removal of Invasive Species: The Case of Green Island, Taiwan". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 13, no. 6, 2017, pp. 2665-2682. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.01246a