Transformative learning in engineering education: the improved people and relational skills outcome

Abstract

In this article, the authors discuss the improved people and relational skills outcome arising from transformative learning within an engineering education context. A study was conducted by the authors, where four outcomes and three factors related to transformative learning in engineering education were identified [1]. The outcomes were: improved people and relational skills, project management ability becoming second nature, changes in ways of thinking and increased resilience. The factors that facilitated them were: the need to break out of comfort zones, the need to have crucial learning experiences, which were experiential in nature, and the importance of staying motivated throughout the entire process of transformation until it is completed. This present article focusses on one of these outcomes in greater detail; namely, the improved people and relational skills outcome. The authors’ considerations presented in this article, which constitute a new research contribution, are supported by the interview data from their earlier study [1]