Trainers and transformation : facilitating the \u27dark side\u27 of vocational learning

\u27Transformative learning\u27 is a term used by Mezirow (1991) and his followers to designate a specifically \u27adult\u27 kind of learning that involves shifts in how learners view the world and themselves. New research into learning in VET suggests that in some subject areas transformative learning may play more than an incidental role. Among the implications of this finding is that the trainer\u27s practice may be more important in VET than it has been the custom to acknowledge. When transformative learning systematically contributes to VET, the trainer becomes a co-constructor of competence rather than a transmitter of skills and knowledge. This paper reports on this new research and reflects on the role of the trainer in the process of VET-oriented transformative learning. Results indicate that some trainers of youth workers develop a practice that responds to the contours and dangers of transformative learning without necessarily being aware of the body of knowledge that has built up around this type of learning. The paper suggests that in some VET sectors, trainers and RTO\u27s could enhance their work by taking stock of transformative learning research and theory.