The Learning Self: Understanding the Potential for Transformation (Jossey-bass Higher and Adult Education) - Tapa dura

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MARK TENNANT is professor emeritus of education at the University of Technology, Sydney, where he has held the positions of dean of the University Graduate School and dean of the Faculty of Education. He was the recipient of the Cyril O. Houle Award for Literature in Adult Education for his book Psychology and Adult Learning and is the coauthor of Learning and Change in the Adult Years and Teaching, Learning and Research in Higher Education.

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Praise for The Learning Self

"In this age of self-help, the 'self' is a term thrown around with abandon. For educators, the notion of self-directed learning is a key concept. Yet the notion of self is deeply problematic, even contentious. The world has needed a book that deftly and accessibly takes the idea of the self and looks at it in a sympathetic but critical way. Mark Tennant has written that book. It is a highly readable and fascinating deconstruction of this key idea that will be appreciated by all helping professionals."?Stephen Brookfield, Distinguished University Professor, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis-St. Paul

"An excellent contribution to the field! This is a clearly written text that takes the reader far beyond much contemporary work in psychology and learning. It opens up new ways of thinking about the learning self and provides a significant contribution to transformative learning theory. This is a book that should be read by every student of psychology, learning, and the self."?Peter Jarvis, professor emeritus of continuing education, University of Surrey, United Kingdom

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The Learning Self

This new book from the award- winning author of Psychology and Adult Learning puts the spotlight on the kind of learning that brings about significant personal change. Tennant explores the techniques, processes, and practices educators can use to promote learning that leads to change and examines assumptions about self and identity, how we are formed, and our capacity for change.

The Learning Self addresses the different concepts of self and how they frame our understanding of personal transformation. The book opens with an exploration of the key concepts of self, identity, and subjectivity. The remaining chapters fall into two distinct groups. The first comprises chapters dealing with different versions of the self: The Authentic or Real Self, The Autonomous Self, The Repressed Self, The Socially Constructed Self, and The Storied Self. Tennant's aim in each case is to analyze the issues that each conception of the self presents and to comment on the implications for learning for personal change. The second group of chapters—Knowing Oneself, Controlling Oneself, Caring for Oneself, and (Re)creating Oneself—analyze general interventions to change the self. Although the focus in these chapters is on techniques and methods, the author highlights the versions of the self being promoted in their use.

Throughout the book, Tennant posits that individuals can be agents in their own self-formation and change by understanding and acting on the circumstances and forces that surround and shape them. Educators, he argues, must be open to different theoretical ideas and practices while simultaneously valuing these practices and viewing them with a critical eye.