Top

Published in:

01-08-2016 | Psychological Exploration

The Role of Spirituality in Transition to Parenthood: Qualitative Research Using Transformative Learning Theory

Author: Nataša Rijavec Klobučar

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health | Issue 4/2016

Abstract

This article presents results of a qualitative study of 12 adult couples making transition to parenthood. The aim of the study was to research the meaning of transition to parenthood through the lens of transformative learning theory. Transformative learning theory explains learning through meaning-making of that life experience. In this paper, the spiritual dimension of learning is emphasized. An important part of research methodology included biographical method, using semi-structured interviews before and after the birth of the first child. The research showed that transformative learning occurs in different spheres of life during transition to parenthood. This paper discusses the spiritual dimension of learning, meaning-making and presents results of the research.

Belsky, J. (1994). The transition to parenthood. How a first child changes marriage. New York: Delacorte Pess.

Bowen, M. (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. New York: Jason Aronson.

Boyd, R. D., & Myers, J. G. (1988). Transformative education. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 7(4), 261–284.CrossRef

Brooks, A. (2000). Cultures of transformation. In A. L. Wilson & E. R. Hayes (Eds.), Handbook of adult and continuing education (pp. 161–170). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Capeheart-Meningall, J. (2005). Role of spirituality and spiritual development in student life outside the classroom. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 104, 31–36.CrossRef

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Merrison, K. (2000). Research methods in education. London: Routledge.CrossRef

Cowan, P. A., & Cowan, C. P. (1992). When partners become parents: The big life change for couples. New York: Basic Books.

Cranton, P. (2006). Understanding and promoting transformative learning: A guide for educators of adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2000). Handbook of qualitative research. New York: Sage.

Dirkx, J. M. (1997). Nurturing soul in adult education. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 74, 79–88.CrossRef

Dirkx, J. M. (2001). The power of feelings: Emotion, imagination, and the construction of meaning in adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 63–72.CrossRef

Dirkx, J. M. (2006). Engaging emotions in adult learning: A jungian perspective on emotion and transformative learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 109, 15–26.CrossRef

Doss, B. D., Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2009). The effect of the transition to parenthood on relationship quality: An eight-year prospective study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96(3), 601–619.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

English, L., & Gillen, M. A. (2000). Addressing the spiritual dimensions of adult learning: What educators can do. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 85, 17–28.

Feeney, J. A., Hohaus, L., Noller, P., & Alexander, R. P. (2001). Becoming parents: Exploring the bonds between mothers, fathers and their infants. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef

Glade, A. C., Bean, A. R., & Vira, R. (2005). A prime time for marital/relational intervention: A review of the transition to parenthood literature with treatment recommendations. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 33(4), 319–336.CrossRef

Gottman, J. M., Shapiro, A. F., & Parthemer, J. (2004). Bringing the baby home: A workshop for new and expectant parents. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 19(3), 28–30.

Halford, W. K., Petch, J., & Creedy, D. (2009). Promoting a positive transition to parenthood: A randomized clinical trial of couple relationship education. Prevention Science, 11(1), 89–100.CrossRef

Hays, S. (1996). The cultural contradictions of motherhood. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Healy, M. (2000). East meets west: Transformational Learning and Buddhist Meditation. In T. Sork, V. Lee, & R. St. Claire (Eds.), AERC 2000 an international conference: proceedings from the 41st annual adult education research conference. Vancouver: University of British Columbia.

Heinicke, C. M. (2002). The transition to parenting. Mahwah: Erlbaum.

Kegan, R. (2000). What form transforms? A constructive-developmental approach to transformative learning. In J. Mezirow (Ed.), Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 35–69). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Koenig, H., King, D., & Carson, V. B. (2012). Handbook of religion and health. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Koivunen, J., Rothaupt, J., & Wolfgram, S. (2009). Gender dynamics and role adjustment during the transition to parenthood: Current perspectives. Family Journal, 17(4), 323–328.CrossRef

Kovan, J., & Dirkx, J. M. (2003). Being called awake: The role of transformative learning in the lives of environmental activists. Adult Education Quarterly, 53(2), 99–118.CrossRef

Kožar Rosulnik, K., & Ličen, N. (2015). Preplet migracij in učenja: biografsko učenje kot formiranje identitete in znanja ob migracijskih izkušnjah (The entanglement of migration and learning: biographical learning as the formation of identity and knowledge of the migratory experience). Dve domovini, 41, 151–162.

LeMasters, E. E. (1957). Parenthood as Crisis. Marriage and family living, 19, 352–355.CrossRef

MacKeracher, D. (2004). Making sense of adult learning. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Merriam, S. B., Cafarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Mezirow, J. (1996). Contemporary paradigms of learning. Adult Education Quarterly, 46(2), 158–172.CrossRef

Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative learning: Theory to practice. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 74, 5–12.CrossRef

Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress. San Francisco: Wiley.

Mezirow, J. (2009). Learning to be a person in society: Learning to be me. In K. Illeris (Ed.), Contemporary theories of learning: Learning theorists in their own words (pp. 90–105). new york: routledge.

Mezirow, J., & Taylor, W. E. (2009). Transformative learning in practice: Insights from community, workplace, and higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Mitnick, D. M., Heyman, R. E., & Smith Slep, A. M. (2009). Changes in relationship satisfaction across the transition to parenthood: A meta-analysis. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(6), 848–852.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

O’Sullivan, E. V., Morrell, A., & O’Connor, M. A. (Eds.). (2002). Expanding the boundaries of transformative learning. New York: Palgrave.

O’Sullivan, E. (2003). Bringing a perspective of transformative learning to globalized consumption. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 27(4), 326–330.CrossRef

Rijavec Klobučar, N. (2011). Transformativno učenje v partnerskih odnosih na prehodu v starševstvo [Transformative Learning in the Transition to Parenthood]. Andragoška spoznanja, 17(3), 31–39.

Rossi, A. (1968). Transition to parenthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 30, 26–29.CrossRef

Schulz, M. S., Cowan, C., & Cowan, P. (2006). Promoting healthy beginnings: A Randomized controlled trial of a preventative intervention to preserve marital quality during the transition to parenthood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(1), 20–31.CrossRefPubMed

Shapiro, A. F., & Gottman, J. (2005). Effects on a marriage of psycho-communicative- educational intervention with couples undergoing the transition to parenthood, evaluation at 1-year intervention. The Journal of Family Communication, 5(1), 1–24.CrossRef

Shapiro, A. F., Gottman, J. M., & Carrère, S. (2000). The baby and the marriage: identifying factors that buffer against decline in marital satisfaction after the first baby arrives. Journal of Family Psychology, 14(1), 59–70.CrossRefPubMed

Simonič, B., & Poljanec, A. (2014). Building motherhood in the young mothers’ group. Child Care in Practice, 20(3), 270–285.CrossRef

Simonič, B., Rahne Mandelj, T., & Novšak, R. (2013). Religious-related abuse in the family. Journal of Family Violence, 28(4), 339–349.CrossRef

Stanley, L. (1992). The avto/biographical I. Manchester: University Press.

Tanyi, R. A. (2002). Towards clarification of the meaning of spirituality. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 39(5), 500–509.CrossRefPubMed

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.CrossRef

Thomas, J., & Hildingsson, I. (2009). Who’s bathing the baby? The division of domestic labour in Sweden. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 15(2), 139–152.CrossRef

Tisdell, E. J. (2000). Spirituality and emancipatory adult education in women adult educators for social change. Adult Education Quarterly, 50(4), 308–335.CrossRef

Tisdell, E. J. (2003). Exploring spirituality and culture in adult and higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Tisdell, E. (2012). Themes and variations in transformative learning: Interdisciplinary perspectives on forms that transform. In E. Taylor & P. Cranton (Eds.), A handbook of transformative learning (pp. 21–37). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Tisdell, E. J., & Tolliver, D. E. (2001). The role of spirituality in culturally relevant and transformative adult education. Adult Learning, 12(3), 13–14.

Tisdell, E. J., & Tolliver, D. E. (2003). Claiming a sacred face: The role of spirituality and cultural identity in transformative adult higher education. Journal of Transformative Education, 1(4), 368–392.CrossRef

Twenge, J. M., Campbell, W. K., & Foster, C. A. (2003). Parenthood and marital satisfaction: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65(3), 574–583.CrossRef

Vella, J. (2000). A spirited epistemology: Honoring the adult learner as subject. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 85, 17–28.

Vogel, L. J. (2000). Reckoning with the spiritual lives of adult educators. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 85, 17–28.CrossRef

Walzer, S. (1998). Thinking about the baby. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Winnicott, D. W. (1991). Playing and reality. London: Routledge.

Title: The Role of Spirituality in Transition to Parenthood: Qualitative Research Using Transformative Learning Theory
Author: Nataša Rijavec Klobučar
Publication date: 01-08-2016
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Religion and Health / Issue 4/2016
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0088-4

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

The Role of Spirituality in Transition to Parenthood: Qualitative Research Using Transformative Learning Theory

Abstract

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2016

Evaluation of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale in a Sample of Korean Adults

Substance Use in Muslim Culture: Social and Generational Changes in Acceptance and Practice in Jordan

Religion and Subjective Well-Being: Western and Eastern Religious Groups Achieved Subjective Well-Being in Different Ways

Mass Gathering Medicine New discipline to Deal with Epidemic and Infectious Diseases in the Hajj Among Muslim Pilgrimage: A Mini Review Article

Carl Gustav Jung and Granville Stanley Hall on Religious Experience

Utilized Resources of Hope, Orientation, and Inspiration in Life of Persons with Multiple Sclerosis and Their Association with Life Satisfaction, Adaptive Coping Strategies, and Spirituality