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Narrative therapy has its intellectual roots in and derives its concepts and language from a postmodern concern with experience, narrative and social critique. In this paper the narrative therapy of White and Epston is explored as a body of theoretical and practical knowledge about how to free people from the stories that imprison them in closed and limiting visions of themselves, their relationships and views of the world. Narrative therapy with its focus on changing the frame of intelligibility within which we interpret the world, in how it brings about this change and in how it interprets the social and cultural dimension of one’s narrative, is a useful reframing of the language of transformation theory. The paper identifies the implications of this connection for enhancing the social dimension and understanding of transformation and enhancing the ways in which transformation may be facilitated. Finally, attachment stories are proposed as particularly useful narratives for adult educators.

Narrative therapy has its intellectual roots in and derives its concepts and language from a postmodern concern with experience, narrative and social critique. In this paper the narrative therapy of White and Epston is explored as a body of theoretical and practical knowledge about how to free people from the stories that imprison them in closed and limiting visions of themselves, their relationships and views of the world. Narrative therapy with its focus on changing the frame of intelligibility within which we interpret the world, in how it brings about this change and in how it interprets the social and cultural dimension of one’s narrative, is a useful reframing of the language of transformation theory. The paper identifies the implications of this connection for enhancing the social dimension and understanding of transformation and enhancing the ways in which transformation may be facilitated. Finally, attachment stories are proposed as particularly useful narratives for adult educators.

The debate as to whether transformative learning theory takes adequate account of the social has contributed to the clarification and development of the theory. But this debate has been, to a great extent, framed within transformation theory. This paper outlines some key ideas from Jürgen Habermas - civil society, public sphere, democracy and discourse - that are crucial to unearthing the social in transformation theory.

The debate as to whether transformative learning theory takes adequate account of the social has contributed to the clarification and development of the theory. But this debate has been, to a great extent, framed within transformation theory. This paper outlines some key ideas from Jürgen Habermas - civil society, public sphere, democracy and discourse - that are crucial to unearthing the social in transformation theory.