Transformative Learning Report 2025

Open access. Download report here: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10218456/

Central to this Report is the term ‘transformative learning’. 

This term has become increasingly popular in recent years within a range of international policy initiatives and bodies of practice. Whilst the authors welcome the inclusion of this term, there is concern that it is being used without discussion or clarification as to its meaning. There are dangers of the term becoming meaningless – ‘transformation wishing’ at best and ‘transformation washing’ at worst - unless there is some debate as to what is meant by transformative learning, its differing interpretations and authentic ways it can be designed for and enabled within education. 

Through examination of several case studies from leading organisations and educators this report identifies several principles that surface as central to transformative education:

• The need to enable learners to become self-aware and critical in their reflections 

• The importance of engaging sustainability values and competencies 

• Teaching that fosters collaboration, taking learning from an individual to a collective, relational process 

• Nurturing agency through action learning 

Transformation is messy. It requires engagement with discomfort, challenging what may be deeply held assumptions and being able to manage often quite complex emotions on both a personal and collective scale. The 'emotions gap' in climate and sustainability education emerges as a central challenge. 

The goal of transformation is not to reach a particular destination where one can claim to have ‘been transformed’, but to know transformation as an ongoing, iterative process – a mindset that understands and engages with a lifelong journey of continually seeking ways to achieve a more just and sustainable future.