CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1 T HEORETICAL F RAMEWORK
3.1.3 Jarvis’ Experiential Learning Model
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1983). Jarvis (1987) argues that insufficient studies were tested or explored with this model, resulting in weak empirical support.
Tennant (1997, p.92) claims that Kolb’s learning style inventory “has no capacity to measure the degree of integration of learning styles”, while McLeod (2017) argues that Kolb’s
learning cycle has different processes that could take place at the same time, while some learning steps could be left out entirely. Kolb’s work and the critiques of it have been used by scholars as a departure point for new ideas. For example, Jarvis (2006) develops his own experiential model which focuses on adult learning or andragogy, rather than pedagogy which is the focus of Kolb’s theory. Adults are interested in concrete learning situations which could assist them to solve challenges they encounter in their everyday lives.
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learning theories from a psychological perspective to a sociological one (Dyke, 2017). Jarvis (2006) saw the need to extend the process of learning in order to understand better how human beings learn within real-life situations. Like Kolb, Jarvis examined the notion of reflection which “implies that we are questioning, in some way, the experience that we have had, seeking to solve a problem or experiencing some other phenomenon” (Jarvis, 2006, p.
99). The theory is important for uncovering how the women in this study learnt about
business and other social skills through a reflective process. According to Taylor and Cranton (2012), questioning is the process of logically breaking down ideas and understanding
connections. Jarvis (2006; 2009) states that, individuals can learn by reflecting on information as it is presented to them in any given situation. Reflection produces ground- breaking ideas when it is a combination of thoughts that leads to a better understanding of an issue (Moon, 2006) and can thus assist future planning. Reflection can also be evaluative when assessing the significance of an experience (Jarvis, 2009). Finally, reflection can lead to a deeper understanding of a person’s experiences and possibly also to change (Jarvis, 2009;
Moon, 2006). For Jarvis (2004), whose intention was to propose a much more complex model (Taylor & Hamdy, 2013), new cognitive knowledge only exists when it leads to social change (Jarvis, 2004).
Before formulating his model, Jarvis criticised the existing pedagogical models after teaching and discussion with his adult students in a Postgraduate Certificate in Education allowed him to clarify his thoughts (Jarvis, 1983). He published a book on competence in relation to curriculum, knowledge and teaching. Later, he focused on adult and continuing education from a sociological perspective (Jarvis, 1985). In 1987, Jarvis emphasized the importance of the social context in adult learning, stating that people are the result of learning and that learning and interaction with others continue to shape their behaviour. This book has undergone numerous revisions (1995, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2009) based on the author's theoretical understanding evolving over time (Brown, 2015). The connection between
societal conditions and the personal development of adult learners was central to Jarvis' work.
However, other scholars also share similar sentiment regarding learning in societies. Illeris (2016) views learning and education as social and societal events in which students are free participants. Marton and Booth (1997) claim that Jarvis was the first theorist to work on learning barriers, non-learning, where the learner assumes he already understands the area, and non-consideration, which can be due to insufficient interest or conscious rejection. Jarvis (1995) argues that adult learners want to be given concrete learning situations that will help
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them solve real-life problems. This means that the teaching process must begin with reality (Darling-Hammond et al., 2020). This is why this theory is relevant to exploring the women in vulnerable contexts in Eswatini.
Jarvis (1987) argues that adults possess certain knowledge and that prior knowledge helps them understand new content, establish connections between the new content and that which has already been acquired, and contextualise or decontextualize what they have learnt.
Dumitru (2007) views a learning process as a change of perception, and the reworking of some already associated habits and beliefs which are firmly engrained and can sometimes block the process of gaining new knowledge.
In this study, I explore whether my findings on women’s learning reveal experiences where new habits such as good financial and business management are achieved. Did women continue to regard themselves as household caretakers who belonged only in the kitchen with no strength to work independently, and did this hinder them from gaining and practising the new knowledge from the fund? Such findings are also linked to individual or personal identity. For Jarvis identity is central to his understanding of learning as the construction of an individual life story (Jarvis, 2006). It is therefore important that the theoretical framework or model guiding a study should be steeped in an understanding of human experience and human learning (Jarvis, 2009). For this reason, Jarvis’ experiential learning theory has been developed and changed over time.
In 2012, Jarvis developed his understanding of the learning process by looking at both individuals and groups. He concluded that individuals in a group at the same place at the same time may have similar experiences as the others in the group, but each individual would have a different reflection on that experience. In relation to this study, women beneficiaries of the Inhlanyelo Fund may access credit as groups but have different experiences. In a social context, individuals have sub-cultural differences and adjust their responses according to those differences, which lead to varying learning processes (Jarvis, 2012). These include incidental learning which can go unnoticed, because it is pre-conscious. Jarvis distinguishes between primary and secondary experiences which is another significant contribution (Jarvis
& Parker, 2005). Jarvis (2006) states that primary experiences can be obtained through organized educational events including role plays, simulations, and practicals as part of the learning process.
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Experiential learning theorists speak of learning from a person’s primary experience, acquired at family level, when in training, at work, in everyday life or in interaction with others. In contrast, learning from secondary experiences is the most common learning approach used in education systems (Dyke, 2017). Secondary experiences are acquired through language, lectures, debates, discussion, and audio-visual material. While Kolb sees experiential learning as essentially linear or cyclical, Jarvis points out that there are non- linear routes to learning where learners move freely between concrete experiences, reflective observation, abstract concentration and active experimentation. He reaches this conclusion after a series of workshops in which participants considered their own learning by doing, working individually, in pairs, or in teams, and participating in problem-solving activities (Dyke, 2017). These workshops served as the foundation for the learning models that were evaluated and tested collaboratively, including pre-conscious and non-reflective learning, as well as higher-order reflective learning
Jarvis' model incorporates a variety of scholarly perspectives on experiential learning.
However, his work has been criticized for failing to adequately address various aspects of the learning process (Holford, 2017). According to some, Jarvis' (2006) theory, which suggests that learning is essential, reactive, and sequential, lacks attention to the social dimension of learning and to socially constructed bodies of knowledge. In fact, in his work Jarvis argues strongly for a social dimension of learning. Jarvis connects identity, a key dimension of learning, to the “transformation of a person” (Jarvis, 2009, p. 29) and to the construction of a person's biography or life history (Jarvis, 2012). The concept of life history, or "the outcome of a lifetime", is crucial for Jarvis (2006, p. 73) and for my research. One’s biography is an unfinished product that is constantly changing and developing, either through experiences that we initiate ourselves or through experiences initiated by others (Jarvis, 2009). Using Jarvis' model as a theoretical framework assisted me in unravelling how the social context and individual experiences of the women, as they progressed through their lives, influenced how they acted during their period of using the Inhlanyelo Fund. In this study, I assume that the women became Inhlanyelo beneficiaries with a specific goal in mind for their lives, and that their experiences guided them in deciding what to learn. One's biography influences how one perceives an experience and how one decides to learn (Jarvis, 2006). A human being improves as long as he or she continues to learn (Jarvis, 2009), and "the changed person is the result of learning" (Jarvis, 2009, p.24). Connections between the lived experiences of people as church members, family members, and entrepreneurs may influence their learning, and it is
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possible that empowerment occurs while learning through strategic choices they have made to transform their lives. I hypothesize that something similar happened to the women in the study after they received assistance from the Inhlanyelo Fund and reflected on their
experiences. See the diagram of Jarvis' model of learning in Figure 3.2.
Source: From Learning from everyday life by P. Jarvis, 2012, Human & Social Studies Research and Practice, I (1), 1–20.
According to Jarvis' model, learning from experience or transition is a holistic process. In addressing transitions in real-life situations, the cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of human existence are considered. In this sense, the meaning assigned to a transition is socially constructed. In my research, a woman is viewed as a whole person (See Box 1 in Figure 3.2), with her own life history and perspective on a situation. Although all learning begins with experience, Jarvis identifies “disjunctures” as the starting point of the learning process. A
Figure 3.2: Jarvis' Model of Learning
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disjuncture occurs when prior knowledge is insufficient to address a problem one encounters, resulting in uncertainty and discomfort in our lives. Disjunctures are distinct experiences because they are perplexing and concerning, and require us to attend to and reflect on them rather than dismiss or ignore them (Merriam, 2009). In this study, women are assumed to have encountered situations, some of which could be viewed as disjunctive, and through (un)conscious questioning, an "experience" emerges (See Box 2 in Figure 3.2). According to Jarvis (2012), experience is the result of disjuncture, which is normal in an individual's daily life. Women are expected to have faced life changes and to have faced decision-making challenges as adults.
Jarvis’ more nuanced definition of reflection is that it can occur concurrently with action, as reflection in action, rather than simply after the event as reflection upon action (Jarvis, 1987).
Disjuncture is a complex occurrence, which can occur as a result of a small discrepancy between a person's biography and their perception of a situation. In this study, the thoughts and feelings of participants, as well as their actions can transform their experiences of being beneficiaries of the fund. (See Box 3-5 in Figure 3.2)
Proper facilitation is essential in adult learning in order to allow adults to learn and change as a result of their biographies (Miele, 2013). When women beneficiaries in this study are provided with training where they may gain new knowledge, there may be a disjuncture because of their own beliefs and culture. They need to change from a situation with which they have been in harmony for a long time. For example, as has been dicussed above, Eswatini society is chcracterised by hierarchical power relations in which males have authority over women; women are obligated to obey the authority defined within these relationships. As a result, the husband is culturally accepted as the family's ruler and is regarded as the formal authority to whom the wife and children owe their allegiance (Nyawo, 2014). While women learn from their experiences, emotions or feelings may arise, causing a disjuncture. This may cause the women to reflect on their experiences and consider what to do with their experiences while beneficiaries of the fund, which may lead to action being taken. This action may provide the woman with new information.
When women act in response to the situation, they may gain experience because they will have memorized what they have learnt, and they may become a changed person through being a beneficiary of the fund (See Box 6 in Figure 3.2). The difference would be in how the woman reflected on her own experience or that of other women (via social networks) through
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observation, interaction, and imitation (See Box 7 in Figure 3.2). Through the training provided by the fund and other stakeholders, women may gain new knowledge that could assist them in making positive changes in their lives. At this stage, the transformation may alter their life path by practicing what they have learnt (See Box 8 in Figure 3.2) and the experience of cultural context, through individual life-worlds. The latter is a
phenomenological concept that allows for a discussion of the subjectivity of everyday life by including individual, social, perceptual, and practical experiences rather than focusing on the objectivity of scientific facts (Jarvis, 2012).
I chose Jarvis' experiential learning model because it is widely used in adult education, and I believe that the women beneficiaries of the Inhlanyelo Fund may have had similar
experiences based on their narratives. Understanding how they learnt from experiences is critical. I recognize that learning is a process in which a person processes and transforms previous experiences in order to adjust to social reality (Jarvis, 1998). The women in this study have community ties or kinship, training, or social networks that provide learning experiences. Jarvis’ theory is used in this study to investigate the learning experiences of the study participants, how they have improved their lives, and what they believe is a better way to live.