Transformative learning: from critical reflection to emergence through guided introspection?

is more wisdom in your body than in the deepest philosophy' (Friedrich Nietzsche) Introduction The centrality of learning to Human Resource Development (HRD) is emphasised by Wilson (2005:3), who describes HRD as representing`the latest evolutionary stage in the long tradition of training, educating and developing people for the purpose of contributing towards the achievement of individual, organizational and societal objectives'. Yet the ways in which HRD processes such as coaching lead to learning are poorly understood. In this paper we are interested in learning as experienced by the individual person. Our focus is on the type of learning that involves discontinuous change, and idea that several overlapping theories can address in relation to HRD. One is the framework ofìevels of learning' that Gregory Bateson developed in the 1960s and 1970s (Bateson 2000:279). A second is Argyris' notions of single and double loop learning (Argyris 1999). A third example explored here, and one that remains relatively little known in HRD, is Mezirow's theory of transformative learning (Mezirow 1991). Mezirow's theory gives a central role to critical reflection in the process of transformative learning. We question the assumption that reflective discourse is a necessary or even primary route to transformative learning, and explore the potential of reflection through forms of guided introspection that emphasise the embodied nature of cognition. Here we focus on one such method, called`Psychophenomenology' (Vermersch 2004), illustrated with extracts from empirical work. The implications for HRD practice include better understanding of the processes of learning through facilitated forms of reflection such as coaching. Implications for HRD theory include further exploration of the relevance of transformative learning theory. The paper also opens up questions for further research into the experiential dimension of`critical HRD'.