Exploring Transformative Learning among Chinese Immigrant Mothers in Canada and the US during the COVID-19

The purpose of this study is to explore the experience of Chinese immigrant mothers in Canada and the US overcoming the challenges through adult learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Transformative learning theory is utilized as a theoretical framework. Transformative learning, as an important component of adult learning theory, emphasizes the expansion of consciousness through which an individual can critically reflect on their personal experiences and feelings (Mezirow, 2009). Based on this theoretical framework, we aim to understand how Chinese immigrant mothers as adult learners experience the pandemic and learn mothering during these uncertainties and at the same time, reorient their self-consciousness and self-directed learning skills in the new normal. Adopting qualitative research, we have conducted 50 semi-structured interviews among Chinese immigrant mothers in Canada and United States. This study reveals that Chinese immigrant mothers are increasingly marginalized as a result of the global pandemic and capitalism, which accelerate their motivations for enhancing their self-consciousness and self-directed learning. [For the full proceedings, see ED625421.]