Spirituality and emancipatory adult education in women adult educators for social change

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how spirituality influences the motivations and practices of a multicultural group of 16 women adult educators who are teaching for social change, who were strongly informed by a particular religious tradition as a child, and have renegotiated a more relevant adult spirituality. Findings reveal the following five themes of spiritual experience as described by the participant spirituality as the following: (a) a spiral process of moving beyond and "re-membering" spiritual values and symbols of the culture of origin; (b) life force, interconnectedness, and wholeness; (c) pivotal experience of a perceived higher power that facilitates healing; (d) the development of authentic identity; and (e) a way of life requiring both inner reflection and outward social action.