TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING IN LATE LIFE by PAUL JANGSUK MOON (Under the Direction of ...

217 Pages·2008·0.95 MB·English

by  Paul Moon

BEREAVED ELDERS: TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING IN LATE LIFE
by
PAUL JANGSUK MOON
(Under the Direction of Sharan B. Merriam)
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to understand older adults’ transformative learning through
bereavement in late life. A qualitative research approach was implemented including purposive
sampling and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with nine bereaved older adults. Four research
questions guided this study: (1) What do older adults specify as being transformed within them
as a consequence of late life bereavement? (2) How does transformative learning impact older
adults’ ongoing lives? (3) How do older adults describe the process of transformation? (4) What
late life factors shape the transformative learning process? Analysis of the data was completed
via the constant comparative method.
This study found that bereaved older adults experienced transformation toward a greater
consciousness of death issues as evidenced by responding to death issues with less dread,
poignant awareness of personal mortality and the afterlife, and sensitization to the preciousness
of life. Their transformation also included a reprioritization of goals and activities as evidenced
by changes in life activities, and re-evaluation of intra-/inter-personal relationships as evidenced
by altered interactional behaviors. Concerning the process of transformation were found the
significant components of acute distress, reflection, emerging sense of change in perspectives,
and new behaviors. Finally, participants revealed that an accumulation of relevant learning from
earlier life experiences and the late life-cycle issues of a dwindling social network and proximity
to personal mortality helped to shape transformative learning. Three conclusions were drawn
from this study. First, perspective transformation can occur in late life bereavement. Second,
transformative learning is a fluid and oscillatory process. Third, transformative learning is
shaped by biographical and life stage developmental contexts. Practical implications and
recommendations for future research are provided.

INDEX WORDS: Transformative learning, Perspective transformation, Older adults,
Bereavement, Qualitative research
BEREAVED ELDERS: TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING IN LATE LIFE

by

PAUL JANGSUK MOON
B.A., University of Southern California, 1993
M.ED., George Mason University, 2000

A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

ATHENS, GEORGIA
2008
© 2008
Paul Jangsuk Moon
All Rights Reserved
BEREAVED ELDERS: TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING IN LATE LIFE

by

PAUL JANGSUK MOON

Major Professor: Sharan B. Merriam

Committee: Bradley C. Courtenay
Anne P. Glass
Douglas A. Kleiber

Electronic Version Approved:

Maureen Grasso
Dean of the Graduate School
The University of Georgia
December 2008
DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to my wife, Esther, whom I cherish and love. She has been
patient with me in every way imaginable. I also dedicate this study to our three children,
Samantha Jihae, Christopher-Stephen Jinho, and Andrew Taeho. They endured this
doctoral process alongside me. I dearly thank them for willingly listening to me drone on
and on about “some curious things” called gerontology, thanatology, and transformative
learning. May the mercy you have shown me return to you tenfold. But, all in all, I give
thanks to God through Jesus Christ, who enabled and sustained me course after course,
paper after paper, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, and struggle after
struggle. Deo gratias.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I acknowledge Dr. Sharan B. Merriam, my major professor, with deep gratitude as
she showed me continuous kindness throughout my doctoral studies. Her keen eye for
details and accrued wisdom in scholarly matters greatly assisted me in my learning
journey. She is now a permanent part of my lifelong learning biography. Additionally, I
recognize, in sincere appreciation, Dr. Courtenay, Dr. Glass, and Dr. Kleiber. As
committee members, their gentle questioning and suggestions prompted me to think
deeply and broadly in pursuing knowledge.
I am indebted to my maternal grandmother for her daily prayers for me. I deeply
thank my father, Mr. Hui Yong Moon, and mother, Mrs. Lee Seunghui Moon, for their
parental support. As they are now facing their lot of late life challenges, I pray for them a
transformative journey. I also recognize my parents-in-law for their encouragements. It
so happened that my mother-in-law died shortly after I began this doctorate program.
Since then, I have witnessed my father-in-law’s grief process amid his late life context. I
extend to him much courage.
Lastly, I acknowledge the nine older adult learners with whom I had the privilege
of spending time. They allowed me entrance into a portion of their inner pain as they
painted a portrait of their grief through narratives. Knowing full well that they did not
have to reveal such pains only makes me to thank them that much more as they, through
tears, resurrected meaning-laden memories and all else that come with reflecting honestly
into the past. Yet, manifest vigor to live out their remaining days with purpose attested to
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the personal transformation within, which they so claimed. As we who are mortal must
go the way of all flesh, these nine bereaved older adults showed that that inevitable
journey may be made with meaningful intentions and transformation.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................v
CHAPTER
I INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................1
Background...............................................................................................................1
Bereavement and Older Adult Development............................................................2
Transformative Learning and Bereavement.............................................................4
Statement of the Problem..........................................................................................9
Purpose of the Study...............................................................................................10
Significance of the Study........................................................................................11
II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.............................................................................13
Social and Historical Context of Death and Bereavement.....................................14
Overview of Human Bereavement.........................................................................17
Psychosocial Development in Older Adulthood.....................................................26
Later Life Dynamics and Bereavement..................................................................36
Transformative Learning Theory............................................................................50
Chapter Summary...................................................................................................66
III METHODS..................................................................................................................69
Design of the Study................................................................................................70
Sample Selection....................................................................................................75
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Data Collection.......................................................................................................79
Data Analysis..........................................................................................................80
Validity and Reliability...........................................................................................81
Researcher Bias and Assumptions..........................................................................82
Chapter Summary...................................................................................................84
IV FINDINGS..................................................................................................................85
Study Participants...................................................................................................85
Findings..................................................................................................................97
Chapter Summary.................................................................................................138
V CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS......................................................................................141
Conclusions and Discussions................................................................................142
Implications for Practice.......................................................................................166
Recommendations for Future Research................................................................169
Chapter Summary.................................................................................................170
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................171
APPENDICES.............................................................................................................................206
A Screening for Perspective Transformation................................................................206
B Interview Protocol.....................................................................................................207

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