In the Dark, We Spoke: Emotional Discourse and Transformative Learning in South Africa

Marthinus Christoffel Koen; Matthew Howard McLeskey; Madeline Grace DeVito; Abigail Fawn Hall; Celinet Duran

doi:10.29333/ajqr/18450

Marthinus Christoffel Koen ¹ ^* , Matthew Howard McLeskey ¹, Madeline Grace DeVito ¹, Abigail Fawn Hall ¹, Celinet Duran ¹

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AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 10, Issue 2, pp. 321-339

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/18450

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Abstract

This study examines the role of emotion in shaping transformative learning during a short-term study abroad experience. Drawing on twelve semi-structured qualitative interviews with students who participated in a faculty-led program in South Africa, the analysis demonstrates that emotional experiences functioned as a central mechanism in processes of perspective change rather than incidental outcomes of travel. Participants described moments of emotional disruption that prompted sustained reflection on identity, relationships, and worldview. Through subsequent reflection and dialogue with peers, these experiences evolved into deeper reconsiderations of personal assumptions and social understanding. The findings identify an emotional arc of transformation consisting of three interconnected stages: disruption, intrapersonal reflection, and interpersonal discourse. Together these stages produced emotion-driven perspective change that extended beyond cognitive reconsideration alone. By tracing this arc, the study extends Transformative Learning Theory and proposes emotional discourse as a pathway that operates alongside critical reflection and rational dialogue. This paper suggests practical implications for educators designing short-term study abroad programs. Learning environments that intentionally support emotional processing, structured dialogue, and ethically facilitated vulnerability may strengthen the conditions under which perspective transformation occurs. In this sense, emotional experience becomes not an obstacle to learning but one of its most generative forces.

Keywords: Transformative Learning Theory; emotional discourse; study abroad; affective learning; intercultural education; reflective practice; qualitative research

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Citation

Koen, M. C., Howard McLeskey, M., Grace DeVito, M., Fawn Hall, A., & Duran, C. (2026). In the Dark, We Spoke: Emotional Discourse and Transformative Learning in South Africa. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 10(2), 321-339. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/18450

Koen, M. C., Howard McLeskey, M., Grace DeVito, M., Fawn Hall, A., and Duran, C. (2026). In the Dark, We Spoke: Emotional Discourse and Transformative Learning in South Africa. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 10(2), pp. 321-339. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/18450

Koen MC, Howard McLeskey M, Grace DeVito M, Fawn Hall A, Duran C. In the Dark, We Spoke: Emotional Discourse and Transformative Learning in South Africa. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2026;10(2), 321-339. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/18450

Koen, Marthinus Christoffel, Matthew Howard McLeskey, Madeline Grace DeVito, Abigail Fawn Hall, and Celinet Duran. "In the Dark, We Spoke: Emotional Discourse and Transformative Learning in South Africa". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2026 10 no. 2 (2026): 321-339. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/18450

Koen, Marthinus Christoffel et al. "In the Dark, We Spoke: Emotional Discourse and Transformative Learning in South Africa". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 10, no. 2, 2026, pp. 321-339. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/18450

Koen MC, Howard McLeskey M, Grace DeVito M, Fawn Hall A, Duran C. In the Dark, We Spoke: Emotional Discourse and Transformative Learning in South Africa. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2026;10(2):321-39. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/18450