Using Transformative Learning as a Framework for Women and Running

This qualitative narrative inquiry explores learning and change in women’s self-perceptions through regular participation in running. In-depth interviews of 11 adult women who had been running between 1 to 4 years were conducted. Based on the interviews, a unique narrative was created for each participant. Using the lens of transformative learning, transcripts of the interviews were analyzed individually to see if the subject had a deep paradigm shift in self-perception based on the description of their running experience. The exploration of the personal narratives of adult women runners reveals the women did see themselves differently and most acted differently after they adopted running. The health related literature does boast about the positive correlation of exercise and improved self-esteem, self-perception, self-worth, yet the health literature lacks what this improvement looks and feels like in rich, descriptive terms. This research provides examples of what this felt like, and what the application of this new perception of self looks like in the runner’s everyday life.

Dina Hayduk, mother of Colleen, Hannah, and Nathan is a health educator at Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA. USA. A graduate of Wilkes College and the Pennsylvania State University earning a M.Ed. in Health and a D.Ed. in Adult Education. She combined her life long passion for running (whether it be fast or slow)with her academic research.