Transformative learning and research programmes in university teacher development

In this article we discuss the problem of university teachers' development as the transformation of the personal epistemology of a teacher, that is to say, the individual representation of his/her pedagogical activity with all its possibilities and limitations. This representation acts as a set of assumptions, which can explain the actions of an individual and can be shared ( or not) by a community of peers. In order to do this, and considering teacher development as process in the field of adult education, we have used Mezirow's transformative learning theory. Mezirow proposes a model where the actions of adults are shaped by two different kinds of assumptions: perspectives of meaning and schemes of meaning, which are generalised sets of expectations that condition the actions, feelings and thoughts of a person. This theory allows us to argue that the model of paradigm change has its limitations in the field of teacher development since it implies the idea of a revolution from a normal science state to another, situation that does not seem to be observed in the reality of teachers. We show that in this case Lakatos' model of research programmes seems to be more adequate for understanding this process. Therefore, we propose that teacher development programs should stress personal reflexion and work on the personal experiences of the participants, in a collective and individual way.