The selection of this dissertation subject is based on the rising need to investigate more integrative and reflective approaches in current education.
1. Background of the Study
MALANG – The selection of this dissertation subject is based on the rising need to investigate more integrative and reflective approaches in current education. In recent years, educational research has highlighted not just cognitive growth, but also the role of values, emotions, and transforming events in learning. Despite this transition, there is still a large gap in the integration of transformational learning theory, axiological viewpoints, and the use of narrative media, such as cinema, as instructional resources.
Traditionally, films have been used in educational settings only as additional teaching aids or motivating media. They are frequently positioned as supplementary materials rather than as standalone pedagogical texts capable of expressing significant educational content. This narrow viewpoint has resulted in an underestimating of films’ ability to depict profound learning processes, particularly those involving personal change, ethical contemplation, and value creation.
Furthermore, previous research on axiology in education has mostly focused on formal educational environments, such as curriculum design and classroom activities. As a result, the effect of narrative media in fostering moral awareness, empathy, and ethical knowledge remains largely unknown. This difference is even more pronounced in the context of transformational learning, which requires shifts in viewpoint, critical reflection, and meaning-making processes.
In response to these restrictions, this research tries to study how instructional films might serve as narrative representations of transformational learning while also embodying axiological principles. This project will analyze chosen films to have a better understanding of how learning is depicted as a holistic process that incorporates cognitive, emotional, and ethical elements. As a result, the issue is not only timely, but also helps to broaden the area of educational research in a more integrative and thoughtful manner.
2. Rationale for the Research Method
This study adopts a qualitative research methodology with a content analysis design, which is regarded as the most suited method for investigating meanings, values, and representations inherent in cinema tales. Qualitative research provides for a thorough examination of complicated events, particularly those involving interpretation, symbolism, and contextual knowledge.
Content analysis was chosen precisely because it allows the researcher to carefully examine narrative structures, character development, dialogue, and visual components in the films. This technique allows for the identification and interpretation of both explicit and implicit meanings in respect to the transformational learning and axiology theoretical frameworks.
Furthermore, qualitative content analysis allows for greater flexibility in capturing the richness of data. Films, like narrative texts, contain several meanings that quantitative methods cannot properly investigate. As a result, this technique enables the researcher to identify patterns, themes, and categories that represent transformational learning processes and value-oriented dimensions.
To assure the legitimacy and trustworthiness of the conclusions, this study used triangulation, which includes data triangulation, theoretical triangulation, and methodological triangulation. These tactics increase the validity of the study and give a more complete grasp of the phenomena under inquiry.
3. Research Process
The research method follows a systematic and iterative technique based on the Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña model. This comprises data gathering, condensation, presentation, and conclusion drafting and verification.
The first step, data collecting, is choosing and analyzing three instructional films: Dead Poets Society (1989), Freedom Writers (2007), and The Miracle Worker (1962). These films were chosen for their strong educational themes, representations of teacher-student interactions, and depictions of transformational learning experiences. Data is gathered in the form of dialogues, scenes, character interactions, and narrative sequences that depict learning processes and value construction.
The second stage, data condensation, aims to reduce and organize the data by coding and categorization. The researcher finds important elements associated with transformational learning, including unsettling problems, critical reflection, viewpoint shift, and the incorporation of new meaning views. At the same time, axiological values such as empathy, responsibility, moral awareness, and regard for human dignity are recognized and classified.
The third stage, data display, is presenting studied data in a structured and ordered format. Tables, thematic descriptions, and narrative explanations are used to show how the identified themes relate to the theoretical frameworks.
The last stage, conclusion drawing and verification, include analyzing the results and confirming them through ongoing comparison and introspection. To improve the dependability of the results, the researcher goes over the data several times to make sure the interpretation is accurate and consistent.
4. Research Findings
The results of this study show that instructional films’ narrative frameworks may well depict the processes of transformational learning. Disorienting problems, critical reflection, reflective discourse, viewpoint transformation, and the integration of new meaning views are among the crucial phases of transformational learning that are identified by the study as being shown in the movies.
The study also discovers a strong correlation between axiological ideals and transformative learning in the movies. The characters’ growth and interactions mirror these ideals, showing how learning entails moral and emotional development in addition to cognitive improvements. The three movies all consistently depict values like empathy, accountability, respect for variety, and human dignity.
The fact that movies may serve as instructional texts that incorporate the ethical, emotional, and cognitive aspects of learning is another important discovery. Films offer a rich and captivating medium for depicting intricate educational experiences through storytelling, enabling spectators to participate in introspective and transforming processes.
Additionally, a conceptual framework called the Transformative-Axiological Film-Based Learning Model (TA-FBLM) is proposed in this study. This approach offers a fresh viewpoint on how movies might be utilized as reflective learning aids in educational settings by combining aspects of transformational learning theory, axiological principles, and narrative pedagogy.
5. Conclusion and Future Expectations
This research concludes by showing that instructional films are useful tools for investigating transformational learning and value-based education. The research offers a thorough grasp of how learning is portrayed as a full and significant process by fusing transformational learning theory with axiological analysis and cinema narrative interpretation.
By applying transformative learning theory to the field of cinematic analysis, the work also advances theoretical understanding. It draws attention to how narrative media may support introspective and transformational learning experiences as well as transmit complex educational meanings.
It is anticipated that this research will provide the groundwork for future investigations into the integration of values in education and film-based learning. In order to assess the efficacy and application of the suggested TA-FBLM, future studies may concentrate on experimentally testing it in actual classroom environments.
Furthermore, this study advises educators to use movies as primary teaching resources that can promote ethical awareness, empathy, and critical thinking in addition to using them as supplemental materials. By doing this, education may become more humanistic, comprehensive, and sensitive to the needs of today’s students.
Lastly, it is anticipated that this dissertation will stimulate additional interdisciplinary study that connects media studies, philosophy, and education, leading to the creation of more creative and morally grounded teaching methods.
***
*) Oleh: Safnidar Siahaan, Mahasiswa Program Doktor Pendidikan Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang.