Date of Award
Spring 2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ed.D. Transformational Teaching and Learning
Department
Secondary Education
First Advisor
Dr. Amber Jean-Marie Pabon
Second Advisor
Dr. Chris Weiler
Third Advisor
Dr. Aimee Trieu
Abstract
This qualitative study explores how historically underrepresented high school debaters understood their experiences in an independent high school debate league, particularly in relation to growth, challenge, shifting self-perceptions, and belonging. Drawing on narrative inquiry (Clandinin, 2016) and interpreted through transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 2000) and currere (Pinar, 1994), this study focused on recently graduated students from Central High School’s debate program. Screening questions adapted from King’s (2009) Learning Activities Survey identified participants who self-reported perspective-shifting experiences. Semi-structured interviews informed by the phases of currere elicited reflective narratives, and reflexive journaling supported the research process. Data were analyzed thematically to identify patterns in how participants described learning, expectations, identity, and belonging in debate. Findings suggest that participants experienced debate as a meaningful site of learning and development. Participants described learning through immersion, feedback, performance, and relationships with others rather than through formal instruction alone. Their narratives also revealed that growth occurred within uneven conditions shaped by pressure, implicit expectations, limited structural support, exclusion, and uncertain belonging, often requiring students to navigate challenge without consistent opportunities for reflection or support. This study contributes to scholarship on transformative learning and extracurricular education by centering student meaning-making in an underexamined debate context. It also offers implications for debate coaches and educators seeking to better understand how students experience learning, challenges, and belonging in independent extracurricular spaces.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Sleiman, Daniel J., "Beyond the Podium: Transformative Learning and the Student Experience in High School Debate" (2026). Education Doctorate Dissertations. 59.
https://research.library.kutztown.edu/edddissertations/59
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