Navigating change

Although life course transitions are not a new topic – see for instance van Gennep’s (1909/2019) work on rites of passage or various studies on changes in the life course, their social conditions, and societal consequences – educational research has explored the topic of transitions in a rather segmented fashion. Transitions have been investigated according to age (e.g., youth transitioning to adulthood), according to pedagogical institutions (e.g., from family to day care), and pertaining to education subdisciplines (transitions in adult education). As a result, it is easy to lose sight of the connections between life course transitions and profound questions of education and learning. With the aim of further developing the educational learning discourse, this conceptual paper discusses life course transitions as an impetus and framework for learning and transformation processes.