This chapter presents an overview of transformative learning theory while illuminating its connections to education for sustainability.

This theoretical paper discusses how the assumptions of critical reflection (CR) and transforming learning (TL) can help develop reflexive professionals in sustainability within management. The central argument is that a purely pragmatic and technical conception in the teaching and learning of sustainability does not sufficiently contribute to the development of professional managers with strong sustainability principles and standards. Therefore, it is important to employ CR and TL because they provide elements that contribute to advancement from the current teaching and learning approach, an approach based on problem solving, to another approach based on problem-posing. The reflections presented in this paper may provide elements that can help teachers, educators, university deans, and coordinators of management courses to rethink the way in which business schools, which are often the drivers for professional managers in metropolitan areas, are addressing sustainability education.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to argue for the need for more critical-reflective teaching-learning experiences in finance teaching, capable of promoting changes in students’ frames of reference toward sustainability. The aim was to evaluate the levels of reflection and the transformative learning experiences perceived by undergraduate students enrolled in three finance disciplines at a Business Administration course of a Brazilian business school. This course has been the object of pedagogical experience toward sustainability teaching-learning for some years. Design/methodology/approach The authors used mixed data. For quantitative data, the authors collected 188 questionnaires, as well as 160 student-written reports for qualitative data. Findings Incorporating sustainability topics into finance disciplines, longitudinally, stimulates critical reflection and transformations in students’ mindsets toward sustainable rationality in finance. Despite the high number of agreements with reflection and critical reflection levels, emphasis only on the theoretical discussion of sustainability presuppositions does little to contribute to the practical application of concepts. Research limitations/implications Although the study was conducted in a particular Business School, the authors expect that the results can be replicated and improved in comparative studies, encouraging transformative learning in the teaching-learning of finance. Practical implications The results show the potential and limitations of the experiences studied and its implications for theoretical and didactics in finance teaching. The discussions and the examples of practical activities presented can bring contributions to educators, professors and researchers. Originality/value Few studies in finance seeks to evaluate pedagogical experiences from the point of view of students’ learning, especially in relation to the development of a new rationality.

This article describes and analyzes a proposal for the teaching-learning of strategic management for business students, from the angle of critical reflection (CR) presuppositions. The proposal was designed to broaden the dominant rationality in teaching strategies at business schools and has been in progress since 2011 in a Brazilian business school. We argued that changes in the organizational environment and in competition demand not only a review of strategy theoretical content, but also of the way that strategy is taught with more critical and reflective teaching-learning approaches. We conducted a survey to analyze the results of this educational experience from students' points of view. Considering a sample of 165 undergraduate students who have taken the course since its implementation, we evaluated the students' CR levels. The results present implications for professors, business schools, and researchers, revealing challenging aspects and also CR enhancers in the context of the undergraduate strategy initiative. We expect that the described experience can be replicated and improved in comparative studies in different geographical and disciplinary contexts, encouraging the evaluation and promotion of CR in the teaching of strategic management in business education.