This paper compares, contrasts, and examines the theoretical underpinnings of three strands of feminist pedagogy—the psychological models; the structural models; and poststructural feminist pedagogies-as they relate to critical pedagogy and the wider adult learning literature around four major themes: (1) the construction of knowledge; (2) voice; (3) authority; and (4) positionality. It is argued that poststructural feminist pedagogies which foreground the importance of the positionality of the instructor offer continued direction to the development of feminist emancipatory adult education theory and practice.

This qualitative comparative case study was guided by a feminist-materialist theoretical framework, and examined how power relationships predominantly based on gender but including race, class, and age were manifested in higher education classrooms of adult students. Two master's level counseling classes were chosen for the study, one was taught by a male professor and the other by a femal professor. The predominant means of data collection were audiotaped participant-observations of the classes; interviews and document analysis were additional sources of data. Data were analyzed according to the constant comparative method. Major findings of the study are: (a) students who benefit from interlockng systems of privilege have more power in the classroom; (b) the male professor tended to exert more control than the female professor; and (c) middle-aged women with more education tend to be more participatory, at least in classes where affective forms of knowledge are valued.

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The implications of these beliefs are significant and indicate that faculty can benefit from opportunities that make their beliefs about teaching more conscious, particularly in determining how best to prepare future physicians to teach in clinical settings.

Rebecca e-mails her instructor the morning after class to say that she could not sleep after the evening's discussion about purpose in adult education. She describes a strongly felt need to incorporate a less individualistic focus in her academic program. Frank begins a morning meditation ritual after taking a course where the instructor includes a guided visualization during each class session. He says that it helps with his ability to concentrate and express his creativity. In her evaluation of a course that integrates multiple ways of knowing as part of its curriculum, a student writes, "Anxiety is reduced when things are put in a proper perspective. Spiritual touch keeps us in touch. This class provided a vehicle to see myself so differently from my daily routines and to know myself a little more." The comments from these students reflect what is increasingly being discussed in the discourses of many fields, including adult education: the presence of spirituality in the higher education classroom and the importance of its recognition and engagement in transformative learning.To make our definition of transformative learning explicit, we believe that transformative learning creates a more expansive understanding of the world regarding how one sees and experiences both others and one's self and is grounded in one' s entire being. Such learning increases one' s sense of an ability to make a difference in the world and leads to a greater sense of purpose and meaning. In the broad sense, this indeed corresponds to much of what Mezirow and Associates (2000) have discussed in their book; how-37 4