This article describes a Cooperative Inquiry (CI) undertaken by seven transformative educators who set out to explore how they could better walk with the authority inherent in their professional roles so as to avoid unconsciously replicating unhealthy power dynamics. Their process revealed the insidious and cyclical nature of hegemony, enabling co-inquirers to uncover deeply ingrained patterns vis-a-vis power. Action/reflection cycles highlighted the role of self-policing, vulnerability, hegemonic traps, interruption practices, and the significance of wholeheartedness. Furthermore, the CI process itself was found to be empowering, as presentational knowledge and collective meaning-making supported the dismantling of isolation and shame that often accompanied and perpetuated feelings of disempowerment. Co-inquirers more effectively identified when and how cultural constructs affected them, thereby claiming greater agency in both personal and professional lives. The need for ongoing individual and collaborative reflexivity to reinforce and affirm positive, wholesome power dynamics was also shown.

Action research, within the context of an ecological education graduate degree, can result in transformative learning experiences for formal and nonformal educators. Encountering layers of hegemony and awakening to relations of power facilitated a profound shift within these teacher-researchers, engendering a newly felt sense of empowerment. Integral to the transformative learning process were opportunities for reflection fostering greater balance between the personal and professional, learning to accept feelings of confusion and disorientation, and evolving a deeper understanding of ecological education. Moreover, this investigation reveals the existence of a synergistic relationship between ecological education, action research, and transformative learning. This kinship is substantiated through analysis of data from four cohorts of students engaged in capstone action research projects.