Lynch School to introduce Transformative Education Lab
Capitalizing on its national leadership in formative education, this fall the Lynch School of Education and Human Development will launch the Transformative Education Lab, which will serve as a hub for the school’s multiple programs, initiatives, and research in whole-person education—and as a nationwide platform for boosting this holistic, character-driven approach to learning.
“As the challenges confronting higher education intensify, so too do the concerns about how best to prepare America’s youth to develop as whole people and lead flourishing lives,” said Stanton E.F. Wortham, the Charles F. Donovan, S.J., Dean of the Lynch School. “The solution lies in a commitment to education that goes beyond narrow outcome measures and strives to develop the whole person by focusing not only on the mind, but the heart and soul. At Boston College, the answer is formative education.”
Wortham envisions the lab serving as a convenor of conferences, webinars, and symposia focused on cutting-edge developments in the field; a publisher of scholarly and practitioner-oriented reports that summarize both new research and inventive practice; and an online content creator that provides timely, relevant, and compelling information on the topic.
“The Transformative Education Lab knits together distinctive Lynch School-based formation programs such as our department of Formative Education, the Purpose Lab and the True North application, and the Mary E. Walsh Center for Thriving Children and its City Connects program, to form a powerful and unparalleled collection of knowledge and resources that sets the Lynch School apart as a countrywide leading light in whole-person education,” said Wortham.
Deoksoon Kim (Lee Pellegrini)
Deoksoon Kim, a Lynch School professor in the Teaching, Curriculum, and Society department, and a City Connects research team member, will lead the lab, which will be supported by a post-doctoral student. The steering committee includes key faculty with relevant expertise from the Lynch School and the broader University.
She noted that the lab will host an inaugural conference at the Lynch School in fall 2026, and that it plans to award modest grants to practitioners and scholars who are doing exemplary work in formative education.
According to Wortham, the establishment of the Transformative Education Lab builds on a series of Lynch School-hosted, groundbreaking formative education events over the past decade that established the Lynch School as a base for work on whole person education, and which molded the lab’s foundation.
In the fall of 2017, the school presented “The Whole Child; One Vision, Three Events”—a trio of pioneering convenings on student development across intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and ethical dimensions—which covered topics of interest to professionals working with K-12 students, as well as those who focus on undergraduates, such as integrated student support, measurement and evaluation, and whole-child practice.
In November 2019, the Lynch School hosted “Formative Education: Mapping the Terrain,” which explored student formation practices across the University, with comment and participation from other institutions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, with the transition to virtual learning, the Lynch School published a practice guide to online formative education titled “Cultivating Wholeness, Purpose, and Community in a Virtual Environment,” which offered a set of pedological strategies to foster holistic student development in both in-person and online environments.
Boston College’s commitment to formative education is rooted in the University’s identity as a Jesuit, Catholic institution and a leader in the liberal arts. Since its founding in 1863, BC has developed pedagogical and developmental practices that help students integrate the intellectual, social, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of their lives to discern what the world is calling them to become, and to use their gifts to serve others.
“While formative education is not exclusive to Boston College and other Jesuit universities, the Lynch School—and BC overall—has invested substantial time and resources integrating formation into the fabric of the University,” said Wortham. “Given that commitment, depth, and experience, the lab is well positioned to serve as an authoritative source and useful hub on all major aspects of formative education.”
Learn more about the initiative at the Transformative Education Lab website.