Examining intergroup dialogue’s potential to promote social justice in adult education

Abstract

Intergroup dialogue (IGD) is a program for facilitating conversations about social identity, institutionalized and systemic oppression, social conflict, and social justice. This article examines how intergroup dialogue can contribute to adult education’s socially just goals by facilitating transformative learning. An initial review of the literature, followed by a discussion of IGD’s relationship to existing social justice pedagogy, highlights intergroup dialogue's transformative aspects in various learning settings within the adult education field. Finally, this article provides recommendations on how intergroup dialogue can contribute to adult education practice and research while exploring implications and limitations.