What? Transformative education is based on a reading of contemporary society, or the kinds of capacities for knowing that children need to develop in order to be good workers in a ‘knowledge economy’, participating citizens in a globalised cosmopolitan society, and balanced personalities in a society that affords a range of choices that at times seem overwhelming. The essence of education is transformation of self and environment, which may be pragmatic (enabling learners to do their best in the given social conditions) or emancipatory (making the world a better place).