Mischievous child straying? Reforming (9)
I believe the answer is:
improving
'reforming' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to change as well as being present participle verbs.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'mischievous child straying?' is the wordplay.
'mischievous child' becomes 'imp' (I've seen this before).
'straying?' becomes 'roving' ('rove' can be a synonym of 'stray').
'imp'+'roving'='IMPROVING'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for improving that I've seen before include "Making better" , "Getting better" , "Recovering" .)