On Informal Learning, Informal Teaching, and Informal Education

Author(s):  
Daniel Schugurensky

Informal learning has always been part of humankind, but only in recent decades has it attracted the attention of educational researchers. This chapter examines four challenges (conceptual, methodological, institutional, and pedagogical) related to informal learning. The section on the conceptual challenge addresses the distinctions between informal learning, informal teaching, and informal education, and identifies three forms of informal learning: self-directed, incidental, and tacit. The section on the methodological challenge discusses the difficulties of researching informal learning (particularly incidental and tacit forms), describes an approach to elicit informal learning, and presents a critical analysis of its strengths and limitations. The section on the institutional challenge discusses issues related to the assessment and recognition of informal learning. Finally, the section on the pedagogical challenge highlights the potential of informal education to nurture informal learning.

Author(s):  
Merve Cansu Ince ◽  
Bayram Costu

It is known that an informal learning environment (i.e., out-of-school) increases the quality of teaching and learning activities. Informal environments also provide many advantages such as enriching the content of learning. Moreover, it is emphasised that the science-technology-society-environment (STSE) learning does not effectively involve in the Turkish education system. From this point of view, informal learning environments should be considered in order to enable students’ understanding of the STSE relation. Within the scope of this study, it was aimed to determine the effectiveness of study visit on students’ understanding of STSE. The research was conducted with 14 male students in the 5th-grade level in the 2016– 2017 academic year. This research, which used a recycling-solid waste collection centre, a botanic garden, a planetarium, a science centre and a zoo, a few informal learning environments, was conducted according to the case study design method. In the study, views on science-technology-society questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, observation forms and diaries were used as data collection tools. The data indicated that the informal learning environments were inadequate to promote conceptual change; however, it was effective to comprehend newly learnt concepts. In addition, it was also concluded that informal learning environment provided students to capture the understanding of STSE relations. Keywords: Science-technology-society-environment (STSE), informal education, out-of-school environment.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-43
Author(s):  
Miroslav Krystoň

The concept of lifelong and lifewide learning creates a space for different types of educational activities. In consequences of social changes and life style, we put more importance to learning activities of informal character besides formal learning. One of the informal learning typical forms is the leisure education. The thesis analyses historical bases, system characters and specific character types of leisure education.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6667
Author(s):  
José Monteagudo-Fernández ◽  
Cosme J. Gómez-Carrasco ◽  
Álvaro Chaparro-Sainz

Heritage and museums have constituted two fundamental axes of heritage education research in recent decades. This can be defined as the pedagogical process in which people can learn about heritage assets in formal or informal learning contexts. Museums, as centres of reference in informal education, are in constant and fluid contact with schools and produce different and varied didactic materials related to heritage. This paper provides results concerning the development and shaping of the knowledge domain known as heritage education between 2000 and 2019 on the Web of Science (WoS). To this end, different techniques and tools have been used: R-package Bibliometrix and VOSviewer. This analysis has identified five clusters with the topics underpinning heritage education as a specific field of knowledge. Our inquiry has highlighted the fact that there has been an increase in production regarding research topics associated with heritage education and museums in this period, particularly between 2015 and 2019. The inclusion of ESCI journals has led to a greater visibility of WoS-indexed academic production in some countries. Finally, the concepts “heritage”, “museum” and “education” are the axes around which the research paradigms related to heritage education research seem to have been developed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Schugurensky Schugurensky

Informal learning has always been part of humankind. However, like an iceberg, most of it is submerged and invisible. Only recently has it started to be noticed by researchers, employers, community organizations and educational institutions. Paraphrasing Jules Verne, we are now in the fi rst twenty leagues of a long journey that may be as long as twenty thousand. In this quest for knowledge about informal learning, we have to address four mainchallenges. Th is article discusses key issues in relation to these challenges.K e y w o r d s : Informal Learning, Informal Education, Tacit Knowledge, Elicitation, Recognition, Validation.


Author(s):  
Shenderuk O.B. ◽  

The problem of informal education is currently relevant, as the concept was officially introduced by the Law of Ukraine «On Education» of 05.09.2017 № 2145-VIII and in this regard, for some time informal education and informal learning were incorrectly interpreted and, accordingly, were not always applied in time and accurately. Such scientists as I. Zhukevych, V. Isaenko, L. Nikolenko, N. Pavlyk, R. Presner, O. Samoilenko, L. Sigaeva, S. Yablokova and others devoted their works to the issue of informal education. The term «informal education» comes from English and means such form of education that is purposeful and carefully planned, but not institutionalized. Informal education is the most innovative and everyday simultaneously. It covers home, leisure and self-education. Priority trends of informal education are self-development and self-realization of participants in this process, as well as unconscious acquisition of knowledge. The principles of informal education have been defined. Among them: the principle of voluntariness, personal orientation, systematization, social orientation, and initiative and amateurs activities. The main trends we have defined are disorganization, high motivation of students, spontaneity, lack of a clear plan, the pressure of learning and a certain time; the ability of everyone to be a teacher. Informal education is put into practice due to its own activity in cultural and educational environment. And a person transfers social educational potential into effectual factors of his development. Such education can implement through goal-seeking communication, reading, aching TV programs, attending cultural places of interest, travelling, etc. This type of education can be analyzed as one of its minisystem that is close to self education and is aimed at creating necessary resources for a candidate. The importance of this issue is insufficient development and inaccurate understanding of informal education. Key words: informal education, informal learning, self-development, innovative education.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malgorzata B. Pankowska

The contribution covers discussion on informal university learning, which is a part of heutagogy. In the paper, the university learning is considered as autopoietic organization development as well as development of business organization strongly dependent on external knowledge resources. In general, university education space covers formal, informal, and non-formal learning. Nowadays, informal learning has an excellent opportunity for development, because of Web 2.0 ideas and solutions. In the paper, the architecture of informal learning environment is visualized in ArchiMate 4.0 beta version language. The main goal of the paper is to present informal learning architecture as supplement to the formal learning. The MOOCs (massive open online courses) are included in the architecture model for informal learning support.


Author(s):  
ARMINDO ARMANDO ◽  
MARLENE VANESSA MARQUES JAMAL ◽  
MARTINS MAPERA

 RESUMO O presente artigo faz uma análise crítica sobre a situação da educação de rua, em Moçambique, e sua influência no debate em torno da diversidade cultural. Todavia, entende-se que a diversidade cultural constitui uma plataforma de desenvolvimento de uma sociedade, e que o seu estímulo, de diversas formas, é uma abordagem pontual e necessária, principalmente no setor da educação. Entretanto, em Moçambique, por um lado, o Sistema Nacional de Educação dá mais ênfase a educação formal, isto é, institucionalizada, e por outro reconhece a educação informal, setor que não abrange o espaço “rua”, desta feita, ignorando completamente o direito à educação das crianças de rua. É neste âmbito que se enquadra o nosso artigo, cujo objetivo é refletir sobre a situação da educação de rua e seu impacto na promoção da diversidade cultural em Moçambique. Para o efeito, recorremos aos métodos hermenêuticos, apoiados pelas técnicas de revisão bibliográfica. Portanto, o artigo conclui que há pouca preocupação de promover a diversidade cultural por meio da educação das crianças de e na rua, pelo que o espaço “rua” é visto como de mendigos e que o direito à proteção e à educação tem sido negados através de políticas públicas que são pouco claras, razão pela qual instamos a quem de direito a sua sensibilidade.Palavras-chave: Educação de rua. Inclusão. Diversidade cultural. Moçambique. Street Social Education and the Question of Cultural Diversity: Who Cares?ABSTRACTThis article provides a critical analysis of the situation of street education in Mozambique and its influence on the debate around cultural diversity. However, it is understood that cultural diversity constitutes a platform for the development of a society, and that its encouragement, through different forms, is a punctual and necessary approach, mainly in the education sector. However, in Mozambique, on the one hand, the National Education System places more emphasis on formal, that is, institutionalized education, and on the other, it recognizes informal education, a sector that does not cover the “street” space, this time completely ignoring the right the education of street children. It is in this context that our article fits, which aims to reflect on the situation of street education and its impact on the promotion of cultural diversity in Mozambique. For this purpose, we use hermeneutic methods, supported by bibliographic review techniques. Therefore, the article concludes that there is little concern to promote cultural diversity through education in children from and on the street, so the “street” space is seen as a space for beggars and that the right to protection and education has been denied through public policies that are unclear, which is why we urge those entitled to their sensitivity.Keywords: Street education. Inclusion. Cultural diversity. Mozambique. 


Author(s):  
Ieva Bilbokaitė-Skiauterienė ◽  
Renata Bilbokaitė

Political, economic, social and cultural changes of the country influence the change of the educational content. Striving to develop dynamic modern Lithuanian’s and person’s modern nationality, the educational content should relate to “pupils’ experiences and sociocultural needs. The article presents that the development of interculturality of pupils is one of the approaches when striving to understand cultural diversity of the present-day world.The results of previous research (Bilbokaitė, 2017, 2016) have revealed the lack of programmes, clear guidelines for intercultural education in the context of the different learning environments. The article describes importance of informal education, that arises from the learner’s involvement in activities that are not undertaken with a learning purpose in mind.The research aim is to reveal pupil’s (of the 10th-12th Forms) opinion about the (self-)development of interculturality in informal learning environments. Quantitative research was used (sample of 727 Lithuanian comprehensive school pupils) to investigate practical application of development of interculturality in educational environment from pupil’s perspective. The research results analysed employing content analysis reveal the importance of learning from the experience as a fundamental and natural means in different environments - home, social networks, school, city, streets. Safe personal environment creates the opportunity to be self, to learn about values, variety of cultures, tolerance, acceptance of others. Pupils’ opinions concerning the lack of possibilities for development of interculturality in school (during formal education) are presented. 


Author(s):  
Ольга Свиридюк

The article considers the content of formal, non-formal, and informal learning of foreign languages. It is noted that formal education is education that is institutionalized, intentional, and planned through public organizations and recognized private institutions and together they create a system of state formal education. Non-formal education is education that is institutionalized, intentional, and planned by the subject of educational activity. Informal education is a form of education that is intentional or conscious, but not institutionalized. The author analyzes the main differences between formal, non-formal, and informal learning. It has been emphasized that learning, whether formal or informal, is intentional and partly accidental, but informal learning is purely accidental. It has been outlined that in the short term it makes more sense and, of course, more accessible to involve volunteers in the organization of social activities that promote non-formal and informal language learning, instead of immediately organizing official language courses. If such measures are properly designed and effectively implemented, they can motivate and encourage students to participate in formal language courses at a later stage. It has been noted that formal education characterizes education on the negative side due to certain limitations, namely the curriculum is based on norms and laws approved by the government/institution, while the students’ needs and interests are not taken into account. When the students’ needs and interests are taken into account, the students will be more interested and more willing to participate in various activities. On the other hand, non-formal education manages to transform the interests and needs of students into a flexible and adapted form of learning.


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