Formal,nonformal and informal education: A holistic perspective on lifelong learning

This article presents a conceptual framework for understanding the interrelationships among formal, nonformal and informal education. It provides a typology of modes of education across the life span, from childhood to old age. The nonformal education mode is the focus of the article as examples of programs for differing ages, sexes, social classes and ethnic groups are discussed. The third section of the article raises questions regarding the relationship between nonformal education for individual and social change within and across cultural and socio-economic groups. It also discusses the relationship between nonformal and formal education relative to their respective scope and outcomes.The author argues that educational resources must be viewed as interacting modes of emphasis rather than as discrete entities. Hence, all individuals are engaged in learning experiences at all times, from planned, compulsory and intentional to unplanned, voluntary and incidental. It is also argued that nonformal education may be more strongly associated with socio-economic, sex and ethno-religious groups than is formal education. Because of these strong socio-economic and cultural ties, the utility of nonformal education for social, as opposed to individual, change is often restricted. The value of nonformal, as opposed to formal, education for access to the opportunity structure for low socio-economic status populations is also questioned because of the greater legitimacy typically associated with schooling.

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Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel legt einen konzeptuellen Rahmen für das Verständnis der Wechselbeziehungen zwischen formaler, nicht-formaler und informaler Erziehung vor. Er bietet eine Typologie von Erziehungsweisen, die sich über das ganze Leben erstrecken, von der Kindheit bis zum späten Alter. Im Zentrum des Artikels steht der nicht-formale Erziehungsmodus; Beispiele von Programmen für verschiedene Altersstufen, Geschlechter, soziale Klassen und ethnische Gruppen werden gegeben. Der dritte Teil wirft Fragen der Beziehungen zwischen nicht-formaler Erziehung für individuellen und sozialen Wandel innerhalb kultureller und sozio-ökonomischer Gruppen sowie gruppen-übergreifend auf. Ferner wird das Verhältnis nicht-formaler zu formaler Erziehung in bezug auf ihren jeweiligen Umfang und ihre Ergebnisse besprochen.Der Verfasser führt aus, daß Bildungsressourcen als interaktive Schwerpunktsetzung und nicht als getrennte Ganzheiten anzusehen sind. Somit machen alle Menschen jederzeit ihre Lernerfahrungen, von geplantem, pflichtmäßigem und absichtlichem Lernen bis zu ungeplantem, freiwilligem und zufälligem. Weiterhin wird hervorgehoben, daß nicht-formale Erziehung wohl stärker als formale mit sozio-ökonomischen, ethnisch-religiösen und Geschlechtsgruppen assoziiert ist. Wegen dieser festen sozio-ökonomischen und kulturellen Bindungen ist die Nützlichkeit nicht-formaler Erziehung für sozialen, im Gegensatz zu individuellem, Wandel oft begrenzt. Fraglich erscheint auch der Wert nicht-formaler, imGegensatz zu formaler, Erziehung für den Zugang von Gruppen mit niedrigem sozio-ökonomischen Status zu der Chancenstruktur, weil der Schule allgemein größere Legitimität zugeschrieben wird.

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Résumé Cet article présente un cadre conceptuel pour une meilleure compréhension des interrelations de l'éducation formelle, non formelle et diffuse. Il présente une typologie des differents modes d'éducation qui se succèdent au cours d'une existence, depuis l'enfance jusqu'à la vieillesse. Le mode d'éducation non formelle constitue le thème central de cet article où sont discutés des exemples de programmes en fonction de l'âge, du sexe, de la classe sociale et du groupe ethnique. La troisième partie de l'article soulève des questions sur les relations entre l'éducation non formelle de l'individu et le changement social à l'intérieur des groupes culturels et socio-économiques, mais aussi entre ces groupes. Il traite également de la relation entre l'éducation non formelle et l'éducation formelle en ce qui regarde leur champs d'action respectifs et leur résultats.L'auteur soutient que les resources éducatives doivent être considérées comme des facteurs de mise en valeur réciproque plutôt que comme des discrètes entités. Par suite, tous les individus sont engagés à tout moment dans des expériences d'apprentissage, qu'elles soient concertées, obligatoires et délibérées ou bien involontaires, imprévues et fortuites. L'auteur ajoute que l'éducation non formelle pourrait être plus fortement associée aux groupes socio-économiques, sexuels et ethno-religieux que l'éducation formelle. Ces liens culturels et socio-économiques puissants restreignent souvent, l'efficacité de l'éducation non formelle dans le changement social, contrairement à ce qui se passe pour l'individu. La valeur de l'éducation non formelle — à la différence de l'éducation formelle — comme voie d'accès aux structures de rattrapage pour les populations d'un statut socio-économique défavorisé, est aussi contestée par suite de la légitimité supérieure typiquement associée à la scolarité.

     

Formal,nonformal and informal modes of learning: A glimpse of the Tanzanian experience

Conclusion This short report has reflected upon and illustrated the different ways and means by which formal, nonformal and informal modes of learning have been made to interact with each other in Tanzania. Integration to such an extent has been made possible both through structural changes in the educational system as well as through the operation of some specific learning programmes. The rationale for using such an integrative approach has also been outlined.The interaction between formal, nonformal and informal structures and modes of learning is certainly not comprehensive nor completely integrated, as is evident from the report. Rather, a rational start has been made in that direction within the overall framework of Tanzania's development goals and aspirations.     

Graduates on the labor market: Formal and informal post-school training investments

The purpose of this article is to obtain an understanding of which factors determine whether an university graduate receives formal on-the-job training or not and the amount of informal training received. Using a cross-sectional survey of Spanish graduates, this paper confirms that the informal training graduates receive in their jobs is more intense among doctors and lawyers – professions that require a more extensive period of learning before reaching the required level of skills. Likewise, those graduates that hold jobs requiring greater know-how than they can actually provide (infra-educated) also receive more informal training. In the case of formal training, the likelihood of taking part in in-house training programs is greater among civil servants and the employees of large private firms. However, the belief that workers with higher ability (a positive signal of a worker’s trainability) should have higher chances of receiving employer-provided formal training is not confirmed in this study.     

Space and embodiment in informal learning

Changes in pedagogy to emphasise independent study and group work have increased the need for informal learning spaces on campuses. University libraries have been quick to respond to this need, partly because of the decline in book lending and partly because of technology enablers. Furthermore, new types of buildings that combine many types of facility, including libraries and informal learning spaces, are being built. This research aimed to explore students’ experience of such informal learning spaces, through focus groups and walk with interviews. It was found that the creation of different types of learning atmosphere, should be understood as a multi-sensory experience, and actively constructed by learners themselves. Informal learning spaces are important destinations for students, who have favourite places to study, where they often work alongside companions and find motivation to work in the presence of others.     

非正式环境中的科学学习及其评价

在终身教育的背景下,发生在非正式环境中的科学学习逐渐受到国内外研究者们的重视。相比课堂上的科学课程的学习研究,目前国内关于非正式科学学习的研究还处于起步阶段。欧美研究者对于非正式环境中科学学习的目标、特征以及评价做了系统研究,本文主要通过梳理文献概述非正式环境中所关注的结果的种类及其评价,为我国的相关研究提供资源,为我国在此领域的研究提供借鉴。     

Personal Learning Environments, social media, and self-regulated learning: A natural formula for connecting formal and informal learning

A Personal Learning Environment or PLE is a potentially promising pedagogical approach for both integrating formal and informal learning using social media and supporting student self-regulated learning in higher education contexts. The purpose of this paper is to (a) review research that support this claim, (b) conceptualize the connection between PLE, social media, and self-regulated learning, and (c) provide a three-level pedagogical framework for using social media to create PLEs that support student self-regulated learning. Implications for future research in this area are provided.     

Assimilatory tools for informal learning: prospects in ICAI

This section was introduced in Volume 16, No. 2, for such purposes as: rapid publication of summaries of work in progress (normally in the issue following receipt); outlines of projects or research themes in particular institutions; short papers expressing a strongly-held view or highlighting gaps in the literature; and conventional letters to the editor. We reserve the right to reject submissions or to require changes before publication.     

Membership,participation and knowledge building in virtual communities for informal learning

This paper reports on a study involving the design of a virtual community for informal learning about Thai herbs. The community relied on social networking tools and a database of expert knowledge as well as community coordinators. One group of coordinators (Community A) concentrated efforts in recruitment of members on those individuals most likely to be interested in Thai herbs. The second group of coordinators (Community B) recruited from among friends, family and acquaintances. Analysis and t‐tests of measurement of membership, participation and knowledge building revealed higher rates for Community A. Results pertaining to the design of the virtual community, which showed that members mostly used the database, provide evidence to support the hypothesis that members' access to expert knowledge positively influences participation and knowledge building in a virtual community for informal learning. Results of the comparison of Community A versus Community B provide evidence to support the hypothesis that interest in the subject of the community positively influences membership, participation and knowledge building in a virtual community for informal learning.     

Experienced teachers' informal learning: Learning activities and changes in behavior and cognition

In this study on 32 teachers' learning in an informal learning environment, we analyzed changes in conceptions and behavior regarding students' active and self-regulated learning (ASL), and relations with the teachers' learning activities. Few relations were found between observed changes in behavior and learning activities. Changes in conceptions appeared to correlate with the activities obtaining new ideas, experimenting with new methods, and reflecting on why certain teaching methods seem to be effective and others not. Only one teacher became more ASL-oriented in both behavior and conceptions. The apparent variation in teachers' informal learning should lead to differentiated support for teacher learning in the workplace.     

Figuring out what works: learning and engaging with ideas about evolution within integrated informal learning environments

Instructional Science - Informal learning environments can be a fun and effective means of introducing visitors to a variety of topics in evolution. Our study examined 120 sixth-grade...     

The effects of formal learning and informal learning on job performance: the mediating role of the value of learning at work

Although research has widely recognized the relationships between formal and informal learning and job performance, empirical studies have not paid sufficient attention to these relationships. In addition, there is little understanding how individual perceptions toward learning influence the relationships between the aforementioned two types of learning and job performance. In the present study, it was proposed that formal and informal learning can influence job performance. Moreover, in the relationships between formal and informal learning and job performance, the value of learning at work was considered as a mediator. With a sample of employees from small and medium-sized enterprises in South Korea, the research showed that formal and informal learning influences job performance through the value of learning at work. Based on the results of the study, several implications were discussed.     

Authenticity in learning for the twenty-first century: bridging the formal and the informal

The paper attempts to bridge informal and formal learning by leveraging on affordance structures associated with informal environments to help learners develop social, cognitive, and metacognitive dispositions that can be applied to learning in classrooms. Most studies focus on either learning in formal or informal contexts, but this study seeks to link the two. The paper proposes three tenets to augment de-contextualized learning in schools by putting back the: (a) tacit, (b) social-collective, and (c) informal. This paper seeks to advance the argument for a consideration of how formal learning might be made more authentic by leveraging the affordances of informal learning. Two case examples are illustrated. The first case shows learners operating in a virtual environment in which??through the collaborative manipulation of terrain??adopt the epistemic frame of geomorphologists. The case seeks to illustrate how the tacit and social-collective dimensions from the virtual environment might be incorporated as part of the formal geography curriculum. In the second case, interactions between members of a school bowling team highlight the contextualized and authentic metacognitive demands placed on learners/bowlers, and how these demands are re-contextualized??through metacognitive brokering??to the formal curriculum. Productive linkages are made between informal and formal learnings and anchored through learners?? authentic experiences.     

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students' conceptions of formal learning and experiences of informal learning

This paper describes an investigationof conceptions of learning held by 22 Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander students from threeuniversities in Queensland, Australia. Other areasinvestigated were students' experiences of informallearning, their reasons for studying and thestrategies they used to learn. Research intoconceptions of learning is gaining impetus and currentbeliefs include the premise that approaches tolearning adopted by university students, and hencelearning outcomes, are closely related to theirconceptions of learning. There is substantial researchfocused on Aboriginal learning styles in earlychildhood and primary school which indicates thatAboriginal children prefer to learn in a practical wayas well as through observation and imitation and trialand error. Very little research has focusedspecifically on Aboriginal university students'conceptions of learning. Results of this study foundthat these students view and approach formaluniversity learning in much the same way as otheruniversity students and most hold quantitativeconceptions of learning. The most interesting resultwas the difference between students' conceptions offormal learning and their experiences of informallearning. Many students' experiences of informallearning were grounded in practical activities orexhibited a cultural focus, however, most formallearning is not dependent upon practical or culturalknowledge. It is proposed that formal learning forIndigenous students recognise and include anIndigenous perspective such as integrating, whereappropriate, practical strategies for learning. Wealso suggest that Indigenous students be helped todevelop conceptions that will enable them to learnformal, theoretical material successfully.     

The role of self-determination in informal and formal science learning contexts

Learning Environments Research - The goal of this research was to explore cognitive, self-determined learning and autonomous motivational effects in the context of a mobile science exhibition...     

Learning environments preferred by university students: a shift toward informal and flexible learning environments

Learning Environments Research - Universities are facing new challenges that pose various demands for developing learning environments. These challenges are related to different pedagogical...     

Formal and non-formal digital practices: institutionalizing transactional learning spaces in a media classroom

This article examines how a classroom procedure known as PGE (Plan/Go-through/Evaluate) group work aims at integrating formal and non-formal media experiences and practices into classroom-based media learning. The study displays, on the one hand, how PGE group work emerged and was institutionally embedded in a media course. On the other hand, the study displays how students in this media course negotiated with their teachers by drawing on out-of-school media experiences and production practices in the process of planning classroom work. Empirically, the study draws on ethnographic observation of a vocational media studies course in the age range between 16 and 19 years at the upper secondary level in Norway. Video observations from several hours of PGE group work are analysed in order to document how students are involved in co-planning classroom work together with the course teachers. The analysis is based on cultural historical activity theory (CHAT). This theoretical position is applied in order to foreground tensions between formal institutional obligations and non-formal practices that surface in the classroom, and how an institutional measure such as PGE group work creates a transactional space for handling these differences.