Informal Learning and the Role of Social Movements

It is now widely recognised that skills and competences needed for working and living can be acquired in a variety of ways outside the framework of formal educational systems. The author calls for an enlarged view of learning that emphasises the abilities of the individual learner and includes informal acquisition of skills on-the-job. In this kind of learning the teacher has to acquire a different role, becoming more of a partner in a joint educational process. The author argues that in this regard we can learn much from the example of popular educational movements in Latin America, some of which have established successful collaboration with the world of employment. In these examples he sees indications of promising approaches for the future.     

On the relationship between economic competence and the individual level of agreement with market economy

A series of studies in several countries tested the economic understanding of people, particularly students. The performance of the subjects is typically conceived as showing ＂deficits＂. These alleged deficits seem to correspond with scepticism towards market economy. Better test scores in general correlate with higher appraisal of market society. Could therefore a better understanding influence the attitudes towards phenomena of economic life, like competition, unequal income distribution and other characteristics of market economy？ This paper identifies different factors influencing both the levels of economic understanding and the attitudes towards economy. It analyzes results of empirical studies and, as a conclusion, develops an ＂influence model＂ reflecting the connection between the form of perception of market-induced phenomena, i.e. economic competence, and the evaluation of these phenomena. The model is the fundament for the design of forthcoming studies.     

Dissecting “Peer Presence” and “Decisions” to Deepen Understanding of Peer Influence on Adolescent Risky Choice

This study evaluated the aspects of complex decisions influenced by peers, and components of peer involvement influential to adolescents’ risky decisions. Participants (N = 140) aged 13–25 completed the Columbia Card Task (CCT), a risky choice task, isolating deliberation-reliant and affect-reliant decisions while alone, while a friend monitors choices, and while a friend is merely present. There is no condition in which a nonfriend peer is present. Results demonstrated the risk-increasing peer effect occurred in the youngest participants in the cold CCT and middle-late adolescents in the hot CCT, whereas other ages and contexts showed a risk-decreasing peer effect. Mere presence was not sufficient to influence risky behavior. These boundaries in age, decision, and peer involvement constrain prevailing models of adolescent peer influence.