Researching Interrelations of Formal and Informal Learning in Early Adolescence Form a Critical Race Perspective

Abstract

Wischmann considers how different modes of learning in early adolescence are interrelated and at the same time interwoven with racialising and racist practices and structures and how this impacts educational trajectories of young people. Particularly in the transition between childhood and adolescence, a modification of learning spaces and forms takes place, beyond the major contexts of schooling and family. The author highlights the differentiation between formal, informal and also non-formal learning changes which become more conscious and generates a relationship that has impact on future educational developments. Formal learning takes place in educational institutions and is highly structured, organised and related to—often certified—achievement. Non-formal learning is learning in semi-structured contexts like music schools or sport clubs; informal learning is not framed by any kind of educational intention. Wischmann argues it takes place in various contexts and is not necessarily intended and can be implicit. How the relationships between these different forms of learning are configured on the individual’s experiences is underlined but also on social conditions that operate within given social structures and power relations. The chapter concludes with how formal and informal education affects multicultural dialogues.