Non-formal Contexts Research Articles

Game-based Networked Learning

Designing and analyzing learning experiences in non-formal contexts can be challenging, even for those with educational training. The challenge is more significant if the priorities include educational ideological bases or an specific type of educational vision. The DALI project (Data Literacy for Citizens) has the primary goal of offering Data Literacy learning experiences specifically designed for adults in non-formal educational contexts. With this goal in mind, and considering the social and material realities of the target participants –their needs, diversity, interests and cultures– the project combines two of the most promising pedagogical approaches nowadays: networked learning and playful learning. This short paper outlines the pedagogical vision underpinning our efforts to integrate both approaches into a set of strategies and resources, in other words, the principles and ideas driving the design of what is called in the project: Game-based Networked Learning (GBNL) experiences. In particular, we draw on both the Activity Centred Analysis and Design (ACAD) framework and the Transdisciplinary Model for Developing Game-Based Interventions. After reviewing key aspects of the theoretical grounds that define our understanding of educational uses of technology and game-based learning, the paper addresses critical considerations underpinning the adaptation of the ACAD framework in the planning of playful learning experiences. Thus, the paper outlines the main principles guiding the design of DALI experiences, dividing them into the three design areas established by ACAD: set design, epistemic design and social design. The ambition of this approach is to serve as a pedagogical and educational statement to guide valuable actions to improve other adult learning approaches.

How the Church Can Heal: Healing Intergenerational Trauma Through Trauma-Informed Discipleship

Intergenerational (inherited) trauma is relational in nature. Basically, it is the transmission of physical, emotional, psychological, cultural, and historical wounds from one generation to another. Understanding the impact of intergenerational trauma on relationships, particularly parent–child relationships, has implications for promoting functional and positive intergenerational connections. The study will examine the effects of intergenerational trauma on an individual's well-being and suggest approaches for best practices in formal and nonformal contexts of teaching for discipleship.

Strategies specific to learning and non-formal education of adults

In this article, the influences of non-formal education are elucidated from the perspective of specific learning and education strategies. Adult learning and non-formal education is considered a continuous process of flexible learning opportunities, essential to support competitiveness in the context of a technology-based global knowledge economy. Non-formal education is an alternative to public education, registering a sustainable evolution, starting with the first circles, popular academies and ending with institutional programs financed by the European Union. The basic characteristics of adult learning complete the palette with concrete indications for the effective and active development of the process in a non-formal context. In the same context, non-formal education strategies contribute to the ability of adults to organize and actively participate in their own learning process.

Being in tension: the dependent response in social education

ABSTRACT Social Education implies a constant exposition to human experiences of vulnerability and suffering. In this paper, Levinas’s philosophy of alterity and, specifically, the notion of hospitality constitutes our ethical lens to explore educational encounters in non-formal contexts within the Spanish Social Sector. The study is developed from a hermeneutic phenomenological approach into the depth of lived experiences of eight social educators who currently work with different populations groups. The testimonies, explored through semi-structured interviews, are presented in a conversational, dialogic, poetic format. First, Levinas’ philosophy is presented as our ethical position, focusing on subjectivity as hospitality. Secondly, methodological aspects regarding hermeneutics are addressed. Finally, the testimonies of social educators are presented in an evocative way, exploring uncertainty and three different tensions regarding human relations in their practices: physical spaces, affection, and embodiment.

CIÊNCIA CIDADÃ: DESENVOLVIMENTO DO PENSAMENTO CRÍTICO EM CONTEXTO NÃO FORMAL

Nowadays, we find ourselves adapting to emerging situations, with marked connections with Science and Technology, and which cause political, social, economic and health instability, redefining the economy and the work dynamics. Therefore, it became imperative that, throughout their education, children and young people develop intellectual tools that allow them to face the uncertainty of the present-future and being agents of sustainable social cohesion. Such tools involve thinking critically about the world, mobilizing knowledge regarding Science and Citizenship. Within this framework, a study was carried out with the aim of developing (conceiving, elaborating, implementing, and evaluating) activities, oriented towards the promotion of Critical Thinking, focusing on issues involving Science and socially relevant, for an active and enlightened citizenship. Such activities, aimed at students in the second cycle of basic education, were implemented within the scope of a project, in a non-formal context, of curricular enrichment. The paradigm of this investigation is interpretative, and its nature is qualitative, since a case study is studied and described, being this the group of students of the second cycle of basic education (10-12 years old) involved in the project. During the implementation of the activities, data were collected using instruments within the scope of various techniques, including documental analysis of the students' written productions. Following the analysis of the collected data, using statistical and content analysis procedures, the results obtained an improvement in their critical thinking level. In terms of conceptions about Science and Citizenship, most of the students involved showed an interest in scientific themes, attributing a decisive role to science and technology in solving problems that affect Society. Such results provide scientific evidence to support the contribution of activities developed in promoting students' critical thinking

The Place of Mediation in Language Competence Certification – The Non-Formal Context of Language Learning and Teaching (Based on the Greek KPG Exam)

The aim of this paper is to reflect on the role of mediation activities in the process of certifying language-user competence in the context of the non-formal process of certifying language proficiency. First, the definitions of the mediation process and that of the mediator in relation to different research areas are analysed. Then, the role of mediation in the process of foreign language education is considered, with particular reference to the statements contained in the supplementary volume to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, whose authors operationalise the concept of mediation in the context of foreign language learning and teaching. The paper then analyses the mediation tasks included in a certification exam designed for adults, namely the Greek Kratiko Pistopiitiko Glosomathias exam. The analysis of these tasks aims to answer the question as to what extent and with which techniques mediation skills can be tested.

Perceptions and preparedness of secondary teacher trainees to foster inclusive schools for all

IntroductionThe advancement of inclusive education over the past few decades emphasizes the pivotal role of teachers in transforming the educational landscape. As schools transition toward a more inclusive approach, it is imperative to evaluate the efficacy of initial teacher training programs in preparing educators for this inclusive transition. This study aims to describe the preparedness and perceptions of students in the Master’s Degree in Secondary Education, Vocational Training, and Language Teaching (MDSE) regarding inclusive education, guided by the profile developed by the European Agency for the Development of Special Needs and Inclusive Education (AEDNEEI).MethodsFurthermore, the research analyzes how external factors, such as perceived self-efficacy, influence these perceptions and readiness for inclusive teaching. A total of 218 students enrolled in the MDSE, with an average age of 31.5 years and a standard deviation of 6, were examined. Of the participants, 33% were male and 67% were female. These students came from different Spanish universities and were either in the final stages of their studies or had already completed them. Prior to participating, they had finished the generic module and completed their practice sessions in secondary education centers. The “Teacher Training in Secondary Education: Key Elements for Teaching in an Inclusive School for All” (TTSE-IN) questionnaire was employed, which includes five validated and pertinent instruments, with four of them being employed for the study’s objectives: The “Questionnaire for Future Secondary Education Teachers about Perceptions of Diversity Attention,” the “Questionnaire for the Evaluation of Teacher Training for Inclusion CEFI-R,” the “Revised Scale of Feelings, Attitudes, and Concerns about Inclusive Education” (SACIE-R), and the “Brief Scale of Teacher Self-Efficacy.”Results and DiscussionThe results show the presence of positive attitudes in future educators along with a poor overall assessment of the training received, which raises concerns about the development of teaching functions more related to daily work in the classroom and the implementation of inclusive methodologies. At the same time, both regular and close contact with people in situations of special vulnerability, experience in training in nonformal contexts, and the level of teacher self-efficacy, in its different components, are postulated as some of the facilitators of the development of the postulates and values of inclusive education and predictors of greater capacity toward attention to diversity.

Acompañar la transexualidad desde la escuela: un estudio cualitativo con las familias

The school must be a safe space that guarantees the inclusion of sexual diversity. Teachers, as well as other possible educational sources, play a key role in this issue. The present study aims to explore the role of the school and other educational agents in the well-being of trans children and adolescents. To this end, 22 life stories written by mothers and fathers of girls and boys who had undergone social transition have been collected and a qualitative analysis has been carried out using MAXQDA software as a tool. For this purpose, three key periods have been considered in the stories: before, during and after having made the transition. Among other aspects, the stories include and value the support that is given to the children by the school, highlighting the role that the families attribute to the teachers as guarantors of their children's wellbeing at school and as facilitators of the transition. The lack of knowledge of child and adolescent transsexuality and the lack of teacher training in this regard, emerge as the main difficulties that these families encounter in the school environment. The role of the peer group and other non-formal contexts such as extracurricular activities are also highlighted as spaces of safety, support and acceptance being cases of rejection and bullying, an exception. The stories show that when the social transition takes place at an earlier age, the rejection and distress at school is lower.

Accompaniment of transsexuality at school: A qualitative study with the families

The school must be a safe space that guarantees the inclusion of sexual diversity. Teachers, as well as other possible educational sources, play a key role in this issue. The present study aims to explore the role of the school and other educational agents in the well-being of trans children and adolescents. To this end, 22 life stories written by mothers and fathers of girls and boys who had undergone social transition have been collected and a qualitative analysis has been carried out using MAXQDA software as a tool. For this purpose, three key periods have been considered in the stories: before, during and after having made the transition. Among other aspects, the stories include and value the support that is given to the children by the school, highlighting the role that the families attribute to the teachers as guarantors of their children's wellbeing at school and as facilitators of the transition. The lack of knowledge of child and adolescent transsexuality and the lack of teacher training in this regard, emerge as the main difficulties that these families encounter in the school environment. The role of the peer group and other non-formal contexts such as extracurricular activities are also highlighted as spaces of safety, support and acceptance being cases of rejection and bullying, an exception. The stories show that when the social transition takes place at an earlier age, the rejection and distress at school is lower.

Impact of an evidence-based training for educators on bystander intervention for the prevention of violence against LGBTI+ youth

Research shows that teachers and educators receive scarce scientific evidence-based training and tools to implement effective strategies to stop and prevent violence against LGBTI+ youth in educational institutions. Nonetheless, no data examines pedagogical contents and training initiatives that are providing these professionals with effective strategies and skills. This paper will cover this gap by gathering data on the impact of training workshops that were carried out in five European countries as part of a REC programme project. These workshops were designed to train educators in formal and non-formal contexts about scientific evidence-based content aimed at reaching social impact, such as bystander intervention and the dialogic model of violence prevention. As part of the training, they participated in the debate of a scientific article first hand, thus engaging with direct research. The content, organisation and instruments for data collection were co-created with relevant end-users and researchers who engaged at different meetings in an Advisory Committee. Aimed at collecting the impact of this training, 208 online pre- and post-questionnaires, and 12 semi-structured interviews were analysed. Results show that participants gain knowledge and confidence empowering themselves as active agents in the problem. Thanks to this co-creative and community science approach, participants affirmed they are thinking of applying upstander actions in their working contexts. The trust in the rigour of the content and the interest sparked towards science are also expressed.

Primary and Secondary Teachers’ Conceptions, Perceptions and Didactic Experience about Heritage: The Case of Andorra

In recent years, there has been a growing tendency to incorporate teaching proposals related to heritage education in both formal and non-formal contexts. However, heritage is approached from a limited perspective, often without considering a holistic perspective. In this sense, the present study aims to know the conceptions and perceptions of heritage and its teaching in 42 primary and secondary in-service teachers from the three educational systems of Andorra in order to identify, through a semi-structured interview, possible obstacles in their professional knowledge and practice. In general terms, the results show that Natural and Tangible Heritage are the ones most taught in the classrooms due to the previous teachers’ training and professional background. Likewise, regarding the most common methodologies used to learn heritage, teachers highlight visits in situ and the use of educational technologies. Moreover, in-service teachers perceive how heritage education plays a key role in different aspects of their development, such as identity, core values and interest in the subject, amongst others. In order to obtain a holistic approach regarding heritage education, this research is part of a greater-scope project that also considers other stakeholders in the education community that belong to formal and non-formal spheres.

Pedagogical change and innovation culture in secondary education: a Delphi study

Secondary education in Spain is being the most controversial educational stage in educational reform processes, in relation to youth cultures and ways of learning and knowing in the emerging digital society. We present the results of the application of a Delphi methodology, as the first phase of a broader research on disruptive practices in Secondary Education. Its aim was to gather the opinion of 20 experts on how educational innovation processes are perceived at this educational level, as well as the mediations on which they are based. The Delphi questionnaire was applied in 3 Spanish regions (Andalusia, Castile and Leon, Extremadura) and was carried out in two consecutive rounds. Subsequently, focus groups were held with these experts in each of the regions. The results are grouped around 4 axes: the school institution, learning in non-formal contexts, educational innovation and innovation culture, and technological mediation. The conclusions reveal the main limitations of Secondary Education in Spain: lack of curricular flexibility, leadership for change and openness to the community, technocentric vision of educational innovation and insufficient training in digital competence of teachers.

Adult language learners’ perception of the usefulness of learning strategies

This qualitative study investigated the perception that adult English learners in a non-formal context have about the usefulness of learning strategies. Data were collected through field notes and qualitative surveys. The results indicated that participants perceived the strategies not only as very useful but also as dynamic, entertaining, and interesting. Likewise, the results showed that the inclusion of strategies contributes to the development of language skills and helped the participants to gain confidence in the use of the learned language. The pedagogical implications suggest that the inclusion of strategies, as a support tool outside the classroom, can have a positive effect on the perception, adoption of new strategies, and on the increase of time invested outside the classroom.

Secondary Education Teacher Training and Emotional Intelligence: Ingredients for Attention to Diversity in an Inclusive School for All

This study, which is part of a broader research project, aims to investigate the impact of the initial training received by students in the Master’s Degree in Secondary Education and Baccalaureate, Vocational Training, and Language Teaching (MDSE) on their future teaching development in the current educational and social framework. The main goal is to understand their concerns, attitudes, and level of acquired competencies and knowledge for their professional development as inclusive teachers. Additionally, the study aims to explore the relationship between their assessments and experiences with the perceived level of Emotional Intelligence (EI), given its importance as a facilitating element, which is teachable from formal education, in socio-educational inclusion processes and quality attention to diversity in classrooms. A total of 218 MDSE students (Mage = 31.5; SD = 6; males = 33%; females = 67%) participated in the study, coming from various Spanish universities, and having either completed their studies or being in the final stages after having completed the generic module and practices in secondary education centers. The information was collected through the “Teacher Training in Secondary Education: Key Elements for Teaching in an Inclusive School for All” (TTSE-IN) questionnaire, which included five validated and relevant instruments, of which three were used for the study’s purpose (Questionnaire for Future Secondary Education Teachers about Perceptions of Diversity Attention, Scale of Feelings, Attitudes, and Concerns about Inclusive Education, Revised SACIE-R and Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale WLEIS-S). The main results indicate that future teachers show a positive attitude towards diversity but have significant training gaps. Additionally, the EI variable, along with regular contact with people in situations of special vulnerability and experience in teaching people in situations of special vulnerability in non-formal contexts, has a positive effect on both teacher well-being and the facilitation of inclusive education processes and diversity attention.

Strategies for Stimulating Intrinsic Consciousness in the Training Process

This article is dedicated to the educational researchers and academia involved in the initial training of students. The educational process is based on a set of principles, and intrinsic consciousness in one of them. It guides personality development towards forming a self-concept and worldview. Furthermore, this principle stems from one of the four dimensions of spiritual intelligence, namely transcendental awareness, which focuses on developing consciousness and self-awareness. The principle of intrinsic consciousness entails engaging students in academic activities that demand complex cognitive processes, such as analysis, synthesis, reflection, imagination as well as other mental faculties based on intuition. In this context, training approaches and planning shall focus both on theoretical benchmarks, particularly on the model of spiritual intelligence and, more specifically, on transcendental awareness, and on methodological benchmarks, comprising the teaching strategies guiding the educational approach aimed at developing intrinsic consciousness. For this investigative approach, a strategy is a construct consisting of a harmonious combination of learning tasks and methods used in shaping the personality to be self-aware and conscious of the components of the relationship with the surrounding world. Moreover, academics can apply these strategies both in a formal context, in the planning of lectures and seminars on academic subjects, and in a non-formal context, as part of continuing education activities.

Tolerant Tea Shops: The Social Construction of Forbearance in Child Labor

Abstract: Urban expansion is associated with the emergence and transformation of marginal labor. In this context, labor migration from rural areas increasingly includes younger migrants, as generational agricultural vocations decline. This, in turn, challenges conceptions of child labor, where younger migrants are engaged in labor which is spatially remote from their families. In Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, urbanization has drawn in large numbers of children from rural areas. Many of those children supply labor in nonformal contexts. One such practice is the hospitality industry, where young children are sent to work in the many tea shops in the city, supplying labor in exchange for lodging, food, and nominal wages. In such settings, their labor is provided not only away from parental control but also outside of formal employment structures. The spatial arrangements of tea shops reflect an "in-betweenness" which occupies a liminal place between formal and informal, neither a home, nor a "restaurant," and where the boundaries of public and private space are blurred. This in-betweenness enables a context for tolerance and forbearance of child labor, which is viewed by patrons as a benevolent welfare arrangement, rather than as waged employment; the same patrons would view these children very differently if they saw them at work in a place classified as a restaurant. This example highlights how the contexts of space and place intersect with cultural values to give specific local framings of social issues.

New actors and new learning spaces for new times: a framework for schooling that extends beyond the school.

Taking the ‘breakdown’ in regular schooling as a result of the Covid pandemic as a catalyst to reimagine education, this article formulates a theoretical framework, using design research, that enables a fundamental reconceptualization and introduction of new actors into the space of schooling, which is a learning environment that traditionally has maintained rigid boundaries. Recommendations are proposed for bridging formal and nonformal education for practitioners and policymakers, bringing together teachers and youth workers to co-construct a learning environment. In creating a prototype for learning that involves a more joined-up and connected paradigm in education, as well as bridging the gap between learning in formal and non-formal contexts, we create a shift towards reimagining and recognising the importance of a holistic view of education by re-evaluating and supporting a broader range of actors who can participate in the education of children and young people.

Saturdays of Science. An Experimental Learning and Training Scenario in CLIL and IBSE: A Case Study

We present a case study where the use of both Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) can be observed and studied as a hybrid methodology applied in a non-formal context in primary education. The context is the teaching of science in a Foreign Language (English) and the aim is to determine didactic strategies that are useful for improving teaching/learning processes. It is conducted in the non-formal context of science workshops, known as Saturdays of Science. 102 children in primary education attended the workshops, at which both the CLIL and the IBSE approaches were combined and which were supervised by 17 future teachers of primary education. The workshops were observed and analysed together with the changes introduced in the methodology and in the successive improvements to the teaching experience, examining the way in which they influenced the perceptions of the children and the future teachers. These results offer useful strategies for teachers in charge of CLIL teaching in primary education.

Design of an Interactive Module Based on the van Hiele Model: Case Study of the Pythagorean Theorem

The recent increase in the number of mathematics museums has given rise to a need for tools with which to design and assess mathematics educational proposals in this non-formal context. This study proposes the use of the van Hiele model, a benchmark in mathematics instruction, for the design of interactive museum models focusing on mathematics content in general. By way of example, the model is characterised for application to the Pythagorean theorem. An interactive module designed around the aforementioned characterisation for teaching the theorem at the Museo Didáctico e Interactivo de Ciencias [interactive science instruction museum, MUDIC] may serve as a reference for future interactive modules and workshops in museums dealing with any manner of mathematics content.

STEAM Project-Based Learning Activities at the Science Museum as an Effective Training for Future Chemistry Teachers

Non-formal learning environments, such as science museums, have a fundamental role in science education and high potentialities as ideal contexts for science teachers’ training. These aspects have been analyzed and reported in several recent works mainly focused on students’ perception of science and increased engagement towards scientific disciplines. In this work, a project-based learning methodology optimized and experimented in the frame of a pre-service chemistry teachers’ course at the University of Pisa (Italy), during the last eight years, involving in total 171 participants, is presented. This educational project has several distinctive features related to the STEAM philosophy, with a high level of multi-disciplinarity and creativity. Most of the laboratories and chemistry-centered activities were conceived, planned and carried out by the future chemistry teachers in non-formal contexts, such as science museums. A case study based on a series of non-formal laboratories designed by a group of students during their training in the academic year 2018–2019 and performed in a science museum is reported and examined in details. In this paper, all steps of the STEAM project-based learning methodology are described underlining the main learning outcomes and cognitive levels involved in each step and the relevant methodologies proposed during the training course and adopted in the project. The effectiveness of this pre-service teachers’ training methodology is finally discussed in terms of participants’ motivation and interest towards the course’s content, students’ final judgment of their training experiences and, in particular, of the STEAM project-based learning activities. From the students’ feedbacks and final assessment, the role of the non-formal context in teaching and learning chemistry and the efficacy of developing educational activities related to current and real-life chemistry-centered topics emerged as very positive aspects of the proposed approach.