Non-formal Education Settings Research Articles

Gender Diversity in Computing and Immersive Games for Computer Programming Education: A Review

This paper provides a review of the current state of the gender gap in computer science and highlights how immersive games can mitigate this issue. Game-based learning (GBL) applications have been shown to successfully incite motivation in students and increase learning efficiency in both formal and non-formal educational settings. With the rise of GBL, researchers have also used virtual reality to provide pupils with a more immersive learning experience. Both GBL and virtual reality techniques are also used for computer programming education. However, there is a paucity of applications that utilize these techniques to incite interest in computer science from a female perspective. This is a cause for concern as immersive games have been proven to be capable of inciting affective motivation and fostering positive attitudes towards specific subjects. Hence, this review summarises the benefits and limitations of GBL and virtual reality; how males and females respond to certain game elements; and suggestions to aid in the development of immersive games to increase female participation in the field of computer science.

Transfer of Technology (Tot) Skills Factors Contributing to Work Performance Among Extension Agents in Malaysian Cocoa Board, Peninsular Malaysia

The main function of agricultural extensionists is to facilitate learning and disseminate new knowledge and technologies through non-formal educational settings. This will lead to improved agricultural productivity and increase farmers’ income. In the lens of the cocoa production scenario in Malaysia, it used to be a popular crop as this sector became the third-largest producer in the world since the 1980s, however that has changed over the years. Despite the reduced size of land use and the dropping production of cocoa over the past decades, exports of cocoa beans and cocoa products are growing steadily each year. Thus, with the overwhelming demand for Malaysian chocolate products from other regions, cocoa production should be boosted and not overlooked. Transfer of Technology (ToT) can be seen as the main catalyst that can improve farmers’ performance through extension agent capabilities, this study will determine the factors of ToT skills that contribute to the work performance of extension agents in the Malaysian Cocoa Board (MCB). A total of 353 productive cocoa farmers were employed in this study to evaluate the work performance of extension agents using a structured questionnaire. The data was analysed using descriptive and regression analyses. The results indicated that all the ToT skills (technical skill, technology delivery skill, and evaluation skill) are significant (p < 0.05) towards the work performance of extension agents. The R2 value of 0.520 implies that the three contributors explain about 52% of the variance in the work performance in this study. Hence, this shows the importance of ToT skills in improving the work performance of extension agents, particularly in the MCB and cocoa industry in Malaysia.

Participation?! Educational Challenges for Young Refugees in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article focuses the educational settings in the everyday life of young refugees in the context of distance education under the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. It explores dimensions and intensifications of education-related digital inequality during this period in formal and non-formal educational settings. Based on ethnographic interviews with teachers, young refugees and social workers, different dimensions of inequality as well as interrelations between informal (leisure), non-formal (child and youth welfare) and formal (school) educational contexts for empowering the educational participation of young refugees, especially regarding online learning, are discussed. The empirical data show that during the period of distance education the specific needs of young refugees are only taken into account to a limited extent and thus increasing risks of exclusion from education emerge. Lack of technical access, media expertise, language skills and personal support turn out to be major challenges in enabling educational participation of vulnerable groups such as young refugees. Therefore, educational policy at federal and national level in Germany needs to outline a scheme on how to meet these challenges by further developing non-formal as well as formal educational support structures.

As Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais e a Formação continuada de professores de Ciências: aprendizagem colaborativa para utilização pedagógica dos espaços de educação não formal

RESUMO: O artigo busca apresentar os resultados advindos de uma formação continuada de professores-alunos do Programa de Mestrado em Educação em Ciências do Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo. Foram desenvolvidas práticas pedagógicas interdisciplinares à luz dos fundamentos das Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais para a Educação Básica, com destaque para o diálogo produzido entre a educação formal e não-formal, no contexto da educação científica. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, do tipo estudo de caso. Foi realizada uma aula de campo, como culminância de estudos teóricos, em um espaço não formal, com quinze participantes, no município de Marataízes, litoral sul do Espírito Santo. Os dados foram coletados por meio de diário de campo e entrevistas e abordados da perspectiva da análise de conteúdo. As atividades foram ordenadas em 3 etapas: pré-campo, campo e pós-campo. O pré-campo constou dos estudos teóricos, o campo constou da intervenção e o pós-campo centrou na avaliação e na produção de material acerca da formação. Os resultados revelaram as potencialidades dos espaços não formais na abordagem de temas interdisciplinares das ciências da terra e naturais, além de aspectos da história, cultura, direitos humanos e debates socioambientais na compreensão da natureza como um sistema único, do qual todos fazem parte.
 PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Formação de professores; espaço de educação não formal, Aula de campo.

Mediterranean Sea Literacy: When Ocean Literacy becomes region- specific

Ocean Literacy (OL) has been defined as an understanding of the ocean’s influence on people and their influence on the ocean. The OL movement was born in the US and its framework consisted of seven essential principles and 45 fundamental concepts; it is now largely accepted worldwide for use in both formal (schools and universities) and non-formal (research institutes, aquaria, museums, etc.) education settings. Based on this framework, marine scientists and educators developed the “Mediterranean Sea Literacy” (MSL) guide adapted to the specificities of the Mediterranean region, presented here. The MSL principles (7) and concepts (43), serving as guidance for research, education, informed decision-making, and improved citizens’ lifestyles, aim to contribute to environmental protection, conservation, and restoration of the Mediterranean Sea as well as to help to achieve a blue innovative and sustainable economy.

Pedagogical practices in health promotion: health-related bodily practices for adults and older people

ABSTRACT Background: It is well established in the literature how exercise prevents chronic diseases. Nevertheless, we still lack knowledge about the ways in which health-related bodily practices might contribute to health promotion. Less is known about pedagogies in public health directed at adult and older-age groups, within non-formal educational settings. Considering a lack of tailored and attractive approaches to health-related bodily practices for adults and older people [Pettigrew et al. 2019. “Encouraging Older People to Engage in Resistance Training: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective.” Ageing & Society 39 (8): 1806–1825; Van Dyck, D., L. Mertens, G. Cardon, K. De Cocker, and I. De Bourdeaudhuij. 2017. “Opinions Toward PhysicalActivity, Sedentary Behavior, and Interventions to Stimulate Active Living During Early Retirement: Qualitative Study in Recently Retired Adults.” Journal of Aging and Physical Activity 25 (2): 277–286], we argue that there is a need to explore pedagogical practices that might further health promotion with this target group. Purpose: Drawing on Antonovsky’s theory of salutogenesis [1996. “The Salutogenic Model as a Theory to Guide Health Promotion.” Health Promotion International 11 (1): 11–18], the purpose of the study was to investigate how health and physical education (HPE) professionals delivered health-related bodily practices for adults and older people in community-based programmes. Data collection and analysis: A qualitative and grounded theory study design was employed. Participants included six HPE professionals, three health centre coordinators and thirty-four adults and older people enrolled in four community-based programmes from Brazil. Condensed fieldwork was adopted to generate data through three-days visits to each programme. Multiple data sources comprised semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation of health-related bodily practices sessions and documents/materials produced by participants. Data were analysed through open, axial and selective coding, using the constant comparative method [Charmaz 2006. Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. Book. Vol. 10. London: Sage Publications]. Findings: Three themes were generated to explain the ways HPE professionals worked with adults and older people in health promotion: adopting a holistic view of health, serving as a health resource and nurturing further health resources. These practices included caring attitudes, such as listening carefully to adults and older people, showing attentiveness and responsiveness to them. Moreover, a key finding indicated that the HPE professionals served in their pedagogical practices as health resources, which the adults and older people learned to draw on to cope with life situations and experience health development. Conclusion: The HPE professionals in the four programmes demonstrated they were capable of moving beyond a solely biomedical approach to health and focus on the salutary factors that enable health promotion through the development of a combination of pedagogical practices that were consistent with salutogenesis.

Usos del podcast para fines educativos. Mapeo sistemático de la literatura en WoS y Scopus (2014-2019)

Introducción: la investigación disponible sobre el aprovechamiento educativo del podcast de audio es escasa. Se revisó la literatura publicada (2014-2019) clasificando usos, contextos y categorías del podcast de audio con fines educativos, e identificando autores y revistas de referencia en el ámbito. Metodología: se aplicó el método de Mapeo Sistemático de la Literatura a una muestra de artículos indexados de acceso abierto en las bases de datos Web of Science y Scopus. El filtrado de la muestra se llevó a cabo de acuerdo con unos criterios de inclusión y exclusión. Resultados y conclusiones: se hallaron 55 artículos que destacan los principales usos educativos del podcast y coinciden en su utilidad para apoyar el aprendizaje en instituciones y entornos educativos formales, no formales e informales. Este trabajo brinda a investigadores, educadores e instituciones una línea base actualizada para seguir explorando las virtudes educativas del podcast.

Islam Moderat dan Islam Radikal dalam Perspektif Generasi Milenial Kota Surabaya

Paper ini menguji hasil beberapa penelitian sebelumnya yang mengambil pendidikan formal sebagai obyek penelitian dengan responden para pelajar, mahasiswa, dan guru di daerah Jakarta, Bandung, dan Yogyakarta, yang menyetujui perubahan ideologi negara dari Pancasila ke khilafah Islamiyah serta tindakan kekerasan dalam beragama. Sebagai alat uji, penulis menawarkan obyek penelitian pada para generasi milenial di kota Surabaya dengan latar belakang pendidikan formal dan non formal dan setting sosial berbagai latar belakang profesi, pendidikan, serta usia antara 17 sampai 30 tahun dan dengan metode observasi mendalam dan wawancara dengan teknik FGD (Focus Group Discussion) pada 13 anak muda kota Surabaya pada empat wilayah di kota Surabaya. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan; Pertama, narasi generasi milenial tentang Islam moderat menunjukkan pada pengalaman keagamaan yang bercorak santai, ringan, damai dan fleksibel dan Islam radikal sebagai perilaku Islam yang tidak bisa beradaptasi dengan lingkungannya. Kedua, sumber referensinya bergeser dari literasi buku ke literasi digital dengan memanfaatkan konten media sosial, Instagram, dan Youtube. Ketiga, figur dan inspiratornya juga berubah dari sosok ulama ke para tokoh hijrah, baik artis maupun ustadz muda produk entertaiment yang memanfaatkan media digital.

Implementation and evaluation of an EFL teacher training program for non-formal education settings

Abstract . This study aims to implement and evaluate a suggested in-service teacher training program for English language teachers in non-formal education institutions. In doing this, 2-week online training program was designed considering the professional needs of the teachers and implemented with a follow-up. Pre and posttests, self-assessment scales and lesson observations were utilized in order to compare teacher knowledge and behaviors before and after the training. In addition, those instruments, feedback forms were also received from the teachers in order to figure out their attitudes towards the implemented program. Findings from the study showed that the program had a significant impact on teacher knowledge and behaviors. Although the majority had a positive attitude towards the program, some teachers suggested that a face-to-face training program be held and that the length could be extended.

Developing multilingual practices in early childhood education through professional development in Luxembourg

ABSTRACT This paper investigates seven early education practitioners’ attitudes toward multilingual activities and translanguaging as well as their actual practices in Luxembourg. They took part in a professional development comprising a course, coaching, and regular meetings to deepen their understanding of multilingualism and language learning, and enable them to implement activities in multiple languages. The findings, drawn from questionnaires, observations, and interviews, show that all practitioners opened up toward multilingual activities and translanguaging, increased activities in such languages, and translanguaged frequently. The practitioners analyzed their beliefs and practices, connected theory and practice, constructed new knowledge, developed positive attitudes and changed their practice. This study is the first one to investigate the attitudes and practices of professionals in formal and non-formal education settings as well as the effect of professional development in Luxembourg. It also addresses the research gap regarding professional development on multilingualism in early childhood.

Education and the relationships between museums and older audiences: A scoping review protocol

Understanding how museums recognize the potential educational relationship with older audiences (aged over 60) is important if museums are to thrive as places for attracting social engagement, educational opportunities and lifelong learning. With the predicted rise in older populations and the lower take up of younger visitors to museums, there is scope to better understand how museums are engaging with these potential visitors in spaces traditionally viewed as non-formal education settings. Museums are known to house objects or collections which can work well in engaging with older populations, including cognitively-impaired elderly. However, there is a gap in evidence-based studies on audience research. The review will synthesize available empirical evidence on museum education for older audiences to catalogue good practice.

In-Service Training Needs of Efl Teachers in Non-Formal Education Settings

The education system in Turkey consists of the implementations in both formal and non-formal education settings; however, the majority of studies related to educational practices and teacher education focus on formal education settings. For this reason, this study aims to investigate the professional training needs of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in non-formal education settings. With this in mind, a non-formal education (NFE) institution in İstanbul was chosen since it had a high course attendee capacity and 105 EFL teachers who taught at this institution attended in the study. A needs analysis questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were used to collect the data about the training needs of the participants. The findings revealed that the needs centered around skills, vocabulary instruction, teaching pronunciation, material development, use of instructional technology in ELT, teaching mixed-ability classes, and classroom management. Findings also revealed that the teachers had a desire to improve their speaking skills through the in-service teacher training (INSET) programs

A capability pedagogy for excluded youth: Fostering recognition and imagining alternative futures

Out-of-school youth are often characterized as at risk, idle, or troublemakers and are essentially excluded from being citizens of their societies. In Tanzania and Uganda, where this study took place, youth who have not completed their secondary education are excluded from further education and formal work and are often not considered members of their community. This article puts forward capabilities and capability-enhancing pedagogies for formal and non-formal education settings that aim to foster greater inclusion and equality for such youth. Drawing on a 5-year study of youth in Tanzania and Uganda, the article identifies two capabilities, recognition and imagining alternative futures, that can be fostered through educational practices. Educational practices that change unjust social structures and relations are described, illustrating how they go beyond both capabilities that are individually focused, and critical pedagogy’s emphasis on raising awareness of social injustices, but not necessarily resulting in social changes.

Assessment of Instructors’ Technology Competency to be Used in the Settings of Formal and Non-Formal Education

The purpose of this study was to test the model of diagnostic assessment of the level of formedness of the competency of pedagogical staff to use teaching technologies when applied in the settings of formal and non-formal education and to see whether the model creates opportunities for designing a strategy for professional lifelong development of teaching staff. A convergent (computer-oriented and traditional) methodology was used in this study including: the methodology for examination of the motivation drivers of professional activity (K. Zamfir); “Square of Values” methodology by O. Murzina; methodology of self-assessment of vocational and pedagogical motivation, Bass’s questionnaire on orientations entitled “Personality orientations”, Henning’s methodology called “Structure of Interests”, Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test. It has been proved that the majority of teaching staff demonstrated the imitative and reproductive level of formedness of the professional competency consistent with all criteria. It seems that educators strive for self-improvement and self-development in using teaching technology in formal and non-formal education settings. This study results can be well used either to develop the structure and content of the professional development or post-graduation programs for the teaching personnel at the instructional institutions or to assess of the level of formedness of the professional competence of pedagogical staff to use teaching technologies in the settings of formal and non-formal education. The study attempts for the first time ever to assess professionalism-related competency in using teaching technology in formal and non-formal education settings and to specify the value orientations, motives, needs, spectrum of knowledge, skills, and abilities comprising the level of proficiency in this area as it is viewed through the needs of the labour market.

EDUCAÇÃO TRANSFORMADORA EM ESPAÇOS NÃO FORMAIS: TRILHA SENSORIAL E AMBIENTAL COMO ESTRATÉGIA DE RE-SENSIBILIZAÇÃO PARA IDOSOS

This article aims to report the experience of Biological Sciences students of the University Federal de Santa Maria during the extension project Transforming education in non - formal spaces: sensorial and environmental track as a strategy for resensitization of the elderly”, held at the Institution Home of the Elderly Sao Vicente de Paulo, during the Curricular Internship of the Biological Sciences in Educational Spaces, in the first half of 2018. The project worked on the elderly’s sensory system through touch, vision, hearing and smell, in a dynamic way and concerned to restore the elderly's individuality in order to work their perception and memory, and motivate them through environmental elements. After the implementation of the project, the interviews carried out revealed that the experience was significant among the elderly, achieving the objectives, as well as providing the students with new insights about teaching and learning in non-formal educational settings.

Exploring One School District’s Tool for Assessing Family-Friendly Schools

As formal, nonformal, and informal educational settings work to improve participant involvement, understanding perceptions of physical and digital spaces can add insights for improving specific aspects of any educational setting. This exploratory study examines the use of the Washoe County School District [WCSD] family-friendly school assessment tools for gauging the extent to which school environments welcome families. The WCSD family-friendly school assessment tools consist of the walk-through rating scale (17 items), the website rating scale (11 items), and the phone survey (10 items). Metrics of inter-rater reliability (IRR) included percent agreements and Cohen’s kappa. Results from the walk-through rating scale and website rating scale reported good agreement. Inter-rater reliability for phone survey items was lower than for walk-through and website categories. Implications for this study focus on applicability of these tools within formal, informal, and nonformal educational settings.

Munir's Socioecoethical Model (MSEEM) of Human Rights Education

MSEEM is an enactment of sense of self, embodiment and commitment of HR Educators towards HR values. According to Munir Moosa Sadruddin (2020), HRE is conscious incessant socio-cognitive learning process that empowers individuals towards the rights of self and others. It is a preparedness toward taking rational decisions, and act through the conscious filter of HR keeping in light the sociocultural context and political will. It develops a sense of openness to embrace multiculturalism, pluralism and diversity (Sadruddin, 2020). Munir’s socioecoethical model of human rights education is an integrative approach to the applicability of HRE for teachers, educators and learners. It applies to formal, informal and non-formal educational settings in developed, developing and third world countries. This model emerged by applying grounded theory from learners and practitioners’ viewpoints, gathered from across 39 countries. It is the result of 10 years of author’s human rights practices, documentation and observation of HR practices across a range of teaching and learning settings particularly in the developing and the third world countries.

An Analysis of the Sustainable Development of Environmental Education Provided by Museums

Under the international initiative of environmental education and ecological conservation, promoting the public’s environmental awareness is the mission and goal of the museum’s environmental education. The main function of the museum is to integrate the values of local, regional, and national culture toward multifaceted management, as the museum is an important cultural carrier and a key force for informal education. Past studies have focused on environmental protection in formal educational settings, while museums in nonformal educational settings have undertaken relatively few missions to the environment, which is the motivation of this study. In the past three hundred years, nine countries, including world powers like Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Japan, have left their footprints in Tamsui, Taiwan, creating an important field for cross-cultural environmental education. Therefore, this study takes environmental education in the protection of Taiwan’s Tamsui cultural assets as its case study, and uses gradual regression analysis as a method to explore the potential factors of audience cognition resulting from the channels of museum environmental education, and to grasp the possibility of implementation. The results show that the reliability coefficient of this study is 0.908, and the internal consistency of the representative scale is high. The overall satisfaction with environmental education of audiences is above 4.24 in the five-level subscale. Further gradual regression analysis shows that positive and negative explanatory power can be used to examine the environmental education programs of museums. Therefore, according to data analysis, the findings can serve as a basis for promoting social environmental education goals, as well as a field for cross-cultural learning, to achieve a people-oriented sustainable development strategy.

Global how? – Linking practice to theory: A competency model for training global learning facilitators

Global learning facilitators from civil society organizations (CSOs) design and enrich educational processes in formal and non-formal educational settings. They need to be empowered through adequate training opportunities in global learning (GL) contexts. The project Facilitating Global Learning – Key Competences from Members of European CSOs (FGL) answered the need for state-of-the-art training about the theory and practice of GL by developing a training curriculum for GL training contexts based on a jointly developed competency model for GL facilitators. This article describes crucial elements of GL facilitator training and the competency model for a training curriculum tested in three European countries (Germany, Portugal and Romania). Coming from, and having been created for, GL practice, the model is reflected on critically in the article, regarding its potential for further development in both academic and practical contexts.

Analogue Three-Dimensional Memory Game for Teaching Reflection, Symmetry, and Chirality to High School Students

This interdisciplinary analogue 3D Memory Game is a version of a card-based memory game, developed to encourage high school students to use deductive reasoning skills and to understand reflection (mirror images), symmetry, and chirality. Instead of cards, three-dimensional pieces are used in order to facilitate the understanding of the spatial arrangement of things, both geometric objects and organic compounds. Correlating geometric objects with the simple molecular model representation of organic compounds, the game promotes knowledge transposition to spatial recognition of chemical structures and chirality in formal education, classrooms, or nonformal educational settings (e.g., a science center or discovery center or university outreach setting). The game was used in 2016 in a classroom with 16 students in a high school in Sao Goncalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as well as at a science fair in 2015. The game lasts 15–25 min when played by 5 or 3 groups of 2 students, respectively. On the basis of the feed...