Educators working in museums, zoos, and botanic gardens are increasingly required to demonstrate impact. These requirements position 'performative evaluation' as the dominant model, one which also acts as a political, non-neutral, and managerial form of accountability. In contrast, 'practice evaluation' is intended to be democratic, dialogic, and…

"In 2012," European Union Member States committed to implement policies for the "Validation of Nonformal and Informal Learning" (VNFIL). In this article, we examine Austria and Italy and ask how VNFIL policies in these two countries relate to "informal learning" (IL) and how this can be interpreted from a…

Purpose: The aim of this study is to unveil how professional trainers and training managers describe the learning conditions of their workplaces, what informal and formal learning activities they intend to accomplish and what barriers to learning at work they encounter. Design/methodology/approach: Barriers to learning in the workplace fall under…

Validation and guidance help individuals, organisations and Member States adapt to career challenges and create successful lifelong learning systems. However, little is known about how they are linked in practice and how this connection can be made more efficient. Building on Cedefop's expertise in the two areas, this study -- based on analysis of…

Background: Holocaust memory and learning processes have become increasingly mediatised as a result of rapid technological advances. There is, however, little information available regarding how people learn about this topic informally through social media. Objectives: This paper explores how adult learners develop their learning ecologies by…

Holocaust education, which refers to the teaching and learning of the Holocaust--the systematic genocide of six million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II--is an essential component of history and social studies education in many countries. Its primary aim is to raise awareness of the Holocaust, promote understanding of…

Participatory learning and online learning are increasingly appealing as educational approaches which can positively affect learners. Participatory learning engages students as active participants in the full educational programme, including homework and exercises, whilst online learning offers tools that facilitate learners' collaboration and…

The main objective of this article is to analyse informal learning processes in the field of video games. As many teenagers are engaged in these kinds of practices, the big question is: How do teens learn to play video games? In most cases they do not learn to play video games at school or with their parents, and therefore it is necessary to map…

A national qualifications framework (NQF) is an instrument used to classify a country's qualifications at different levels. Each level is defined by a set of learning outcomes expected at that level. NQFs can be useful tools in education and training reforms and are vital reference points for lifelong learning and comparing qualifications across…

Many educational agents offer paths that allow school to turn itself into a 'third space'. Caritas Ambrosiana, based on a 'pedagogy of facts', proposes interventions to promote soft skills in schools. This non-formal education agency committed Research Center about Media Education, Innovation and Technology (CREMIT) of Catholic University for a…

This research contributes to critical literature in the field of recognition of prior learning and skills. It frames the idea of the initial assessment as a tool for selecting and orienteering migrants in their further learning and/or training paths, considering the influence of the training background and personal beliefs of the personnel, who…

Despite efforts by European national governments to implement dedicated entrepreneurship training activities and enhance start-up expectations, as established by the Lisbon Strategy (2000), the results achieved have not always been satisfactory. A particularly noteworthy case occurred in Italy in 2008, when there were very few newly created…

Chaos theory is not present in the Italian school curricula and textbooks in spite of being present in many topics of classical physics and in everyday life. Chaotic dynamics, in fact, are involved in phenomena easily accessible to everyone or in events experienced by most people in their lives (the dripping of a faucet which keeps people awoken…

In this paper we present the "Sky on Earth" project funded in 2008 by the Italian Ministry of Instruction, Research and University, inside its annual public outreach education program. The project's goal was to realise a stable and open-access astronomical garden, where children, teachers and citizens could be engaged in investigations…

Grundtvig programme are activities aimed at providing adults with ways to improve their knowledge and skills. This study examined the opinions of adults who participated in four workshops on history and culture organized throughout Europe between 2009 and 2014 under the Grundtvig Adult Education Programme and Lifelong Learning Programme of the EU.…