This book documents an informal system of education that emerged in Ireland between the late 1750s and the end of the century, a system that operated largely without funding or direction by church or state. In a society as divided as eighteenth-century Ireland, it is remarkable that such a system could succeed, paving the way for the more formal…

This article focuses on work-related self-help books and asks what kinds of promises self-help books make as a reward for change. In work-related self-help guides, the employee is advised not only to change their affects and relation to work but also to inspire others. Thus, the employee is presented as a potential reformer of the work…

The paper presents ideas and initiatives from two ongoing Erasmus+ projects funded by the European Commission. Both projects use e-Learning as an enabler for communicating interesting and important learning contents that are believed to increase and improve employability prospects for the targeted groups of learners. The WINnovators project…

In this paper, we lay the foundations of the personal learning environment or PLE, its conception, cognitive and theoretical underpinnings, and implications for the design of pedagogical processes and learning ecosystems. We characterize the PLE as a technosocial reality that embodies the sociomaterial entanglement with which people learn as well…

The aim of this article is to revise and expand Gregory Bateson's theory of learning to demonstrate how scaffolding content and context takes place in computer games. The presented revision rest on a micro-level analysis of how learning takes place in the computer game "StarCraft 2" a successful triple A (mid-sized to major publisher…

Qualifications frameworks are tools for describing qualifications of an education or training system by classifying them into levels. Each level provides a clear description of what the holder of a qualification knows, understands and is able to do. They are important tools for making qualifications transparent and comprehensible, within and…

Purpose: The purpose of this conceptual paper is to describe how the affinity space concept has been used to frame learning via social media, and call for and discuss a refresh of the affinity space concept to accommodate changes in social media platforms and algorithms. Design/methodology/approach: Guided by a sociocultural perspective, this…

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…

This article draws on research undertaken by the Professional Association of Lecturers in Youth and Community Work (PALYCW) in collaboration with the Open University, University of Glasgow and the University of Hull. The authors are all part of a community of practice of lecturers teaching in higher education on Community and Youth Work (CYW)…

The social dimension of higher education seems to have been highlighted in the most recent documents of the European Higher Education Area. Furthermore, the interest in providing future graduates with the competences necessary for their future jobs seems to have grown in recent decades. In this context, the key questions are what social…

This article describes how I, an American music teacher educator, visited the classrooms of eight Musical Futures Champion Teachers in the United Kingdom and observed their teaching with a focus on informal music learning and nonformal teaching. Musical Futures, a professional development organization in the UK, is the original organization that…

Green chemistry provides unique opportunities for student engagement through K-12 and community outreach. As a platform for safe, engaging outreach, green chemistry activities allow for hands-on approaches to introducing science and chemistry concepts in informal settings. Green chemistry outreach also is a means for American Chemical Society…

One of the most challenging questions in philosophical and anthropological inquiries on skill learning is how skills can be shared and acquired among people, especially when they cannot be easily verbalized or written. This paper examines the process of skill learning among Western and Eastern artists of puppetry. They learn the skill generally by…

Exposure and experience with ethical dilemmas and controversial socioscientific issues provide a link to students' lives or a pathway for sympathy/empathy and care, where youth use emotion to engage with the scenario and develop critical thinking skills to respond to ethical issues. For this theoretical paper, I focus on how informal science can…

This paper investigates the collaborative opportunities between formal and non-formal education providers to enhance learning, development, and peacebuilding. It emphasizes the complementary nature of formal education, known for its structured curriculum, and non-formal education, which prioritizes experiential learning. By identifying common…