Makerspaces are increasingly popular in K-12 schools, particularly when associated with STEM learning. Many schools are successfully entering the makerspace arena. Others face significant barriers in ideating their design, often resorting to tinkering, or the purchase of commercial kits as resources. At the heart of a makerspace is its intent, as…

Anthropologists have found evidence of storytelling throughout history, from orators in hunter gatherer tribes to modern writers and actors. To actualize a story--that is, to live it out in any way--plays on two of humanity's greatest desires: learning and having fun. People are biologically wired for survival, which implies that we are…

This paper describes an original interlinking of a conceptual frame and co-production methodology of a participatory internet radio intervention (RadioActive101) that supports engagement and non-formal learning amongst socially excluded young people. This considers the inclusive learning of socially excluded young people as a social innovation…

In this position paper, we explore the potential of social networks for teacher professional development. Networking is a crucial skill in professional careers, supporting the individual's personal and professional learning. Collective teacher interactions online can facilitate collaborative professional development and support collective…

No undergraduate or postgraduate programmes currently exist for the professional education of informal educators. The authors outline the development of previous programmes and consider the emergence of informal education as a discrete concept. The article then highlights some key failings in the professional education of informal educators and…

This post-inquiry paper looks to the intimate matter of young children and their worlds outside of school. With new materialism, water and art as philosophical muse, a new kind of 'sustaining nature' for environmental education emerges, problematizing 'sustainability' as an aim. We gathered and exchanged short videos and field notes (iPhone…

This article discusses contested discourses of youth citizenship in Birmingham, UK, in the early twentieth century. It explores how socially committed Quakers and labour and co-operative activists in the city drew on transnational social and political critiques of the urban, and a powerful discourse of nature as facilitator of a morally and…

Complexity Theory (CT) provides a useful framework for understanding Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Using an ecological model, CT studies the dynamic processes of change and emergent outcomes over time, tracing back how trajectories may have been affected by changes in and interactions among multiple variables and subsystems. Language learners…

Informal learning organizations such as museums, zoos, aquaria, gardens, and community-based organizations are often positioned as having programming that fill a void that may exist in the lives of youth participants. Often these institutions do not recognize the assets that youth gain from their own homes and communities and bring to bear in…

This paper covers the work in progress of an e-platform being developed for language enhancement at a tertiary institution in Hong Kong. There is an actual or perceived concern about the English and Chinese language ability of undergraduate students at certain universities in Hong Kong. One reason for this is that a significant proportion of…

The great possibility of alternative education programs rests in the affront to established conventions that these present for what counts as learning, engagement and the experience of schooling. This paper takes as its point of focus one specific, in-school alternative learning program, and considers the possibilities for student re-engagement…

It can be difficult to know precisely what, when, and how the nation's homeschooled students are learning. After all, privacy and the freedom to explore education as families see fit, with limited government oversight, is a defining feature. But the best evidence indicates that homeschooled students are far from isolated. By looking at a recent…

We live in a neurodiverse world, and therefore need to ensure that equally diverse educational opportunities are accessible to all learners. The term "neurodiversity," coined by Judith Singer (1999) describes the broad, and complex, spectrum of human brain functionality. Terms like "neurodivergent" or "neurodistinct"…

A series of events was developed to engage audiences in discussion around the importance of microorganisms in the production of fermented foods, particularly through tasting. The events were designed to attract different audiences: families attending a science museum; families in their community space; and adults in different informal eating…

Evaluating informal learning spaces in higher education institutions needs to respond to the complex conceptual orientation underpinning their intention and design. This article outlines a model of participatory analysis that accounts for the conceptual complexity, lived experience and broad intentions of informal learning space. Further, the…