Educators and museum evaluators are attempting to understand the influence science museums have upon science education and the kinds of learning experiences visitors have in the multisensory, informal learning environments of science museums. The problem investigated in this study involved the effectiveness of the exhibit interpreter. The study…

The purposes of this investigation were to describe the curricular elements of a museum and to determine if the framework for interpreting a school curriculum found in "A Study of Schooling" (Goodlad & Associates, 1979) is applicable to the informal curriculum of the non-school setting. Eight museums were studied; curators were…

This paper, a discussion of papers by Robert S. Randall, Greta Fein, Richard Bauman and Murray Newman, looks at informal learning from an anthropological viewpoint with an emphasis on inversive theory. It is suggested that the irrational elements of informal learning, the combinations of order and disorder, allow children to relate to reality by…

Increasingly the different ways in which learning can be conceptualised alongside debates within the field of HRD regarding its nature and purpose, potentially lead to confusion regarding how learning is to be assessed in the workplace. This paper identifies some of the complexities associated with assessing learning in today's workplace and…

This study examined characteristic attributes of non-formal education and the non-formal pedagogy directing its teaching and learning processes. Data were collected on organizational and pedagogical characteristics in several out-of-school organizations (youth movements, youth organizations, community centers, bypass educational systems, local…

A copy of a letter to a cable company, printed in large block letters and not following standard rules of spelling and syntax, serves as a catalyst for thoughts about the person who wrote the letter and a discussion about what constitutes literacy. Despite the appearances of the letter, a case can be made for the author as a writer. A close look…

A singular means of blending the history, language arts, and journalism classes is by teaching oral history. By assigning students oral history projects, the teacher helps students place themselves within a living history in the United States. For example, Eliot Wigginton, a public high school English teacher in Rabun Gap, Georgia, whose classes…

A study examined the characteristics of the learning process when it is facilitated by computer-mediated communication in nonformal learning contexts. In this paper, learning is defined as the transformation of experience through reflection, conceptualization, and action. Such experiential learning often occurs in dialogue with others.…

It is argued in this paper that, while newborn infants are ignorant of the the life-ways of the society into which they are born, by age 3 children have become socialized participants of their culture. It is the thesis of the discussion that the rapid development of babies into participants of society is accomplished through a finely tuned…

Interviews with rural women active in grassroots community organizations in Appalachia revealed that the consequences of women's participation included learning new skills, developing communication skills, gaining understanding of their lives, and setting new educational or vocational goals. Aspects of organizational environment that supported the…

Schools have been targets for plenty of research, but working life researchers have showed only limited interest in schools as workplaces and as arenas for learning among teachers and other staff. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new study, "Research-supported development work in the schools" by describing its background and…

Unlike many Third World nation minorities living in Western societies, the Palestinians in Israel did not immigrate to the new system; rather, the system was imposed on them by the Israeli Jewish government. This paper argues that the Israeli government uses its hegemony over the educational system for its Palestinian citizens to manipulate and…

This study explores which work practice and learning worker characteristics relate to different kinds of informal learning. Informal learning is viewed as an integrated process consisting of an interaction process between learning workers and interaction partners and an internal psychological process, leading to an outcome. A sample of 279 police…

Drawing on the experience of a 21-year mentoring relationship between two rural school administrators, this paper describes 11 components of an effective working mentorship. These elements are: establishing the relationship, the communications process, setting goals, determining skills, time commitment, broadening the protege's horizons,…

A 4-year longitudinal study of English 15-19 year-olds' learning experiences was used as the basis for the development of a theoretical model describing and analyzing young people and their learning in a modern world. Although much contemporary policy assumes that learning is regulated by teaching and standards monitoring, that learning…