Today's healthcare can be characterised by the increasing importance of specialisation that requires cooperation across disciplines and specialities. In view of the number of educational programmes for interdisciplinary cooperation, surprisingly little is known on how learning arises from interdisciplinary work. In order to analyse the learning…

The aim of this study is to explain how planning educational trips out of school environments for training purposes should be as well as to determine the opinions and the practices of prospective science teachers. The study that lasted for two years was carried out in parallel with the elective course "Science Education in Informal Learning…

While research is abundant on quality assurance in higher education, very little has been done to study informal learning in general and its relation to quality assurance in particular. Reporting on a study of informal learning among PhD students in natural sciences in an Iranian university, this article is an attempt to address this issue.…

This research investigates how eight undergraduate African American women in science, math, and engineering (SME) majors accessed cultural capital and informal science learning opportunities from preschool to college. It uses the multiple case study methodological approach and cultural capital as frameworks to better understand the participants'…

Few comprehensive, descriptive studies regarding educator use of social media for informal professional learning have been conducted. The purpose of this study was to examine, through a survey tool with both qualitative and quantitative components, educators' perceptions and reported behaviors associated with participation in informal, online…

Utilizing "teachable moments" within daily situations to impart knowledge and transmit values is a type of informal education. In a structured camp environment, such teachable moments may be integrated into the educational curriculum. "Jewish teachable moments" may be used to address Judaism and Jewish Peoplehood holistically,…

This paper reports on a study on the use of social network sites (SNSs) designed for L2 learning, such as "Livemocha" and "Busuu", where learners autonomously seek opportunities for authentic interaction in spontaneous ways. The study consists in a longitudinal multiple case study approach to investigate learners' informal…

The paper is based on a qualitative study of 66 skilled workers comprising drivers, tailors, electricians and also murtikars, a traditional craft group. All of them had taken informal training through family, apprenticeship or self-learning. The paper reflects on access, quality and relevance issues arising from such training. The findings reveal…

In an effort to increase the quantity and quality of available teachers, states have begun to offer alternate methods of teacher certification. This means that in addition to traditional teacher training, which involves graduation from an accredited teacher-education institution, states provide alternate routes to enable teachers to transition to…

Studies of informal language learning and self-instruction with online materials have recently come into prominence. However, those studies are predominantly focused on more commonly taught languages and there is a gap in the literature on less commonly taught languages (LCTL), precisely the languages that are often studied outside of formal…

The idea of inclusive education has featured very highly in the educational priorities of many educational systems. However, the same educational systems are often criticised because of the failings of their teachers to respond to inclusive environments of learning, where all children, despite their different abilities, receive equal opportunities…

This paper attempts to present the findings of a study carried out in Pakistan that explored English-language teachers' professional development in developing countries. The main guiding question for the study was: How do English-language teachers at secondary schools learn to teach and develop professionally in Syria and Pakistan? Two cases were…

The article introduces evaluation principles of non-formal and informal learning that determine the quality of evaluation, describes stages of the evaluation procedure, differentiates their qualitative parameters and defines their criteria and indicators. It also brings in the discussion that consideration of qualitative parameters for the…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the role of a small-scale project around storytelling as a form of informal education in five health clinics in rural areas of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. The aim of the project is to decrease the stigma around HIV/AIDS and to start an open dialogue in local communities about the disease.…

Working at scientists' elbows is one suggestion that educators make to improve science education, because such "authentic experiences" provide students with various types of science knowledge. However, there is an ongoing debate in the literature about the assumption that authentic science activities can enhance students' understandings…