Through the lens of hospitality, we explored the meanings that members constructed about their experiences within a blended formal/informal college music ensemble. The focus in this ensemble was not on competition and musical excellence but on independent musicianship and praxis. The bandleader had his roots in tradition but his heart in socially…

The aim of this study is to draw attention to the informal education aspect of the movies shown and to determine the awareness levels about physics in movies of a small group composed of university students. That is an evaluation had been made among the films dealing explicitly with the basic content of physics, except for science fiction movies,…

During a study abroad experience on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, participants found themselves in an "impromptu learning experience" that extended their learning beyond Puerto Rican culture to real-world debates of tourist development, environmental issues, and the struggles of the native population. In this paper, we introduce…

This article reports on a study of one recently qualified teacher's employment of the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) model in a UK secondary school. The study sought to examine how the teacher, not formally educated in its use, delivered TGfU and to identify those factors that led to this interpretation of the model. Occupational…

Learning-practices of popular musicians are a prominent theme in Western music education literature; however, there appears to be a shortage of such literature in Asian countries. With the aim of comparing East and West, a qualitative study was conducted to investigate the learning-practices and involvement in music of Hong Kong popular musicians.…

This project developed and studied "The Source," an alternate reality game (ARG) designed to foster interest and knowledge related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) among youth from populations underrepresented in STEM fields. ARGs are multiplayer games that engage participants across several media such as shared…

This paper presents the findings from a multiple-case study which has investigated the impact of mobile Web 2.0 technologies on self-directed learning (SDL) of workplace learners by exploring participants' learning experiences with a mobile App. Drawing on existing literatures, we examined learners' SDL personal attributes and process in the…

Education for active citizenship continues to be a critical response for social cohesion and reconstruction in conflict-affected areas. Oftentimes, approaches to learning and teaching in such contexts can do as much harm as good. This study qualitatively examines 435 students' reflections of their civics classroom learning experiences and their…

The telecollaborative project under study involves, on the one hand, Masters students who are studying to become teachers and who design the tasks as well as tutor them, and, on the other hand, French language students. The relationship in this type of telecollaboration has been shown to be both asymmetric and symmetric. The hypothesis this paper…

European Roma are often associated with social problems and conflicts due to poverty and low formal education. Nevertheless, Roma communities traditionally develop expertise in ethnically specific domains, probably by alternative, informal ways, such as situated learning in communities of practice. Although predictable, empirical evidence of…

Literature reviews suggest that traditional approaches in folk music education are not necessarily compatible with the conventions of formal music education. Whilst many recent studies have tended to define these non-classical music learning contexts as "informal", the practice of folk transmission music appears to be much more complex…

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate barriers to employee participation in voluntary formal training and development opportunities from the perspective of employees in small engineering businesses. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory qualitative methodology involving data collection via site visits and in-depth semi-structured…

Self-help literature has become an important domain of adult learning in North America. Self-help books offer readers advice on how to take charge of their lives and achieve goals such as prosperity, love, happiness, wellness, and self-actualization. Despite the popularity of self-help books, there has been little research about them from scholars…

The purpose of this case study was to explore the ways in which 3 different informal science experiences in the context of an elementary methods course influenced a group of prospective elementary teachers' ideas about science teaching and learning as well as their understandings about the role of informal science environments to teaching and…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the formal and informal workplace learning of professional chefs. In particular, it considers chefs' learning strategies and outcomes as well as the barriers to and facilitators of their workplace learning. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology is based on in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured…