The extent and distribution of self-reported learning activities in the current Canadian adult population was estimated on the basis of data collected during a 1998 telephone survey of a sample of 1,562 Canadian adults. Random digital dialing was used to give all provinces, households, and individuals within households an equal chance of…

Rural communities with populations of under 15,000 are the least resilient to negative economic shocks, but local initiatives can reduce the negative impact of rapid economic change. Data from a study of three rural Australian communities and one "community-of-common-purpose" were used to develop a model of how the informal learning…

A case study in a rural Australian township attempted to determine indicators verifying the existence of social capital. Social capital is provisionally defined as the networks, norms, and trust that constitute the capacity of individuals, workplaces, groups, organizations, and communities to strive for sustainable futures in a changing…

A three-year project to adapt existing Open University parenting course materials for a wider range of family and community settings is described. Experience using the materials with informal groups of mothers, and with individuals within the groups, are discussed. (MSE)

Presents overview of recently developed computer software which is based on an understanding of how learning happens informally in the home and designed to be fun. Programs developed by The Learning Company, Children's Television Workshop, Spinnaker Software, and Capital Children's Museum are highlighted. Producers and distributors of software are…

Examines the relationship between informal environmental interpretive experiences and formal environmental education. Similarities and differences are delineated and implications are drawn for the use of interpretive experiences in environmental education school curricula. The Informal Environmental Learning Checklist (IEL) is presented as a means…

Discusses the philosophical underpinnings of Canadian adventure education and offers a description of outdoor adventure education in Canada. (Contains 20 references.) (DDR)

Explores Native American concepts and meanings surrounding relationships involving elders, children, leadership, spirituality, and other issues. Concentrates on Native American traditionalism as it relates to the informal education of Native American children and provides an alternative educational approach based on certain universal humanistic…

Includes "Maintaining and Monitoring Quality for Women Learners in Higher Education" (Rivis); "Women, Quality and Further Education" (Moss); "Quality Issues in Informal Women's Education in the Voluntary Sector" (Scarlett, Winner); "Women in Adult Basic Education" (Thompson); "Investors in People"…

Analyzes conditions that have led to an increase in private and collective educational initiatives in Algeria, highlighting political and socioeconomic changes since 1988. Indicates that after a long period of a public education monopoly, social factors have led to the development of alternative educational opportunities that are more responsive…

Two fourth-grade classes served in a study that employed computers for promoting autonomous learning processes through solving challenging problems adapted to students' aptitudes using the number line as an intuitive model. Findings showed that students have preinstructional intuitions and informal knowledge of negative numbers. (24 references)…

Describes the Nuffield project that served as a resource for science centers across England and as a vehicle for the European Collaborative for Science, Industry, and Technology Exhibitions. Discusses the network of contacts extending from the BBC and British Association to science centers worldwide following the inception of the project by the…

Describes development of a rural Guatemalan women's organization created to respond to the psychological, economic, and educational consequences of long-term war, massacre, military occupation, poverty, and exile. The association's genesis and current work reflect collaborative processes of interethnic and transnational nonformal education,…

Contrary to pervasive assumptions about the need for lifelong learning, U.S. and Canadian adults' collective learning efforts far outpace workplace requirements. Underemployment has several dimensions: the talent-use gap, structural unemployment, involuntary reduced employment, credential gap, performance gap, and subjective underemployment.…

Year Eight students that underwent novelty-reducing pre-orientation to the physical environment of an interactive science museum and had prior experience visiting the museum learned more than their counterparts. Those exhibits most frequently recalled shared a combination of characteristics such as large physical size, prominence in the exhibit…