Due to the sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the comparison of online versus traditional face-to-face (FTF) environments has now come under review. The research of online informal learning spaces for K-12 education in particular is underdeveloped and requires more investigation. The purpose for this paper is to report an analysis of the…

The consumption of videos on the Internet by young children is increasing, and therefore, when they start school, a great part of their knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes will be influenced by the contents they have consumed in social networks such as YouTube, which is considered a third educational agent in childhood, together with families and…

Today, we globally observe a sharp increase in learners' engagement in extramural (out-of-class) English (EE; Sundqvist 2009). This undoubtedly affords new opportunities for, but also challenges to, English language teaching (ELT) and learning. To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore this topic from a cross-national perspective. Upper…

This article draws on research undertaken by the Professional Association of Lecturers in Youth and Community Work (PALYCW) in collaboration with the Open University, University of Glasgow and the University of Hull. The authors are all part of a community of practice of lecturers teaching in higher education on Community and Youth Work (CYW)…

The social dimension of higher education seems to have been highlighted in the most recent documents of the European Higher Education Area. Furthermore, the interest in providing future graduates with the competences necessary for their future jobs seems to have grown in recent decades. In this context, the key questions are what social…

This study investigated how a STEM outreach program, focused on promoting adolescent girls' interests in STEM, augmented parents' and teachers' (adults) perceptions of doxa (socialization that enhances or stymies girls' STEM interests) after the event, at home and school, respectively. To this end, we provided participating adults with in-event…

The combined impacts of COVID-19 and global climate change are destabilising the infrastructures and future prospects of formal educational systems, with schools and universities struggling to adapt to conditions of radical precarity. At the same time, activist movements are generating alter-educational platforms that reappropriate the learning…

The word "dignity" is not typically used in education, yet it is at the core of strong pedagogy. This book names the concept and shows readers what education looks like when it is centered on students' dignity. By bringing together a collection of chapters written by authors with wide-ranging expertise, this volume presents a powerful…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how elementary teachers use different social media platforms to connect with other teachers for informal professional learning. The researcher sought to understand how elementary teachers decide which platform(s) to use and how their expectations vary among different social media platforms.…

The limited numbers of women in advanced mathematics courses is a critical factor hindering women's academic and professional access to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Informal learning environments have the potential to play a significant role in promoting the participation of girls and women in mathematics/STEM…

Background: Identity provides a useful conceptual lens for understanding educational inequalities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In this paper, we examine how paying attention to physical and digital 'materiality' enriches our understanding of identity work, by going beyond the spoken, written and embodied dimensions…

Informal learning leading to collective action around climate change continues to be controversial and piecemeal. Given the positionality of museums as public-facing institutions that address topics of social, scientific, and historical significance, we argue that the museum should be a key convener of discussions around climate change. Utilizing…

Protecting the environment is an important topic. In this study, college Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) students engaged in an agentive process of informally learning the Chinese language and culture by watching "The Mermaid" a movie produced in China in 2016, which focuses on sustainability. Informal learning is recognized as one…

Educators play a key role in facilitating interactive learning experiences in informal science education settings, such as science centers and museums. Despite their importance, research around facilitation has generally focused on visitor impacts and not the strategies used by the educators themselves. The "ChemAttitudes" project…

This study is framed within Norton's notion of 'investment' to explore the factors influencing teachers' reasons and decisions to participate in continuing professional development (CPD) activities. Data were collected from 522 junior high school teachers in the Central region of Ghana using a survey and in-depth interviews. The findings reveal…