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This pioneering book reveals how the music classroom can draw upon the world of popular musicians' informal learning practices, so as to recognize and foster a range of musical skills and knowledge that have long been overlooked within music education. It investigates how far informal learning practices are possible and desirable in a classroom context; how they can affect young teenagers' musical skill and knowledge acquisition; and how they can change the ways students listen to, understand and appreciate music as critical listeners, not only in relation to what they already know, but beyond. It examines students' motivations towards music education, their autonomy as learners, and their capacity to work co-operatively in groups without instructional guidance from teachers. It suggests how we can awaken students' awareness of their own musicality, particularly those who might not otherwise be reached by music education, putting the potential for musical development and participation into their own hands. Bringing informal learning practices into a school environment is challenging for teachers. It can appear to conflict with their views of professionalism, and may at times seem to run against official educational discourses, pedagogic methods and curricular requirements. But any conflict is more apparent than real, for this book shows how informal learning practices can introduce fresh, constructive ways for music teachers to understand and approach their work. It offers a critical pedagogy for music, not as mere theory, but as an analytical account of practices which have fundamentally influenced the perspectives of the teachers involved. Through its grounded examples and discussions of alternative approaches to classroom work and classroom relations, the book reaches out beyond music to other curriculum subjects, and wider debates about pedagogy and curriculum. Contents: Introduction; The project's pedagogy and curriculum content; Making music; Listening and appreciation; Enjoyment: making music and having autonomy; Group cooperation, ability and inclusion; Informal learning with classical music; Afterword; Appendices; Bibliography; Index. Lucy Green is Professor of Music Education in The Institute of Education, University of London, UK.

Informal science is a burgeoning field that operates across a broad range of venues and envisages learning outcomes for individuals, schools, families, and society. The evidence base that describes informal science, its promise, and effects is informed by a range of disciplines and perspectives, including field-based research, visitor studies, and psychological and anthropological studies of learning. Learning Science in Informal Environments draws together disparate literatures, synthesizes the state of knowledge, and articulates a common framework for the next generation of research on learning science in informal environments across a life span. Contributors include recognized experts in a range of disciplines-research and evaluation, exhibit designers, program developers, and educators. They also have experience in a range of settings-museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, aquariums, zoos, state parks, and botanical gardens. Learning Science in Informal Environments is an invaluable guide for program and exhibit designers, evaluators, staff of science-rich informal learning institutions and community-based organizations, scientists interested in educational outreach, federal science agency education staff, and K-12 science educators.

Digital technologies have profoundly transformed the landscape of education, enhancing learning approaches while raising concerns about digital equity. This review pays particular attention to informal education settings (e.g., public libraries, museums, and telecentres) and examines the application of digital technologies in these settings and their role in educational equity. Specifically, it focuses on the diverse Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), exploring the implications of digital technologies from a global perspective. Through a scoping review of 31 studies, this study synthesizes a broad spectrum of digital technologies employed in informal education, ranging from conventional digital tools (e.g., internet‐enabled computers, printers, and CD‐ROMs) to advanced digital technologies (e.g., online public access catalogs, immersive technologies, and artificial intelligence). By applying the PROGRESS‐PLUS framework’s equity dimensions, the review reveals the dual role of digital technologies: On one hand, the integration of digital technologies in informal education fosters inclusion for minority groups and improves accessibility to learning resources; on the other hand, it exacerbates disparities for individuals lacking access to digital infrastructure or sufficient digital literacy. The discussion explores the challenges and opportunities of digital integration in informal education, with specific implications for the GBA in China.

This book looks beyond the classroom, and focuses on out-of-class autonomous use of technology for language learning, discussing the theoretical frameworks, key findings and critical issues. The proliferation of digital language learning resources and tools is forcing language education into an era of unprecedented change. The book will stimulate discussions on how to support language learners to construct quality autonomous technology-mediated out-of-class learning experience outside the classroom and raise greater awareness of and research interest in this field. Out-of-class learning constitutes an important context for human development, and active engagement in out-of-class activities is associated with successful language development. With convenient access to expanded resources, venues and learning spaces, today’s learners are not as dependent on in-class learning as they used to be. Thus, a deeper understanding of the terrain of out-of-class learning is of increasing significance in the current educational era. Technology is part and parcel of out-of-class language learning, and has been a primary source that learners actively use to construct language learning experience beyond the classroom. Language learners of all ages around the world have been found to actively utilize technological resources to support their language learning beyond formal language learning contexts. Insights into learners’ out-of-class autonomous use of technology for language learning are essential to our understanding of out-of-class learning and inform educators on how language learners could be better supported to maximize the educational potentials of technology to construct quality out-of-class learning experience.

While many advocate ‘lifelong learning’ as the ideal career model, its impact on workers’ lives is still partly unclear. Especially research on monetary returns to further education has yielded mixed evidence. I argue that a thorough assessment has to consider both the types of courses and the segmentation of labour markets. Using data from the German National Educational Panel Study, I test explanations of differing returns to non-formal further education in Germany, a country known for its highly segmented labour market. Results confirm that the returns to short non-formal training courses, which are the most common forms of further education in Germany, differ remarkably between types of courses and segments. Employer-mandated courses yield the highest returns, which is especially pronounced in internal labour markets. Furthermore, there are no returns on closed occupational labour markets. In occupations, where formal credentials are less important, returns to training are present. These results suggest that returns depend less on individual decisions to invest in training and more on the context. Hence, these findings go against human capital explanations and instead support implications of the Job Competition Model and Credentialism, which emphasize the importance of labour market structure.

Context: Participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) supports the development of vocational teacher competencies. However, it is often not clear what learning methods vocational teachers use in their CPD. This study therefore investigated the CPD practices of vocational teachers in Kenya, with a specific focus on the formal and informal learning methods used. Approach: The study used a questionnaire survey to collect data from TVET teachers randomly drawn from six Technical and Vocational Colleges in Kenya's Nairobi Metropolitan Area. Descriptive and inferential analysis of the data was used to determine how frequently different learning methods are used and to identify associations between CPD practices and teacher characteristics. Findings: TVET teachers in Kenya were found to use different learning methods depending on the availability of the learning methods and the learning goals teachers have. Formal academic learning and discussions with colleagues are frequently used while collaborative learning methods and practice-based learning activities are less frequently used. Rarely used are written reflections about practice and its outcomes. Despite viewing Lecturer Industrial Attachment (LIA) as important and therefore wishing to attend LIA, more than a third of the participants indicated that they had never attended LIA. The use of professional literature is restricted to text books with limited use of primary and secondary literature. CPD activities such as mentoring, supervising other teachers, and school visits were found to form a unique category of CPD activities that is more frequently used by teachers with administrative responsibilities. Conclusion: The limited use of active learning methods that involve critical evaluation of practices and their outcomes risks limiting the ability of vocational teachers in Kenya to transform and adopt better practices. It is recommended that vocational teachers in Kenya are encouraged to adopt a broad conception of teacher CPD that embraces collaborative, reflective, and practice-based learning. (DIPF/Orig.)

Informal learning, the self-initiated acquisition of knowledge, takes a central position in political and scientific debates on skill formation. Human capital theory argues that informal learning increases skills and thereby will positively affect returns in the labour market. Signalling and closure theories do not expect returns to informal learning, as informal learning does not result in a formal degree. So far only a few studies have empirically investigated how informal learning affects labour market outcomes, all of them applying a cross-sectional design. By using the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we model the returns to three forms of informal learning in person fixed-effects models, thereby reducing problems of selection into informal learning. We find that up to 33 per cent of the respondents engage in at least one form of professional purpose informal learning. While participation is high, the effects on labour market returns are negligible. We find a very small positive effect of one of the three types of informal learning on employment, and we find no effect of informal learning on wages.

In later life, digital support is predominantly received outside of formal education from warm experts such as children, grandchildren, and friends. However, as not everyone can rely on this kind of informal help, many older adults are at risk of being unwillingly left without digital support and necessary digital skills. In this article, we examine non-formal digital support and peer tutoring as a way to promote digital and social inclusion through the acquisition of necessary digital skills. First, we ask: (a) What is peer tutoring, in the field of digital training, from the peer tutors’ point of view? Then, based on the first research question, we further ask (b) what are the key characteristics of peer tutoring in relation to other forms of digital support? Our thematic analysis is based on semi-structured interviews (n = 21) conducted in Central Finland in 2022 with peer tutors aged between 63 and 84. Peer tutors offered individual guidance by appointment and also supported their peers in group-based settings. Based on our study, we argue that from the peer tutors’ point of view, being a peer entails sharing an age group or a similar life situation and provides an opportunity for side-by-side learning. Although every encounter as a peer tutor is different and the spectrum of digital support is wide, these encounters share specific key characteristics, such as the experience of equality between the tutor and the tutee that distinguishes non-formal peer support from formal and informal learning.

Purpose: This study aims at investigating how digitalisation (in the sense of industry 4.0) has changed the work of farmers and how they experience the changes from more traditional work to digitalised agriculture. It also investigates what knowledge farmers require on digitalised farms and how they acquire it. Dairy farming was used as domain of investigation since it, unlike other industries, has strongly been affected by digitalisation throughout the last years. Method: Exploratory interviews with 10 livestock farmers working on digitalised dairy farms were analysed using qualitative content analysis. A deductive and inductive coding strategy was used. Findings: Farming work has changed from more manual tasks towards symbol manipulation and data processing. Farmers must be able to use computers and other digital devices to retrieve and analyse sensor data that allow them to monitor and control the processes on their farm. For this new kind of work, farmers require elaborated mental models that link traditional farming knowledge with knowledge about digital systems, including a strong understanding of production processes underlying their farm. Learning is mostly based on instructions offered by manufacturers of the new technology as well as informal and non-formal learning modes. Even younger farmers report that digital technology was not sufficiently covered in their (vocational) degrees. In general, farmers emphasises the positive effects of digitalisation both on their working as well as private life. Conclusions: Farmers should be aware of the opportunities as well as the potential drawbacks of the digitalisation of work processes in agriculture. Providers of agricultural education (like vocational schools or training institutes) need to incorporate the knowledge and skills required to work in digitalised environments (e.g., data literacy) in their syllabi. Further studies are required to assess how digitalisation changes farming practices and what knowledge as well as skills linked to these developments are required in the future. (DIPF/Orig.)

While many advocate 'lifelong learning' as the ideal career model, its impact on workers' lives is still partly unclear. Especially research on monetary returns to further education has yielded mixed evidence. I argue that a thorough assessment has to consider both the types of courses and the segmentation of labour markets. Using data from the German National Educational Panel Study, I test explanations of differing returns to non-formal further education in Germany, a country known for its highly segmented labour market. Results confirm that the returns to short non-formal training courses, which are the most common forms of further education in Germany, differ remarkably between types of courses and segments. Employer-mandated courses yield the highest returns, which is especially pronounced in internal labour markets. Furthermore, there are no returns on closed occupational labour markets. In occupations, where formal credentials are less important, returns to training are present. These results suggest that returns depend less on individual decisions to invest in training and more on the context. Hence, these findings go against human capital explanations and instead support implications of the Job Competition Model and Credentialism, which emphasize the importance of labour market structure (Orig.).