Informal learning

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Example of informal learning: first attempt to solve a puzzle combined with an introduction to the geography of Asia

Informal learning refers to learning in contexts of life that was originally viewed primarily as learning outside of the formal education system (e.g. schools ). Since the 1990s, the discussion on informal learning has steadily gained in importance and (as of 2010) is discussed in almost all educational areas.

introduction

Although (according to estimates) around 70 percent of adult learning processes take place outside of educational institutions, “informal learning” in Germany has not received the social and scientific attention for a long time, as is the case in many other countries. With the flexibilization of the living worlds, the learning worlds are also made more flexible. While the development towards an industrial society is characterized by the formalization of education , it is reflexive modernity, also referred to as second modernity, in which an informalization of references becomes clear. In addition to learning at school, non-school-based learning locations - from sports to music to media and part-time jobs - are becoming increasingly important. In the 12th report on children and young people of the German Federal Government, for example, reference is made explicitly to “informal educational processes” also in non-formal settings, with the assumption that there are flowing transitions between formal and informal learning processes. Processes of informal education then take place in many places. Learning locations, environments and opportunities are, for example, child and youth work, clubs, culture and leisure, dealing with the media or family activities. Commercial learning and experience worlds are included in the considerations and informal learning in professional work is also receiving increasing attention. The interaction of different kinds of learning locations must become part of professional considerations and courses of action.

Examples

Anyone who learns outside of educational institutions as part of their hobby , volunteer work or in their everyday life learns “informally”. For example: people follow up a problem and try to solve it. They learn partly consciously, partly unconsciously. It is learned in the existing social, family, communicative or even work contexts.

While there have long been research activities on informal learning in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom or the USA, the number of such studies in Germany has only increased in recent years. Tully formulates the cornerstones of a new learning culture in the introduction "Competence development in transition". The German Youth Institute in particular has been working on the topic since 1990, initially based on learning how to use computers.

Informal learning in the family

Informal learning also takes place in family conversations, for example when one generation learns from another. The influence of the family of origin on the acquisition of skills, the motivation to learn and the formation of attitudes is, for example, also highlighted in connection with the PISA studies and is closely related to the development of habitus in the sense of Pierre Bourdieu .

Informal learning in voluntary work and in political engagement

A study on informal learning among young people in voluntary work was carried out between 2005 and 2007. That something is learned there should be well known and obvious, the study clarifies the HOW and WHAT of learning. The results of the exploratory study show how young people retrospectively assess their learning experiences in Greenpeace groups, the scouts , the evangelical youth , the falcons , the volunteer fire brigade , the union youth or the technical relief organization . It was confirmed that learning here particularly affects the social and personality-building area. In addition, political, technical, media or organizational skills are acquired. But not only young people acquire skills (for example in the context of voluntary services) through informal learning processes. A study using the example of music festivals shows that adults also learn informally as part of voluntary work. This is even a condition for the success of festivals. Politically relevant skills in the narrower sense are also partly acquired through informal learning. In the English-speaking world, it has long been discussed that social movements are also a learning space, for example when Foley describes how activists from an initiative to conserve the rainforest in Australia were active for political reasons, but were able to describe essential informal learning processes in retrospect. In Germany, too, the corresponding learning processes, for example in citizens' initiatives, have recently been increasingly noticed.

Autonomous learning processes in adolescence and adulthood

Informal learning contributes significantly to the learning experience of young people. Mobile phone and computer use are examples of informal learning. Adolescents are superior to many adults in both areas. Learning motivation, i.e. the will to master and use a device, is important for such learning success. The immediate feedback from the device supports the learning process.

In the continuing education reporting system, informal vocational learning u. a. attending trade fairs or congresses, participating in short-term events, e.g. B. Lectures or half-day seminars, self-learning by observing and trying things out at work or in leisure time, self-directed learning with the help of computer-aided self-learning programs, job-related audio and video cassettes, through the use of learning opportunities, e.g. B. Internet, computer-aided self-learning programs, job-related audio and video cassettes understood. In the “Conceptual Bases for a National Education Report”, possibilities of recording informal learning are discussed. Here, the authors state, among other things, the existence of various gaps in data collection and the need for extended systematic empirical research on informal learning. There is also a significant need for research in relation to the quality of what has been learned. A recognition and equality of informally acquired skills must be achieved.

Places of informal learning

Practical consequences from the discussion about informal learning arise at different levels. In Scandinavian countries, public places such as libraries have been viewed and treated as places of learning for many years. In Switzerland, people aged 50 and over are introduced to the use of computers as part of so-called computerias . With new media, the possibility of a personal learning network is an important tool for informal learning.

Within the “UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development” there is an informal learning working group that deals with the links between different types of learning for sustainable development and informal environmental education (Wohlers 2001). These examples could be continued.

Concept and definition of informal learning

Education researchers do not have a common understanding of what exactly is meant by “informal learning”. There are countless definitions and discussions on this (cf. Garrick 1998 and Käpplinger 2007). In practice, however, the sometimes subtle distinctions and difficult demarcations between “more or less planned, more or less intentional or conscious non-institutionalized learning” are negligible. (Dohmen 2001)

Dohmen (2001) therefore advocates the use of the definition proposed by Small (1999): “The concept of informal learning is related to all self-learning that develops in immediate contexts of life and experience outside of the formal education system”. At the same time, however, there is a risk that informal learning, with only a general definition, will become a “residual category” that can be interpreted relatively arbitrarily. In this respect, it is also worth taking a closer look at the processes of informal learning (Overwien 2004).

Although the definition question still needs more extensive clarification, informal learning is receiving increasing attention in educational science discussions. A special issue of the Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft (3/2005) is dedicated to various aspects of informal learning, such as the family as an informal place of education, the role of informal learning in the reproduction of inequality, informal learning in voluntary work or informal learning with various media . As a basis, a “keyword essay” provides an overview of the breadth of the discussion on informal learning (Overwien 2005). Various perspectives are discussed in this article, including those of the European Commission. This has now determined which definition applies to informal learning in the EU education debate:

Formal learning Learning that usually takes place in an educational or training facility, is structured (in terms of learning objectives, learning time or learning support) and leads to certification. Formal learning is goal-oriented from the learner's point of view.

Non-formal learning Learning that does not take place in an education or training institution and usually does not lead to certification. Nonetheless, it is systematic (in terms of learning objectives, learning duration and learning materials). From the learner's point of view, it is targeted.

Informal learning Learning that takes place in everyday life, at work, in the family or in leisure time. It is not structured (in terms of learning objectives, learning time or learning support) and usually does not lead to certification. Informal learning can be goal-oriented, but in most cases it is non-intentional (or incidental / casual). (European Commission 2001, pp. 9, 32f).

Recognition and certification of informal learning

In Germany, “informal learning” itself, and with it the recognition and certification of informal learning achievements, has only come to the fore in recent years. As a consequence, there are now some advanced training passes as instruments for recognizing and recognizing informally acquired learning achievements (Bretschneider & Preißer, 2003 and Käpplinger & Reutter, 2005). Numerous concepts for individual qualification documents have been developed internationally under various names. Since the mid-1990s in particular, similar initiatives have emerged in Germany.

The suggestions of a feasibility study resulted in a reference model for a nationwide training pass , the ProfilPASS . The European Computer Driving License ( ECDL ) is an example of a certification process that can be used to have informally acquired knowledge and skills confirmed and certified by an authorized examination center.

From the German point of view, to answer these questions it is worth looking at the neighboring countries, in which in some cases tried and tested methods of recording informally acquired skills are used (Käpplinger 2002, Käpplinger & Puhl 2003). In other countries, a scientific discourse has been taking place for decades, and it is not uncommon for many years of experience to record informal learning achievements (Dohmen 2001). In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, legal regulations for the recognition of informal learning were passed comparatively early, with which “educational policy was a reaction to a highly fragmented vocational training system” (Bretschneider & Preißer 2003, p. 4): In 1989 the system of “National Vocational Qualifications "(NVQs) introduced," which opened up flexible, modularized, output-oriented forms of learning and learning locations and created a developed alternative to school-related education and training - with a special focus on experiential learning at the workplace "(Dohmen 2001, p. 78). In England itself, however, the NVQ are in some cases highly controversial because there are major problems in implementation. (see Käpplinger 2002)

See also

literature

  • Markus Bretschneider: Competence development from the perspective of further training. In: die-bonn.de. 2006, accessed January 9, 2015 .
  • Markus Bretschneider: Non-formal and informal learning in the mirror of educational policy documents of the European Union, 2004. In: die-bonn.de. 2004, accessed January 9, 2015 .
  • Markus Bretschneider, Rüdiger Preißer: Further education passes as instruments for recognizing and recognizing informally acquired learning achievements in Germany. In: die-bonn.de. 2003, accessed January 9, 2015 .
  • Michael Brodowski, Ulrike Devers-Kanoglu, Bernd Overwien, Matthias Rohs, Susanne Salinger, Manfred Walser (eds.): Informal learning and education for sustainable development Contributions from theory and practice. Leverkusen-Opladen, 2009 ( limited preview in the Google book search)
  • Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (as of April 2003). Training reporting system VIII
  • BMBF (Hrsg.): Conceptual basis for a national education report - vocational education and training / lifelong learning. Education reform Volume 7 . Bonn 2004.
  • BMBF (ed.) (2008). Status of recognition of non-formal and informal learning in Germany.
  • BMFSFJ (Ed.): Twelfth Children and Youth Report. Report on the living situation of young people and the services provided by child and youth welfare in Germany. - Twelfth report on children and young people - education, care and upbringing in front of and next to school. Bonn 2005.
  • Peter Dehnbostel: Informal learning: work experience and skills acquisition from a professional pedagogical point of view. Revised lecture on the occasion of the 4th conference of the program "School / Economy / Working Life" on 18./19. Sept. 2003 in Neukirchen / Pleiße with the topic "Competencies for career orientation according to PISA - which competencies are important?"
  • Günther Dohmen: Informal learning - the international development of a previously neglected basic form of human learning for lifelong learning for everyone . 2001 (PDF file)
  • Wiebken Düx, Erich Sass, Gerald Prein, Claus J. Tully: Acquiring skills in volunteering. An empirical study on informal learning in adolescence. Wiesbaden 2008.
  • European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture, Directorate-General for Employment and Social Affairs: Communication from the Commission: Building a European area of ​​lifelong learning . November 2001.
  • Edgar Faure et al: Learning to Be: The World of Education Today and Tomorrow . Paris: UNESCO 1972.
  • John Garrick: Informal Learning in the Workplace. Unmasking Human Resource Development . New York, 1998.
  • Stefanie Hauske, Oliver Bendel : Informal E-Learning 2007
  • Dieter Kirchhöfer: Informal learning in everyday life. Opportunity for professional skills development. QUEM-report, publications on professional development. Issue 66, Berlin, 2000.
  • Jens Lipski: Learn what, how and where for life? Outlines of a new learning culture. In: Hungerland, Beatrice; Overwien, Bernd (Ed.): Competence Development in Change. On the way to an informal learning culture? Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag 2004.
  • David W. Livingstone: Informal Learning in the Knowledge Society. First Canadian survey of informal learning behavior. In: QUEM-Report issue 60: Competence for Europe. Change through learning - learning through change. Lectures at the international specialist congress 21. – 23. April 1999 in Berlin, pp. 65-91.
  • David W. Livingstone: Informal Learning: Conceptual Distinctions and Preliminary Findings. In: Bekerman, Z. / Burbules, NC / Silberman-Keller, D. (2006): Learning in Places. The Informal Education Reader . New York et al. a .: Peter Lang, pp. 202-226.
  • Victoria J. Marsick, Karen E. Watkins .: Informal and Incidental Learning. In: New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. No. 89 (2001), pp. 25-34.
  • Veronika McGivney: Informal Learning in the Community . Leister: NIACE 1999.
  • Bernd Overwien: Debates, definitions and research approaches on informal and experiential learning. In: Senate Department for Labor, Social Affairs and Women: Proceedings of the congress “The flexible person”. Berlin: BBJ-Verlag 2001, pp. 359-376
  • Bernd Overwien : Keyword: informal learning . In: Journal for Educational Science. Issue 3, 2005, pp. 339-359.
  • Bernd Overwien: Informal learning - a historical outline. In: Harring, Marius; Witte, Matthias D .; Burger, Timo (Ed.): Handbook of informal learning. Interdisciplinary and international perspectives. Weinheim 2016, pp. 41–51
  • Thomas Rauschenbach, Wiebken Düx, Erich Sass (eds.): Informal learning in adolescence. Neglected dimensions of the education debate . Weinheim 2006.
  • Daniel Schugurensky: The Forms of Informal Learning: Towards a Conceptualization of the Field. Draft Working Paper October, 2000. NALL Working Paper 19/2000.
  • Claus J. Tully : Learning in the Information Society. Informal education through computers and media . Opladen 1994
  • Karen Watkins, Victoria Marsick: Informal and Incidental Learning in the Workplace . London 1990.
  • Wolfgang Wittwer (Ed.): Informal learning and further education. New ways to develop skills. Munich: Luchterhand, 2003.
  • Lars Wohlers: Informal environmental education using the example of the German national parks . Aachen: Shaker, 2001.
  • R. Zürcher: Informal learning and the acquisition of competencies: Theoretical, didactic and political aspects. Adult education materials. No. 2. Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture, 2007
  • Köster, PF (2015): Competence Development and Organizational Change. An ethnographic print on the organizers of music events, Leverkusen: Budrich UniPress Ltd.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Edgar Faure et al.: Learning to Be: The World of Education Today and Tomorrow . UNESCO, Paris 1972.
  2. ^ David, W. Livingstone: Informal Learning in the Knowledge Society. First Canadian survey of informal learning behavior. In: QUEM-Report issue 60: Competence for Europe. Change through learning - learning through change. Lectures at the international specialist congress 21. – 23. April 1999 in Berlin, pp. 65-91.
  3. ↑ a b c Günther Dohmen: Informal learning - the international development of a previously neglected basic form of human learning for lifelong learning for everyone . 2001, archived from the original on February 3, 2007 ; accessed on January 9, 2015 . (PDF file)
  4. ↑ BMFSFJ (Ed.): Twelfth Children and Youth Report. Report on the living situation of young people and the services provided by child and youth welfare in Germany. - Twelfth report on children and young people - education, care and upbringing in front of and next to school. Bonn 2005, p. 129f.
  5. ↑ BMFSFJ 2005, pp. 141, 197 ff.
  6. ↑ BMFSFJ 2005, p. 225.
  7. ↑ Peter Dehnbostel: Informal learning: work experience and skills acquisition from a professional educational point of view. Revised lecture on the occasion of the 4th conference of the program "School / Economy / Working Life" on 18./19. Sept. 2003 in Neukirchen / Pleiße with the topic “Competencies for career orientation according to PISA - which competencies are important?”. 2003. Available online at http://www.swa-programm.de/tagungen/neukirchen/vortrag_dehnbostel.pdf
  8. ↑ BMFSFJ 2005, p. 536.
  9. ↑ contents @ the informal education homepage. In: infed.org. Retrieved January 9, 2015 .
  10. ↑ Bernd Overwien: International perspectives on "informal learning" at the transition to the 21st century. In: Hans-Uwe Otto, Thomas Coelen (ed.): Basic concepts of all-day education. Contributions to a new understanding of education in the knowledge society. 1st edition. VS Verlag für Sozialwiss., Wiesbaden 2004, pp. 51–76.
  11. ↑ Claus J. Tully: Learning in the information society. Informal education through computers and media . Opladen 1994.
  12. ↑ Peter Büchner, Karin Krah: The family as a place of learning and the educational significance of the family in childhood and adolescence. In: Thomas Rauschenbach: Informal learning in adolescence: Neglected dimensions of the educational debate. Juventa, 2006, ISBN 3-7799-1115-9 . ( limited preview in Google Book search)
  13. ↑ Wiebken Düx, Erich Sass, Gerald Prein, Claus J. Tully: Acquiring Skills in the voluntary commitment. An empirical study on informal learning in adolescence. Wiesbaden 2008.
  14. ↑ Köster, PF (2015): Competence development and organizational change. An ethnographic print on the organizers of music events, Leverkusen: Budrich UniPress Ltd.
  15. ^ Griff Foley: Learning in social action. A contribution to understanding informal education. London 1999, ISBN 1-85649-683-X .
  16. ↑ Bernd Overwien: Informal learning in political action and in social movements. In: Extra-curricular education, journal of the working group for extra-curricular educational institutions. Issue 3/2013, pp. 247-255.
  17. ↑ BMBF (ed.): Reporting system for continuing education VIII. ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. As of April 2003 (PDF file) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bmbf.de
  18. ↑ BMBF (ed.): Conceptual basis for a national education report - vocational education and training / lifelong learning. Education reform Volume 7 . Bonn 2004, p. 133 f.
  19. ↑ Brodowski et al.: AG informal learning. 2009, archived from the original on September 28, 2007 ; accessed on January 9, 2015 . (PDF file)