Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Informal learning'

付記する学位プログラム名: デザイン学大学院連携プログラム
Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(情報学)
甲第22577号
情博第714号
新制||情||122(附属図書館)
京都大学大学院情報学研究科社会情報学専攻
(主査)教授 緒方 広明, 教授 守屋 和幸, 教授 黒田 知宏
学位規則第4条第1項該当

This thesis investigates the relationships between motivation, engagement and informal learning, with respect to digital games and adult players. Following the reconceptualisation of motivation and engagement (as forms of micro and macro level involvement respectively) three linked studies were conducted. In the first study, 30 players were interviewed via email about their gaming experiences. The resulting set of learning categories and themes drew attention to learning on a game, skill and personal level, which arose from micro-level gameplay and macro-level interaction with wider communities and resources. The second investigation consisted of eight case studies that examined how involvement and learning come together in practice. Participants were observed in the lab during two gameplay sessions and kept gaming diaries over a three week period. A method for categorising game-play breakdowns and breakthroughs (relating to action, understanding and involvement) was developed in order to analyse several hours of gameplay footage. The previous categories and themes were also applied to the data. The findings suggested a relationship between macro-involvement and player identity, which was further investigated by a third survey study (with 232 respondents). The survey helped to establish a link between identity, involvement, and learning; the more strongly someone identifies as a gamer, the more likely they are to learn from their involvement in gaming practice. Four main contributions are presented: (1) an empirical account of how informal learning occurs as a result of micro and macro-involvement within a gaming context, (2) an in-depth understanding of how breakdowns and breakthroughs relate to each other during play, (3) a set of categories that represent the range of learning experienced by players, and (4) a consideration of the role player identity serves with respect to learning and involvement.

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Ed Tech Future Ready program has encouraged the use of open informal learning communities as professional learning opportunities for educators. This study categorizes 46 state Twitter chats by their moderation techniques and design. A purposive sample of Twitter chat designers participated in this phenomenological exploration that demonstrates how the designs of these informal learning spaces are aligned with the designers' pedagogical philosophies. Recommendations for supporting, growing, and sustaining similar learning communities are included.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS)
The study examines three emerging salient themes. Firstly, it highlights the current perception of informal learning in the workplace which has multiple definitions and descriptions. The second theme draws attention to the sociocultural structures and the impact on individual engagement in workplace learning. The last theme illustrates the potential of informal learning and how individuals and their learning environment at work cannot function independently. Employees no longer have time for the inefficiencies of the past, old-style training they want to be co-participants in learning not simply receivers (Cross, 2007).By diagnosing the current status of informal workplace learning, the research examines the employee engagement, the perceived factors that affect learning engagement and explores the links between informal workplace learning and the performance of the organisation. Against the background of informal learning in the workplace, a learning organisation has been characterised, as an organisation that has development in place that supports learning and recognises the value of learning and extends itself towards the enhancement of employee’s proficiency and transfer of learning to others (Berg & Chyung, 2008).

This thesis investigates how mobile and social technologies are influencing informal learning in the context of online community membership. The development of mobile technologies that use Global Positioning System (GPS) data to pinpoint geographical location together with the rapidly evolving Web 2.0 applications supporting the creation and consumption of content suggest a potential for cooperative informal learning linked to location. This research explores whether this potential has been realised. Two pilot studies were conducted, a technology-enhanced Birdwatch (16 participants) and a GPS-guided Nature Trail (11 participants) to evaluate the effects of connected, location aware technology on informal learning and community building. The main study focused on the Geocaching community, a geographically dispersed group who use mobile and Web 2.0 technologies to link the virtual social spaces of the internet with the physical spaces that surround them. This research built on insights from the Mobilearn project that mobile learning is connected to the mobility of the learner moving between different sources of technological and social resources, rather than the technology (Attewell and Savill-Smith, 2004). Online survey participants were recruited from the Geocaching forums. From the 659 responses, five linked case studies were selected for interviews. This data was supplemented by information collected from the Geocaching website and forums and analysed using qualitative techniques. The work reported in this thesis reinforces the Preece and Shneiderman (2009) four stage communities model, illustrating that learning opportunities are built into the community membership trajectory. It uncovered novel ways of using mobile and Web 2.0 technologies to create learning activities connected to location. It also revealed a growing undercurrent of cooperative informal learning through distributed networks of connected individuals who made innovative use of both mobile and social technologies to create a persistent digital narrative of location which served as a community resource.

Conversations are a recognised form of informal learning in professional workplaces. Informal conversation about teaching within university departmental contexts represents one way academics learn about university teaching. Such conversations also have the potential to more effectively link learning on formal professional development programs with teaching. As professional development of teaching is usually focused on formal courses, workshops and projects, informal conversation has not been investigated as a professional development strategy. The lack of substantial exploration of conversation as a professional development strategy was the impetus for the current study. This study investigated academics’ experience of informal conversation about teaching within their departments. Thirty academic staff working in different departments at an Australian research-intensive university were interviewed and the transcripts were analysed using grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The analysis revealed that academics were learning about many aspects of teaching from informal conversation with their departmental colleagues. Four elements of informal conversation were explored: the content of conversation, the purpose for which academics used conversation, the context which influenced conversation and the relationship between conversation and formal (course-based) professional development. In summary, academics’ conversations were about topics that included students, assessment, curriculum and evaluation, with their purposes ranging from venting their frustrations, and reassuring themselves, to managing, improving and evolving their teaching. The investigation of the role of contextual influences on informal conversation about teaching yielded a theory for the nature of conversation, based on ‘commonality’. In a context which provides variable support for teaching, increases in commonality between academic colleagues are associated with increases in frequency and usefulness of their informal conversation. The theory of commonality and the description of the nature of informal conversation derived from this study are used to show how informal conversation can enhance professional development.

Despite informal learning being a topical issue, little research on it seems to have been done. A research gap appears to exist in the field of applied linguistics regarding middle school students’ informal language learning as far as the two different foreign languages they are taught at school are concerned. This case study attempted to explore the general aspects of the issue. A group of 45 third-year students from a middle school on the mainland of Venice were administered two questionnaires. Inspired by the triangulation design, we also interviewed 4 foreign language teachers from the same school. Following an exploratory-QUAL+quant-(mostly) interpretative paradigm, the study mainly revealed that the students: (a) engaged much more in English informal activities; (b) did informal activities related to technology for both languages; (c) were continuously exposed to English music; (d) seemed more aware of their English informal learning than of their German one. We finally put forth that the discrepancies between teachers’ and students’ viewpoints, albeit relatively few, might exist because none of the teachers would employ the European Language Portfolio (ELP) in class. As also recommended by the Common European Framework for Languages, we suggest that ELP be employed by teachers in order not only for students’ informal language learning awareness to be increased, but also for pluringual competences and lifelong learning strategies to be enabled.

This study explored organizational learning from a feminist perspective, similar to feminist critiques of organizational culture, and offers an analysis of individual’s perceptions of gender dynamics in organizational learning. Mainstream literature on organizational learning is based upon gender-blind assumptions in theory and practice. This study examined those assumptions with a feminist lens. Constructivist epistemology, a feminist interpretive lens, and phenomenological and feminist methodologies guide this research, which asks, what does gender equal organizational learning look like? Fourteen senior leaders of a small New England college were interviewed to better understanding their experience of gender and collective learning at a small liberal arts college. Feminist analysis of the in-depth interviews revealed patterns of gender dynamics and a distinction between informal and formal organizational learning. Informal learning affected elements of formal organizational learning, raising questions about the ways culture is enacted in organizations. Gendered experiences of voice, participation, and power are among the key findings that problematize mainstream organizational learning theory and suggest that different genders have dissimilar experiences of the participatory and strategic development of their organization. This research sheds light on the emancipatory potential of organizational learning, showing the ways organizational learning is both aa reflection of the culture and a means to change culture and advance gender equality.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2007.
Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 11, 2007). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-195).

Mobile devices have become increasingly more visible within classrooms and informal learning spaces. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the impact of mobile learning (m-learning) tools to support student learning during teacher-led field trips. Specifically, the research questions for this study are: (a) What conditions affect student satisfaction within an m-learning environment? (b) What impact does an m-learning environment have on levels of motivation and engagement of students? and (c) How do m-learning tools facilitate student knowledge acquisition, participation, and collaboration? The hypothesis of this study is that mobile learning materials can improve students’ engagement and participation. This design-based research (DBR) study relied on a combination of pre- and post-assessments, teacher interviews, and behavioral observations, in two iterations. The participants for this study included three teachers and 112 students, between 11 and 12 years old, drawn from a sixth grade public middle school in San Antonio, Texas.

This study explored how avid users of Second Life (SL) experience and make meaning of informal learning activities in virtual art museums and similar cultural spaces through their avatars. While recent literature has laid the groundwork for studying student engagement and formal learning, the lacuna of research bound by the historical traditions of qualitative research design has done little to ease the skepticism surrounding the value of virtual worlds for learning. Within the context of museological discourse, virtual museum learning experiences have the potential to shift viewing practices as well as how meaning is generated, interpreted, and disseminated. Technical, conceptual, and methodological barriers to studying virtual worlds remain. Another goal of this study was to demonstrate the potential of hermeneutic phenomenology, particularly my conceptualization of virtual hermeneutics, to study virtual worlds. Hermeneutic phenomenology has the potential to make practical understanding of the informal learning process in SL explicit by providing an interpretation of this process. The challenge lies in applying the philosophy behind the methodology to the changing reality of virtual worlds. It is only by studying these experiences in context and situated within virtual spaces that we can expand our understanding of the avatar-mediated informal learning process. Findings from this study show that in-world informal learning experiences can, in fact, be studied on their own terms. Furthermore, rich textural data can not only be extracted from exclusively in-world interaction, but collaborative relationships can also develop with no actual world contact. These experiences and interactions can lead to experiential learning, but also transformational learning where the avatar-identity can affect users' actual world viewing practices and meaning making. It is not so much the technology per se that can affect change, but rather identity exploration, diegesis, and relationship building afforded by the technology. Albeit some learning outcomes were observed, affective outcomes and cognitive strategies, including metacognitive skills, were more frequently described by participants. Due to the complexity of assessing such outcomes and the present obsession with quantitatively measurable outcomes in formal education, it is unlikely that SL can or will be used outside the scope of informal learning in the near future unless formal education undergoes social reform.

South Africa has undergone major transformation after the election of the first democratic government in 1994. The acceptance of a humane constitution as well as equal rights for all its citizens necessitated the banning of corporal punishment in all schools under the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996. Accordingly, this change in the education policy as well as a change in society regarding equal rights for all citizens required teachers to adjust and improve their practices related to classroom management and discipline. The abolition of corporal punishment in 1996 (South African Schools Act 84 of 1996) can thus be regarded as such a changed aspect which required teachers to find alternative ways of keeping discipline in schools. It is expected from teachers to manage learning in classrooms, while at the same time practise and promote a critical, committed and ethical attitude towards the development of a sense of respect and responsibility amongst learners. It is with this in mind that one should remember that classroom locations and environments are complex as well as dynamic. Learners can now use their rights in a court of law while at the same time become more unruly, disruptive and at times even violent. Teachers on the other hand are left with limited alternative procedures or guidelines to manage unruly learners. As such, teachers now rely on their own informal learning in order to deal with such learners since alternatives to manage ill-disciplined learners are not included in formative teacher training courses. This study therefore concerns itself with the way teachers acquire classroom management skills in the absence of corporal punishment and learn how to deal with behavioural problems in order to carry on with day-to-day classroom activities. This is essentially viewed as informal learning. Because of the absence of much-needed training and support from educational authorities, teachers adjust and improve their practice, relying on hands-on experience in classrooms since they only incidentally receive opportunities to engage in ongoing formal professional development. This study explores the nature and content of informal/incidental as well as nonformal (courses not leading to formal accreditation) teachers&rsquo
learning related to managing classroom discipline in the absence of corporal punishment and investigates how skills, to manage classroom discipline, impact on the learning and teaching enterprise. A qualitative approach within the interpretive paradigm was followed throughout this study. Unstructured interviews were used to gather data which resulted in the gaining of rich detailed descriptions of participants&rsquo
responses to acquiring classroom management skills. This qualitative investigation included a literature review that explored and analysed different perspectives on the learning process. This study confirms that teachers acquire classroom management and discipline skills through workplace learning, initiated by themselves as well as collaboratively through interaction with colleagues and learners. Learning within the workplace was possible due to the opportunities they were afforded within the working context they found themselves in.

Over the last 30 years or so, there has been growing international interest in the "informal sector" of the economy in developing countries, and there is now the recognition that to operate successfully as artisans in the informal sector, "apprentices" require a range of knowledge and skills. The general aim of the present, qualitative study, was to investigate how apprentices in informal sector enterprises in two trades (the Motor Vehicle trade and the Tie-dye trade) in The Gambia learn at the workplace and how such learning was facilitated. Twenty enterprises were selected for the study, ten in each trade. A variety of data collection methods were employed, namely, (a) individual, semistructured interviews of the entrepreneurs (who owned these enterprises), and of the apprentices, (b) observations of the tradespersons and apprentices at the workplace, (c) accounts of "critical events", and (d) documentary studies. The study has shown that (a) the tradespersons did not demonstrate to the apprentices the procedures for the tasks that they were undertaking, (b) the apprentices were not allowed to practise on the tasks that the tradespersons were contracted to und(rtake; (c) the apprentices practised their skills privately in their leisure time. (d) the tradespersons did not explain to the apprentices the theories underpinning the technical procedures; and for the apprentices, the term "theory" referred to the technical procedures, as such, rather than to the scientific and technological concepts and principles underpinning the procedures, (e) although the apprentices were often outwardly passive they did observe closely the tradespersons at work and made associative links with their own previous knowledge and experience. What has also emerged from the study is that apprentices' learning at the workplace in the informal sector is: (a) a multi-dimensional process, largely self-motivated and conditioned by the rigid hierarchical structure of the workplace. (b) (i) productivity-driven, (ii) atheoretical, (iii) unplanned, (iv) unstructured, (v) facilitated through role modelling. The study compared the concepts of learning which emerged from the study with the traditional concepts of learning and teaching in Vocational Training Institutions. This study has also shown that the tradespersons failed to assess formally competent performance at the workplace. There was no end-of-apprenticeship assessment for the apprentices in the Tie-dye trade; and in the Motor Vehicle trade, the assessment was adhoc. Importantly too, from the entrepreneurs' perspective, the workplace was about production and not about apprentice learning. The tradespersons were expected to concentrate on their jobs and not on training, in sharp contrast to the apprentices' expectation that the tradespersons should concentrate on skills training.

This thesis gives a better understanding of informal learning and how it contributes to children's educational development. The current literature in the field has no consensus of a definition of informal learning and tends to polarise informal learning and formal learning. This thesis contributes to new knowledge by giving a better definition of informal learning, demonstrates that children can a learn a lot in a relatively short space of time during informal learning experiences and highlights how informal learning can be blended with formal learning in ways which maximise children's holistic development. A multiple case study approach using both qualitative and quantifiable data is used to find out how and what children learn during informal learning experiences. The three case studies are: `The Eden Project: Learning at an Informal Learning Centre', `Garden's for Life: Gardens as a Learning Environment' and `Survive and Thrive: A forest school experience'. The case studies analyse and synthesise the findings from a number of my own published papers and evaluations to seek out emerging themes. The emerging themes identified and discussed are the interrelationship of children's cognitive, social and affective learning in informal learning contexts; the importance of children's self-esteem, confidence and motivation, in the learning process; the integration of informal and formal learning to maximise children's educational development. The thesis concludes that informal learning is one way to get children intrinsically motivated to learn, it can improve children's self-esteem and confidence which in turn leads to better academic knowledge and understanding. Also, informal learning is often better able to meet the needs of a greater range of children's learning Styles than traditional formal teaching. Further, it is valuable to get children out of the classroom in order to provide them with a wide range of exciting experiences, to create informal learning environments in schools and to firmly establish informal learning into schools' curriculums. Finally, practitioners need to be more conscious of utilising both formal and informal strategies in any given learning context to maximise children's learning. Therefore, this thesis gives a strong lead to a greater understanding of the value of informal learning and how it can be utilised to contribute to children's educational development.

This thesis attempts to get a closer look at informal online learning and identity through the narratives of young adults. The primary research question is this: how and what do young people — the so-called “digital natives” of 2016 — tell about their experiences with informal online learning and related identities? From a theoretical perspective, this work falls under the social constructivist paradigm in so far as it tries to understand and analyze highly individual, socially constructed knowledge. This paradigm is discussed in the thesis’s theory chapter, along with the two central topics of the thesis: informal online learning and identity. Four participants from the USA of roughly university age were interviewed for this project. Narrative data from the interviews was analyzed using a two-step approach. In the first step, the researcher reconstructs the participants’ key narratives in orientation to the research question. In the second step, thematic coding was used to isolate parts of the narratives that served to directly answer the research question. The fifth and sixth chapters present the findings of this analysis, i.e. the individual narratives of the research participants and thematic analytical discussion (thereby mirroring the two-step analytical method). The research found that the participants had conflicted views of themselves as “learners” when discussing their online identities. They nonetheless used informal online learning tools to access the things that mattered most to them, both in supplement to and outside of formal learning contexts. The participants also tended to value hands-on and independent learning, which they found more applicable to informal online learning than to offline formal learning. Further considerations are discussed in the seventh chapter, including trustworthiness and ethics in this research. Concluding remarks are offered in the final chapter, including suggestions for further research. In particular, further research needs to get at informal online learning’s relation to learning identity and critical media literacy. This thesis also highlights the need for qualitative research that takes the voices and experiences of students into account.

This qualitative study is an exploratory look at family experiences at night time telescope observing events, often called star parties. Four families participated in this study which looked at their expectations, experiences and agendas as well as the roles that identity and family culture played in the negotiation of meaning. Two families who had prior experience with attending star parties were recruited ahead of time and two other families who were first time visitors were recruited on-site at the observing event. Data were collected at two star parties. At each event, one experienced family was paired with an on-site family for the purposes of facilitating conversations about expectations and prior experiences.The results of this study showed that learning is constantly occurring among families, and that star parties and family culture were mediational means for making meaning. Expectations and agendas were found to affect the families' star party experiences and differences were observed between the expectations and experiences of families based on their prior experiences with star parties. These data also showed that family members are actively negotiating their individual and family identities. These families use their cultural history together to make sense of their star party experiences; however, the meaning that families were negotiating was often focused more on developing family and individual identity rather than science content. The families in this study used the star party context as a way to connect with each other, to make sense of their prior experiences, and as raw material for making sense of future experiences.

This research focuses on the previously neglected topic of how people are educated into groups commonly described as ‘gangs’; in particular, this thesis outlines the role that social space plays in such educative processes. This focus enables both a new contribution to knowledge in the field of ‘gang’ studies and understandings of the way social space is used, understood and perceived by those involved in ‘gangs’. Much research exists in the field of ‘gang’ studies spanning various disciplines and sub-fields. The existing literature on ‘gangs’ predominantly engages with typographies, definitions and prevention; the majority of which stems from a criminological perspective. There has been no direct attempt to explore the ways in which people are educated into ‘gangs’ thus far. Rather than begin from any predetermined assumptions, this research centred on people who have been involved with or affected by ‘gangs’ in order to begin from the lived experiences of those involved or affected. In-depth interviews were carried out with twenty-two participants who are, or were: involved in ‘gangs’; family members of ‘gangs’; and professionals who work with ‘gangs’ (most of whom were previously involved in such groups themselves). Other ethnographic methods were utilised alongside interviews: primarily overt, with some covert participant observations. Ethnographic aspects of the research were undertaken during a twelve-month period in social spaces that were highlighted by participants as being synonymous with, and frequented, by ‘gangs’. This thesis highlights the conditions, structures, agentive responses and social spaces that form the educative processes for becoming involved in ‘gangs’. My contribution to knowledge herein demonstrates how: education within ‘gangs’ takes place through stories, social haunting and reflection within third places and the wider community; occurs under structural conditions but is mediated by agentive choice; social space fosters a community spirit and offers the opportunity to become someone.

In the last few decades, the workplace has been increasingly recognised as a legitimate environment for learning new skills and knowledge, which in turn enables workers to participate more effectively in ever-changing work environments. Within the workplace there is the potential for continuous learning to occur not only through formal learning initiatives that are associated with training, but also through informal learning opportunities that are embedded within everyday work activities. Somewhat surprisingly however, there have been relatively limited empirical investigations into the actual processes of informal learning in the workplace. This may in part be due to the particular methodological challenges of examining forms of learning that are not structured or organised but incidental to daily work activities. There remains, therefore, a clear need to better understand how learning occurs informally in the workplace, and most importantly, to gain insight into workers’ own accounts of informal learning experiences. This thesis addresses this issue by examining workers’ personal experiences of informal learning, and how these contributed to better participation in their regular workplace activities. Four bodies of literature were reviewed as directly relevant to this research, adult learning, organisational learning, informal learning, and a sociocultural perspective on learning. Together, they provide complementary perspectives on the development of learning in the workplace. A conceptual framework, grounded in the sociocultural perspective, was developed to address the issue of how informal learning leads to better participation in the workplace, and reciprocally, how better participation leads to continuous informal learning. Consistent with the sociocultural perspective, the workplace was conceptualised as a complex social system in which co-workers, who constitute that social system, are assumed to co-regulate each other’s learning opportunities. Social interactions, therefore, are considered as creating a context in which informal learning is afforded or constrained. Understanding what role workplace culture and socialisation play in affording or constraining informal learning opportunities is therefore crucial. This is because the relationships between co-workers is assumed to influence how both new and established co-workers participate in and experience the socialisation process and how they see their respective roles. The framework developed for the study generated two main research questions: How do co-workers learn informally in the workplace? and How does the workplace, as a social system, afford or constrain informal learning in the workplace? The methodology chosen for this empirical study was consistent with key concepts from the sociocultural perspective, namely that individuals and their social context must be studied concurrently as learning is assumed to be part of a social practice where activities are structured by social, cultural and situational factors. Accordingly, qualitative research methods were employed to gain knowledge and understanding of informal learning in the workplace from the perspective of co-workers. Co-worker’s reflections on their informal learning experiences and participation in the workplace are presented in narrative form and their accounts interpreted from the sociocultural theoretical perspective. The narrative format provides a useful way of presenting data in a way that immerses the reader in the phenomenon, with enough concrete details that the reader can identify with the subjective experiences of informal learning of each participant. The study highlighted how the nature of some relationships between new and established co-workers afforded opportunities for informal learning, while other relationships constrained such opportunities. These afforded or constrained opportunities were by nature spontaneous, planned, intentional or unintentional. The study also revealed that personal and organisational factors co-contributed to creating these social affordances or constraints. Common across groups was the importance given to the quality of relationships between co-workers. The way new and established co-workers participated and interacted in the workplace was found to represent important sociocultural processes that impacted on the effectiveness of informal learning. Overall, this study draws attention to the complexity of participation and interaction in the workplace. A major implication is that opportunities for informal learning are, potentially afforded or constrained by the social context. The study also highlighted conceptual and methodological issues in identifying and interpreting how co-workers learn informally in the workplace. Future research should establish how opportunities for effective informal learning might be fostered further through the design of more enabling workplace practices. The significance of perceived and expected roles between new and established co-workers also deserves further empirical attention, at the level of everyday informal practices but also at the level of organisational processes and structures that provide the broader context.

Research has shown that there is an achievement gap with students of color in the urban environment and their White non-urban peers (Norman, Ault, Bentz, & Meskimen, 2001; National Research Council, 2012) additionally an achievement gaps exists between students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers (National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2011). The demand for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) preparation is growing and more students need to be prepared in school for STEM careers (Carlson, 1997). The didactic traditional style of teacher led text book reading has proven unsuccessful for large groups of urban youths and students with disabilities (Kahle, Meece, & Scantlebury, 2000; Haberman, 1991; National Research Council, 2012). Using a hands-on, experiential informal learning environments in science has proven successful in engaging students to the science curriculum (National Research Council, 2012). Nature has also proven to engage students into the curriculum. This study combines these topics and addresses the gap in the literature where these topics overlap. This qualitative case study sought to understand how students with learning disabilities from an urban environment experienced nature-based informal learning. The participants for this exploratory case study informed by ethnographic methods of observation involved seven eighth grade students with learning disabilities from an inclusive science program at a public urban school.

The students participated in four nature related informal learning experiences that were aligned to the science curriculum. These students’ experiences were collected from observations, and conducting both one-on-one interviews and focus groups. The data was then triangulated, analyzed thematically, and interpreted. The students’ experiences were shared thematically. The three themes which emerged from the data were:

-Hands-on learning is an engaging and a more enjoyable way of learning for students with learning disabilities.

-There is not enough science being taught.

-Students are not habitually accessing natural areas.

Promoting informal workplace learning to improve workplace learning and performance within a competitive business environment presents a challenge for customer service training managers within a large corporation. The purpose of the study was to determine which attributes of informal workplace learning experiences contributed to meaningful professional development and improved performance. Constructivism and experiential learning provided the theoretical foundations for this study. Conceptually, learning is mediated by the meaning learners attribute to it. The primary research question concerned how customer service training associates perceived informal workplace learning experiences as having meaningful impact on their overall professional development and work performance. An embedded single case study design was used for the study. Data were collected through the use of semi structured interviews of 6 customer service training associates who were selected through maximum variation sampling. Thematic analysis was applied to transcribed interview data. The following were foundational to improvements in learning and performance: (a) participating in work-based projects, (b) receiving feedback through coaching and peer collaboration, (c) associating learning with achieving desired project and professional development objectives, and (d) structuring work activities and support so as to facilitate learning. The study demonstrated that informal workplace learning is grounded in the purposeful integration of certain essential elements. Study results advance social change by contributing to improved learning and performance thus benefitting individual trainers and the customer service organization.

This thesis studies the usability issues of the mobile phone in informal Swedish language learning. The concept of usability is defined by expanding the technical usability attributes of Jakob Nielsen with other recent attributes derived from considering the technical aspects of mobile learning (m-learning). Thus, the ultimate structure of the usability factors that are discussed in this study consists of: accessibility, easy-to-learn, technical design, efficiency and satisfaction. With the support of the relevant previous literature and interview, we research this topic by considering the mobile-assisted language learning (MALL), informal language-learning and usability elements, in order to explore and identify the usability of mobile phone. The goal of this study is to contribute to detailed understanding of mobile phone usage, further identify the usability issues of mobile phones by obtaining both critical and commendatory feedbacks and reflections from the users. For final results, through qualitative research approach, we offered several findings regarding the mobile phone usability with specified reasons.

Aquesta tesi se centra en l'aprenentatge informal d'una segona llengua en comunitats en línia com Livemocha i Busuu. Els objectius són: (1) analitzar el potencial de les comunitats en línia per a aconseguir resultats d'aprenentatge a llarg termini; (2) examinar les accions dels estudiants mentre construeixen oportunitats d'ús de la segona llengua en aquests entorns, i (3) explorar les potencialitats i les limitacions de les eines de les comunitats en línia. Amb la finalitat d'assolir aquests objectius, l'estudi, que s'inscriu en el marc teòric de la perspectiva sociocultural i de la teoria de l'activitat, ha utilitzat una metodologia de recerca principalment qualitativa i centrada en el mètode etnogràfic. La recerca conclou amb una reflexió crítica sobre la importància de l'autonomia de l'estudiant. S'ha destacat que l'autonomia de l'estudiant és un requisit important perquè l'experiència d'aprenentatge informal en aquests entorns sigui eficaç. A més, aquest estudi tradueix els resultats obtinguts en un conjunt de recomanacions pedagògiques dirigides a experts d'entorns d'aprenentatge, a estudiants i a professors d'idiomes, per tal de fomentar una experiència d'aprenentatge en les comunitats en línia més positiva tenint en compte, també, la seva possible aplicació en un context d'aprenentatge formal.
Esta tesis está centrada en el aprendizaje informal de una segunda lengua en comunidades en línea como Livemocha y Busuu. Los objetivos son: (1) analizar el potencial de las comunidades en línea para lograr resultados de aprendizaje a largo plazo; (2) examinar las acciones de los estudiantes mientras construyen oportunidades de uso de la segunda lengua en estos entornos, y (3) explorar las potencialidades y las limitaciones de las herramientas de las comunidades en línea. Con la finalidad de alcanzar estos objetivos, el estudio, que se inscribe en el marco teórico de la perspectiva sociocultural y de la teoría de la actividad, ha utilizado una metodología de investigación principalmente cualitativa y centrada en el método etnográfico. La investigación concluye con una reflexión crítica sobre la importancia de la autonomía del estudiante. Se ha destacado que la autonomía del estudiante es un requisito importante para que la experiencia de aprendizaje informal en estos entornos sea eficaz. Además, este estudio traduce los resultados obtenidos en una serie de recomendaciones pedagógicas dirigidas a expertos de entornos de aprendizaje, a estudiantes y a profesores de idiomas, con el fin de fomentar una mejor experiencia de aprendizaje en las comunidades en línea tomando en consideración también su posible aplicación en un contexto de aprendizaje formal.
This thesis deals with informal second language learning in online communities such as Livemocha and Busuu. The thesis' objectives are: (1) analyse the potential effectiveness of these communities for long-term learning outcomes; (2) examine learners' construction of opportunities for L2 use in these environments; (3) explore affordances and constraints of online communities. To this end, a longitudinal multiple ethnographic case study approach was used under the theoretical framework of Socio-Cultural Theory and Activity Theory (AT). The research concludes with a critical reflection on the role of learner autonomy as a prerequisite for the creation of effective learning experiences in these environments, as this study clearly demonstrates. Moreover, the study translates its findings into a set of pedagogical recommendations for platform developers, learners and teachers to maximize the advantages of L2 learning in online communities as well as establish possible applications in formal learning settings.

This thesis explores current ideas about children and childhood in Britain through an examination of empowerment, play and learning as identified by policies, professional playworkers, and adult and child service users in two State run after school provisions in a London borough. Conducted in two quite different physical and social environments, the primary research involved an ethnographic study during the academic year 2007 to 2008, based on participant observation and interviews with managers, playworkers, parents and children at both sites. The research found strong connections between playworkers' attitudes to children's play, learning and empowerment, and their descriptions of their own priorities and responsibilities. That play and activity were occurring in supervised, closed access, paid-for settings meant that free play and regulation of behaviour were held in constant dynamic tension. Perceptions of playworker's jobs as both controlling children's behaviour and facilitating their play highlighted ambiguities inherent in these contexts and produced tensions felt by playworkers and children. Though masquerading as mechanisms for each child's individual development and fulfilment, play, informal learning and empowerment were imbued with strategic endeavours to steer children's experiences in particular directions. Furthermore, these ideas and their related practices were understood and implemented differently in the two after school settings. The research focus evolved to look at the impacts of social constructions of children and childhood on playworkers' practices and children's experiences. Far from being fixed concepts whose meanings were consistent over time and contexts, ideas about play, learning, empowerment, children and childhood all referred, in fact, to fundamentally dynamic social processes that this thesis reveals and explores. Two key aspects of the complex meanings attached to children and their childhoods emerged. Firstly, the child and childhood are 'relational' concepts (Aries 1962) or 'conceptions' (Wyness 2000), fluid in their meanings yet constant in their social significance. Secondly, social constructions of childhood can only adequately be understood in their real life social, economic and political contexts (Hendrick 1997a: 35). Reflecting both recent and more conventional ideas, playworkers presented contrasting constructions of the children as victims and products of their social circumstances with predictable futures, or as rights bearers and social agents with a say in their current and future possibilities. The ways in which playworkers controlled or facilitated the children were tied in with these ideas and a matrix of intersecting influences impacting on their confidence, trust and skills - as individuals and as teams - in allowing children to direct their own play activities and to deal with issues. This thesis contributes to gaps in current knowledge and understanding about notions of the child and childhood operating in playwork settings and the effects of these on practices and experiences in these contexts.

The general aim of this thesis is to illuminate the process of learning as it occurs in formal and informal contexts. The study focuses on South African scholars attending school in rural areas where the contrast between learning in formal and informal learning contexts is more pronounced than that in urban areas. The research draws on rural scholars' local knowledge of formal and informal learning contexts in order to gain a rich insight into how cognition is situated in different learning contexts. This is accomplished through investigating the structure of the respective learning tasks, the mediators involved, the task objectives and the means for achieving these objectives in the different learning contexts. The thesis draws on a socio-cultural approach to the study of cognitive development to probe the activity of learning in a formal and informal learning context. Through the use of a context sensitive methodological methods especially Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools and techniques, it was possible to illuminate tacit local knowledge structures and to get participants to actively explicate their understandings related to learning in different contexts The research results illustrate the assertion that the activity of learning is fundamentally situated in the learning context from which it arises. Learning is framed by the community of practice which structures affordances for situated learning, through mediation, within zones of proximal development. Learning in a formal context such as the school is often abstract, rule-based, standardised and theory related. Learners also find it difficult to reflect on the learning tasks and the mediational means used in a formal learning context. In contrast, the learning which takes place in an informal setting is often practical, individualised, flexible and environment based. This learning is structured around everyday activities and is dynamically defined and supported. In a situation where a learner is exposed to dislocated learning contexts, the essential goal of educational initiatives is to bridge the gap between the two. This can be achieved through mediators creating effective zones of proximal development which facilitate the individuals adaptation between learning contexts. Exposing rural scholars' local knowledge of learning in formal and informal contexts allows for a fuller understanding of the cognitive development structured within formal and informal communities of practice. It is this understanding that is necessary to address the situation where learning contexts, drawing on different knowledge bases find ways of thinking, prove challenging and/or conflicting to the scholar.

Scholars report that 80 percent of on-the-job learning is informal (Marsick & Watkins, 1992). Yet little research exists that describes how those in the workplace can encourage informal learning through their interactions with potential learners. This is a case study drawing upon phenomenological methods—specifically, interpretive phenomenological analysis. The intention was to explore the interpersonal space among employees in order to understand how, if at all, the participant’s professional associates encouraged the participant to learn informally. Participants in this study were fourteen librarians. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore how participants said their choice to learn informally was influenced by their interactions with other people. Findings indicated that participants were the architects of their own informal learning. While participants drove their own learning, the positive regard of others played an important enabling role, particularly when participants were new or were attempting to transition to new roles, such as managing others. Participants did not focus on themselves; thus self-efficacy did not play a role in the topics they learned about. Instead, participants chose their topics and persisted in learning about the topics because they wanted to serve their customers in a way that enabled their lifelong library use. Given a backdrop of positive regard, participants initiated and participated in a variety of informal learning projects, often with learning being so embedded in the initiative or task that it was challenging to identify it as learning. Role modeling was important for the function of showing employees how to do things—and particularly for giving them ideas about how they could interact effectively with the public or with employees that they supervised.

A focus group study of fourteen University of Saskatchewan second to fourth year humanities and social science undergraduate students was conducted in the fall of 2011. The purpose of the research was to determine how students learn about library resources and services. Findings indicate that the participants often use a variety of informal, self-directed and information sharing strategies. Seeking help from professors, peers, friends, and family members is a common practice. Convenience, familiarity, and perceived knowledge are key factors that determine who and how these students learn about the library. Formal instruction and seeking assistance from librarians did not resonate for participants as a typical approach for learning about the library. The author suggests that undergraduate students engage in informal learning and information sharing as many ‘adult learners’ do, similar to an employment setting. The library, within the formal educational structure, lends itself to a more informal learning context. The study concludes that libraries must continue to develop resources, services, and innovative programs that support students’ informal learning styles, while also providing formal instruction as part of the undergraduate curriculum ensuring students are exposed early on to core foundational skills that contribute to their success as informal and self-directed learners.

This study was designed to explore possible relationships between English language learners past formal language learning experiences and beliefs about language learning on the one hand, and their informal learning choices on the other. Six Japanese English as a second language (ESL) students participated in the study. Participants were interviewed and asked to complete an English study log for one week prior to their scheduled interview. The results of the study suggested that there were likely connections between experiences, beliefs, informal learning choices. For some participants, a singular experience or belief had an effect that seemed to outweigh other experiences and beliefs. However, there were also some differences in informal learning choices among participants that might be better explained by factors outside of the interest of this study, such as personality or goal of English study.

The auditing environment is in a period of innovation, and auditors need to maintain their financial reporting commitment to financial statement stakeholders. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional survey study was to examine the impact of auditors' perceptions of informal workplace learning contexts on the external auditing profession using a perceived organizational support lens. Organization support theory includes four aspects used to explore informal workplace learning: management support, peer support, supportive organizational culture, and access to work resources. These aspects were used to examine the impact of informal learning on auditors' engagement and performance. Multiple linear regression was used to examine data from a survey of 103 auditing professionals in Connecticut. Data showed that access to work resources, including time and technology, were significant in each model in relation to impact and its subcomponents engagement and performance. This indicated that auditors' access to the resources necessary to stay current has a positive impact in the auditing profession. This study fills the gap in the existing literature on the impact of informal learning on the auditing profession where there is continual change and informal learning is heavily relied upon to diffuse knowledge and skills in a highly knowledge-based environment. Better-qualified auditors can help businesses keep up with ever-changing societal expectations. The accounting profession is in a period of innovation that requires professionals of all levels to adapt to keep pace with the quickly changing globalized organization.

This PhD thesis is focused on the learning experiences of students in the Sydney Conservatorium Early Music Ensemble (EME). It sheds light on an area that remains relatively under-researched to date: the group-learning experiences of tertiary-level music students. EME provides its members with an opportunity to experiment with period instruments and to explore repertoire from the late Renaissance to early Classical periods with a historically-informed approach to music making. The tutors of the ensemble, all of whom are expert practitioners in the field of historically-informed performance (HIP), have nurtured a pedagogy that embraces elements of informal peer learning and stimulates active participation and collaboration. The main claim of the thesis is that period instruments, HIP, a broadly constructivist tutor approach and collaborative peer learning all play a significant role in stimulating deeper learning and actively engaged music making. As part of the purely qualitative research design twelve EME students are interviewed about their experiences of learning to play period instruments and their perceptions of a collaborative learning environment, including the role of peers and tutors. A series of open-ended interview questions serves to gain insights into the principal research questions: what learning possibilities do the instruments offer and how do the students experience this alongside the mental and physical rigours of HIP, the unique approach of the tutors and interactions with peers? In seeking a theoretical framework to help explore the interrelationships between the materials and the 'actors' in EME, Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) offers a particularly helpful perspective. This research approach incorporates both ‘tools’ and the learning community as integral influences in the learning process. As such it facilitates a holistic investigation of the learning and teaching relationships in the specific EME environment and the ‘affordances’ or learning potential of the materials involved. My research claim is firmly supported by the findings in this study. The students provide ample evidence of a broad range of deep learning experiences associated with period instruments and HIP. In addition the benefits of multiple elements of group-learning are identified: a continuum of formal and informal learning, collaborative peer learning, and a reflective tutor approach that embraces active participation. The study contributes to CHAT in the realm of the arts and has positive implications for the role of period instruments, HIP and the value of group-learning situations in western-style conservatoires and other tertiary music institutions.

Organizations have traditionally accomplished connectivity among their workers by co-locating them in shared organizational workplaces. However, information and communication technologies (ICTs) are offering alternative ways to accomplish this kind of connection. This change raises important questions about what it is possible to accomplish through such mediated communicative connections, and if there are work activities that are best accomplished face-to-face. Practitioners and researchers have historically identified informal communication as a process essential to organizational success that is difficult or impossible to accomplish outside of shared physical environments. This study documents the ways full-time teleworkers are accomplishing informal communication without being in shared work environments. In doing this, this work also identifies for what purposes these participants find shared organizational workplaces important and/or essential for successful informal communication. To complete this study required that two additional questions needed to be addressed: 1) defining full-time telework in the context of modern ICT-mediated corporate work environments, and 2) a re-examination of the parameters of telework to define them for modern workplace environments, so as be able to use effectively to examine past and present telework research efforts. In order to document the context of each of the participants as fully as possible, a narrative case study based research protocol was used. Participants were engaged through two active interviews and a journaling exercise so as to identify and document instances of informal communication and their purposes or roles in their workdays. This study’s key finding is that among this group of full-time teleworkers, all were engaging in informal communication to accomplish bonding and learning, both in ways that paralleled those communicative practices commonly accomplished in shared environments, but also in new ways that were made possible because of emergent sociomaterial practices supported by new information and communication technology affordances. While all the study’s participants indicated that their work processes, including informal communication, could be entirely accomplished virtually, nearly all noted the importance of face-to-face communication for key aspects of bonding and learning. Additionally, the successful work practices of these teleworkers were strongly dependent on the ubiquitous adoption of ICT tools and platforms throughout these participants’ organizations, and by the distribution and mobility of increasing numbers of workers, in these organizations and others, that are using these technologies as a routine part of their daily work practices.

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As dificuldades e as limitações dos Learning Management Systems (LMS) em interoperar com outras tecnologias tem sido um tema recorrente na literatura. É sabido que mesmo com todo o suporte oferecido por esses ambientes na condução das atividades de aprendizagem, existe uma lacuna relacionada à percepção dos professores e tutores sobre as atividades que são realizadas pelos aprendizes quando estes encontram-se fora deles. Diante desse cenário, o frequente uso de instrumentos ou ferramentas utilizadas por estes permitiram que um conceito emergente denominado Personal Learning Environments (PLE) surgisse e fosse caracterizado como um contexto educacional. Esse contexto permite aos aprendizes a executarem atividades de aprendizagem independente das planejadas nos ambientes formais de ensino fornecendo a eles autonomia para a execução e gerenciamento de suas atividades de aprendizagem. Professores e tutores de cursos baseados em LMS têm utilizado unicamente as ferramentas disponíveis nos LMS para o acompanhamento e avaliação dos aprendizes. Ademais, esses utilizam frequentemente o paradigma da avaliação formativa no intuito de averiguar o desempenho dos aprendizes baseado exclusivamente nas atividades realizadas dentro dos LMS. Sendo assim, esta tese tem como objetivo a concepção, desenvolvimento e avaliação de um serviço denominado de “Serviço de Acompanhamento Formativo”, cujo propósito é identificar atividades de aprendizagem informais que são realizadas fora dos ambientes LMS que podem ser integradas ao processo de avaliação ou de acompanhamento de atividades. A proposta metodológica foi delineada sob os princípios e recomendações do Design Thinking de Serviços formada por quatro fases a saber: exploração, criação, reflexão e implementação. Os participantes envolvidos no processo de concepção e desenvolvimento foram de 134 usuários, sendo 75 professores e tutores e 49 aprendizes, todos pertencentes a diferentes instituições e grupos de discussão especializados no Brasil. A avaliação do serviço foi dividida em três fases: a primeira avaliou a expectativa, na segunda foram propostas cinco tarefas a serem executadas por cada avaliador, e por fim, na terceira foi a avaliada a experiência do uso do serviço. Esse processo contou com 13 especialistas onde foram examinados 28 itens sobre o serviço proposto. Os resultados obtidos atestam que o serviço proposto apresentou um grau satisfatório de consistente em relação ao interesse de professores e tutores a fazerem uso em suas atividades. Além disso, permite que os mesmos possam, por meio do serviço, refletirem sobre suas ações docentes e de tutoria e, assim diligenciar ações assertivas na condução de uma disciplina ou curso, sejam estas do ponto de vista individual ou coletivo. As recomendações de melhoria resultantes da avaliação foram implementadas, permitindo a geração de uma nova versão do serviço alinhada as necessidades reais dos professores e tutores.
The difficulties and limitations of the Learning Management Systems (LMS) in interoperating with other technologies have been a recurrent topic in the literature. It is known that even with all the support which is offered by these environments in conducting the learning activities, there is a gap related to the perception of teachers and tutors over activities done by the learners when they are out of the environments. Before this scenario, the regular use of instruments or tools used by them allowed that an emerging concept named Personal Learning Environments (PLE) to arise and to be characterised as an educational context. This context allows learners to execute learning activities independent from the ones planned in the formal learning environments; providing them autonomy to the execution and management of their own learning activities. Teachers and tutors of LMS based courses have only been using the available tools in the LMS to accompaniment and evaluation of their learners. Furthermore, they often use formative assessment paradigm in order to investigate the learners development based exclusively in the activities done in the LMS field. In that case, this thesis aimed the conception, development and evaluation of a service named “Formative Accompaniment Service”, which purpose is to identify informal learning activities that are done outside the LMS environments which are able to be integrated to the evaluation process or even activity accompaniment. The methodology proposed was designed under the principles and recommendations of the “Service Design Thinking” which are made of four phases, as it follows: exploration, creation, reflection and implementation. The participants involved in the process of conception and development added up to 134 users, 75 teachers and tutors and 49 learners, they belonged to different institutions and specialised discussion groups in Brazil. The evaluation of the service was divided into three phases: the first evaluated the expectation, in the second it was proposed five tasks to be executed by each evaluator, and eventually, in the third, it was evaluated the experience to use the service. This process counted with 13 experts that examined 28 items about the proposed service. The results got with it assure that the proposed service showed a satisfactory level of consistence related to the interest of teachers and tutors in doing it in their activities . Moreover, it allows that as using the service they are able to reflect over their actions as teachers and tutors and, in this way, strive for assertive actions in conducting a discipline or course, in an individual or collective point of view. The improving recommendations resulting of the evaluation were implemented, allowing the creation of a new version of service aligned with the real necessities of teachers and tutors.

The educational landscape is changing and a variety of technologies and techniques are blurring the lines between traditional and non-traditional learning. This change is substantial in low-income countries: individuals in developing countries have a great desire to educate themselves and improve their quality of life. Kenyans are adequately literate and accustomed to mobile technology despite being a largely impoverished, poorly educated populace. Kenya represents an optimal setting in which to research the use and feasibility of modern mobile and educational technologies. The broad aim of this dissertation is to explore how mobile devices can catalyze and enhance both informal and non-formal learning. In particular, this dissertation explores how technologies and concepts such as mobile web apps, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), and learning incentives via a smartphone specifically affect informal and non-formal learning in Kenya. The primary research question is how can learning efforts that utilize mobile learning, MOOCs, and learning incentives combine non-formal and informal learning to develop and contribute to a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to learning in Kenya? The primary method is action research. The first contribution of this dissertation is the finding that mobile web apps are currently better suited for data exchange than producing new content. The second contribution is the finding that a smartphone can enhance informal learning in a developing country with little or no scaffolding. The third contribution is the finding that non-formal learning efforts as a MOOC are shown to be a viable means of delivering non-formal learning in a developing country via a smartphone. The fourth contribution is the finding that the use of incentives such as digital badges provide a means by which to validate non-formal learning and contribute to a DIY attitude towards learning creation, where individuals can freely complement or replace a traditional curriculum.

Research has shown the educational benefits of using the video game Minecraft in areas such as sciences and educational purposes as a teaching tool to transfer knowledge. Most studies, however, address the issue from an external perspective, rather than a student-centred perspective by evaluation from the researchers’ or teachers’ perspectives. This leads to a gap of data from the participants’ perspective and its usage in education. Those studies discuss how Minecraft is used as a simple teaching tool by filling it with content. Likewise, little research has studied in detail about the pedagogical designs of the virtual learning environments, or the design of the content within the game. This study aims at examining how the chosen content design and playability of the online learning environments influence the formal and informal learning outcome of a student in Minecraft. It looks at challenges faced by teachers and students by using those designs as a tool for transferring knowledge and how those challenges are dealt with during the study. In addition, the “Steinbeiß-Ruotsalainen Model for Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning with Minecraft” will be introduced and validated. In order to do so, a design-based research project was carried out, including six face-to-face interventions. 16 students participated in those interventions and had the opportunity to access to the online content 24 hours a day over a time period of three months. The presented data was collected through observations, video data, interviews and a survey. Based on the results of the study, the research showed that gamified designed learning environments in Minecraft benefit informal and formal learning experiences. It was observed that the designed reward-based learning environments can function as a motivational tool during the formal and informal learning phases. The introduced “teacher as an online facilitator” can support the learning outcome during formal and informal learning phases in Minecraft. It was concluded that spatially divided designs for learning environments can benefit formal learning, and that designing a learning environment by simply providing content can benefit informal learning. Designs facilitating an online society in Minecraft can create opportunities to establish social connections, and self-regulated learning benefits the learning outcome. It was observed that children need time to adapt to newly designed learning environments in Minecraft, and those with previous gaming experience do not necessarily benefit more than others. Clear rules on the Minecraft-server are needed to be implemented in order to maintain a successful learning environment. By linking theory and research results it was concluded that the “Steinbeiß-Ruotsalainen Model” can be used as a cornerstone for designing educational content in the game and for further research attempts in Minecraft based on design-based research.

Abstract Orientation: The informal sector serves as an untapped reservoir of skilled individuals practising the motor mechanic trade, who are ready for possible reclamation into the formal sector. Research purpose: The objective of this study was to develop a recognition of prior learning (RPL) strategy to link informal practising motor mechanic artisan training to the formal sector to enhance these artisans’ employability status. Motivation for the study: The current formal sector training initiatives for motor mechanics do not provide for or acknowledge the non-formal learning of the informal sector practising motor mechanics. South African desperately needs a national artisan development programme that includes all the components of artisan growth. Although the national artisan development programme will primarily focus on the development of artisans in the formal sector, the large numbers of persons who are involved in artisan work in the informal sector need to be progressively incorporated into the formal sector process. Research design, approach and method: A qualitative design was used and a purposive snowball sample applied. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted to answer the research question. Semi-structured interviews were applied to solicit data from 16 experts representing the motor mechanic training environment. The data were analysed utilising the ATLAS.ti 7.0 program. Contribution/value-add: This study attempted to conduct ground-breaking research in theory building to improve the employability status of people involved in motor mechanic artisan work in the informal sector. The findings of this study could lead to the development of new theory for SETAs to engage in the training and funding of informal practising motor mechanics. The study conceptualises a focused RPL strategy for motor mechanics that could be systematically applied to integrate the informal and formal sector training for the trade.

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The aim of this work was to answer the following question: Which learning activities are present among the business staff of a university? The main goals were: (i) to identify and analyse which work activities, either formal or informal, bring learning knowledge to the business staff of a university; and (ii) to analyse the learning activities, formal and informal, by examining the aspects that facilitate and the obstacles that influence the knowledge acquisition. This work was made in a university in São Paulo city through a quantitative research conducted by means of a survey. The data collection with the business staff was made through a research form based on Slater (2004), adapted to this work. The main results were explored with the use of statistic tools (Excel, SPSS and SmartPLS), which allowed and the confirmatory factorial analysis (based on the final collection results and the pre-test results). The results identified that the staff learn more through informal learning activities, especially when executing their own jobs, interacting with other employees/ students and communicating with themselves. The activities executing their on job and interaction with other employees/students were considered the most important for the administrative employees who took part in the research. The factor individual learning is the one that influences the most the existence of informal learning in the Educational Institution, and it was responsible for 49% of the results in this research.
Este estudo procurou responder ao seguinte problema de pesquisa: Quais atividades de aprendizagem estão presentes entre os funcionários administrativos de uma instituição educacional? Teve como objetivos: (i) identificar e analisar quais atividades de trabalho, tanto formais quanto informais, propiciam aprendizagem entre os funcionários administrativos de uma instituição de ensino; e (ii) analisar as atividades de aprendizagem, formais e informais, examinando-se os fatores que facilitam e os obstáculos que influenciam a aquisição de conhecimento. O estudo foi realizado em uma instituição de ensino da cidade de São Paulo por meio de uma pesquisa quantitativa conduzida a partir de um levantamento (survey). A coleta de dados, realizada com os funcionários administrativos, envolveu o preenchimento de um formulário de pesquisa oriundo do estudo de Slater (2004) e adaptado para este trabalho. Os resultados encontrados foram explorados com base em ferramentas estatísticas (Excel, SPSS e SmartPLS), que propiciaram a execução da análise fatorial confirmatória (a partir dos resultados do pré-teste e da coleta final). Os resultados identificaram que os funcionários aprendem mais por meio de atividades de aprendizagem informal e em especial ao executar seu próprio trabalho, interagir com outros funcionários/alunos e pela comunicação pessoal entre eles. As atividades execução do próprio trabalho e interação com outros funcionários/alunos foram apontadas como as mais importantes para os funcionários administrativos que participaram da pesquisa. O fator aprendizagem individual é o que mais influencia a existência de aprendizagem informal na Instituição Educação e foi responsável por 49% do resultado da pesquisa.

Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1991.
Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Victoria Marsick. Dissertation Committee: William Yakowitz. Includes bibliographical references: (leaves 205-223).

The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore and identify informal faculty leadership (IFL) practices in progressive, post-secondary settings known as Learning Colleges. Subordinate to this was the identification of administrative practices and structures enabling or obstructing IFL. The unit of analysis was three Learning Colleges, identified as exemplars of Learning College best practices. Three types of data were gathered for triangulation purposes. The mission, vision, and values statements of each college were examined for consistencies with the Learning College Movement and IFL. From the three identified colleges, two presidents and one senior vice-president were interviewed, and 52 faculty members were surveyed to identify current informal faculty leadership practices, potential new applications, and administrative behaviors advancing or inhibiting this practice. While the documents of all three colleges delineated the importance of faculty in achieving their respective goals, the role of IFL was not specifically addressed. In interviews, the three administrators acknowledged the critical role of faculty in their college's reform efforts and reinforced the importance of ongoing collaboration between administration and faculty in achieving the college's purposes. Specific examples included faculty roles in professional development, innovative practices, and as leading purveyors for a variety of change initiatives. Faculty reported a broad spectrum of peer leadership behaviors that influenced their actions including collaboration, communication, innovation, and risk-taking. From points of convergence, current examples of informal faculty leadership revealed that administrators and faculty members recognized the value of IFL to their college's mission – learning. Both groups viewed this as a prime vehicle for improvement, and characterized informal faculty leaders as crucial change agents. Recommendations for administrators and faculty include embracing collaboration and innovation as primary change modalities. Professional development needs to be faculty driven and strongly resourced by administration. Specific programs advocated by both groups include Service Learning and the use of emerging technologies. Practices recommended include moving innovation to institutionalization seamlessly and including faculty members in every step. Future research should include further exploration into IFL, additional programs such as the mentoring of students, and the role of middle-level management as critical facilitators of informal faculty leadership.

This paper explores how informal learning can be assessed in the work environment which bears difficulties, as informal learning is largely invisible and people lack awareness of informal learning. We perform an exploratory case study involving 24 healthcare professionals representing small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in six healthcare networks in the UK. We use the existing revalidation procedure as implemented by the National Health Service (NHS) England to discuss our results. Our results comprise a description of six indicators, three of which can be used to assess informal learning activities and three of which can be used to assess informal learning outcomes. Our findings stress the importance of the social context of informal learning at the workplace. Finally, we discuss the implementation of these indicators to support informal social learning.