Learning the practice, learning from the practice: tourist practices and lifelong education

Abstract

This article will examine the relationship between learning and tourist practices in two fields of survey: social tourism and self-observation. Daily learning resulting from tourist activities developed for integrating disadvantaged communities into a mainstream norm, learning the tourist practice itself, and learning stemming from the tourist practice that furthers knowledge or know-how not limited to appropriating the practice, are interdependent. The notions of guided participation and of guided exploration reveal the learning mechanisms at work. The latter also affords us a lifelong informal education potential.

Notes

1. ‘Éducation populaire’ refers to educational programmes/infrastructures outside the state system. We can most closely translate it as ‘community education’.

2. Equipe MIT is the name of a French university research team. The acronym MIT stands for: mobility, itinerary, tourism.

3. ‘Guides’ here refer to social workers that direct, escort and assist participants of community education programmes and not tour guides traditionally associated with tourism.

4. Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog.