Children’s conceptions of informal and everyday learning

Abstract

Although informal learning is part of everyday life it is only recently that attempts have been made to more fully conceptualise its nature. This paper explores young children’s conceptions of their everyday and informal learning outside of school within the Aotearoa New Zealand context. Phenomenography is used to systematically analyse the variation and categories of descriptions in children’s conceptions of everyday informal learning. From in-depth interviews with 36 nine-year-old children about their everyday informal learning, five categories of description are identified, ranging from least to most sophisticated. Six dimensions are also identified across the categories: culture, relationships, identity, strategies, purpose, and affect/emotion. In combination these influence how children conceptualise and make meaning of their learning in the everyday. We argue that this empirical approach provides a complex understanding of informal learning, which attends to critiques of earlier conceptualisations and may also help teachers consider how to more meaningfully support all students’ learning in school.

Keywords:

• Informal learning
• children’s conceptions
• phenomenography
• everyday learning