Chapter 4: Conceptions and Dimensions of Children's Informal Learning¹

A lot of what we describe in education uses the same language to mean quite different practices and relations. This can prove frustrating when teachers and leaders of learning attempt to inquire into, and then change, what happens in the busy interactional context of the classroom. Knowing that at various times we would be discussing informal or everyday learning with children, families, and educators, the first step was to develop a simple, straightforward vocabulary and associated tools so that we all had, where possible, a common understanding of what we were talking about.

Children’s conceptions of informal learning may, on the surface at least, appear indeterminate, particularly given the diversity of events and activities that young people participate in and the multiple ways they approach these events and activities. Nevertheless, as we found, it is possible to work with young people to describe, analyse, and articulate what learning in everyday means and feels like.