Both Informal and Formal educators can be seen as teachers. Informal educators lean towards helping young people develop their knowledge or skills through dialogue and activities. Using The Young Carers Project as an example, this is a project which aims to offer guidance and information on what help is available to them. There are residential trips, these are aimed at a variety of young people and are especially good for young carers as this gives them respite. The residential trips involve many activities whereby informal learning takes place; this may include rock climbing to navigating their way around camp. This is an example of informal learning upon which young people are gaining physical, mental and social skills. These kind of activities offered are relative to their education as when young carers are occupied in this kind of situation, they may open up to the people around them, thus encouraging a situation where they feel confident talking about problems or asking for specific help. These activities therefore offer academic learning in an informal way as young carers may miss experiences and opportunities that other children have due to the commitment they have to give as a carer. Young carers very often miss school due to being too tired or feeling that they cannot leave the person they are caring for, other reasons could also come down to them being bullied at school because of their home situation.
By comparison, in a formal environment a student would do Physical Education in a structured environment and attend in Geography lessons where they will be taught the art of navigation around map skills. A structured environment is one where a teacher organises the classroom how they seem fit and delivers a lesson through a pre-set syllabus which has a controlled environment combined with a controlled interaction between teacher and student. It is difficult to measure the learning for informal learners, although there are ASDAN awards which help them progress to college most of the learning is done through dialogue and activities, compared to a formal learning environment, this is done through assessment which is far easier to weigh.
Informal education involves the Youth Worker and the young person deciding together what they will be doing and not being told what to do and at what time. This is extremely important for the young person as this is not compulsory it is by choice, which encourages participation.
Choice is one of the many terms very often used in an informal setting. Young people have a choice, have a voice; they have empowerment in their lives.
‘Empowered people have freedom of choice and action. This is turn enables them to better influence the course of their lives and decisions which affect them’ (The Worldbank 2002).
In an informal environment, youth workers
‘will respect and promote young people’s rights to make their own decisions and choices’ (NYA 2009.)
By realisation even down to looking at parenting when teaching a child to learn, this is another way to example informal learning, reading with a child or helping them to add up at home, even going around the supermarket and pointing out different fruit types will help a child to learn: another way of teaching in an informal setting.
In attempting to define Informal Education, the belief is that there is still a shared concern for both informal and formal in terms of learning. Both have the desire to help people to grow. After researching, it seems that informal educators take on the role of formal educators as they still have to teach in informal situations and vice-versa, having said that informal education reaches a different audience in particular circumstances. For example, some topics may be very sensitive and personal to the person involved, and therefore ideally this should not be used in a formal setting, as achievements and goals would perhaps not be met.
‘Informal educators attend to the vast range of opportunities that arise in everyday settings for learning, look to relationships and processes - and how these can be made more fulfilling’. (Smith M K 2005)
‘Sometimes success in an informal setting can lead to a greater confidence in the classroom of a formal setting therefore complimenting each other’. (Enhancing Education 2002).
Word Count 963
References
Enhancing Education (2002) Enhancing Education [0nline] http://enhancinged.wgbh.org/started/what/formal.html [accessed 06.10.09]
NYA National Youth Agency (2009) Ethical Conduct in Youth Work Section 4:6.in HE Diploma In Community and Youth Work University of Hull 2009/2010.
Smith M K (2005) Introducing Informal Education [online] http://www.infed.org/i-intro.htm [accessed 06.10.09]
Smith M K (2005) Introducing Informal Education [online] http://www.infed.org/i-intro.htm [accessed 06.10.09]
(Smith M K (1988):124). Developing Youth Work, Milton Keynes, Open University Press.
The Worldbank.org (2002) Empowerment [online] http://go.worldbank.org/V45HD4P100 [accessed 08.10.2009]
Bibliography
Enhancing Education (2002) [0nline] http://enhancinged.wgbh.org/started/what/formal.html [accessed 06.10.09]
NYA National Youth Agency (2009) Ethical Conduct in Youth Work Section 4:6 in HE Diploma In Community and Youth Work University of Hull 2009/2010.
Smith M K (1988):124 Developing Youth Work, Milton Keynes, Open University Press.
Smith M K (2005) Introducing Informal Education [online] http://www.infed.org/i-intro.htm [accessed 06.10.09]
Smith M K (2005) Introducing Informal Education [online] http://www.infed.org/i-intro.htm [accessed 06.10.09]
The Worldbank.org (2002) Empowerment [online} http://go.worldbank.org/V45HD4P100 [accessed 08.10.2009]