Marie Paneth (1895-1986) was a talented painter, art therapist and pedagogue. Her book, Branch Street, is a classic examination of community-based work with children. In this piece, Mark K Smith explores her work and continuing relevance. Contents: introduction • early life and family • New York • London and Branch Street • The Windemere Children and …
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Participant observation: A guide for educators and social practitioners. In this piece we examine the nature of participant observation, the various social roles that researchers can take; and some classic problems of participant observation – especially around questions of access and ethics. Contents: introduction · what is participant observation? · participant observation – the question …
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Participation in learning projects and programmes. Why do people engage in learning projects? What are the barriers to participation? How are we to theorize participation? Contents: defining adult education · the shape of participation · barriers to participation · theories of participation · cross – chain of response model · further reading · how to …
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Across the great divide: creating partnerships in education. In this piece Thoby Miller evaluates the educational needs of young people; examines the professional insularities which exist between teachers and youth workers and consider how their respective inputs into the lives of young people might be developed into a partnership; and discusses the human tendency to …
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My pedagogic creed – John Dewey’s famous declaration concerning education. First published in The School Journal, Volume LIV, Number 3 (January 16, 1897), pages 77-80. Contents: what education is • what the school is • the subject matter of education • the nature of method • the school and social progress • how to cite …
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi: pedagogy, education and social justice. His commitment to social justice, interest in everyday forms and the innovations he made in schooling practice make Pestalozzi a fascinating focus for study. Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746 – 1827). Born in Zurich, Pestalozzi took up Rousseau’s ideas and explored how they might be developed and implemented. …
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Plato on education. In his Republic we find just about the most influential early account of education. His interest in soul, dialogue and in continuing education continue to provide informal educators with rich insights. Plato (428 – 348 BC) Greek philosopher who was the pupil of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle – and one …
Derek Gillard describes the context and content of the 1967 Plowden Report ‘Children and their Primary Schools’ and assesses the criticisms that have been made of it in the years since it was published. He argues that it is still an important document which should be read widely today. contents: introduction – background to the …
Michael Polanyi and tacit knowledge. Michael Polanyi helped to deepen our appreciation of the contribution of ‘tacit knowing’ to the generation of new understandings and social and scientific discovery. We briefly explore his relevance to educators. Contents: introduction · tacit knowledge · conclusion · bibliography · how to cite this article Michael Polanyi (1891-1976) made …
Popular education. An introduction to practice plus an annotated booklist. There is no one definition of popular education in the South American context. It is usually associated with political movements and is aimed at groups of people excluded from full participation in the political process. Hernadez (1985, quoted by Hamilton and Cunnigham 1989: 443) describes …
Positive for Youth: A critique. Lesley Buckland explores the English government’s Positive for Youth policy. She focuses on what ‘Positive or Youth’ means for young people in relation to youth work and informal education. She concludes the policy is the government’s attempt to ‘do something’ about the situation facing young people but without providing the …
Post-modernism and post-modernity. Page upon page has been devoted to post-modernism and post-modernity. But what actually are they, and what implications do they have for informal educators? Barry Burke investigates. Contents: modernism · post-modernism · post-industrial society · post-fordism · disorganised capitalism · implications for informal educators · conclusion · how to cite this article …
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Few educators speak of praxis. Those that do tend to link it to the work of Freire. Yet while praxis may not be part of many workers overt vocabulary, practice, a pale derivative, is. So what is praxis and why should educators be concerned with it? contents: · theory and practice · practical reasoning · …
One of the great movements of Victorian philanthropy, ragged schools provided for children and young people who were excluded by virtue of their poverty from other forms of schooling. A key feature of their work was that they moved significantly beyond the simple provision of educational opportunity – and as such both provided an example …
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An article exploring ragged schooling that first appeared in Household Words on March 13, 1852. An earlier letter to the Morning News in 1846 described a visit to Field Lane Ragged School (Field Lane was established in 1841 as a Ragged School and Sabbath School by a Christian missionary) AT the top of Farringdon Street …
Reflection, learning and education. What constitutes reflection – and what significance does it have for educators? The contributions of Dewey, Schön and Boud et. al. assessed. Contents: Dewey – and How We Think · Boud et. al. – reflection: turning experience into learning · Schön – reflection in and on action · further reading When …
Relationship, learning and education. What is a relationship, and what special qualities are present in social pedagogy and informal education? We suggest that the focus on learning, mutuality and the emotional bond between people are important features of the sorts of relationships that social pedagogues and informal educators are involved in. Contents: introduction · relationship …
Relationship: learning, mutuality and emotional bonds. What is a relationship, and what special qualities are present in in community learning and development, informal education and social pedagogy? We suggest that the focus on learning, mutuality and the emotional bond between people are important features of the sorts of relationships that educators and animateurs like these …
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Carl Rogers, core conditions and education. Best known for his contribution to client-centered therapy and his role in the development of counselling, Rogers also had much to say about education and group work. contents: introduction · core conditions · carl rogers on education · rogers’ influence · further reading and references · links · how …
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The potential of role-model education. In this article Daniel Rose examines the role and potential of the educator as a role-model within both formal and informal education. contents: introduction · the influence of the role model on moral identity · role model education and informal education · role-model education as a basis for mentoring · …
Jean-Jacques Rousseau – wikipedia commons – pd Jean-Jacques Rousseau on nature, wholeness and education. His novel Émile was the most significant book on education after Plato’s Republic, and his other work had a profound impact on political theory and practice, romanticism and the development of the novel. We explore Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s life and contribution. contents: …
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John Ruskin on education. John Ruskin altered the way we look at art and architecture, and was an influential social critic and advocate of economic change and reform. His desire to advance reform and to deepen people’s appreciation of art inevitably brought him to teaching and to education. His work was to have lasting significance. …
Image: John Ruskin – Wikimedia pd ‘Modern education’ first appeared as an appendix to John Ruskin’s The Stones of Venice [Volume III] in 1853. In it he defines one of his key educational principles: education according to aptitude and circumstance. For full discussion of John Ruskin’s educational ideas – and his approach as an educator …
Mark K Smith explores how, in the context of the ‘new normal’, educators, pedagogues and practitioners need to offer sanctuary to children and young people. This article is part of a series: dealing with the new normal • offering sanctuary • offering community • offering hope] contents: introduction • what is sanctuary • sanctuary – space from • …
Donald Schon (Schön): learning, reflection and change. Donald Schon made a remarkable contribution to our understanding of the theory and practice of learning. His innovative thinking around notions such as ‘the learning society’, ‘double-loop learning’ and ‘reflection-in-action’ has become part of the language of education. We explore his work and some of the key themes …
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Self, selfhood and understanding. This page explores the nature of the self. We look at four different models of selfhood – which is a far from easy task. It is difficult to take a step outside what we take for granted. Contents: introduction · starting with the parts · looking to the whole · the …
Jane Elizabeth Senior and work with girls and young women. Jane Senior (1828-1877) (also known as Mrs Nassau Senior) was the first woman civil servant (the inspector of workhouses). She was also an important social reformer – helping to found the British Red Cross, the Girls’ Friendly Society and the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young …
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Settlements and adult education. What is the shape of adult education and lifelong learning is settlements? How has it developed? Mark K. Smith investigates. Contents: introduction • the nature of adult education in settlements • la vie associative • current practice • liberal and basic education • vocational and professional training • social pedagogy and …
Samuel Smiles’s Self-Help is said to have reflected the spirit of its age. It also proved to be a best seller – with more than a quarter of a million copies sold by the time of Smiles’s death. Arguing for the importance of character, thrift and perseverance, the book also celebrates civility, independence and individuality. …
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Rotherhithe children – Waldo McGillycuddy Eagar CBE circa 1933 – placed by the National Maritime Museum in Flickr Commons. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. Here we explore the nature of social action through a walk in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe in London. This area has experienced severe poverty and disadvantage over the years. Settlements, missions …
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Social capital. The notion of social capital is a useful way of entering into debates about civil society – and is central to the arguments of Robert Putnam and others who want to ‘reclaim public life’. It is also used by the World Bank with regard to economic and societal development and by management experts …
Rabindranath Tagore on education. As one of the earliest educators to think in terms of the global village, Rabindranath Tagore’s educational model has a unique sensitivity and aptness for education within multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-cultural situations, amidst conditions of acknowledged economic discrepancy and political imbalance. Kathleen M. O’Connell explores Rabindranath Tagore’s contribution. contents: background · …
In this piece Mark K Smith explores the nature of teaching – those moments or sessions where we make specific interventions to help people learn particular things. He sets this within a discussion of pedagogy and didactics and demonstrates that we need to unhook consideration of the process of teaching from the role of ‘teacher’ …
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In this add-on to ‘What is teaching?’ Mark K Smith outlines nine key activities that teachers engage in. Teaching, he argues, is the process of attending to people’s needs, experiences and feelings, and making specific interventions to help them learn particular things. Contents: being present • setting challenging tasks • talking • explaining • showing …
In this piece, Reinhard Zürcher conceptualizes teaching-learning processes by means of a continuum that covers the whole range from informal to formal processes. Instead of the usual descriptive interpretation, he uses an analytical perspective that relates the terms informal and formal teaching and learning to the notion of form. ‘Formalization’, interpreted as generalization of the …
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contents 1. using informal education – Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith 2. personality and curriculum – Anne Foreman 3. informal education in residential care with adults – Mal Blackburn and Don Blackburn 4. informal education with young women in the community – Glynis Francis 5. informal education – a place in the new school curriculum? …
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contents: informal education and other educational forms · characteristics of informal education · formal and informal · the problem of curricula · content, direction and process · identity, personality and role · conclusion · return to main contents introduction [page 1] Informal education has been an element of practice within casework, schooling, youth work, residential care …
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Anne Foreman’s important discussion of curriculum within youth work – and the power of personality. Chapter 2 of Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith (1990) Using Informal Education contents: introduction · curriculum — the youth work approach · youth work and experiential learning · the cult of the ‘character’ · the time factor and learning from …
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Mal Blackburn and Don Blackburn explore some key issues and questions that arise in practice. Reprinted from T. Jeffs and M. Smith (1990) Using Informal Education, Buckingham: Open University Press. contents: introduction · the rise of residential care · the shift to community care · behaviourist approaches · normalization programmes and the use of the …
In this chapter from T. Jeffs and M. Smith (eds.) Using Informal Education, Glynis Francis explores some of the issues with regard to developing informal education practice with young women. contents: introduction · the experience of being an informal educator · informal education and social relations · young women and informal education ·prioritizing : placing …
Dave Burley’s exploration of informal education in schooling. Chapter 5 in Jeffs and Smith (1990) Using Informal Education. contents: the attractions and distractions of informal education · curriculum · management and financial control ·the relationship of informal education and secondary schooling · informal education through community education · conclusion · return to main contents Introduction …
Debbie Saddington explores educative practice within the probation service. Reprinted from T. Jeffs and M. Smith (eds.) Using Informal Education, Buckingham: Open University Press. contents: introduction · the new focus · neighbourhood-based informal education in practice · aspects of locally based informal education · the personality of the worker · understanding groups · workers, agencies …
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In this seminal piece, John W. Ellis explores the practice of Christian informal education, and contrasts it with formal approaches. contents: introduction · traditional models · Jesus as an informal educator · youth clubs and youth work · informal and formal education · blending the two · conclusion · return to main contents Introduction [page 89] …
Pauline Gertig looks beyond casework to examine the contribution of informal education to social work practice with carers. Reprinted from T. Jeffs and M. Smith (eds.) Using Informal Education, Buckingham: Open University Press. contents: introduction · behind the rhetoric · casework and informal education · limitations of the casework approach · relatives’ support groups as …
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Elizabeth Afua Sinclair reflects on being a student in an institution committed to informal education. Reprinted from T. Jeffs and M. Smith (eds.) Using Informal Education, Buckingham: Open University Press. contents: introduction ·historical influences · expectations · choosing informal learning · the process · informal networks · return to main contents page Introduction [page 113] …
Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith explore the context for professional education and some of the implications for the development of informal educators. Reprinted from T. Jeffs and M. Smith (eds.) Using Informal Education, Buckingham: Open University Press. contents: introduction ·avoiding informal education · training for failure · educating for informal education: approaching cultures – informal …
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Jeffs and Smith (1990) Using Informal Education. Alexander, R. (1988) ‘Garden or jungle? Teacher development and informal primary education’ in Blyth, A. (ed.) Informal Primary Education Today:Essays and Studies. Lewes, Falmer. Allman, P. (1987) ‘Paulo Freire’s Education approach: a struggle for meaning’ in Allen, G., Bastiani, J., Martin, I. and Richards, K. (eds) Community Education: …
Viewing Impington – Henry Morris and the idea of the village college. Henry Morris’ championship of the village college has been a significant feature of, and inspiration for, discussions about the worth of community schooling. On this page we explore Henry Morris’s vision of the village college (for more see Henry Morris) though the design …
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John Howard Whitehouse, John Ruskin and educational reform. John Howard Whitehouse (1873-1955) is now remembered chiefly as a champion of John Ruskin – but he played a significant role in developing work with boys, was active in the settlement movement, served as an MP, and was an innovative educationalist and headmaster. Sara Atwood explores his …
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Raymond Williams and education – a slow reach again for control. Raymond Williams was a literary critic, cultural historian, cultural and political theorist, novelist, dramatist, and the virtual inventor of the interdisciplinary field known as ‘cultural studies’. Josh Cole explores his little appreciated contribution as an educational thinker. Contents: introduction · early encounters with community …
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