While
the idea of informal education has a significant history, recent policy
discussions tend to view it through a bureaucratic frame. It is set against
formal (state sponsored systems) and non-formal (organized activity outside the
formal system) education, and viewed as 'unorganized, unsystematic and even
unintentional at times' (Coombs and Ahmed 1974: 8). It consists of the learning
acquired through participation in daily life. We have taken a different view
here - focusing on process and purpose rather than matters of institutional
sponsorship. For us informal, like formal, education entails consciously setting
out to foster learning. It:
To explore the notion further jump to:
This is a select, annotated bibliography of some of the more important books that I know. There is bound to be plenty of others that I've overlooked. Suggestions for inclusion welcomed!
The list is split into a number of sections:
I have marked recommeded texts. These books each make a significant contribution - either to the theory and practice base; or to the process of developing as an informal educator.
Brew, J. M. (1946) Informal Education. Adventures and reflections, London: Faber. Path breaking study.Takes a novel approach by examining approaches to informal education through the stomach, the feet, the work of the hands, the eyes, the feelings, and through the ears. Based on the writer's extensive experience of youth work. See also (1943)In The Service of Youth , London: Faber. [Out of print].
Davies, B. and Gibson, A. (1967) The Social Education of the Adolescent,
London: University of London Press. Classic 1960s statement of social education
that provides a historical perspective plus various chapters on aims, methods,
client-centred practice, principles, understanding, forging a discipline and
training. Very influential text in the 1960s. [Out of print].
Doyle, M. E. and Smith, M. K. (1999) Born and Bred. Leadership, heart and informal education, London: YMCA George Williams College /Rank Foundation. 81 pages. Explores the nature of leadership, the significance of spirit, association and service, and examines the contribution of informal educators. Includes material on animation and formation. Full text online: http://www.ymca.ac.uk/rank/bornandbred/index.htm.
Foley, G. (1999) Learning in Social Action. A contribution to understanding informal education, Leicester: NIACE/London: Zed Books. Explores the significance of the incidental learning that can take place when people are involved in community groups, social struggles and political activity. Foley uses case studies from Australia, Brazil, Zimbabwe and the USA that reflect a range of activities. Chapters on ideology, discourse and learning; learning in a green campaign; the neighbourhood house; learning in Brazilian women's organizations; and political learning and education in the Zimbabwean liberation struggle.
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. K. (1999) Informal Education: conversation, democracy and learning, Ticknall: Education Now. Introductory discussion of informal education that places the fostering of democracy at the core of informal education. Explores the nature of conversation and reflection, organizing the work, contrasts with formal education and the moral authority of the educator.
Kett, J. F. (1994) The Pursuit of Knowledge Under Difficulties. From self-improvement to adult education in America, 1750 - 1990, Stanford, Ca.: Stanford University Press.581 + xviii pages. Excellent historical study of north American experience. Focuses initially on self-improvemen, setting discussion within a concern for cultural and social change. Brings out the shifts from cultural to vocational concerns in education.
Kirkwood, G. and Kirkwood, C. (1989) Living Adult Education. Freire in Scotland, Milton Keynes: Open University Press. 155 + xiii pages. Account of the Gorgie-Dalry Adult Education Project and is exploration of Freirian ideas. It brings out some key elements of Freire's thought and practice - and provides an insight into the daily reality of informal adult education. Chapters outline the story of ALP; key ideas and contexts; learning programmes; action outcomes and workshops; the influence of ALP; and reflections on the experience. There is also a useful glossary of Freirian terms.
Lindeman, E. C. (1926) The Meaning of Adult Education (1989 edn), Norman: University of Oklahoma. A classic statement of adult education principles. He argued that education is life; that it should concern itself with non-vocational ideals; tha the approach should be via situations rather than subjects; and that the highest values should be placed on the learner's experience. Lindeman paid particular attention to community-based forms of education, and the central significance of groups.
Rogers, C. and Freiberg, H. J. (1993) Freedom to Learn (3rd edn.), New York: Merrill. Reworking of the classic Carl Rogers text first published in 1969. Looks at how person-centred learning can be used in schooling and other situations and the nature of facilitation.
Blyth, A. (ed.) (1988) Informal Primary Education Today, Lewes: Falmer Press. 219 + viii pages. Very useful review of informality in primary education from the Plowden Report to the situation in the late 1980s. The contributors are a bit of a 'Who's Who' in the area: Gammage on primary school practice; Blenkin on education and development; Galton on the nature of learning; King on informality and ideology; Kelly on middle years schooling; Nias on teachers' accounts; and Alexander on teacher development.
Brookfield, S. D. (1983) Adult Learners, Adult Education and the Community, Milton Keynes: Open University Press. An investigation of adult education in the community with sections on individualised approaches, group approaches (including community adult education) and themes around supporting adult learners in the community.
Burbules, N. (1993) Dialogue in Teaching. Theory and practice, New York: Teachers College Press. Detailed and important exploration of the subject area.
Coffield, F. (1999) (ed.) Speaking Truth to Power. Research and policy on lifelong learning; Learning at Work; Why's the Beer Always Stonger Up North? Studies of lifelong learning in Europe; Informal Learning, Bristol: Policy Press. Four reports from the ESRC learning society programme. The first volume contains Maurice Kogan's excellent review of the impact of research on policymaking (precious little as policymakers usually already know what they want - and don't want that disturbed by 'facts'). Volume 2 brings together a collection of material about workplace learning. Volume 3 brings together cross-national studies and Volume 4 'informal learning'. Coffield's conclusion is that the 'learning society' represents another form of social control.
Dewey, J. (1933) How We Think. A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process (Revised edn.), Boston: D. C. Heath. Brilliant, accessible exploration of thinking and its relationship to learning. Its influence lives on in the recent concern with reflection in writers like Boud and Schön.
Dewey, J. (1938) Experience and Education (1963 edn.), New York: Macmillan. Clear and concise statement of Dewey's educational thinking - with a strong desire to avoid simplisitic oppositions - such as that between traditional and progressive education.
Freire, P. (1972) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Classic account of dialogue.
Henze, R. C. (1992) Informal Teaching and Learning: a study of everyday cognition in a Greek community, Hillsdale, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Excellent ethnographic account of informal learning.
Illich, I. (1973)
Deschooling Society, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Very influential statement
concerning the divisive and dampening effect of schooling. Argues for the
disestablishment of schooling and the creation of learning webs. See also his
(1975) Tools for Conviviality, London: Fontana, for a wider political and
economic statement.
Lorenz, W. (1994) Social Work in a Changing Europe, London: Routledge. Excellent discussion of social work in Europe this century - particularly strong on animation and social pedagogy. Indeed, this is the only substantive English language discussion of contemporary social pedagogy and animation that I have come across.
Lovett, T. (1975) Adult Education, Community Development and the Working Class, London: Ward Lock. (Republished by University of Nottingham). Classic study of community development and adult education in the Liverpool EPA.
Lovett, T. (ed.) (1988) Radical Approaches to Adult Education: a reader, London: Croom Helm. The first five chapters examine key historical and theoretical themes. This is followed by eight chapters based around contemporary initiatives including community action, peace movement, women's movement, environmental movement, trade unionism, unemployment and 'third world'.
Marsick, V. J. and Wa tkins, K. E. (1991) Informal and Incidental Learning in the Workplace, London: Routledge. Interesting exploration of the nature of informal education which is grounded in an examination of a number of specific examples of practice.
McGivney, V. (1999) Informal Learning in the Community. A trigger for change and development, Leicester: NIACE. 99 + xii pages. Report on a study designed to explore the role of community-based informal learning in widening participation and achieving 'progression' to more formal systems. Contains some interesting material but its orientation rather plays up setting and overlooks process and the possibilities of self-education. There does seem to be some confusion around the differences between learning and education.
Reimer, E. (1971) School is Dead. An essay on alternatives in education, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Major statement of deschooling. Examines nature of schooling and explores the possibilities for dem ocratic institutions and the use of networks. [Out of print].
Rousseau, J-J. (1911) Emile, London: Dent. Rousseau's exploration of education took the form of a novel concerning the tutoring of a young boy. It first appeared in 1762. and has been a key reference point for progressive educational thinkers since. Rousseau's concern (among other things) with the naturalness of learning and activity, with the significance of experience and the importance of developmental stages in learning can be seen in the work of Pestalozzi and Froebel - and in that of John Dewey.
Scott, C. (1908) Social Education, Boston: Ginn and Co. While this book focuses on the school it does so by viewing it as an educational form to be set alongside others. He attempts to link social synthsis with individual development. In the process he places a special emphasis on self-organized group work.
Smith, M. K. (1994) Local Education. Community, conversation, action, Buckingham: Open University Press. Examines the work of community educators, youth workers and community workers. Includes chapters on being local; being an educator; engaging in conversation; organising the work; curriculum and direction; embedding practice; reflecting in action; and dialogue and praxis.
Yeaxlee, B. (1929) Lifelong Education. A sketch of the range and significance of the adult education movement, London: Cassell and Company. The first major discussion of lifelong education - with an emphasis on 'learning from life', and on local and informal settings for practice. [Out of print].
Boal, A. (1992) Games for Actors and Non-Actors, London: Routledge. Review of the thinking and methods associated with Theatre of the Oppressed/ Forum Theatre. Based on the approaches pioneered in Brazil where spectators become spect-actors.
Boud. D. and Miller, N. (eds.) (1997) Working with Experience: animating learning, London: Routledge. 217 + x pages. Paperback ISBN 0-415-14246-6. Collection of pieces exploring experiential learning. The editors focus on animation (not so much in the French and Italian senses as 'breathing life into' - to activate, enliven, vivify. Includes introductory and closing pieces by the editors: Brookfield on breaking dependence on experts; Smyth on socially critical educators; Heron on helping whole people learn; Tisdell on life experience and feminist theory; Harris on animating learning in teams; and Mace on writing and power.
Brown, A. (1993) Groupwork, Basingstoke: Avebury. Useful, standard, introductory text especially aimed at social workers. Now in its third edition.
Caffarella, R. S. (1994) Planning Programs for Adult Learners. A practical guide for educators, trainers and staff developers, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 248 pages. Just what the t itle says - but has the advantage of many manuals in this area in that the underlying model is dynamic and interactive and avoids some of the problems with linear planning models. Clearly written with plenty of worksheets etc.
Evans, D. R. (1981) The Planning of Nonformal Education, Paris: UNESCO. Brief guide.[Out of print].
Farquharson, A. (1995) Teaching in Practice. How professionals can work effectively with clients, patients and colleagues, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 251 pages. Looks at how teaching and learning are part of the helping process. As the title indicates, the book is practice-based and makes use of case studies and examples from a range of settings. Has useful guidance on checking out the appropriateness of teaching plans.
Fordham, P., Holland, D. and Millican, J. (1995) Adult Literacy. A handbook for development workers, Oxford: Oxfam. Clear and well produced introductory text for new educators. Includes sec tions on literacy and development; planning for literacy; exploring teaching and learning; materials for literacy; and continuing with literacy.
Gibson, A. and Clarke, G. (1995) Project-Based Group Work Facilitator's Manual. Young people, youth workers and projects, London: Jessica Kingsley. Introductory text that provides advice on skill development; building dialogue; interaction with groups; whether (or not) to intervene; evaluation procedures; and on setting youth work within its wider context.
Goetschius, G. W. and Tash, J. (1967) Working with Unattached Youth. Problem, Approach, Method, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Classic project report that provides one of the most detailed accounts of detached youth work/ street work. Full discussion of the project background, approach and methods and the implications for practice. Enlivened by substantial extracts from workers' recordings. [Out of print].
Haroutinian-Gordon, S. (1991) Turning the Soul. Teaching through conversation in the high school, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Excellent discussion of the use of conversation in education.
Hazler, R. J. (1998) Helping in the Hallways. Advanced strategies for enhancing school relationships, Thousand Oaks, CA.: Corwin Books. 82 + x pages. A highly readable introduction to working in schools with chapters on hazardous hallways, mapping hallway relationships, quick steps to success, captive clients and activating adult motivators
Knowles, M. S. (1950) Informal Adult Education, New York: Association Press. Guide for educators based on the writer's experience as a programme organizer in the YMCA. Of some significance as Knowles went on to champion the notion of andragogy. [Out of print].
Lever, M., Lewis, R., Paine, N. and Robertson, F. (1985) Learning Together. A guide to running informal learning groups, Cambridge: National Extension College. Introductory guide.
Van Manen, M. (1991) The Tact of Teaching. The meaning of pedagogical thoughtfulness, New York: SUNY Press. 240 + xii pages. Fascinating book on the meaning and practice of teaching as a reflective activity. Pedagogical thoughtfulness is the way that educators grow, change and deepen as a result of reflecting on living with children. The process requires tact – ‘an interpretive intelligence, a practical moral intuitiveness, a sensitivity and openness towards the child’s subjectivity, and an improvisational resoluteness in dealing with children’. Chapters: towards a pedagogy of thoughtfulness; the concept of pedagogy; the pedagogical moment; the nature of pedagogy; the practice of pedagogy; the nature of tact; pedagogical tact; tact and teaching.
Rogers, A. (1996) Teaching Adults 2e. Buckingham: Open University Press. One of the best introductions to teaching for informal and community educators. Includes chapters on contracting to learn; definitions; adult students; learning; goals and objectives; the adult learning group; roles and the teacher; teaching - content and methods; blocks to learning; evaluation; and participation.
Wilson, G. and Ryland, G. (1949) Social Group Work Practice. The creative use of the social process, Cambridge: MA.: Houghton Mifflin. 686 + xii pages. A classic study of social group work that explores methods; program media; practice; and supervisory and administrative processes. Thoroughly grounded treatment that examines work in some detail with pre-schoolers and school-age children;adolescents and young adults; and adults and older people.There are a number of possible books to choose from including several by Grace Coyle - but this is a very comprehensive treatment. [Out of print].
Bentley, T. (1998) Learning beyond the Classroom: Education for a changing world, London: Routledge. 208 pages. Argues the case for a focus on learning beyond the formal sector and the need to connect what happens in schools to wider opportunities for learning. The book is rather light on theorization, coming, as it does, from a policy perspective (Demos).
Cannan, C. and Warren, C. (eds.) (1997) Social Action with Children and Families. A community development approach to child and family welfare, London: Routledge. This book looks beyond the usual narrow confines of British social work texts - looking at more community oriented forms of engagement (especially family centres) and drawing on traditions of practice from the UK, Germany and France. There is some recognition of the potential of more educative approaches and a concern with local networks and institutions.
Coles, E. K. Townsend (1988) Let the People Learn. The establishment of a Department of Non-formal Education in Botswana, Manchester: University of Manchester. Descriptive account that provides some useful insights both into the process of non-formal education and the policy problems surrounding it.
Coombs, P. H. with Prosser, C. and Ahmed, M. (1973) New Paths to Learning for Rural Children and Youth, New York: International Council for Educational Development. One of several reports involving Coombs that popularized the institutional split between informal, formal and non-formal education. See, also, P. Coombs and M. Ahmed (1974) Attacking Rural Poverty. How non-formal education can help, Baltimore: John Hopkins Press. [Out of print].
Dent, K. S. (1979) Informal Agencies of Education: Proceedings of the 1977 Annual Conference of the History of Education Society of Great Britain, Leicester: History of Education Society. [Out of print].
Doddy, H. H. (1952) Informal Groups and the Community, New York: Teachers College Press
Edwards, E., Hanson, A. and Raggett, P. (eds.) (1996) Boundaries of Adult Learning, London: Routledge. Excellent collection of readings with many key writers included e.g. Schön, Boud et al; Brookfield; Knowles; Collins; Sargant. Examines many of the changes taking place in adult education and the shift to the so called 'learning society': disputes concerning adult learning; APL and credit transfer; and inequalities in adult education.
Fantini, M. D. and Sinclair, R. L. (eds.) (1985) Education in School and Nonschool Settings. Eighty-fourth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education Part 1, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Fordham, P. et al (1979) Learning Networks in Adult Education. Non formal education on a housing estate, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. This is a substantial account of a neighbourhood project which provides a number of insights into community based provision. [Out of print]. ®
Galbraith, M. W. (ed.) (1990) Education Through Community Organizations, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Useful North American collection that explores the nature of community education; social and f raternal organizations as educators; and then looks at various forms of institution - religious bodies, libraries, museums, human service organizations etc.
Heath, S. B. and McLaughlin, M. W. (eds.) (1994) Identity and Inner-City Youth: Beyond ethnicity and gender, New York: Teachers College Press. Important study of the operation of youth organizations that explores how they offer local opportunities for the creation of a positive sense of self.
Hendry, L., Shucksmith, J. and Philip, K. (1995) Educating for Health. School and community approaches with adolescents, London: Cassell. Useful overview with chapters on being young; young people's health; school health education; educating in the community; reaching the young; rights and relevance.
Hopkins, D. and Putnam, R. (1993) Personal Growth Through Adventure, London: David Fulton. Exploration of the development of adventure education; principles; and a review of practice. Looks at some current issues and trends.
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. (eds.) (1990) Using Informal Education, Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Has a n umber of case studies concerning both organisationally and community based initiatives; plus an analytical overview of the concept and practice of informal education. Criticizes approaches that focus on informal education as an institutional form. Instead focuses on setting and process.
Kirkwood, G. and Kirkwood, C. (1989) Living Adult Education. Freire in Scotland, Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Account of a project that attempted to apply Freirian thinking/practice.
McGivney, V. and Murray, F. (1991) Adult Education in Development. Methods and approaches from changing societies, Leicester: NIACE. Includes around 20 short accounts of community-based projects and initiatives concerned with health education, literacy, rural development, and the role of women in development.
McConnell, C. (ed.) (1996) Community Education. The making of an empowering profession, Edinburgh: Scottish Community Education Council. Useful collecti on of documents, articles and extracts that detail the development of community education in Scotland. Includes material from the Alexander Report, and from many of the key writers on Scottish community education since the mid 1970s.
McKenzie, M. and Kernig, W. (1975) The Challenge of Informal Education. Extending young children's learning in the open classroom, London: Darton, Longman and Todd. Review of informal primary education - post-Plowden, Chapters on learning in the informal school; setting the scene for informal learning; evaluating learning etc.
Poster, C. and Kruger, A. (eds.) (1990) Community Education in the Western World, London: Routledge. Collection of papers which examine different aspects of practice in the western world.
Poster, C. and Zimmer, J. (eds.) (1992) Community Education in the Third World, London: Routledge. 253 + vi pages. Includes a number of useful case studies that give an insight into approaches in the South. Sections on survival and self-realization; chagning the economic structures and framing the future. Hardback only - which is great pity given the quality of the material.
Paneth, M. (1944) Branch Street, London: George Allen and Unwin. Engaging and useful account of detached and project work with young people in a particular area in London during the Blitz.[Out of print].
Roberts, L. C. (1997) From Knowledge to Narrative. Educators and the changing museum, Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. 205 + ix pages. Uses an exploration of a particular exhibit to review the history and philosophy of museum education. Looks at museum education in relation to entertainment, as a tool of empowerment, as a shaper of experience; and as an ethical responsibility.
Roberts, K., White, G. E. and Parker, H. J. (1974) The Character-Training Industry. Adventure Training Schemes in Britain, Newton Abbot: David and Charles. One of the few properly researched pieces on the impact of adventure education. Provides an outline of the movement, a discussion of aims, material on the perspectives of sponsors, consumers and trainers, and an evaluation of the impact of adventure training. [Out of print].
Mayo, M. (1994) Communities and Caring. The mixed economy of welfare, London: Macmillan. Exploration of debates around community participation and community development which attends to experiences in both the north and the south. Some consideration of community education.
Rogers, A. (1992) Adults Learning for Development, London: Cassell. Rogers has his own particular reading of informal and non-formal education but has some important things to say about the relation of education to development.
Simkins, T. (1977) Non-formal Education and Development, Manchester: Manchester University. This book examines some key issues surrounding the definition and use of non-formal education and includes a number of case studies. [Out of print].
Smith, M. (1988) Developing Youth Work. Informal education, mutual aid and popular practice, Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Provides a history of youth work that emphasizes popular initiatives and explores the demise of the Youth Service. Discusses informal education as a process rather than as an institutional form.
Steele, T. and Taylor, R. (1995) Learning Independence. A political outline of Indian adult education, Leicester: National Institute of Adult Continuing Education. Useful survey of developments in the twentieth century. Examines contested concepts; Gandhi and the dialectic of modernity; education and social development in India (1947-1964); social education and the dream of nationhood; the non-formal revolution and the National Adult Education Programme; post NAEP.
Thomas, A (1998) Educating Children at Home, London: Cassell. 160 pages. Examines the experiences of a hundred families and discovers that classroom approached to teaching and learning do not easily translate in to the home. Some radically adjust their approach to educating, in some instances virtually abandoning any structured teaching or learning. How children can acquire an education, simply through everyday experiences, is explored in depth. Contents: Individualised teaching, learning through living, Why do parents choose to educate their children at home? Teaching at home, Becoming less formal, Informal learning, Literacy, Social aspects, Towards a child's theory of learning.
Wood, A. W. (1974) Informal Educaton and Development in Africa, The Hague: Mouton. [Out of print].
Youth Work Information Centre (1967-1970)
Youth Work Project Summaries: a series of concise, descriptive accounts of
recent experimental projects in the inf ormal education of young people,
Leicester: YSIC. Useful collection of summaries that focus on animation and
informal education. [Out of print].
Bishop, J. and Hoggett (1986) Organizing Around Enthusiasms. Mutual aid in leisure, London: Comedia. Excellent study of hobbiest and leisure groups and clubs and some of the opportunities for educational activity. Has a strong focus on mutual aid activities - as the title suggests. [Out of print]
Dewey, J. (1916) Democracy and Education. An introduction to the philosophy of education (1966 edn.), New York: Free Press. Classic discussion of education for democracy ('sharing in a common life'). Includes an important reconceptualization of vocational learning.
Doyle, M. E. and Smith, M. K. (1999) Born and Bred. Leadership, heart and informal education, London: YMCA George Williams College /Rank Foundation. 81 pages. Explores the nature of leadership, the significance of spirit, association and service, and examines the contribution of informal educators. Includes material on animation and formation.
Elsdon, K. T. with J. Reynolds and S. Stewart (1995) Voluntary Organizations. Citizenship, learning and change, Leicester: National Institute of Adult Continuing Education. 168 + viii pages. Important report of a six year research project in England, Scotland and Wales. Examines the nature of voluntary organization and the educative possibilities of associational life. An overview of the 31 case studies that formed the basis of the research is included. The study also produced three useful collections of case studies plus an overall study of voluntary organization in Retford.
Follett, M. P. (1981) The New State: Group organization - the solution of popular government, New York: Longman, Green and Co. Follett argued for the development of neighbourhoods where there was a high degree of face-to-face interaction. She looked to foster local solidarity and direct communication. Schools were to be community centers that: prepared young people to participate in the neighbourhood; made possible understanding between groups; mobilized people and provided a f ramework for churches and community groups to act together. See also (1924) Creative Experience.
Layton, E. (ed.) (1940) Roads to Citizenship. Suggestions for various methods of informal education in citizenship, London: Oxford University Press. [Out of print].
Prepared by
Mark K. Smith
©
Mark K. Smith
