This book has two purposes: To open up the debate on the role of informal education in schooling systems and to suggest the kind of school organizational environment that can best facilitate the recognition of informal learning. Successive chapters explore what is often seen as a duality between informal and formal learning. This duality is particularly so because education systems expend so much time and effort in certifying formal knowledge often expressed in school subjects reflecting academic disciplines.Recognizing the contribution informal learning can make to young people's understanding and development does not negate the importance of valued social knowledge: That complements it. Students come to school with knowledge learnt from their families, peers, the community and both traditional and social media. They should not have to "unlearn" this in order to enter the world of formal learning. Rather, students' different learning "worlds" should be integrated so that each informs the other. In a knowledge-based society, all learning needs to be valued. Some contributors to this book reflect on how new educational systems could be created in a move away from top-down authoritarian and bureaucratic management. Such open systems are seen to be more welcoming in acknowledging the importance of informal learning. Others provide practical examples of how informal learning is currently recognized. Some attention is also paid to the evaluation of informal learning. A key objective of the work presented here is to stimulate debate about the role of informal learning in knowledge-based societies and to stimulate thinking about the kind of reforms needed to create more open and more democratic school learning environments.

This book has two purposes: To open up the debate on the role of informal education in schooling systems and to suggest the kind of school organizational environment that can best facilitate the recognition of informal learning. Successive chapters explore what is often seen as a duality between informal and formal learning. This duality is particularly so because education systems expend so much time and effort in certifying formal knowledge often expressed in school subjects reflecting academic disciplines.Recognizing the contribution informal learning can make to young people's understanding and development does not negate the importance of valued social knowledge: That complements it. Students come to school with knowledge learnt from their families, peers, the community and both traditional and social media. They should not have to "unlearn" this in order to enter the world of formal learning. Rather, students' different learning "worlds" should be integrated so that each informs the other. In a knowledge-based society, all learning needs to be valued. Some contributors to this book reflect on how new educational systems could be created in a move away from top-down authoritarian and bureaucratic management. Such open systems are seen to be more welcoming in acknowledging the importance of informal learning. Others provide practical examples of how informal learning is currently recognized. Some attention is also paid to the evaluation of informal learning. A key objective of the work presented here is to stimulate debate about the role of informal learning in knowledge-based societies and to stimulate thinking about the kind of reforms needed to create more open and more democratic school learning environments.

In Practical Knowledge in Teacher Education, expert contributors from across Asia and Europe explore and reflect upon the innovation and creativity in teacher education programs. Specific focus is given to the internships that provide students an opportunity for intensive, hands-on experience in schools. Different approaches to internship provide comprehensive information on a diversity of ways of organising and managing internship programmes within teacher education courses, and equip future teachers with real-world knowledge within a global context. This book focuses on approaches to internship in teacher education programmes in Europe and Asia. It explores the idea that a consideration of the rich variation in approaches and experience across Eurasia will foreground critical aspects of successful internship. Each chapter provides a different focus from Asian and European perspectives on aspects of the teacher education practicum or internship, and what can be learned from school placement. This book is an invaluable resource for all those involved in teacher education, educational policy and anyone who has a stake in ensuring effective teacher education for the 21st century. It offers a far reaching overview of the teacher internship phase across a number of countries, and contributes to identifying distinctive features of teacher education in European and Asian universities.

In Practical Knowledge in Teacher Education, expert contributors from across Asia and Europe explore and reflect upon the innovation and creativity in teacher education programs. Specific focus is given to the internships that provide students an opportunity for intensive, hands-on experience in schools. Different approaches to internship provide comprehensive information on a diversity of ways of organising and managing internship programmes within teacher education courses, and equip future teachers with real-world knowledge within a global context. This book focuses on approaches to internship in teacher education programmes in Europe and Asia. It explores the idea that a consideration of the rich variation in approaches and experience across Eurasia will foreground critical aspects of successful internship. Each chapter provides a different focus from Asian and European perspectives on aspects of the teacher education practicum or internship, and what can be learned from school placement. This book is an invaluable resource for all those involved in teacher education, educational policy and anyone who has a stake in ensuring effective teacher education for the 21st century. It offers a far reaching overview of the teacher internship phase across a number of countries, and contributes to identifying distinctive features of teacher education in European and Asian universities.