With smartphone saturation at 100% among Japanese university students, educators are developing new and innovative ways to bring them to the forefront of learning, ensuring students are as engaged with their technology in their formal learning as they are with their informal learning. Smartphones of today are small, portable, have high spec…

Despite the increasing demand for non-formal science learning activities, few studies report on practitioners' perspectives and experiences with designing and implementing such activities worldwide. This paper focuses on their challenges by drawing upon twenty-two interviews with practitioners involved in diverse science learning activities in…

According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 measurements, Slovak primary school pupils commonly can reach some below average scores in terms of scientific literacy and have less and less positive attitudes towards the natural sciences. Natural sciences and statistics are intertwined disciplines. This implies that…

The rapid worldwide expansion of enrolment in higher education (HE) has led to greater diversity among students, with more first-generation learners, HE returnees, and disadvantaged groups. Yet, inequalities in participation persist and have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of flexible learning pathways (FLPs) can help HE…

This interdisciplinary research examines how Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) and the L2 Motivational Self System (consisting of "the ideal L2 self" and "the ought-to L2 self") are linked with Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE). Together, these are flourishing research areas in computer-assisted language learning,…

As ethnographers we are familiar with methodological debates problematising ethnography's inherited and inherent connections to ideas of authenticity commonly mobilised to legitimate modes of representation. In this paper, we engage with the post-structural philosophies of Jacques Rancière and Judith Butler, to argue that methodological tools of…

Physics outreach programs provide a critical context for informal experiences that promote the transition from new student to contributing physicist. Prior studies have suggested a positive link between participation in informal physics outreach programs and the development of a student's physics identity. In this study, we adopt a student-focused…

Research studies investigating the occupational socialization of primary teachers delivering physical education has been conspicuous by its absence (O'Leary, N. 2019. "Teacher socialization in physical education: new perspectives." "Sport, Education and Society" 24 (6): 668-671). Using Lawson's, H. (1986. "Occupational…

In this article, Harper B. Keenan investigates the treatment of violence in elementary history education through a case study of a fourth-grade unit on the colonial history of California featuring "the mission project," a long-standing tradition in California's elementary schools that has students construct a miniature model of a Spanish…

School closures due to teacher strikes or political unrest in low-resource contexts can adversely affect children's educational outcomes and career opportunities. Phone-based educational technologies could help bridge these gaps in formal schooling, but it is unclear whether or how children and their families will use such systems during periods…

School closures due to teacher strikes or political unrest in low-resource contexts can adversely affect children's educational outcomes and career opportunities. Phone-based educational technologies could help bridge these gaps in formal schooling, but it is unclear whether or how children and their families will use such systems during periods…

In this three-article dissertation, I explore how ten Palestinian fifth and sixth-grade students perceive and engage with science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and art (STEAM) activities within an out-of-school context. I collaborated with a local organization, Al-Roward for Science and Technology which developed the programming for the…

The maker movement, with its focus on-hands on learning through creating with familiar materials, has seen growth in both formal and informal learning spaces. This article examines three informal learning spaces that have redesigned their space (or a portion of it) to accommodate several tenets of the maker movement and in various ways have become…

The aim of this research was to explore the impact of the adoption of the Musical Futures approach on the musical progression of students in Musical Futures' Champion schools. The research took place over three years in three phases with 733 students and 28 music teachers completing questionnaires. Data from the interviews with 39 staff and focus…

Informal science learning aims to improve public understanding of STEM. Free-choice learners can be engaged in a wide range of experiences, ranging from watching entertaining educational videos to actively participating in hands-on projects. Efforts in informal science learning are often gauged by their ability to elicit interaction, to foster…