Informal Education & Youth Work
by Sean Harte
http://youthworkcentral.tripod.com/seaninf.htm
“Critically examine the view that informal education is based around conversation and formal education on curriculum. Is there a role for curriculum within informal education?”
This essay will explore and critically assess the philosophical notions of formal and informal education. It will be shown that historically and politically formal education has been, and continues to be, tied to the notion of curriculum. It will be argued that curriculum work in formal educational settings has created methods which are discriminatory and oppressive in their conception, and importantly in the testing which is inextricably linked with curricular process. It will thus be shown that by design rather than inadvertent consequence of curricular development, formal education is a controlling mechanism reinforcing and reproducing oppressive social hegemony.
Conversely it will be shown that informal education, through the use of conversation or dialogue can be seen as a democratic tool and one which is capable of challenging the status quo, and may aid in the emancipation of the oppressed.
It will thus be argued that informal education, if it is to continue to be a libertarian and democratic mechanism, cannot and must not accept curriculum. Indeed it will be shown that if informal education was to accept curriculum it would, by definition, no longer be informal education. However, it will also be discussed thatpure informal education is a very rare experience, particularly when discussed in the context of the youth worker. Therefore a synopsis of the amalgamation of curricular work and informal education will be briefly discussed. It is emphasised that this discussion is based on the use of a curriculum alongside conversation and dialogue and that curriculum is not seen to be within the remit of informal education.
Formal Education: Tied to Curriculum?
A plethora of conflicting academic text exists which attempts to define, analyse and evaluate the `keyword` (Goodson, 1995) of curriculum within formal education. As such, it is difficult to provide an absolute definition of what is understood by this complex and problematic notion.
Beauchamp describes three crucial meanings for the word curriculum within education and these provide a sound foundation of understanding for further discussion. Curriculum may be seen as a plan consisting of learning experiences for school pupils, here it may be described as an elaborate document including objectives, activities, instructional materials and schedules. A second use of curriculum is as a system or dynamic framework existing in order to implement, appraise and modify learning experiences. The third use of curriculum is described as a synonym for an area of professional study (Beauchamp, 1968).
Common to these, and other descriptions of curriculum, the importance of the relationship between goals and subject matter can be observed. It is thus distinguishable that these descriptions give rise to understanding knowledge as a commodity which is external to the learner, and which is to be consumed towards the ultimate aim of mastery. Furthermore this fundamentally positivist epistemological basis for the construction of curriculum gives rise to the powerful notion that learning can be, and will be, measured.
There is an inherent danger in indulging in this measurable curriculum model. The danger lies in the potential that outcomes may lead process and thus content and the learner become secondary to delivery and testing processes. As Barnes and Seed explain;
`Examination papers … offer to teacher and taught the most persuasive arguments about what model of the subject is appropriate, what should go on in lessons, what knowledge, skills and activities should be emphasised and what can safely be ignored` (Barnes and Seed, 1984: 263).
Current policy indeed advocates rigorous and frequent testing;
`Pupils are assessed by national tests at the ages of 7, 11, and 14, at the end of key stages 1, 2 and 3. These tests are designed to help teachers assess pupils’ strengths and weaknesses and to determine what pupils understand about a subject` (DFEE, 2000).
Through a measured curriculum, the institutions of formal education control not only the methods of education, but also what is and what is not learned. For if a curriculum is to be devised and delivered then the question must be asked “what is relevant, useful, etc?” (Homan, 1985). It is here perhaps, that formal educationalists can be seen falling into the trap of rating examination over process. Examinations now dictate the curriculum, rather than underpinning understanding, as Broadfoot describes, whether we like it or not assessment drives learning (Broadfoot, 1996). Testing of knowledge has become the absolute supremacy within formal education, the reason for this is the use of curriculum.
Other models of curriculum have been offered. Grundy (1987) discusses the juxtaposition of subject oriented practice curriculum, building on the ideas of Habermas (1979). Here `learning, not teaching, will be the central concern of the teacher` (Grundy, 1987: 69). This practice based curriculum is devoted to creativity and understanding in the learner and the teacher rather than an obsession with right or wrong answers. This curriculum would be more in line with the vision of many `deschoolers` as they too advocate the importance of creativity and understanding (Holt, 1969, 1970, 1971; Illich, 1973). This reinterpretation of curriculum does not alleviate the problems associated with testing and measurement.
However it is used, the notion of curriculum and its implementation implies a beginning and an end point for education, indeed the original use of the word was as a circuit which was to be completed by charioteers. In curriculum the end point must be measured in order that it may become the new beginning and further learning may be administered and assessed. Thus curriculum ties learners to a linear model of learning and inhibits individuality, imposing rather than eliciting relevance. Moreover curriculum must always be measured, and as long as this is so the danger of measurement usurping process and content remains. Marx protested that `examinations were nothing but a bureaucratic form of christening knowledge and endowing it with sacred characteristics` (cited in Clignet, 1974). It is also argued that examinations are as much a test of learners understanding of language as they are a test of knowledge in a given subject area (Hannan, 1985; Clignet, 1974). Lee Smith (1991) provides a more comprehensive discussion on the flaws of testing and examination. With the value, validity and fairness of testing and examination being challenged, alongside inflexibility and linear learning enforcement, the validity, fairness and relevance of curriculum is challenged.
We have discussed the power curriculum may hold over the teacher, learner and the learning process through linear learning and a process of examination and assessment. This institutionalised control of learning has been much contested in history between those who teach and the more central running of government (Lawton, 1980). Why is the power of the curriculum such a sought after commodity and why is the learner not empowered to decide upon the relevance and importance of learning?
Recent and current government policy advocates that curriculum is adaptable and flexible and adequately meets all pupils’ needs stating that;
`Head teachers have considerable scope to develop their own curriculum … They can introduce other experiences and subjects to meet the needs and interests of their pupils … the school curriculum, secures for all pupils, irrespective of social background, culture, race, gender, differences in ability and disabilities, an entitlement to a number of areas of learning and to develop knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes necessary for their self-fulfilment and development as active and responsible citizens` (DFEE, 2000).
An alternative view can be taken that adopting a curriculum indulges in the principle that young people and other learners are a homogenous group, whose educational and cultural needs have little or no diversity. Indeed the school curriculum can be said to `correspond to academic and to middle class interests, and hence exclude[s] by its nature enormous numbers (Hannan, 1985: 36). Dewey too, was dubious of the history and tradition of the curriculum asserting that it needed continuous critique as it is `loaded down with purely inherited traditional matter … which represent mainly the energy of some influential person or … persons` and `represents the values of adults rather than those of children and youth, or those of pupils of a generation ago rather than those of the present day` (Dewey, 1997: 241).
Thus it is argued that curriculum is discriminatory and oppressive, and this is at odds with the ideology of informal education and of youth work, as we will discuss. Moreover the oppression and discrimination which curriculum produces is not an unwanted but necessary by-product of education, it is in fact a creation intended to maintain hegemony and power for the rich elite at the expense of the learners liberty. As Illich discusses, `curriculum has always been used to assign social rank` (Illich, 1973: 19), this social rank has changed little in the past centuries, where the majority of education is controlled by curriculum.
Informal Education: Trusting in Conversation?
Certain educational philosophers offer a mutual stance that education should promote freedom, activity and the centrality of the position of the learner, in short education is an important democratic process (Rousseau, 1961; Froebel (cited in Cohen, 1969); Dewey, 1997). Whilst many theorists discuss democratic education in formal settings, this discussion will offer an alternative method
Informal Education & Youth Work by Sean Hartehttp://youthworkcentral.tripod.com/seaninf.htm“Critically examine the view that informal education is based around conversation and formal education on curriculum. Is there a role for curriculum within informal education?”This essay will explore and critically assess the philosophical notions of formal and informal education. It will be shown that historically and politically formal education has been, and continues to be, tied to the notion of curriculum. It will be argued that curriculum work in formal educational settings has created methods which are discriminatory and oppressive in their conception, and importantly in the testing which is inextricably linked with curricular process. It will thus be shown that by design rather than inadvertent consequence of curricular development, formal education is a controlling mechanism reinforcing and reproducing oppressive social hegemony.Conversely it will be shown that informal education, through the use of conversation or dialogue can be seen as a democratic tool and one which is capable of challenging the status quo, and may aid in the emancipation of the oppressed.It will thus be argued that informal education, if it is to continue to be a libertarian and democratic mechanism, cannot and must not accept curriculum. Indeed it will be shown that if informal education was to accept curriculum it would, by definition, no longer be informal education. However, it will also be discussed thatpure informal education is a very rare experience, particularly when discussed in the context of the youth worker. Therefore a synopsis of the amalgamation of curricular work and informal education will be briefly discussed. It is emphasised that this discussion is based on the use of a curriculum alongside conversation and dialogue and that curriculum is not seen to be within the remit of informal education.Formal Education: Tied to Curriculum?A plethora of conflicting academic text exists which attempts to define, analyse and evaluate the `keyword` (Goodson, 1995) of curriculum within formal education. As such, it is difficult to provide an absolute definition of what is understood by this complex and problematic notion.Beauchamp describes three crucial meanings for the word curriculum within education and these provide a sound foundation of understanding for further discussion. Curriculum may be seen as a plan consisting of learning experiences for school pupils, here it may be described as an elaborate document including objectives, activities, instructional materials and schedules. A second use of curriculum is as a system or dynamic framework existing in order to implement, appraise and modify learning experiences. The third use of curriculum is described as a synonym for an area of professional study (Beauchamp, 1968).Common to these, and other descriptions of curriculum, the importance of the relationship between goals and subject matter can be observed. It is thus distinguishable that these descriptions give rise to understanding knowledge as a commodity which is external to the learner, and which is to be consumed towards the ultimate aim of mastery. Furthermore this fundamentally positivist epistemological basis for the construction of curriculum gives rise to the powerful notion that learning can be, and will be, measured.There is an inherent danger in indulging in this measurable curriculum model. The danger lies in the potential that outcomes may lead process and thus content and the learner become secondary to delivery and testing processes. As Barnes and Seed explain;`Examination papers … offer to teacher and taught the most persuasive arguments about what model of the subject is appropriate, what should go on in lessons, what knowledge, skills and activities should be emphasised and what can safely be ignored` (Barnes and Seed, 1984: 263).Current policy indeed advocates rigorous and frequent testing;`Pupils are assessed by national tests at the ages of 7, 11, and 14, at the end of key stages 1, 2 and 3. These tests are designed to help teachers assess pupils’ strengths and weaknesses and to determine what pupils understand about a subject` (DFEE, 2000).Through a measured curriculum, the institutions of formal education control not only the methods of education, but also what is and what is not learned. For if a curriculum is to be devised and delivered then the question must be asked “what is relevant, useful, etc?” (Homan, 1985). It is here perhaps, that formal educationalists can be seen falling into the trap of rating examination over process. Examinations now dictate the curriculum, rather than underpinning understanding, as Broadfoot describes, whether we like it or not assessment drives learning (Broadfoot, 1996). Testing of knowledge has become the absolute supremacy within formal education, the reason for this is the use of curriculum.Other models of curriculum have been offered. Grundy (1987) discusses the juxtaposition of subject oriented practice curriculum, building on the ideas of Habermas (1979). Here `learning, not teaching, will be the central concern of the teacher` (Grundy, 1987: 69). This practice based curriculum is devoted to creativity and understanding in the learner and the teacher rather than an obsession with right or wrong answers. This curriculum would be more in line with the vision of many `deschoolers` as they too advocate the importance of creativity and understanding (Holt, 1969, 1970, 1971; Illich, 1973). This reinterpretation of curriculum does not alleviate the problems associated with testing and measurement.However it is used, the notion of curriculum and its implementation implies a beginning and an end point for education, indeed the original use of the word was as a circuit which was to be completed by charioteers. In curriculum the end point must be measured in order that it may become the new beginning and further learning may be administered and assessed. Thus curriculum ties learners to a linear model of learning and inhibits individuality, imposing rather than eliciting relevance. Moreover curriculum must always be measured, and as long as this is so the danger of measurement usurping process and content remains. Marx protested that `examinations were nothing but a bureaucratic form of christening knowledge and endowing it with sacred characteristics` (cited in Clignet, 1974). It is also argued that examinations are as much a test of learners understanding of language as they are a test of knowledge in a given subject area (Hannan, 1985; Clignet, 1974). Lee Smith (1991) provides a more comprehensive discussion on the flaws of testing and examination. With the value, validity and fairness of testing and examination being challenged, alongside inflexibility and linear learning enforcement, the validity, fairness and relevance of curriculum is challenged.We have discussed the power curriculum may hold over the teacher, learner and the learning process through linear learning and a process of examination and assessment. This institutionalised control of learning has been much contested in history between those who teach and the more central running of government (Lawton, 1980). Why is the power of the curriculum such a sought after commodity and why is the learner not empowered to decide upon the relevance and importance of learning?Recent and current government policy advocates that curriculum is adaptable and flexible and adequately meets all pupils’ needs stating that;`Head teachers have considerable scope to develop their own curriculum … They can introduce other experiences and subjects to meet the needs and interests of their pupils … the school curriculum, secures for all pupils, irrespective of social background, culture, race, gender, differences in ability and disabilities, an entitlement to a number of areas of learning and to develop knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes necessary for their self-fulfilment and development as active and responsible citizens` (DFEE, 2000).An alternative view can be taken that adopting a curriculum indulges in the principle that young people and other learners are a homogenous group, whose educational and cultural needs have little or no diversity. Indeed the school curriculum can be said to `correspond to academic and to middle class interests, and hence exclude[s] by its nature enormous numbers (Hannan, 1985: 36). Dewey too, was dubious of the history and tradition of the curriculum asserting that it needed continuous critique as it is `loaded down with purely inherited traditional matter … which represent mainly the energy of some influential person or … persons` and `represents the values of adults rather than those of children and youth, or those of pupils of a generation ago rather than those of the present day` (Dewey, 1997: 241).Thus it is argued that curriculum is discriminatory and oppressive, and this is at odds with the ideology of informal education and of youth work, as we will discuss. Moreover the oppression and discrimination which curriculum produces is not an unwanted but necessary by-product of education, it is in fact a creation intended to maintain hegemony and power for the rich elite at the expense of the learners liberty. As Illich discusses, `curriculum has always been used to assign social rank` (Illich, 1973: 19), this social rank has changed little in the past centuries, where the majority of education is controlled by curriculum.Informal Education: Trusting in Conversation?Certain educational philosophers offer a mutual stance that education should promote freedom, activity and the centrality of the position of the learner, in short education is an important democratic process (Rousseau, 1961; Froebel (cited in Cohen, 1969); Dewey, 1997). Whilst many theorists discuss democratic education in formal settings, this discussion will offer an alternative method
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