Key National Education Indicators Workshop Summary (2012) / Chapter Skim
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6 Indicators for Lifelong, Informal Learning
6 Indicators for Lifelong, Informal Learning
Pages 52-59
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From page 52... ...
Both the Canadian Council on Learning and the OECD have recently focused on lifelong learning and have offered approaches to defining and measuring informal learning; the committee considered their models in thinking about education indicators (Canadian Council on Learning, 2010; Werquin, 2010)
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From page 53... ...
All the indicators suggested are shown in Table 6-1. TABLE 6-1 Indicators Suggested for Lifelong, Informal Learning POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT Practices such as voting, boycotting, supporting a political party or candidate Quantity and equality of engagement in such practices as volunteering, attending public meetings, working to address community problems, and making charitable donations Quantity and quality of political and civic news consumption Quality and quantity of engagement with diverse views on civic and political issues Opportunities to learn content related to civic and political life MEDIA USE Access to media, beginning with measures of household spending on or ownership of media devices and sources Media exposure that captures the nature of the content being consumed CULTURAL ACTIVITIES Engagement in learning opportunities outside of formal schooling, perhaps using surveys administered after learning experiences POLITICAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT Joseph Kahne focused on indicators of political and civic engagement.
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From page 54... ...
that relates to civic and political life; discussing current events; having open and respectful dialogue about current events; engaging in community service; engaging in extracurricular activities; and participating in simulations of civic and political processes. Some of these opportunities occur in the context of formal education but others are less formal.
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From page 55... ...
Every time we go into the field," he pointed out, "somebody has invented a new technology." This expands the time available for media use: for example, new miniaturized and portable devices mean that time spent standing in line or sitting on a bus can also be an opportunity to pay a video game, communicate with friends, or watch a television show. It is generally possible to obtain measures of which and how many young people have which sorts of devices, but finer grained information is needed, and the data change very quickly.
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From page 56... ...
But he found their operational definitions of mass media to be limited -- ELLI focused primarily on use of the internet and the CLI included use of the internet and reading materials. Roberts favors a more expansive definition that would include television and film, video games, and popular music, as well as other forms of electronic and print media.
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From page 57... ...
Thus, an indicator might be one that broadly measures engagement in learning opportunities outside of formal schooling, perhaps using surveys administered after learning experiences. This approach is more difficult and expensive, she acknowledged, but in her view it offers an understanding of the new knowledge or attitudes gained, changes in behavior, or actions taken that could provide meaningful evidence of the value of informal education.
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From page 58... ...
The American Academy of Pediatrics still recommends that young children be limited to one hour or less of screen time per day, Roberts pointed out, and "there are social, economic, and intellectual implications from being glued to a screen all day." Some research has suggested that young people who have spent considerable time using screened devices "don't know how to read facial expressions anymore, and all the information we get from social interactions," he added. It will be important, in his view, to pay attention to possible negative outcomes as well as positive ones, in tracking the use of technology.
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From page 59... ...
The conversation closed with the observation that while it may be important to measure access to informal learning opportunities and participation in them, the point is not simply to have a sense of general quality of life. Learning outcomes, a participant suggested, should really be the focus.
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