Volunteer Work, Informal Learning and Social Action

Abstract

The aim of this series is to provide a focus for writers and readers interested in exploring the relation between the knowledge economy and education or an aspect of that relation, for example, vocational and professional education theorised critically. It seeks authors who are keen to question conceptually and empirically the causal link that policymakers globally assume exists between education and the knowledge economy by raising: (i) epistemological issues as regards the concepts and types of and the relations between knowledge, the knowledge economy and education; (ii) sociological and political economic issues as regards the changing nature of work, the role of learning in workplaces, the relation between work, formal and informal learning and competing and contending visions of what a knowledge economy/knowledge society might look like; and (iii) pedagogic issues as regards the relationship between knowledge and learning in educational, community and workplace contexts. The series is particularly aimed at researchers, policymakers, practitioners and students who wish to read texts and engage with researchers who call into question the current conventional wisdom that the knowledge economy is a new global reality to which all individuals and societies must adjust, and that lifelong learning is the strategy to secure such an adjustment. The series hopes to stimulate debate amongst this diverse audience by publishing books that: (i) articulate alternative visions of the relation between education and the knowledge economy; (ii) offer new insights into the extent, modes, and effectiveness of people's acquisition of knowledge and skill in the new circumstances that they face in the developed and developing world, (iii) and suggest how changes in both work conditions and curriculum and pedagogy can led to new relations between work and education.

Does a Difference Between Volunteers and Other People’s Focus an Self-Development Targeting Exist?

“…Work experiences are valuable commodity that those seeking entry to an occupation may be willing to work without pay in order to acquire it [14]. Volunteering to support new career (or change) can be understood as a response to the risks posed by complex social, political and economic circumstances.…”

Musikkfestivaler og frivillig arbeid

“…Arbeidsmiljøet for både ansatte, frivillige ledere eller frivillige medarbeidere ser ut til å preges av et sterkt sosialt fellesskap og lokal betydning. Dermed er det også mulig å forstå laeringen ved bruk av Lave og Wengers (1991) perspektiv for å belyse det Duguid et al (2013) kaller uformell laering. Denne studien av hvordan frivillig festivalarbeid organiseres, kan komplementere studiene ovenfor ved å peke på at kunnskap ikke først og fremst sitter i språket, men også i praksisene folk gjør sammen.…”

Refugees welcome? Active Citizenship und politische Bildungsprozesse durch freiwilliges Engagement

“…Das demokratiepolitische Potenzial von freiwilligem Engagement wurde ebenso wie andere (zumeist informelle) Lern-und Bildungsprozesse bereits öfters analysiert (Duguid et al 2013;Trumann 2013;Düx et al 2009;Foley 1999) -selbst wenn noch vor rund zehn Jahren informelles politisches Lernen als wenig erforscht galt (Schugurensky 2006, S. 163). Diese Studien zeigen, dass Freiwillige ihr soziales und politisches Bewusstsein durch Verantwortungsübernahme und intensive Konfrontation mit gesellschaftspolitischen Bedingungen potenziell weiterentwickeln.…”