ERIC Number: EJ1059675
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0266-0830
EISSN: N/A
Adult Play-Learning: Observing Informal Family Education at a Science Museum
Kanhadilok, Peeranut; Watts, Mike
Studies in the Education of Adults, v46 n1 p23-41 Spr 2014
This paper discusses some of the issues surrounding the nature of adult play. More specifically, we explore "family play-learning", where play activities result in forms of added knowledge or insight for the adults involved. Adult play itself is an under-researched area, and play-learning even more so. We discuss related research and, in particular, the roles that adults adopt when the family is learning together through play. We focus in particular on the processes involved as adults learn with, and from, their children. While family learning is widely discussed, it--again in our view--lacks useful empirical evidence of its effectiveness. We use Bandura's theories of social cognition to analyse participant observations of 97 families while they made and played with toys within the informal educational system of a major science museum. Our agenda has been to detail some of the processes of learning through Bandura's four levels of observation, imitation, achievement and independence, and explore how these can be used to describe the "upward transmission" of knowledge from children to adults.
Descriptors: Adults, Adult Learning, Play, Informal Education, Museums, Science Teaching Centers, Family Involvement, Social Cognition, Social Theories, Participant Observation, Learning Processes, Parent Child Relationship
National Institute of Adult Continuing Education. Renaissance House, 20 Princess Road West, Leicester, LE1 6TP, UK. Tel: +44-1162-044200; Fax: +44-1162-044262; e-mail: enquiries@niace.org.uk; Web site: http://www.niace.org.uk/publications/academic-journals/studies#
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A