Abstract:

The article deals with a unique and relevant problem which is children’s informal learning during summer holidays. Therefore, the selection of the problem in a scientific aspect is exclusively original, dealing with a child’s free recreational environment (summer holidays) in a highly safe and child-friendly environment (home). Socio-educational meaningfulness of children’s informal learning during summer holidays is revealed. The whole spectrum of situations experienced by children during their leisure time throughout summer holidays, which basically points out new opportunities for children’s informal learning, is presented.

The population of the qualitative research comprised 249 children (aged 10–12 years) who attended 5th–6th forms of comprehensive schools. Such age phase of the informants was chosen because children of such an age spend more of their leisure time in the environment which is not regulated by adults, have experience of spending their leisure time during summer holidays, are able to render this experience in written in an acceptable, attractive form of an essay on a suggested topic. The basis of the qualitative investigation consisted of the writing of essays “In the Summertime I’m Learning at Home While Not Learning”. 166 texts have been selected for qualitative interpretation as a research data analysis out of obtained 249 essays written by children.

The qualitative research approach is characterised, the content analysis and conceptions of the texts (children’s essays) allowing to reveal socio-educational meanings of children’s informal learning during summer holidays are described. The disclosed meanings reject the traditional perception of the parents’ and children’s roles; particularly parents and not children decide about the opportunities to plan leisure time. A traditional attitude towards the child’s role during summer holidays, when child’s needs are regulated by parents and other adults, treating a child like the one who is unable to assume responsibility for his/ her own choices: how, when, with whom and what he/ she want to do. In the context of these traditional conceptions, the dilemma of child’s freedom, autonomy, his/ her as an individual’s opportunities for self-expression and self-reflection of experiences is pointed out.

Grounding on the results of the qualitative research, it is possible to construct, reconstruct and construct over again the knowledge about a child as a learner who is creating practice of learning which is significant to adults. In such a way the entire spectrum of new pedagogical opportunities related to education and pedagogical counselling of parents is disclosed. However, significance of this knowledge may raise some doubts if adults (scientists, pedagogues and parents alike) embrace stereotypes related to children and/ or achievements in the culture of their learning.

Keywords:

Informal learning of children, children’s leisure time during summer holidays, qualitative research.