Lived Experience of Informal Learning in Formal Schools: A Phenomenological Approach

Subject Areas : Research in Curriculum Planning

Fatemeh gudarzi ¹ , Alireza Sadeghi ^{2 *} , Mostafa Ghaderi ³ , H. Maleki ⁴ , gholamreza yadegarzadeh ⁵

1 - Department of Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Department of Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
3 - Department of Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
4 - Department of Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran
5 - Department of Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2025-02-02 Accepted : 2025-10-06 Published : 2025-10-18

Keywords: Informal learning, formal learning, hidden informal learning, curriculum organization, flexibility.,

Abstract :

Informal learning, which occurs outside formal educational environments, involves voluntary, experiential, and flexible learning and is observed in contexts such as workshops, social programs, or extracurricular activities. Unlike formal learning, which is structured and assessed, informal learning is not explicitly identified or assessed, and lacks a clear definition. This study aims to explore how informal learning emerges and is identified within formal educational environments. A review of the research literature helped identify various dimensions of formality in learning and showed that formality is a fluid state, with different levels of formal and informal learning potentially coexisting in the same learning environment. To explore this further, tools were designed to capture evidence of informal learning and were applied in an experimental study within a formal 12th-grade classroom at a public school. These tools, based on the identified framework, were designed to observe, document, and assess the characteristics of informal learning in the educational environment. The results of this experimental study contributed to the improvement and updating of the informal learning framework and also prompted reflection on data collection methods. This research demonstrated that informal learning, with its diverse and fluid characteristics, can simultaneously emerge in formal educational environments, and its identification requires specialized tools and approaches.

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