Non-Formal Adult Education as a path to deep learning

Learning is work, hard work. In order for an individual to desire to put forth the effort,
necessary motivation is needed. Pedagogy has long used performance appraisal
methodology to alternately reward or punish students. Simplistically, behaviorism has served as a model for much of what pupils and students are faced with in school: correct answers and behavior are rewarded with good grades while errors and lacunae are punished with poor results. There are a number of underlying assumptions herein: that all pupils and students are capable of performing in the desired manner, if they simply apply themselves, that all minds work alike, that good grades or the avoidance of poor grades, in and of themselves, are motivation enough to learn, and finally that there is predictability in the learning environment.

In Scandinavia, there are alternatives to this that have a longstanding tradition.
Folkbildning began in the 19 th c. as a project to provide literacy and numeracy to adults in Denmark at a time when the Danish society was being transformed into more inclusive democracy. Its founder N. F. S. Grundtvig recognized that these skills were necessary for individuals if they should participate fully in the democratic processes of a modern state.
Something had to be done to include adults who had not had the opportunity to attend school as children. The concept of folkbildning or non-formal adult education was created and spread quickly throughout Scandinavia to Finland Norway, Iceland, and Sweden. Since then it has spread to Tanzania and Kurdistan.

Folkbildning takes a step away from these mechanistic views of knowledge acquisition and focuses on the individual as a participant in a process such that motivation, learning styles and relevance to the individual and the group are in the forefront. With this shift, the individual becomes a participant in a group process. The questions of what, why, how, and how much are central to folkbildning. The participant become engaged in answering these questions as well as learning the material. Learning in this environment becomes a group or social activity. It begins with a discussion: participants engage in a process where every participant’s prior knowledge, curiosity, strengths and diversities in the learning process become assets. Then the questions of what, why, how, and how much, are answered together with the other participants and with the instructor. The process leads to identification of that which is ‘known’, the ‘known unknown’ and provides a framework for dealing with the ‘unknown unknown’. Some learning situations have predictable, known outcomes, some lead into areas unimagined by both the instructor and the participants and folkbildning uses unpredictability in outcomes, as a learning moment.

This is transformative; out goes evaluating individual achievements which are rewarded or punished with good or poor grades, and in comes a collaborative learning environment with a salutogenic perspective on leaning. Participants do not compete with one another, but encourage each other to make ever greater efforts to contribute to the whole. As such diversity, tolerance, and respect of other points of view are promoted. Each participant hones their own thought processes and sharpens their arguments for their points of view, not in competition with others, but in an environment of friendly discourse where ideas are brought forth, examined, evaluated, and either adopted or discarded.

Evaluating the individual efforts in this environment includes not only the knowledge gained, but also the analytical and deliberative skills acquired. Also the manner in which the participant approaches learning including openness to both assimilation and accommodation. Understanding what should be learnt, why it is important, how to best to apply oneself (based on an introspective review of one’s learning styles) to gain new knowledge, and as a group together with the instructor, deciding when a sufficient level of insight is obtained are seen as a very important lesson in the learning process. It is training in critical thought about the thought process, a meta-process. The final question, ‘What did we learn from this?’ must always get answered, especially for unexpected outcomes.

Folkbildning’s goal is to work as a group, what is to be learnt, how it is to be demonstrated,and more importantly how learning is achieved; to learn how to learn and not learn just to pass a test, hence it’s non-formal nature. Because the learning environment is created in collaboration with the participants and the instructor it fosters a deliberative democratic environment. Folkbildning encourages a more profoundly engaged individual where they interact in respect to one another. Acquiring the tools to learn becomes a stepladder into a lifelong leaning. No course or training can be complete and all encompassing. Providing the participants with tools to identify that which is unknown and patterns of investigation that assist in the acquisition of new knowledge will empower the participants with the self
confidence and self reliance to continue learning long after the training is complete.