Convergence between formal and informal learning practices: state of the art and historical heritage
For a long time, Informal learning suffered a mechanical and simplified defi-
nition, as a category opposed to formal learning: it was in fact intended at a
space-time level, as a complex of outdoor activities, carried out outside school
walls, and outside a certifiable path.
If in the field of vocational training validation systems have been arranged at
European level by CEDEFOP (2017) to test and to certificate skills and abilities
acquired through individual experience, however, many third sector initiatives,
volunteering, personal interests and creative activities usually are more prob-
lematic in being identified and formally attested, and require a substantial
change of didactics and educational perspectives. In any case a step change is
in progress at the moment: recognizing the informal learning formative basis
means, in fact, becoming aware of the profound changes technologies have
introduced in the educational world, to the point of blurring the borders between
informal and non-formal (the structured but not certified) learning paths, and
more generally between formal and informal ones.