Szabadidős-tevékenységek által megvalósuló informális tanulás és az egyetemi szakválasztás kapcsolata: Egy doktori pilot kutatás eredményei

Mária Kraiciné Szokoly; Edina Mohos

doi:10.3311/ope.41096

Authors

Mária Kraiciné Szokoly

Affiliation

Maria Szokoly-Kraicine Ph.D senior lecturer Institute of Research for Adult Education and Knowledge Management ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Faculty of Education and Psychology 23-27 Kazinczy str., Budapest 1075, Hungary. Her field of research focuses on the examination of teacher-andragogue roles and competencies, catch-up of disadvantaged social groups through training, and the methodology of adult education.
Edina Mohos

Affiliation

Edina Mohos, PhD student
ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Doctoral School of
Education
ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Institute for Adult
Education Research and Knowledge Management
Her research focuses on the relationship between informal learning and career orientation in the
context of leisure time use.

Abstract

One of the most characteristic features of adult learning in our time is that learning pathways have broadened to an incredible extent. Alongside formal, school-based learning, non-formal learning, usually linked to work, has become a key player. Although we talk little about it, informal learning, which takes place in leisure time and in any activity, consciously or unconsciously, during which we acquire knowledge, skills, and competencies that are relevant and expected in many labor markets. Informal learning experiences can play a role in career orientation, further education, and the choice of university major for young people. This case study presents the characteristics and main results of a pilot study, which was awarded funding under the UNKP 2023-3 grant program, preceding doctoral research aimed at examining the role of informal learning experiences in career and subject choice. Beyond the issue of the background of higher education choice, the research is also interesting because because in recent years, so-called pilot projects have been used more and more frequently, in this case prior to doctoral research, in which, at the beginning of the research, the research questions, hypotheses, and ideas and plans regarding the methodology used are clarified in a smaller-scale, experimental study.

Today's rapidly changing and unpredictable labor market expectations pose serious challenges for young people struggling with career orientation and subject choice, as well as for higher education institutions struggling with the continuous development of subject offerings and curriculum content. Quick employment and successful integration into the workplace are key issues for young people, which is why they seek professions that develop competencies, cross-professional, so-called transversal skills, and soft skills that ensure effective work and successful integration in several fields. The key to this may lie in the increasingly prominent world of informal learning, which is an important arena for acquiring the soft skills required in the labor market, but which can also play a prominent role in career guidance, alongside formal school-based training. During the pilot research preceding the doctoral research[1], we were aware that no general conclusions could be drawn from the results, so our aim was to explore the main areas to be examined within the topic and to clarify the purpose and theme of the study.

[1] The pilot research for the doctoral research was carried out with professional support from the Ministry of Culture and Innovation's New National Excellence Program (code number ÚNKP-23-3) funded by the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund within the framework of the ELTE PPK NI andragogy program.