Open the windows
and let hope
enter into
your house
brought by the afternoon wind...
Informal Learning in Times of Austerity
Our focus in this exploratory, descriptive, action-focused project is on supporting informal family learning in disadvantaged communities.
Poor families with young children have been harder hit than any other group by austerity policies. Informal family learning in community spaces contributes to development of young citizens, particularly for character building, positive learning dispositions and executive learning functions, which influence successful school outcomes (Pascal and Bertram, 2012; Heckmann and Mosso, 2014).
Research shows early exposures to informal family learning within neighbourhoods has long-term implications for individuals' life courses (Myhr et al, 2017), especially for the disadvantaged. This connection between school outcomes and changes in local environments is vital but under-researched.
A Dandelion... Why?
Adopting a dandelion as logo to identify this project results from its inspiring meanings:
freedom, optimism, resilience, hope...
In the Northeast Region of Brazil the dandelions are also named hope.
Children's Voices...
Another source of inspiration in the creation of this website are children's voices, listening to their saying, agency, competence through their own drawings and artistic creations.
The development of children's human capital requires families access to economic and cultural capital.
Embarking on a study about the negative consequences of austerity in urban communities is to assert the urgency of creating critical and relevant knowledge that shows the need to overcome an austerity that cuts on urban communities’ resources and their access to culture.
News
