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‘Alternative’ Education Spaces and Local Community Connections: A Case Study of Care Farming in the United Kingdom

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Informal Education, Childhood and Youth

Abstract

This chapter focuses on education spaces that are marked as ‘alternative’. Arguably, this focus is important for any book on informal education. Most scholars accept that informal education can happen in many settings: from formal learning spaces like schools to voluntary organisations, youth clubs, homes and neighbourhood streets (Falk et al., 2009). However, in this chapter, I ask what happens to the concepts, practices and spaces of informal education when one examines contexts that are designated for learning, but which are not part of formal education provision per se? In posing this question, I am referring to forms of ‘alternative education’ provision that constitute a small but growing context for children’s learning — at least, in the United Kingdom. In order to offer one response, I focus on selected examples from the rapidly emerging UK Care Farming community.

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© 2014 Peter Kraftl

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Kraftl, P. (2014). ‘Alternative’ Education Spaces and Local Community Connections: A Case Study of Care Farming in the United Kingdom. In: Mills, S., Kraftl, P. (eds) Informal Education, Childhood and Youth. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137027733_4

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