Reflections on an informal learning environment with invocations for classroom learning in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

This article explores postgraduate student-teacher perceptions of the educational value of learning in informal environments through a well-known global edutainment centre - KidZania - in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It provides an interpretive analysis of student-teacher reflections in online reflective discourse communities, which followed a connect-extend-challenge format. Findings show that students identified benefits and some limitations to learning in the informal environment. Students were keen to subsequently transfer good practices modelled in the informal setting to the classroom, but reflected on how their practicum experiences had uncovered some factors that may affect progress. Recommendations are made to alleviate the limitations expressed, to open up both progressive informal and formal learning experiences for children within the context of the findings. © 2014 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis.