This website began as part of a culminating capstone project for a Master’s of Arts in International Training & Education (ITEP) at American University’s School of Education. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was working as a graduate assistant with a class on Nonformal Education with Dr. Michael Gibbons where we worked to recreate participatory learning design in an online format. That class introduced me to the NFE definitions within the education continuum featured here. But more than that, it introduced me to the depths of this important field and offered us the chance to explore ways to design creative, learner-driven participatory activities.
Though this class occurred within a formal institution, it embraced NFE methods and pointed to their importance, particularly in an ever shifting world with more diverse learner needs.
Our class relied heavily on Dr. Alan Rogers’ book Non-Formal Education: Flexible schooling or participatory education?, one of the only books dedicated entirely to NFE. Though there are plenty of NFE organizations around the world and articles about its worth and variety, there wasn’t an overarching hub for those in the realm of NFE to gather together. This site is a response to that gap, aiming to highlight the many forms of NFE occurring around the world and offer the means for connection & collaboration across the NFE field.
Each summer from 2003-2016, I spent time at a Girl Scout camp in New Hampshire. At the end of each session, the whole camp joined and at the camp director lit a candle from our final bonfire. She would point out that while individually one light might be small, by working together and sharing the light, we can make a big difference. From her candle to those of the staff and campers, the light would spread until lights shone around the beach.
This network aims to do the same – except in this case, we want to draw from the many sparks of NFE that already exist around the world to light up a vivid network of NFEers.
NFE Network 