INFORMAL AND INCIDENTAL LEARNING IN THE LIMINAL SPACE OF EXTENDED INDEPENDENT (GAP-YEAR) TRAVEL

摘要

Significant learning experiences occur informally and incidentally in the liminal spaces that are "betwixt and between" various educational, professional, and life stages. However, the learnings that take place in such liminal spaces are not well understood: They are both problematic and powerful and have untapped potential. Our research explored informal and incidental learning processes and outcomes in the liminal space of extended independent (gap-year) travel. Based on an in-depth qualitative analysis of the detailed accounts of the learning experiences of 27 participants, we present a six-stage model of how learning occurs in the liminal space of extended independent travel. In studying the relationships between informal and incidental learning in this space, we uncovered a process whereby participants, at times as the result of experiencing a disorienting dilemma, had the opportunity to reflect on old "habitual" ways of being and, through reflexivity, engage with new "re-authored" ways of being. The implications of our findings for learning in general and management learning and education in particular are discussed.