the-boundary-between-what-can-be-learned-in-school-and-outside-school Knowledge Gap Hypothesis

Knowledge Gap Hypothesis

The Boundary Between What Can Be Learned in School and Outside School

About this topic

The 'boundary between what can be learned in school and outside school' is about re-examining the line between the knowledge and skills covered by school education and the learning gained through daily life and social experiences. This boundary is not clear and changes with the times and society. In the context of the knowledge gap hypothesis, differences in opportunities for out-of-school learning may be a factor that widens the gap. The question reaches into the education system, family environment, and lifelong learning alike.

Conceptual positions
01 School-Centered View

The view that important knowledge and skills should be systematically learned in school. Out-of-school learning is supplementary, and to correct inequality, the enhancement of school education should be prioritized.

02 Informal Learning Emphasis

The view that practical knowledge and interpersonal skills useful in real life can only be learned outside school. School education alone is insufficient, and experiences in family and community are essential for character formation.

03 Boundary Fusion View

The view that clearly separating school and out-of-school learning is itself problematic. It proposes new educational models that dissolve the boundary through project-based learning and community collaboration.

04 Inequality Reproduction View

The view that differences in out-of-school learning opportunities (lessons, travel, reading environment, etc.) reflect family capital differences and reproduce inequality. It points out that fairness in school education alone is insufficient.

Talk entry points

  1. What is the most memorable class in school and the most memorable learning outside school, respectively?

  2. What skills or knowledge do you think are important but absolutely cannot be learned in school?

  3. Have you had the experience where something learned at home or in the community helped with school studies?

  4. If there were no school, what do you think you would have learned?

  5. Please tell me the influence that out-of-school learning (lessons, volunteering, travel, etc.) had on your life.

  6. What do you think is needed to ideally balance school and out-of-school learning?

Conceptual tensions
Systematicity vsPracticality
School learning is systematic but tends to be disconnected from real life, while out-of-school learning is practical but tends to be fragmented. How to balance the two.
Equality vsDiversity
School education guarantees the same content to all students, but out-of-school learning varies greatly depending on family environment, creating inequality. This dilemma of equality and diversity.
Certifiability vsIntangibility
School learning is easy to certify with grades or qualifications, but out-of-school learning is invisible and difficult to evaluate. Depending on which society emphasizes, people's values change.
Institution vsFreedom
School is an institutionalized place of learning, but free exploration is only possible outside school. Where to draw the boundary between the institutional framework and individual freedom.
Talk note

This topic is not to deny school education or to overvalue out-of-school learning. It is a space for dialogue to broaden thinking about the knowledge gap from 'problem of the education system' to 'problem of the educational environment of life as a whole' by carefully reflecting on how school and out-of-school learning complement each other and sometimes create inequality.

Glossary
Formal Education
Education systematically conducted in institutionalized educational institutions such as schools and universities. Often based on a curriculum and accompanied by qualifications or certificates.
Informal Learning
Learning naturally acquired through daily life, social experiences, hobbies, and interactions with family. An important source of knowledge outside school.
Ambiguity of the Boundary
The property that school learning and out-of-school learning overlap in many areas, making clear demarcation impossible.
Educational Inequality
Inequality in educational opportunities and learning outcomes arising from differences in family economic and cultural capital.
Lifelong Learning
Learning activities that continue throughout life even after graduating from school. Out-of-school learning is central.
Talk prompts
Ice breaker

Please tell me one thing each: the most useful thing you learned in school and the most useful thing you learned outside school.

Deep dive

If there were no school (or much less school), how do you think your knowledge or values would have changed?

Bridge

While listening to the other person, quietly imagine: 'Where and how did this person learn the things they could not learn in school?'

Further questions
  • The reality that out-of-school learning affects school grades
  • The mechanism by which family economic inequality manifests as 'out-of-school opportunity inequality'
  • How the boundary between school and out-of-school changes in the online learning era
  • The possibility of schools teaching 'things that cannot be learned in school'
  • The role of community and family wisdom in closing the knowledge gap
  • The relationship between the 'hidden curriculum' of school education and out-of-school learning