Contexts and learning

The contexts in which learning occurs are varied and their classification has occasionally led to contradictions. This paper reviews certain learning contexts and proposes guidelines for rethinking these in our changing society. It argues that learning has only been adequately defined in its most institutionalized settings (in schools and nonformal learning contexts) and that we give scant attention to learning in everyday life and the professional world. To redress this, the paper recalls Pierre Bourdieu’s interpretation of the notion of habitus, which can be used as a heuristic to understand activities or practices not only as the result of learning but as the means to make new learning possible; and it also argues that we should observe our constant transition between different vital moments and between different contexts, which is so typical of our digital society. Finally, the paper analyzes key features of learning contexts.