Public learning derived from institutional learning: the case study of the Kelabit Highlands Community Museum development

In this article the author shows how institutional learning can become a site of public pedagogy when conducted on location. This article refers to the 2015 study abroad program for the Kelabit Highlands Community Museum project, located in the Highlands of Borneo, to highlight numerous examples of informal learning for academic, student and community participants based on the five categories of public pedagogy as identified by Sandlin, O’Malley and Burdick (2011). Of particular importance, however, is the public pedagogy that occurred once the study abroad program was complete. Students and academics, invited to assist in the development of the community museum, facilitated the community’s own agency in learning as the community learnt from the engagement and adapted this learning to suit their unique cultural requirements. In doing so, this article reveals that not only do study abroad programs enforce the strong intersection of public pedagogy and collective agency, they demonstrate how informal learning can be derived from formal learning.