Important but elusive: informal education in the context of reflection on the quality of teaching in higher education

Despite conceptual challenges in defining informal education and learning, as well as methodological difficulties in identifying clear markers of its validity, the relevance of informal education and learning in the teaching-learning environment is emphasized in this paper. Informal education is presented here from an educational-organizational standpoint and assumed to play an essential role in the context of educational quality. The article provides an understanding of selected educational and organizational features of informal education as seen through the eyes of students from three universities in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Research results indicate the existence of a significant group of students who are unaware of the content of the university's mission and values, which may affect the university culture. A significant percentage of respondents at each university do not know where to look for support in conflicts and have not heard about equality and anti-discrimination procedures. The study's findings are part of the “Enhancing Quality Teaching of Humanities and Social Sciences in Higher Education for 21+” research project funded by the Erasmus+ KA220-HED Cooperation partnership in higher education.