How Asabano Children Learn; or,Formal Schooling amongst Informal Learners

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the way in which Asabano children of Papua New Guinea (PNG) learn. The question of how Asabano children learn is interesting because parents believe children to be incapable of heeding instruction, and so they consciously do not attempt to teach children and may even intervene to stop activities that they see as educational. Thus, with little or no instruction, children come to possess a rich corpus of skills and knowledge. To explain how this is possible, I draw upon the concepts of guided participation and play, illustrating that the routine arrangements of children's lives are critical to their education and enculturation. This traditional Asabano system of education contrasts starkly with the formal schooling system in the village, which I argue should better address the local socio‐cultural context