3 Education Types: Formal, In-Formal and Non-Formal Education

Introduction.

Education is a systematic or non-systematic process of learning by research, study or experience.

Education can also be defined as the process of acquiring or systematic distribution of knowledge in school, college or university. Today we are going to show you everything that you need to know about the three types of education.

Types of Education

Education is not limited to the four walls of the classroom. Children enhance their knowledge from their experience outside the classroom. We have categorized education into three main types i.e. formal, informal and Non-Formal.

Let’s discuss each of the three types of education one by one here:

1. What is Formal Education?

This kind of education generally takes place in school. One can learn many basic and academic skills. The formal learning of a person begins from elementary school and continues with secondary school.

Higher education is usually taken by a person in his college or university. It helps him to get an academic degree.

This kind of education is given by those teachers and professors who are known to be efficient in their field. The discipline of a student is also taken into account.

Both the teacher and the students are well accustomed to the facts and are deeply engrossed in the process of learning. The students have to complete lessons, writing assignments and appear for examinations.

Formal Education Examples:

  • Classroom learning
  • Grading from the schools, college and university degree.
  • Having a proper syllabus about a subject and learning about them by attending great institutions.

Formal education system:

  • The structure of formal education is hierarchical.
  • This kind of education is calculative and planned.
  • Regular payment is done.
  • The grading system is chronological in nature.
  • Every subject taught has got a syllabus. The syllabus needs to be completed within a certain time span.
  • The teachers teach children.

Benefits of Formal Education:

  • Education is given in an organized manner.
  • Students learn from professional teachers and professors.
  • It provides a systematic learning process.
  • Half-yearly and yearly assessments are taken to check the progress of the students.
  • Schools, colleges, and Universities are well organized physically and monetarily.
  • Students get recognized certification.
  • A person who has taken this education can easily get jobs.

Cons of Formal Education:

  • Some brilliant students in the class get bored because of the long duration of an academic session.
  • In a classroom some students are good and some are bad. It’s obvious that students may adopt bad habits from some of their classmates.
  • Some students are lazy in their class hours. They are actually wasting their own time.
  • Some unprofessional institutes waste both time and money of the students. Thus, the question arises against formal education.
  • Formal Education is a bit costly than other education systems.

2. What is Informal Education?

The informal kind of education includes those teaching in which one increases its social and general knowledge, like suppose a child is being taught by his parents to prepare a meal or ride a bicycle.

People can gain informal education from books and from different websites.

With that said, informal education refers to education that is not undertaken during class hours. It is not planned and does not follow any learning methods. It can be easily learned by observing people in the marketplace, in a hotel, or at home.

Unlike the previous type of education, informal teaching has not got any particular schedule. It is based on the experiences of an individual.

Informal Education Examples:

  • Learning of the mother tongue by an individual
  • Children taught some basic things by their parents.

Informal Education system:

  • This type is independent in itself.
  • It has got no syllabus.
  • It’s neither planned nor got any timetable.
  • Fees are not required for this kind of education
  • One can learn lifelong by this mode of education.
  • No certificates or degree is awarded to the individual.
  • You can teach yourself from any sources like friends, family, media, etc.

Benefits of Informal Education:

  • The process of learning is natural and through daily experiences. Thus, you can learn it anywhere and at any time.
  • Individuals need to do research about topics of their interest by utilizing the internet, books, etc. Therefore, they learn to work hard.
  • It has got no particular time span
  • It is not much costly.
  • One needs not to hire any professionals for learning as they can do it through the internet and by reading books.
  • It is a time-efficient educating process.

Cons of Informal Education

  • Some information which the individual learns using the internet, TV, media, and books may lead to disinformation.
  • It is not properly scheduled.
  • Sometimes it also led to a waste of time.
  • The learners lack confidence in them.
  • There are no rules for maintaining discipline and good habits.

3. What is Non-Formal Education?

Non-formal education is a kind of education that includes basic education for adults, literacy education for adults or preparation that is equivalent to those done in school. This makes it stand out from the previous two types of education.

This type of education is given in the home, the instruction is given to individuals, distance learning programs and computer-based instruction can also be included in this kind of education.

This kind of education is designed for a certain homogeneous group of people. It makes this system flexible for students who want to learn. This is why non-formal education is quite unique when compared to other types of educations.

Non-Formal Education Examples:

  • The Scouts and Guide society teaches several sports like swimming which comes under no formal education
  • Several fitness programs
  • Adults taught in a community
  • Some organization develops free courses to educate adults.

Non-Formal Education system includes:

  • This type is a planned mode of education.
  • It is not related to the study given at school premises.
  • Non-formal education has got an adjustable timetable and syllabus.
  • Most of the education given here is conversational and practical.
  • It has got no age limit for the individuals.
  • Fees may be mandatory.
  • An individual can opt for full time or part-time learning.
  • An individual can earn while studying.
  • Professional skills are taught to individuals.

Benefits of Non-Formal Education

  • It is a practical and conversational mode of teaching.
  • Different minds grow naturally here.
  • People learn from professional as well as by themselves.
  • This kind of education is flexible in terms of age and time.
  • It is an open-minded education system.
  • Exams are not mandatory.

Cons of Non-Formal Education

  • As attendance is not mandatory some students become irregular.
  • Sometimes it becomes a waste of time as no exams are conducted and no awards are awarded.
  • The teachers are not much professional.
  • Students do not get full confidence in what they have learned because they have not given exams for it.
  • Some institutions are scams and provide fake certifications to earn money.

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