What Is Formal Education?

Formal education are programs at different levels from general to higher education, which are provided by public educational institutions (or private, but recognized by the state and operating on a strictly regulated basis).

They are designed to achieve certain qualifications and at the end of them a certificate of education is issued. As a rule, only these qualifications entitle the student to proceed to the next level (e.g. without a school certificate one cannot enter a university) or to work in the profession acquired (without a medical or teaching diploma one cannot get a job as a doctor or a teacher).

Most formal education is preliminary, that is, people receive it before they enter the labor market. Accordingly, the system of formal education accurately includes a secondary school course, as well as secondary vocational and higher education.

Examples of Formal Education

• Pre-primary education

The terms “preschool education,” “early childhood education,” and “early childhood education” refer to the years before elementary school. Many Latin American countries have introduced compulsory schooling.

In some places it is part of the formal education system, in others it is taught in kindergartens or nursery schools and covers the age group from 0 to 6.

The basic learning period begins at age three, but in some parts of the world it is now referred to as “parenting”. The learning process is thought to begin with the development of the mother, and children have a high priority in this process from birth.

• Elementary Education.

An example of formal education This is primary or elementary education. It begins at age six and usually includes literacy and basic education.

It teaches basic concepts such as reading, writing, basic arithmetic, and cultural knowledge and ideas. Furthermore, it lasts six or seven years, depending on the region.

• Secondary Education.

This also applies to secondary education, called high school. Its purpose is to prepare students for a high level of mastery.

Part of this education is the same for all students, and the rest can be distributed differently, depending on the profession they want to pursue later. Studies frequently last five years.

• Formal higher education or university education

Another example of a formal education is: higher education, a college or university education. This is the final stage of the educational process. This is where one can get a bachelor’s degree, a bachelor’s degree, and other alternatives.

It takes place at public and private universities, academies and centers of excellence.

• Postgraduate Education.

This level of postgraduate education includes a master’s degree, a postgraduate diploma, and a doctorate.

Advantages of Formal Education

• Officially recognized certification.
• Ease of job search.
• Intermediate and final grades are validated for progression to higher levels of study.
• Facilities are administrative and spacious.
• Students can learn from trained and experienced instructors.
• Structured teaching model and updated course content.
• A structured and systematic learning process.

Disadvantages of Formal Education

• Possibility of boredom for good students because it takes a long time to complete a unit of study before moving on to the next level.
• Possibility of bad students causing anxiety because there are good and bad students in the classroom.
• Waste of time. This is because some lazy students do not learn properly even when motivated by an experienced teacher.
• Unprofessional and unstandardized education is a waste of time and money. It causes students to become disillusioned with formal education and turn to informal education.
• Expensive and inflexible compared to other methods of education.

What Is Non-Formal Education?

Non-formal education is a very broad category, which includes all courses, trainings and programs alternative or additional to the formal education system. They are also planned and carried out by specialized organizations, but as a result of training a graduate usually does not acquire the qualifications that would allow him or her to move to the next level of education. The results of non-formal education are not always recognized and in hiring. Nevertheless, it is the most important part of the educational sphere.

It should be emphasized that non-formal does not mean illegal. Additional education is part of the education system. Moreover, any educational activity requires a license. And educational activity, as mentioned above, includes everything that has an educational program.

The category of non-formal education can include additional education programs, corporate education, various trainings and master classes, online courses.

Advantages of non-formal education

• No need to attend expensive seminars and courses in order to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills;
• Many people can not get the necessary baggage of knowledge from the conventional education system due to the lack of an individual approach and assessment of personal abilities;
• If we consider the conventional courses, even there the participants get most of the useful information in an informal way;
• In non-formal education there is a unique opportunity to use their hidden reserves and include the subconscious and intuition;
• Internet is the richest information resource for gaining knowledge and experience in informal learning;
• Various groups and communities are organized, uniting people by level and interest;
• When a person is given freedom of action, his potential increases manifold.

What Is Informal Education?

Informal learning is characterized primarily by being less organized and structured. It is not planned by a specialized educational organization based on state standards, but by the individual, family or other community. It is learning at the workplace, at home, in everyday life, self-education. The results of informal education are not expressed in documents or qualifications.

At the same time, the UNESCO classification separates informal education from incidental and non-systemic learning, when new knowledge becomes just a by-product of communication, reading, watching movies and other daily activities without an educational purpose.

In studies, specialists usually refer to any activity that results in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills as informal education or self-education. For example, it includes self-education with the help of books and magazines, audio and video materials, the Internet, when visiting exhibitions and theaters, as well as under the guidance of relatives, friends, and colleagues.

Such parenting has a tremendous impact on family education, viz:

• On the formation of students’ positive learning motivation
• Shaping the children’s intellect
• Fostering spiritual and moral qualities
• Promotion of a healthy lifestyle

The field of education is very broad, and, of course, there are many ways to classify it. A variant that combines all levels and formats is the educational triad. This is a division into formal, non-formal and informal education, which we have already sorted out.