1

Rekha Chavan

Content Outline

1. Objectives
2. Introduction
3. What is Education?
4. Types of Education
5. Formal Education
6. Informal Education
7. Non formal Education
8. Conclusion

1. Objectives

After studying this module learners will be able to,

• Ø Explain the meaning of Education.
• Ø Explain the types of Educatio
• Ø Explain characteristic of formal education
• Ø Explain characteristic of informal education
• Ø Explain characteristic of non-formal education

2. Introduction

Education is the most important invention of mankind. Man without education would still be living as an animal. It is education which transform man from animal to human. It is as basic to civilization, to social service as reproduction and nutrition are essential to biological evolution. Education of man does not begin at school; it begins at birth. It ends not with the graduation from university but at his death.

The concept of education is dynamic. It has passed through many ages and stages in the process of evolution and at every stage it has had different meaning according to then existing social conditions. The concept of education is still in the process of evolution and this process will never come to an end.

In ancient times, India had the ‘Gurukula’ system of education in which anyone who wished to study went to a teacher’s (Guru’s) house and requested to be taught. If accepted as a student by the guru, he would then stay at the guru’s place and help in all activities at home. This not only created a strong tie between the teacher and the student, but also taught the student everything about running a house. The guru taught everything the child wanted to learn, from Sanskrit to the Holy Scriptures and from Mathematics to Metaphysics. The student stayed as long as she wished or until the guru felt that he had taught everything he could teach. Alllearning was closely linked to nature and to life, and not confined to memorizing some information.

Education in the emerging Indian society is passing through a very critical but interesting phase. Profound social change, rapid population growth, demands of accelerated economic growth, richness of knowledge and technical development as well as other factors create problems for the educational development in this country.

3. What is Education?

Great educators in the past explained the term ‘’Education as the art of ‘’leading out’’.Their explanation was proved by the derivation of the word ‘’Éducation – E ’’ means ‘’out of’’ and ‘’duco’’ means ‘’I lead’’. Thus education is to draw out rather than to put in. The whole of education – intellectual, moral and physical consisted in leading out the innate knowledge, virtues and power of child making the potential actual.

Education is the process of bringing desirable change into the behaviour of human being. It can also be defined as a process of acquiring knowledge, habits, values, attitude and skills through instruction or study.

The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge,developing the powers of reasoning and judgmentnd generally preparing oneself or others intellectually for matur e life.

Since time immemorial, education is estimated as the right road to progress and prosperity.

Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators, but learners may also educate themselves by learning from experiences. Education takes place in formal and or informal settings and any experience that has an effect on the way one thinks, feels or  acts may be considered educational. Its goal is to make an individual perfect. Every society gives importance to education because it is a panacea for all evils. It is the key to solve the various problems of life.

Education as a process-Education of a man begins with his birth and ends with his death. Thus it is a lifelong process. Any modification brought about in the behaviour of an individual as a result of his interaction with the environment constitutes learning. The child learns through his experience. The process of learning thus continues till death.

Education as a product –A person is said to be educated, when he acquires knowledge, skills and attitude which are the product of group life. It is a product as it helps in assimilation of culture of any society and its transmission from one generation to another. As such it perpetuates and gives continuity to the society.

Education as growth – Education continues for an entire life time. It is directed towards pre-determined goal. What the child learns in the class is growing. Process of education is continuous and it aims at growing at every stage of life. The aim of education is continuous growth of the person in the fullest possible sense.

Education as direction– A child is born with natural tendencies, urges and drives. These natural impulses if left unchecked and uncontrolled will lead to barbarian way of life. His life will be unsystematic, purposeless and disorganised. Education provides direction to make life systematic, purposeful and principled. It gives direction for the refinement of the primitive impulses of the child.

Education as acquisition of knowledge and skills –Education helps in the process of acquisition of knowledge and skills. When the child comes to the school he learns many things and acquires knowledge about various subjects. Through education child also learns the skills of speaking, reading, writing and other skills as he grows up.

Education as developing mental faculties –Different faculties of the mind grow as a result of education. Education helps in training different faculties of the mind (thinking, reasoning, problem solving).

4. Types of Education

With the development of society; education has taken many shapes, such as child education, adult education, technical education, health education, physical education and so on.

Every society organises school with a view to give education But all learning cannot take place in school. Education in its all-inclusive form goes beyond what takes places within the four walls of the classroom. Many people receive the largest and some of the most important part of their education outside the school system. There are three important channels of learning where people learn. They are

1. Formal Education
2. Informal Education
3. Non formal Education

5. Formal Education

When education is systematically organised and institutionalised it is known as formal education. It is planned with a particular end in view. It is given in school, college and similar other institutions which are established with the purpose. Formal education imparts information, teaches skills and helps the cultivation of values. In formal education child becomes formal and acts according to the discipline of the school. The curriculum and methods of teaching are formal. In this way it is direct schooling, instruction and tuition. Itis an institutional activity. It is chronologically graded, hierarchicallystructured, uniform and subject oriented. It is a full timeactivity which leads to certificates, diplomas and degrees.

Thus formal education is a process which is consciously and deliberately planned to modify the behaviour of the child with a particular view.

i ) Planned with a particular end in view – It is provided according to certain set rule and regulations. It is in the form of systematic, planned and guided instruction.

ii ) Limited to a specific period or stage.

(iii) Has well-defined and systematic curriculum -Formal education has a well-defined and systematic curriculum. This curriculum is based on certain aims and objectives. These aims are in conformity with the needs of the society and the state-.

(iv) Given by specially qualified teachers – Formal education is given by specially qualified teachers. They are supposed to be efficient in the art of instruction.

(v) Includes activities outside the class-room- In modern progressive schools, the process of education is not merely restricted the four walls of the class-room. There are more activities outside the class-room than inside it.

(vi) Observes strict discipline-Formal education observes strict discipline. The pupil and the teacher are both aware of the fact an engage themselves in the process of education.

6. Informal Education

Education which occurs automatically in the process of living is called informal education. For eg, a child from his early age learns his mother tongue and languages used in his own locality. He also learns social etiquettes which is expected from him and tries to adopt in his life. Informal education is a lifelong process. It continues as a child grows up. A person gathers various experiences from parents, friends, relatives, society etc. Thus all the time quite from his childhood to adulthood and till death different institutes operates on the person from where he gets himself educated.

Informal Education is the process, by which a person imbibes attitudes, develops skills, cultivates values and acquires knowledge, without there being any organisation or system about it. This would include the deliberate attempts of parents and elders in the family and community to help the young ones grow and adapt themselves to the environment. Informal Education would also include all incidental learning that takes  place while at work or at play and during travels-as well as spontaneous learning through films, radio and television.

(i) Incidental and spontaneous – Informal education is incidental and spontaneous. There is no conscious effort involved in it. Courtesies gentleness, etc. learnt in a market place or in a hotel or in one’s sitting room amount to informal education.

(ii) Not-pre-planned nor deliberate – Informal education is an educative activity which is neither pre-planned nor deliberate. The child learns many habits, manners and patterns while living with others or moving in different spheres like home, society, groups etc.

(iii) Not imparted by any specialised agency – Unlike formal education, informal education is not imparted by any specialised agency such as school or college.Individual learns from daily experiences. Individual learns from exposure to the environment at home, at work, at play etc.

(iv) No prescribed time table or curriculum – Informal education is not given according to any fixed time-table or through formal means of education. There is no set curriculum required. Informal education consists in experiences and actual living in the family or community.

(v) May be negative – Informal education may take to negative direction also. Instances are not rare when one learns stealing, or some other forms of misbehaviour from the experiences which the child may casually have in the street, in the market, in the cinema hall or in some other such place.

(vi) Life long process – A person learns all the time quite from his childhood to adulthood and till death. Different institutes operate on the person from where he gets himself educated.

7. Non-Formal Education

Non-formal education is one of the recent concepts getting into use. Indian involvement in non-formal education has increased as a result of our interest in making education a life-long affair rather than a matter of formal schooling. When specialisation became essential for maintenance of life there developed non formal education. It can reach out to working children, girls and children living in areas not covered by the formal education system. Non formal education covers both liberal and vocational aspect of education. It plays an important part in imparting the education and socialising the people. Like informal education it is universal and lifelong. Any organised, systematic education activity, carried outside the framework of the established formal system whether operating separately or as an important feature of some broad activity, that is intended to serve identifiable learning clienteles learning objectives are considers as non formal education.

(i) Outside the realm of formal education- Unlike informal education which is unstructured, spontaneous and without formality non-formal education is structured and planned, but outside realm of formal education. It is designed to offer learning opportunities to person who has remain outside of the formal education system because of several socio economic factors.

(ii) Conscious and deliberate – Non-formal education is consciously and deliberately organised and systematically implemented. A curriculum relevant to learner’s need, interest and to the local environment is developed and varies from area to area.

(iii) Is organised for a homogeneous group – Non-formal education is organised for a homogeneous group. Such a group has to be identified in terms of the learning needs of the group members.

(iv) Serves the need of the identified group- Non-formal education is programmed to serve the needs of the identified group. This necessitates flexibility in design of the curriculum and the scheme of evaluation.

8. Conclusion

Education is both a process and a product. It is growth directed. It helps in development of knowledge and skills and improves mental faculties. The concept of education is dynamic. It has passed through many ages and stages in the process of evolution. Indian Education System moved from ‘Gurukula’ system of education in which anyone who wished to study went to a teacher’s (Guru’s) house and requested to be taught to the system of formal education as practiced today. In the current system we have a well-defined curriculum and qualified teachers who take the students through a structured framework of education. The students have to observe the strict discipline. Non-formal education also finds a place in today’s society. It is outside the realm of formal education and serve the needs of identified groups. Non-formal education is flexible and need based and aids lifelong learning.

References

Ø Aggarawal, J.C (2004) Development of Education System in India, Shipra Publications, New Delhi.

Ø Aggarawal, J.C (2010) Educational Reforms in India for the 21st century, Shipra Publications, New Delhi.

Ø Dash, B.N (2004) Theories of Education and Education in the Emerging Indian Society, Dominant Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.

Ø Ghanta, R and Dash, B.N (2005) Foundations of Education, Neelkamal Publications pvt ltd, New Delhi.

Ø Rao, B.D and Rao, S (1994) Current Trends in Indian Education, Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi.

Ø Sharma, Y (2007) Foundations in Sociology of Education, Kanishka Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.