formal and informal learnings
TRANSCRIPT
Definition
A formal education program is the process of training and developing people in knowledge,
skills, mind, and character in a structured and certified program.
Formal Education
The term formal education refers to the structured and prearranged educational system provided
by the state for children of that country. In most countries, the formal education system is state-
supported and state-operated. In some countries like Pakistan, the state allows and certifies
private systems which provide a comparable even some time much better education.Formal
education corresponds to a systematic, organized education model, structured and administered
according to a given set of laws and norms, presenting a rather rigid curriculum as regards
objectives, content and methodology. It involves the teacher, the students and the institution. It
corresponds to the education process normally adopted by our schools and universities. Formal
education institutions are administratively, physically and curricularly organized and require
from students a minimum classroom attendance. There is a program that teachers and students
alike must observe, involving intermediate and final assessments in order to advance students to
the next learning stage. It confers degrees and diplomas pursuant to a quite strict set of
regulations. The methodology is basically expositive, scarcely relating to the desired behavioral
objectives - as a matter of fact, it is but seldom that such targets are operationally established.
Assessments are made on a general basis, for administrative purposes and are infrequently used
to improve the education process. It is not excessive to say that in the case of formal education,
for the most part teachers pretend to teach; students pretend to learn; and, institutions pretend
to be really catering to the interests of students and of the society. ( Moore, M.G. & Thompson,
1990)
The characteristics of formal education are as follows:
Training
Developing
Structuring
Certifying
Formal education is defined as the education process in which training and developing are
provided to people through knowledge, mind, skills and character in a highly structured way that
is part of a certified program.
In most countries this means formal education is state or privately operated to provide a
structured education system. The education system is based on what the state feels is necessary
for learning. Basically, it means the school system is going to be the same throughout instead of
leaving each school to decide what is going to be in the education system. One can consider it to
be compulsory in which a formal certification is given.
Informal education systems are not compulsory and they do not lead to any formal certification.
They are also non and state approved options. In non-formal education it often takes place
outside of an organized school. Home schooling can be considered a non formal education
process because the curriculum does not have to lead to a diploma. Most parents make sure it
does, but it can also be non or informal education.
The point of formal education is to make certain that those educated are literate, educated for
their future and can continue their education in a higher learning environment to solidify their
education. Most argue for formal education, with only a few out there that do not like conformist
means of education and feel that it is better to have non-formal means of education.
All in all formal education will lead to a balanced approach to education with a sound economic
background for all those being educated. This does not mean improvements do not need to be
made to formal education though.
Informal learning
Informal education is quite diverse from formal education and, particularly, from non-formal
education, although in certain cases it is capable of maintaining a close relationship with both. It
does not correspond to an organized and systematic view of education; informal education does
not necessarily include the objectives and subjects usually encompassed by the traditional
curricula. It is aimed at students as much as at the public at large and imposes no obligations
whatever their nature. There generally being no control over the performed activities, informal
education does not of necessity regard the providing of degrees or diplomas; it merely
supplements both formal and non-formal education.
Informal education for instance comprises the following activities: (a) - visits to museums or to
scientific and other fairs and exhibits, etc.; (b) - listening to radio broadcasting or watching TV
programmes on educational or scientific themes; (c) - reading texts on sciences, education,
technology, etc. in journals and magazines; (d) - participating in scientific contests, etc.; (e)
attending lectures and conferences. There are many instances of situations/activities
encompassed by informal education, from those that may take place in the students’ homes -
such as scientific or didactic games, manipulation of kits, experiments, reading sessions
(biographies, scientific news, etc.) - to institutional activities - lectures in institutions, visiting
museums, etc.
It is easy to see that the higher the degree of systematization and organization involved in
informal education activities, the nearer it will be to non-formal education. This is a relevant fact
inasmuch as it suggests the possibility of transition from informal to non-formal. We must
ponder that, considered by itself, we cannot generally assert whether an educative action belongs
to the formal, to the non-formal or to the informal universe. For instance, a visit to a Science
Museum may be an informal education instance if arising from a personal and spontaneous
decision by a student, as it is not directly related to his scholastic activities. However, if such a
visit is part of an established curriculum, requiring from students a written report and including
assessments by the teacher, or tutor, then it will probably be an activity associated to either the
formal or to the non-formal education.
Informal learning is one of three forms of learning defined by the Organisation Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD). The other two are formal and non-formal learning.
Informal learning occurs in a variety of places, such as at home, work, and through daily
interactions and shared relationships among members of society. For many learners this includes
language acquisition, cultural norms and manners. Informal learning for young people is an
ongoing process that also occurs in a variety of places, such as out of school time, as well as in
youth programs at community centers and media labs.
In the context of corporate training and education, the term informal learning is widely used to
describe the many forms of learning that takes place independently from instructor-led programs:
books, self-study programs, performance support materials and systems, coaching, communities
of practice, and expert directories.
Characterizations
Informal learning can be characterized as follows:
It usually takes place outside educational establishments;
It does not follow a specified curriculum and is not often professionally organized but rather
originates accidentally, sporadically, in association with certain occasions, from changing
practical requirements;
It is not necessarily planned pedagogically conscious, systematically according to subjects, test
and qualification-oriented, but rather unconsciously incidental, holistically problem-related, and
related to situation management and fitness for life;
It is experienced directly in its "natural" function of everyday life.
It is often spontaneous.
History
In international discussions, the concept of informal learning, already used by John Dewey at an
early stage and later on by Malcolm Knowles, experienced a renaissance, especially in the
context of development policy. At first, informal learning was only delimited from formal school
learning and nonformal learning in courses (Coombs/Achmed 1974). Marsick and Watkins take
up this approach and go one step further in their definition. They, too, begin with the
organizational form of learning and call those learning processes informal which are non-formal
or not formally organized and are not financed by institutions (Watkins/Marsick, p. 12 et sec.).
An example for a wider approach is Livingstone's definition which is oriented towards
autodidactic and self-directed learning and places special emphasis on the self-definition of the
learning process by the learner (Livingstone 1999, p. 68 et seq.).
Informal learning experiences and examples
Informal knowledge is information that has not been externalized or captured and the primary
locus of the knowledge may be inside someone's head. (Grebow, David, "At the Water Cooler of
Learning" in Cross, J., & Quinn, C. "Transforming Culture: An Executive Briefing on the Power
of Learning", Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 2002). For example, in the cause of
language acquisition, a mother may teach a child basic concepts of grammar and language at
home, prior to the child entering a formal education system (Eaton, Sarah (2011). "Family
Literacy and the New Canadian: Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning: The Case of
Literacy, Essential Skills and Language Learning in Canada"). In such a case, the mother has a
tacit understanding of language structures, syntax and morphology, but she may not be explicitly
aware of what these are. She understands the language and passes her knowledge on to her
offspring.
Other examples of informal knowledge transfer include instant messaging, a spontaneous
meeting on the Internet, a phone call to someone who has information you need, a live one-time-
only sales meeting introducing a new product, a chat-room in real time, a chance meeting by the
water cooler, a scheduled Web-based meeting with a real-time agenda, a tech walking you
through a repair process, or a meeting with your assigned mentor or manager.
Experience indicates that much of the learning for performance is informal (The Institute for
Research on Learning, 2000, Menlo Park). Those who transfer their knowledge to a learner are
usually present in real time. Such learning can take place over the telephone or through the
Internet, as well as in person.
A study of time-to-performance done by Sally Anne Moore at Digital Equipment Corporation in
the early 1990s, (Moore, Sally-Ann, "Time-to-Learning", Digital Equipment Corporation, 1998)
graphically shows this disparity between formal and informal learning.
In the UK, the government formally recognized the benefits of informal learning in "The
Learning Revolution" White Paper published on March 23, 2009 (Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills, 2009). The Learning Revolution Festival ran in October 2009 and funding
has been used by libraries—which offer a host of informal learning opportunities such as book
groups, "meet the author" events and family history sessions—to run activities such as The North
East Festival of Learning.
NON-FORMAL EDUCATION
As seen, formal education has a well-defined set of features. Whenever one or more of these is
absent, we may safely state that the educational process has acquired non-formal features.
Therefore, if a given education system is not presential most of the time - non-contiguous
communication - we may say that it has non-formal education features. Likewise, non-formal
education characteristics are found when the adopted strategy does not require student
attendance, decreasing the contacts between teacher and student and most activities take place
outside the institution - as for instance, home reading and paperwork. Educative processes
endowed with flexible curricula and methodology, capable of adapting to the needs and interests
of students, for which time is not a pre-established factor but is contingent upon the student’s
work pace, certainly do not correspond to those comprised by formal education, but fit into the
so-called non-formal education. Proportionally to the number of formal education factors that
are absent from a process, we find several grades of non-formal systems.
These preliminary considerations emphasize the need clearly and objectively to establish the
possible basic features of non-formal education. This, however, is not an easy task. As remarked
by Ward and
collaborators2, “A comprehensive and standard definition of non-formal education is not yet
available in common usage. Perhaps such a definition will not emerge until after much more
study of the educational issues and potentialities inherent in the variety of experiences now
called non-formal education has been done.”
As regards the distinction between both educational models, the same authors point out that “the
implied and real distinctions between formal and non-formal education should be seen within a
systematic and holistic view of education.” In the same paper, they remark that education
remains relatively undefined because the non-school view of education has merited little interest
and responsibility from educational planners. Notwithstanding the above, even a preliminary
analysis of the existing non-formal systems reveals the constant presence of two features: (a) -
centralization of the process on the student, as to his previously identified needs and possibilities;
and, (b) - the immediate usefulness of the education for the student’s personal and professional
growth.
Given its scope, non-formal education is comprised of an ample diversity of educational
situations, many of which have played a significant role in the renewal of educational systems.
We shall now analyze three educative processes, namely: “correspondence learning”,
“distance learning” and “open systems”, which, because of their features fall within the scope
of non-formal education.
Correspondence Learning: organized, structured correspondence schools date from more than
one century. Several works
and authors
mention that in 1856, in Berlin, Toussaint and
Langenscheidt founded a correspondence languages graduate studies correspondence course was
introduced. A “Society to Encourage Study at course. In 1886, in England, a Home” was
organized in 1873, in Boston, and the first formal experience took place in 1883, in New York,
the “Correspondence University”. In several countries similar efforts were made, named
“enseignement par correspondence” in France, “fernUntersuch” and “fernStudium” in Germany,
“home study”, “tuition mail” and “postal tuition” in England; “ensino por correspondência” in
Portugal; “ensenãnza por correo” and “ensenãnza por correspondencia” in Spain. Nowadays,
there is a large number of correspondence schools all over the World, encompassing studies that
range from basic education to university studies, including a wide variety of subjects in the
professional area.
Correspondence course participants are found in all age brackets and economic-social classes.
But, which are the main features of correspondence learning? It is a planned and systematized
activity, based on the preparation of printed educational materials which are forwarded to
students who are physically separated from the teachers who can give but a limited assistance to
them. Correspondence learning is an individualized learning system that allows students to
proceed at their own pace, according to their interests. The institutional materials are for the most
part printed and are generally prepared by a teacher who has not enough didactic and technical
knowledge to prepare top quality educational material. Although a number of correspondence
courses currently offer other types of instructional material - audio-tapes and videotapes, kits,
etc. - we shall for classification purposes solely consider the printed materials offered by
correspondence courses. We shall reserve the name “distance learning” to the courses prepared
on a high technical level, by a multidisciplinary team, administered by a relatively large
institution, comprising a wide variety of educational materials. Correspondence courses
generally establish a bi-directional communication by mail, supported by the teacher who
corrects the paperwork, offers guidance and the requested explanations. A degree may or may
not be obtained and there is no pressure - the student’s motivation is the basic factor for the
program’s success. It is not difficult to see that correspondence courses do not incorporate
several features of the formal education and are thus classified in the field of non-formal
education.
INTRODUCTION TO DISTANCE LEARNING
Distance learning traditionally has provided access to instructional programs for students who
are separated by time and/or physical location from an instructor. Distance learning has been
thought of as prepackaged text, audio, and/or video courses taken by an isolated learner with
limited interaction with an instructor or other students. This perspective is changing. Today
information technologies and the Internet can allow rich interactive distance learning experiences
that may surpass the interactivity of a traditional classroom.
Distance learning can be provided in several contexts including stand alone distance learning,
blended learning where the student participates in a regular class and distance learning class
concurrently, and hybrid learning where distance learning supplements classroom instruction.
Definitions
Learning is defined as "the act, process, or experience of gaining knowledge or skill." Learning
is the preferred term rather than education that is generally defined as the knowledge or skill
obtained or developed by the learning process. However educators often use the terms
interchangeably.
Distance learning is conventionally defined as... "any educational or learning process or system
in which the teacher and instructor are separated geographically or in time from his or her
students; or in which students are separated from other students or educational resources.
Contemporary distance learning is effected through the implementation of computer and
electronics technology to connect teacher and student in either real or delayed time or on an as-
needed basis. Content delivery may be achieved through a variety of technologies, including
satellites, computers, cable television, interactive video, electronic transmissions via telephone
lines, and others. Distance learning does not preclude traditional learning processes; frequently it
is used in conjunction with in-person classroom or professional training procedures and
practices. It is also called distributed learning."
The California Distance Learning Project (CDLP) uses the following definition:
"Distance Learning (DL) is an instructional delivery system that connects learners with
educational resources. DL provides educational access to learners not enrolled in educational
institutions and can augment the learning opportunities of current students. The implementation
of DL is a process that uses available resources and will evolve to incorporate emerging
technologies."
This definition was developed in 1997 by a workgroup of adult educators.
Defining Elements
Several key features define distance learning. The importance of the teacher — learner
communications cannot be overstated.
The separation of teacher and learner during at least a majority of each instructional process
Separation of teacher and learner in space and/or time.
The use of educational media to unite teacher and learner and carry course content.
The provision of two-way communication between teacher, tutor, or educational agency and
learner, and
Control of the learning pace by the student rather than the distance instructor.
These definitions apply equally to high tech and low tech approaches to distance learning.
Having the appropriate, enthusiastic, and qualified staff is a make or break requirement.
Two Types of Distance Learning
There are two distance education delivery system categories - synchronous and asynchronous.
Synchronous instruction requires the simultaneous participation of all students and instructors.
The advantage of synchronous instruction is that interaction is done in "real time" and has an
immediacy. Examples include interactive telecourses, teleconferencing and web conferencing,
and Internet chats.
Asynchronous instruction does not require the simultaneous participation of all students and
instructors. Students do not need to be gathered together in the same location at the same time.
Rather, students may choose their own instructional time frame and interact with the learning
materials and instructor according to their schedules. Asynchronous instruction is more flexible
than synchronous instruction but experience shows that time limits are necessary to main focus
and participation. The self-paced format accommodates multiple learning levels and schedules.
Examples of asynchronous delivery include e-mail, listservs, audiocassette courses, videotaped
courses, correspondence courses, and WWW-based courses.
The advantages of asynchronous delivery include student choice of location and time, and
interaction opportunities among the students as well as the instructor. One disadvantage is that
self paced instruction places a substantial burden on the student to maintain interest, focus, and
pace. This motivation can be difficult to sustain.
Three elements are of paramount importance to any successful distance education program:
instructional design
technology
support
Support is often undervalued in design and implementation. Technology implementation studies
show that teacher preparation and ongoing support are undervalued.
Why Distance Learning?
Distance education increases access to learning opportunities. Well organized distance learning
accommodates multiple learning styles. Distance learning serves learners who are not likely to
attend traditional classroom instruction (effectiveness). In some cases it can serve as many or
more learners per dollar spent (efficiency). California research continues to show that it can
attract and serve lower level learners (equity).
Adult life for many is complex and demanding. Many adults are unable to or unwilling to attend
traditional adult education schools and classrooms for many reasons including:
having work and family obligations that make attending a regular class time difficult,
learning more effectively from video, audio, and web–based media when moving at their own
pace.
experiencing the dearth of public transportation systems in many parts of the state,
needing more practice of skills to achieve mastery.
living in locations without convenient access to traditional classes, and/or
lacking the full confidence to participate in a large classroom setting in front of other students.
People who can't attend traditional classes because of these realities need alternatives. These
adults are prime targets for distance learning. They are motivated to continue their education, but
limited by circumstances as to how they participate in adult basic education. Flexible learning
approaches that are not classroom centered appeal to these potential learners.
Types of Distance Learning in Context of Technology
Distance learning is a modality - a broad, mixed category of methods to deliver learning. The
types can be organized along several descriptive dimensions. Low tech to high tech is useful in
the adult basic education field. Remember, however, that these individual types can be mixed
into hybrid forms. The following table outlines the most popular types of distance learning by
their characteristics and notable features.
Type Characteristic Notable Features
Audiotape
Audio learning tool, very mobile
and inexpensive when combined
with print materials.
Useful in language learning and
practice as well as literature.
Linear format.
Videotape in
VHS and DVD
formats
Visual and audio tool; the
checkout approach with print
materials is very popular in
California.
Multi-sensory tool with linear
delivery format.
Laptop
computer
checkout
Versatile approach to providing a
wide range of learning activities
from skill and drill to simulations.
Hardware is expensive and being
replaced by less expensive
Internet delivery.
Mobile van / lab
Resources taken to the learners,
useful for work site learning and
reaching parents at elementary
schools. Van learning.
Historically useful way to
distribute videos, audiotapes,
DVDs, and other learning tools,
but it can be expensive to operate.
It is less and less popular as
distributed learning increases.
Radio course
Low cost way to reach ESL
learners. Ideally it should be used
by more learning providers.
The radio course must include
ways for learners to interact with
the instructor. Phone call in during
or after air time could be
integrated into the programming.
Telecourse Delivery over television, usually a
cable public access channel or
school owned channel.
The telecourse must include ways
for learners to interact with the
instructor. Phone call in is
popular. Print materials
accompany on-air instruction.
Videoconferenc
e – Two way
interactive
video
Electronic communications
among people at separate
locations. Can be audio, audio
graphic, video or computer based.
Often uses proprietary software
and consequently expensive.
Internet models and broadband
communications are making it
more affordable and accessible.
EmailAsynchronous text files and
attachments.
Good tool to stimulate learning,
writing, and communications
skills.
Internet
Instructionally delivery over the
Internet, either learning modules
or entire courses.
Instructional learning systems
permit teachers to create, manage,
communicate with, and test
students online. The interactivity
and ability to hyperlink to
worldwide learning resources are
extremely attractive. Improved
broadband communications are
enabling the effective use of video
and synchronous communications.
Chat and asynchronous
communications facilitate links
between the teacher and learner
and among the learners.
History of Distance Learning
Distance education traces its origins to mid-19th century Europe and the United States. The
pioneers of distance education used the best technology of their day, the postal system, to open
educational opportunities to people who wanted to learn but were not able to attend conventional
schools. People who most benefited from such correspondence education included those with
physical disabilities, women who were not allowed to enroll in educational institutions open only
to men, people who had jobs during normal school hours, and those who lived in remote regions
where schools did not exist.
An Englishman, Isaac Pitman, is credited as an early pioneer. He began teaching shorthand by
correspondence in Bath, England in 1840. Students were instructed to copy short passages of the
Bible and return them for grading via the new penny post system.
American university level distance education began in 1874 at Illinois Wesleyan University
where bachelor and graduate degrees could be obtained in absentia. The Chautauqua movement
in about 1882 gave the popular push to correspondence education.
The teaching of academic and vocational courses by correspondence became quite popular by
1900 and problems of quality and ethical practice came with the popularity. The National Home
Study Council (NHSC) was formed in 1926 in part to address these issues. Accreditation of
college and university distance programs fell to the National University Extension Association in
1915.
The invention of educational radio in the 1920s and the advent of television in the 1940s created
important new forms of communication for use in distance education. Educators used these new
technologies to broadcast educational programs to millions of learners, thus extending learning
opportunities beyond the walls of conventional teaching institutions.
The development of reliable long-distance telephone systems in the early 1900s also increased
the capacity of distance educators to reach new student populations. But telephone systems never
played a prominent role in education until the introduction of new teleconferencing technologies
in the 1980s and 1990s. Teleconferencing systems made it possible for teachers to talk with,
hear, and see their students in real time - that is, with no delays in the transmissions - even if they
were located across the country or around the world.
Distance education increasingly uses combinations of different communications technologies to
enhance the abilities of teachers and students to communicate with each other. With the spread of
computer-network communications in the 1980s and 1990s, large numbers of people gained
access to computers linked to telephone lines, allowing teachers and students to communicate in
conferences via computers.
Distance education also makes use of computer conferencing on the World Wide Web, where
teachers and students present text, pictures, audio, and video. File sharing and communications
tools like email, chats and and audio and video conferencing are integral to the Internet model.
Business and university level learners have used a conferencing method known as one-way
video/two-way audio where television pictures that are transmitted to particular sites, where
people can reply to the broadcasters with a telephone call-in system. Television pictures can also
be transmitted in two directions simultaneously through telephone lines, so that teachers and
students in one place can see and hear teachers and students in other places. This video-
conferencing technology increasingly uses the Internet and Internet2.
A growing number of institutions offer complete college degree programs via the Internet.
California's Virtual University lists a wide range of community college, college, and university
courses offered online. The Western Governor's Association sponsors the Western Governor's
University (WGU). It offers online college degrees and courses from multiple universities.
The innovative Open University, started in 1971 in Britain and has been copied around the
world. The British Open University offers a master’s degree in the field of distance education to
anyone in the world who can access the Internet.
Listings of virtual universities and much more information can be found on the American
Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) and the Distance Education Clearinghouse Web sites.
Others can be found using routine Internet search methods.
The Virtual School
Several states have introduced virtual high schools and virtual schools. A 1991 WestEd study
defines the virtual school as "an educational organization that offers K-12 courses through
Internet or Web-based methods." The statewide Florida Virtual School probably is the most
notable because of its breadth and depth. The Massachusetts nonprofit VHS Inc. creates
collaborative partnerships with schools. Other virtual schools are locally based or created via
charter schools. The University of California Santa Cruz's University of California College Prep
online (UCCP) began as an online program to provide advanced placement courses to small and
middle size high schools. It has expanded to include core academic courses.
Summary
Lifelong learning, as defined by the OECD, includes a combination of formal, non-formal and
informal learning. Of these three, informal learning may be the most difficult to quantify or
prove, but it remains critical to an individual's overall cognitive and social development
throughout the lifespan.
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