EDUCATION
11
FORMAL,
INFORMAL,
NON-FORMAL
Our learning is composed by 3 different ways
which were first introduced by Coombs with
Prosser & Ahmed in 1973 and later know as
Coombs Typology.
Definition (1) Informal Education: ‘…
the truly lifelong process whereby every
individual acquires attitudes, values, skills
and knowledge from daily experience and
the educative influences and resources in
his or her environment-from family and
neighbours, from work and play, from
the marketplace, the library and the mass
media…’
Definition (2) Formal Education: ‘…the
hierarchically structured, chronologically
graded “educational system”, running from
primary school through the university
and including, in addition to general
academic studies, a variety of specialized
programmes and institutions for full-time
technical and professional training.’
Definition (3) Non-Formal Education: ‘…
any organized educational activity outside
the established formal system-whether
operating separately or as an important
feature of some broader activity-that is
intended to serve identifiable learning
clientèle and learning objectives.’
in Coombs et al 1973.
All have good points and weak points.
Many times they are combined and bring
benefits to the learner. It’s up to each
person to find their method (even that in
many countries the formal education is
mandatory until a certain level), and also
to each teacher, trainer or educator, to use
the different approaches.
A teacher in a classroom can use non-formal
education methods and ask the students
to read a book or talk with someone, more
experienced in a certain topic, on their
free-time. In the following issues of this
magazine, we will go deeper in each one
of the methods.
Written by: SG
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