Organizational Structure of Formal Education

Organization of Formal Education

• A formal education has a mission, which is part of the organizational structure of an educational system, establishing its purposes, goals, and objectives.
• Every formal education has a sponsor, consisting of political, religious, industrial, or other institutions that initiate, support, and govern the enterprise.
• Within these operating institutions, schools are established, legitimized, and managed.

Human Component of Formal Education

• Mentors are trained and certified personnel who teach, counsel, and train other human resources.
• Students are participants to be educated.

Curriculum Component of Formal Education

• Content refers to the body of knowledge, subjects, or skills that students are expected to learn.
• Media consists of materials, equipment, and processes through which learning experiences are provided for participants.

Non-Formal Education

• Non-formal education is any intentional and systematic education outside the normal or traditional school system, aimed at providing specific training for specific target groups or clientele.
• Examples of non-formal education include motivational and youth empowerment seminars, attending short refresher programs, apprenticeship, lecture, vocational or apprenticeship training, extension services, adult literacy programs, and health education.

Forms of Education

• There are three forms of education: formal, non-formal, and informal education.

Formal Education

• Formal education is an organized teaching, learning, and training that occurs in schools.
• Features of formal education include:
  • Takes place in an organized and structured manner at a specific place called a school.
  • Teaching and learning are usually based on a prescribed curriculum and syllabus.
  • Institutions of education, such as schools and universities, are usually accredited or officially mandated by the government.
  • Learning is evaluated through examination and grading systems.

Non-Formal Education

• Features of non-formal education include:
  • It is less costly than formal education.
  • Hands-on learning that can be applied directly to life or work.
  • Proof of education is more likely to be performance-based than by certificate.
  • Occurs at institutions outside school, such as the workplace.
  • Learning may be guided by experts and industry leaders.
  • Usually adapted to meet individual learner's specific needs.
  • Learning is voluntary and intrinsically driven.

Pedagogical Style of Non-Formal Education

• Pedagogical approaches are more flexible and build upon the needs of clients and their satisfaction.

Informal Education

• Informal education is the traditional, incidental, or indigenous education that one acquires consciously or unconsciously.
• Features of informal education include:
  • Teaching and learning is informal, occurs everywhere in casual settings, and at any time for unspecified time periods.
  • Experiential learning is based on daily life experiences.
  • Spontaneous learning process is not prearranged.
  • Unstructured learning process does not follow a curriculum or syllabus.
  • Socially led learning process is led by family, friends, caregivers, and other influences in the learner's surroundings.

Goals of Traditional African Education

• To develop the child physically.
• To develop character.
• To inculcate respect for elders and those in position of authority.
• To develop intellectual skills.
• To acquire specific vocational training and to develop a healthy attitude towards honest labor.
• To develop a sense of belonging and to encourage active participation in family and community affairs.
• To understand, appreciate, and promote the cultural heritage of the community at large.

Specific Goals of Informal Education

• Ensuring education in matrimonial, social, and religious domains.
• Ensuring training in thinking, practical wisdom, and aesthetics.
• Ensuring education of will power through self-denial, physical endurance, and self-control.

Content of General Education

• Children and adolescents learn the geography and history of their community from observation and from elders.
• Botany and Zoology are taught through theoretical and practical lessons.
• Proverbs and riddles are used to teach the child to reason and to take decisions.
• Mathematics is worked into games of wit.
• The youth learn the institutions, norms, and ideas of their culture by attending social events and festivals.