essay on why formal education is important

Essay on Importance of Education for Students

500 words essay on importance of education.

To say Education is important is an understatement. Education is a weapon to improve one’s life. It is probably the most important tool to change one’s life. Education for a child begins at home. It is a lifelong process that ends with death. Education certainly determines the quality of an individual’s life. Education improves one’s knowledge, skills and develops the personality and attitude. Most noteworthy, Education affects the chances of employment for people. A highly educated individual is probably very likely to get a good job. In this essay on importance of education, we will tell you about the value of education in life and society.

Importance of Education in Life

First of all, Education teaches the ability to read and write. Reading and writing is the first step in Education. Most information is done by writing. Hence, the lack of writing skill means missing out on a lot of information. Consequently, Education makes people literate.

Above all, Education is extremely important for employment. It certainly is a great opportunity to make a decent living. This is due to the skills of a high paying job that Education provides. Uneducated people are probably at a huge disadvantage when it comes to jobs. It seems like many poor people improve their lives with the help of Education.

Better Communication is yet another role in Education. Education improves and refines the speech of a person. Furthermore, individuals also improve other means of communication with Education.

Education makes an individual a better user of technology. Education certainly provides the technical skills necessary for using technology . Hence, without Education, it would probably be difficult to handle modern machines.

People become more mature with the help of Education. Sophistication enters the life of educated people. Above all, Education teaches the value of discipline to individuals. Educated people also realize the value of time much more. To educated people, time is equal to money.

Finally, Educations enables individuals to express their views efficiently. Educated individuals can explain their opinions in a clear manner. Hence, educated people are quite likely to convince people to their point of view.

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Importance of Education in Society

First of all, Education helps in spreading knowledge in society. This is perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of Education. There is a quick propagation of knowledge in an educated society. Furthermore, there is a transfer of knowledge from generation to another by Education.

Education helps in the development and innovation of technology. Most noteworthy, the more the education, the more technology will spread. Important developments in war equipment, medicine , computers, take place due to Education.

Education is a ray of light in the darkness. It certainly is a hope for a good life. Education is a basic right of every Human on this Planet. To deny this right is evil. Uneducated youth is the worst thing for Humanity. Above all, the governments of all countries must ensure to spread Education.

FAQs on Essay on Importance of Education

Q.1 How Education helps in Employment?

A.1 Education helps in Employment by providing necessary skills. These skills are important for doing a high paying job.

Q.2 Mention one way in Education helps a society?

A.2 Education helps society by spreading knowledge. This certainly is one excellent contribution to Education.

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Formal Education Is Not Always Necessary Essay

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Introduction

Importance of formal education, technology and education, formal education: not synonymous with success, envisioning my career future.

Technological advancements and inventions have made education easy through e-learning, among other online activities. Technology has bolstered formal education, helped save reading time, and improved education quality. Formal education is a structured learning system running from primary school to university. Furthermore, the educational system involves specialized vocational, technical, and professional training programs. Although formal education is primal for career success, technology has intervened, making formal education unnecessary for career success. Tech companies’ leaders of the leading tech companies have demonstrated how formal education is unnecessary. Although education is significant for career development, a combination of formal and non-formal education is crucial for a successful career inside and outside law enforcement.

Formal education is a topic of much introspection and controversy. However, many people favor the education system due to its insurmountable advantages in life and career development. Through formal education, learners learn from credentialed experts who are masters in their craft (Purtilo-Nieminen et al., 2021). Consequently, the professors tell the learners what is vital, making the students emphasize essential topics. The lecturers evaluate students’ work and suggest critical improvement areas. Furthermore, the learners get credentialed degrees and certificates that make them ready for the job market. Although formal education is a panacea for unemployment, technology has intervened by creating more lucrative jobs than jobs requiring formal education.

Technological advancements have ruled out the necessity of formal education since learners can self-teach themselves and acquire better knowledge than in class. Complicated technical skills are available on online platforms where learners can access anytime at the comfort of their homes. For instance, coding, search engine optimization, Adobe Photoshop, and foreign language skills can be learned online without expert guidance. Unlike formal education, online learning platforms are unstructured and involve automated evaluations that help learners track their learning progress. Many people, including Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Steve Jobs, dropped out of the formal education system but became successful in the tech industry. Therefore, while many contend that formal education is primal for career development, technical industries require more than formal education.

People who believe in creating employment, being creative, and becoming entrepreneurs appreciate the freedom from formal education and make bad employees. It is widely accepted that persons with advanced education, up to Master’s degrees, attract lucrative employment. However, the perception of ‘getting employed’ is old since many people are venturing into new businesses and creating jobs through self-learning. For instance, Bill Gates attended Harvard University for two years before building Microsoft (Yoffie & Cusumano, 2021). The company employs thousands of people who have gone through formal education. Therefore, it is ironic that a person studies for about 25 years and becomes confined behind a desk making money for someone who broke out of the formal education cycle for 30 years. Formal education is not synonymous with success since it does not contribute to social development, growth in developing countries, and a stable lifestyle.

Social development involves any activity that improves the well-being of all individuals in society. Formal education is on the frontline of educating the students on effective social interactions in society. However, some individuals have helped solve societal problems without formal education. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have developed innovative ideas in the tech world that have helped solve communication problems in society. Furthermore, their inventions have created jobs for many people in the world. Meanwhile, human rights activists like Malcolm X have helped solve social injustices without formal education. Formal education has not absolutely engineered social development.

Formal education implies being granted potential employment with a stable income. However, employment does not necessarily come from formal education but individual talents and hard work. Although formal education assures employment for a stable lifestyle, many people have utilized their skills and talents to have a stable lifestyle. Microsoft one of the leading technology companies was formed by Bill Gates who lacked formal education. Furthermore, Dell Inc. was founded by Michael Dell who dropped out of college at 19 years. The companies provide the founders and their families with stable incomes that enable them to live a quality lifestyle. Celebrated artists like Dustin Yellin, Ai Weiwei, and Jasper Johns are among the richest artists who never went through the formal education system (Yellin, 2018). Employment may not be an assurance for a stable lifestyle since many people without formal education have stable lifestyles.

Although a law enforcement career requires formal education, unique skills and knowledge are vital for a successful career. A high school diploma is a minimum requirement for most police officers. However, I may need a bachelor’s degree for advanced law enforcement positions at the Federal level. Technical skills are crucial in law enforcement, especially in investigative activities. The technical skills can be gained outside formal education and added to my career. For instance, I can learn forensic skills on various online platforms. Furthermore, interacting with various criminals requires social skills that I can learn without formal education intervention. I anticipate being an effective law enforcement officer who can deal with matters inside and outside my career with informal and formal education. Therefore, formal education is necessary for a law enforcement career, but informal education can help me become a more effective officer.

Technology has enabled the acquisition of skills through formal and informal education settings. The formal education system allows learners to be taught by experts who access and evaluate their performance. Through formal education, the learners are enlightened about social and economic issues important to society. However, formal education is not always necessary for a successful career. For instance, social development, growth among developed countries, and stable lifestyles have been archived without formal education. Famous people like Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Dustin Yellin have made it in life without formal education. While a law enforcement career requires formal education, technical skills can be gained without formal education. Therefore, I envisioned myself as a successful law enforcement officer with skills and knowledge gained through formal and informal education.

Purtilo-Nieminen, S., Vuojärvi, H., Rivinen, S., & Rasi, P. (2021). Student teachers’ narratives on learning: A case study of a course on older people’s media literacy education . Teaching and Teacher Education , 106 , 103432. Web.

Yellin, D. (2018). A constant state of migration. The Georgia Review , 72 (2), 441-452. Web.

Yoffie, D. B., & Cusumano, M. A. (2021). Strategy rules: five timeless lessons from Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs .

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Home  /  News  /  Why Is Education Important? The Power Of An Educated Society

Why Is Education Important? The Power Of An Educated Society

Looking for an answer to the question of why is education important? We address this query with a focus on how education can transform society through the way we interact with our environment. 

Whether you are a student, a parent, or someone who values educational attainment, you may be wondering how education can provide quality life to a society beyond the obvious answer of acquiring knowledge and economic growth. Continue reading as we discuss the importance of education not just for individuals but for society as a whole. 

Harness the power of education to build a more sustainable modern society with a degree from  Unity Environmental University .

How Education Is Power: The Importance Of Education In Society

Why is education so important? Nelson Mandela famously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” An educated society is better equipped to tackle the challenges that face modern America, including:

• Climate change
• Social justice
• Economic inequality

Education is not just about learning to read and do math operations. Of course, gaining knowledge and practical skills is part of it, but education is also about values and critical thinking. It’s about finding our place in society in a meaningful way. 

Environmental Stewardship

A  study from 2022 found that people who belong to an environmental stewardship organization, such as the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, are likely to have a higher education level than those who do not. This suggests that quality education can foster a sense of responsibility towards the environment.

With the effects of climate change becoming increasingly alarming, this particular importance of education is vital to the health, safety, and longevity of our society. Higher learning institutions can further encourage environmental stewardship by adopting a  framework of sustainability science .

The Economic Benefits Of Education

Higher education can lead to better job opportunities and higher income. On average, a  person with a bachelor’s degree will make $765,000 more  in their lifetime than someone with no degree. Even with the rising costs of tuition, investment in higher education pays off in the long run. In 2020, the return on investment (ROI) for a college degree was estimated to be  13.5% to 35.9% . 

Green jobs  like environmental science technicians and solar panel installers  have high demand projections for the next decade. Therefore, degrees that will prepare you for one of these careers will likely yield a high ROI. And, many of these jobs only require an  associate’s degree or certificate , which means lower overall education costs. 

Unity  helps students maximize their ROI with real-world experience in the field as an integral part of every degree program. 

10 Reasons Why School Is Important

Education is not just an individual pursuit but also a societal one.  In compiling these reasons, we focused on the question, “How does education benefit society?” Overall, higher education has the power to transform:

• Individuals’ sense of self
• Interpersonal relationships
• Social communities
• Professional communities

Cognitive Development

Neuroscience research  has proven that the brain is a muscle that can retain its neuroplasticity throughout life. However, like other muscles, it must receive continual exercise to remain strong. Higher education allows people of any age to improve their higher-level cognitive abilities like problem-solving and decision-making. This can make many parts of life feel more manageable and help society run smoothly. 

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is key to workplace success.  Studies  show that people with emotional intelligence exhibit more:

• Self-awareness
• Willingness to try new things
• Innovative thinking
• Active listening
• Collaboration skills
• Problem-solving abilities

By attending higher education institutions that value these soft skills, students can improve their emotional intelligence as part of their career development in college.

Technological Literacy

Many careers in today’s job market use advanced technology. To prepare for these jobs, young people likely won’t have access to these technologies to practice on their own. That’s part of why so many STEM career paths require degrees. It’s essential to gain technical knowledge and skills through a certified program to safely use certain technologies. And, educated scientists are  more likely to make new technological discoveries .

Cultural Awareness

Education exposes individuals to different cultures and perspectives. Being around people who are different has the powerful ability to foster acceptance. Acceptance benefits society as a whole. It increases innovation and empathy. 

College also gives students an opportunity to practice feeling comfortable in situations where there are people of different races, genders, sexualities, and abilities. Students can gain an understanding of how to act respectfully among different types of people, which is an important skill for the workplace. This will only become more vital as our world continues to become more globalized.

Ethical and Moral Development

Another reason why school is important is that it promotes ethical and moral development. Many schools require students to take an ethics course in their general education curriculum. However, schools can also encourage character development throughout their programs by using effective pedagogical strategies including:

• Class debates and discussions
• Historical case studies
• Group projects

Unity’s distance learning programs  include an ethical decision-making class in our core curriculum. 

Ready To Learn More About Unity Environmental University?

Communication Skills

Effective written and verbal communication skills are key for personal and professional success. Higher education programs usually include at least one communication course in their general education requirements. Often the focus in these classes is on writing skills, but students can also use college as an opportunity to hone their presentation and public speaking skills. Courses such as  Multimedia Communication for Environmental Professionals  provide many opportunities for this. 

Civic Engagement

According to a  Gallup survey , people with higher education degrees are:

• More likely to participate in civic activities such as voting and volunteering
• Less likely to commit crimes
• More likely to get involved in their local communities

All these individual acts add up to make a big difference in society. An educated electorate is less likely to be swayed by unethical politicians and, instead, make choices that benefit themselves and their community. Because they are more involved, they are also more likely to hold elected officials accountable.

Financial Stability

The right degree can significantly expand your career opportunities and improve your long-term earning potential. Not all degrees provide the same level of financial stability, so it’s important to research expected salary offers after graduation and job demand outlook predictions for your desired field. Consider the return on investment for a degree from an affordable private school such as  Unity Environmental University .

Environmental Awareness

We have already discussed why education is important for environmental stewardship. Education can also lead to better environmental practices in the business world. By building empathy through character education and ethics courses, institutions can train future business leaders to emphasize human rights and sustainability over profits. All types and sizes of businesses can incorporate sustainable practices, but awareness of the issues and solutions is the first step.

Lifelong Learning

The reasons why education is important discussed so far focus on institutional education. However, education can happen anywhere. Attending a university that values all kinds of learning will set students up with the foundation to become lifelong learners.  Research  demonstrates that lifelong learners tend to be healthier and more fulfilled throughout their lives. When societies emphasize the importance of education, they can boost their overall prosperity.

The Role Of Unity Environmental University In Society

Environmentally conscious education is extremely valuable and should be accessible to all.   Unity Environmental University  offers tuition prices that are comparable to public universities, and financial aid is available to those who qualify. Courses last five weeks so that students can focus on only one class at a time. This ensures all learners are set up for academic success. 

Unity believes in supporting students holistically to maximize the power of education. This includes mental health services,  experiential learning opportunities , and  job placement assistance . Students in our  hybrid programs  can take classes at several field stations throughout Maine and enjoy the beautiful nature surrounding the campus for outdoor recreation.

Sustainable Initiatives

Some highlights from Unity Environmental University’s many sustainable initiatives:

• All programs include at least one sustainability learning outcome
• All research courses are focused on sustainability research
• Reduced building energy use by 25% across campus
• 100% of food waste is recycled into energy 
• Campus features a  net-zero LEED Platinum-certified classroom/office building

While many schools value sustainability, Unity stands out because  everything  we do is about sustainability. We also recognize our responsibility to model how a sustainable business can operate in a manner that’s fiscally viable and socially responsible.

Make An Impact At Unity Environmental University

While the phrase ‘education is power’ may sound cliche, it is also resoundingly true. Higher education has the power to transform individuals and societies. Unity Environmental University understands its power to make a positive impact on the world. That’s why we were the first university to divest from fossil fuels. 

This year, we celebrated our  largest incoming class ever , showing that students want an education system that aligns with their values. In addition to our commitment to sustainability, we offer flexibility to students with start dates all year round for our  online degree programs .

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What’s the point of education? It’s no longer just about getting a job

Researcher for the University of Queensland Critical Thinking Project; and Online Teacher at Education Queensland's IMPACT Centre, The University of Queensland

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Luke Zaphir does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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This essay is part of a series of articles on the future of education.

For much of human history, education has served an important purpose, ensuring we have the tools to survive. People need jobs to eat and to have jobs, they need to learn how to work.

Education has been an essential part of every society. But our world is changing and we’re being forced to change with it. So what is the point of education today?

The ancient Greek model

Some of our oldest accounts of education come from Ancient Greece. In many ways the Greeks modelled a form of education that would endure for thousands of years. It was an incredibly focused system designed for developing statesmen, soldiers and well-informed citizens.

Most boys would have gone to a learning environment similar to a school, although this would have been a place to learn basic literacy until adolescence. At this point, a child would embark on one of two career paths: apprentice or “citizen”.

On the apprentice path, the child would be put under the informal wing of an adult who would teach them a craft. This might be farming, potting or smithing – any career that required training or physical labour.

The path of the full citizen was one of intellectual development. Boys on the path to more academic careers would have private tutors who would foster their knowledge of arts and sciences, as well as develop their thinking skills.

The private tutor-student model of learning would endure for many hundreds of years after this. All male children were expected to go to state-sponsored places called gymnasiums (“school for naked exercise”) with those on a military-citizen career path training in martial arts.

Those on vocational pathways would be strongly encouraged to exercise too, but their training would be simply for good health.

Read more: Guide to the classics: Homer's Iliad

Until this point, there had been little in the way of education for women, the poor and slaves. Women made up half of the population, the poor made up 90% of citizens, and slaves outnumbered citizens 10 or 20 times over .

These marginalised groups would have undergone some education but likely only physical – strong bodies were important for childbearing and manual labour. So, we can safely say education in civilisations like Ancient Greece or Rome was only for rich men.

While we’ve taken a lot from this model, and evolved along the way, we live in a peaceful time compared to the Greeks. So what is it that we want from education today?

We learn to work – the ‘pragmatic purpose’

Today we largely view education as being there to give us knowledge of our place in the world, and the skills to work in it. This view is underpinned by a specific philosophical framework known as pragmatism. Philosopher Charles Peirce – sometimes known as the “father of pragmatism” – developed this theory in the late 1800s.

There has been a long history of philosophies of knowledge and understanding (also known as epistemology). Many early philosophies were based on the idea of an objective, universal truth. For example, the ancient Greeks believed the world was made of only five elements: earth, water, fire, air and aether .

Read more: Where to start reading philosophy?

Peirce, on the other hand, was concerned with understanding the world as a dynamic place. He viewed all knowledge as fallible. He argued we should reject any ideas about an inherent humanity or metaphysical reality.

Pragmatism sees any concept – belief, science, language, people – as mere components in a set of real-world problems.

In other words, we should believe only what helps us learn about the world and require reasonable justification for our actions. A person might think a ceremony is sacred or has spiritual significance, but the pragmatist would ask: “What effects does this have on the world?”

Education has always served a pragmatic purpose. It is a tool to be used to bring about a specific outcome (or set of outcomes). For the most part, this purpose is economic .

Why go to school? So you can get a job.

Education benefits you personally because you get to have a job, and it benefits society because you contribute to the overall productivity of the country, as well as paying taxes.

But for the economics-based pragmatist, not everyone needs to have the same access to educational opportunities. Societies generally need more farmers than lawyers, or more labourers than politicians, so it’s not important everyone goes to university.

You can, of course, have a pragmatic purpose in solving injustice or creating equality or protecting the environment – but most of these are of secondary importance to making sure we have a strong workforce.

Pragmatism, as a concept, isn’t too difficult to understand, but thinking pragmatically can be tricky. It’s challenging to imagine external perspectives, particularly on problems we deal with ourselves.

How to problem-solve (especially when we are part of the problem) is the purpose of a variant of pragmatism called instrumentalism.

Contemporary society and education

In the early part of the 20th century, John Dewey (a pragmatist philosopher) created a new educational framework. Dewey didn’t believe education was to serve an economic goal. Instead, Dewey argued education should serve an intrinsic purpose : education was a good in itself and children became fully developed as people because of it.

Much of the philosophy of the preceding century – as in the works of Kant, Hegel and Mill – was focused on the duties a person had to themselves and their society. The onus of learning, and fulfilling a citizen’s moral and legal obligations, was on the citizens themselves.

Read more: Explainer: what is inquiry-based learning and how does it help prepare children for the real world?

But in his most famous work, Democracy and Education , Dewey argued our development and citizenship depended on our social environment. This meant a society was responsible for fostering the mental attitudes it wished to see in its citizens.

Dewey’s view was that learning doesn’t just occur with textbooks and timetables. He believed learning happens through interactions with parents, teachers and peers. Learning happens when we talk about movies and discuss our ideas, or when we feel bad for succumbing to peer pressure and reflect on our moral failure.

Learning would still help people get jobs, but this was an incidental outcome in the development of a child’s personhood. So the pragmatic outcome of schools would be to fully develop citizens.

Today’s educational environment is somewhat mixed. One of the two goals of the 2008 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians is that:

All young Australians become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens.

But the Australian Department of Education believes:

By lifting outcomes, the government helps to secure Australia’s economic and social prosperity.

A charitable reading of this is that we still have the economic goal as the pragmatic outcome, but we also want our children to have engaging and meaningful careers. We don’t just want them to work for money but to enjoy what they do. We want them to be fulfilled.

Read more: The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians: what it is and why it needs updating

And this means the educational philosophy of Dewey is becoming more important for contemporary society.

Part of being pragmatic is recognising facts and changes in circumstance. Generally, these facts indicate we should change the way we do things.

On a personal scale, that might be recognising we have poor nutrition and may have to change our diet. On a wider scale, it might require us to recognise our conception of the world is incorrect, that the Earth is round instead of flat.

When this change occurs on a huge scale, it’s called a paradigm shift.

The paradigm shift

Our world may not be as clean-cut as we previously thought. We may choose to be vegetarian to lessen our impact on the environment. But this means we buy quinoa sourced from countries where people can no longer afford to buy a staple, because it’s become a “superfood” in Western kitchens.

If you’re a fan of the show The Good Place, you may remember how this is the exact reason the points system in the afterlife is broken – because life is too complicated for any person to have the perfect score of being good.

All of this is not only confronting to us in a moral sense but also seems to demand we fundamentally alter the way we consume goods.

And climate change is forcing us to reassess how we have lived on this planet for the last hundred years, because it’s clear that way of life isn’t sustainable.

Contemporary ethicist Peter Singer has argued that, given the current political climate, we would only be capable of radically altering our collective behaviour when there has been a massive disruption to our way of life.

If a supply chain is broken by a climate-change-induced disaster, there is no choice but to deal with the new reality. But we shouldn’t be waiting for a disaster to kick us into gear.

Making changes includes seeing ourselves as citizens not only of a community or a country, but also of the world.

Read more: Students striking for climate action are showing the exact skills employers look for

As US philosopher Martha Nussbaum argues, many issues need international cooperation to address . Trade, environment, law and conflict require creative thinking and pragmatism, and we need a different focus in our education systems to bring these about.

Education needs to focus on developing the personhood of children, as well as their capability to engage as citizens (even if current political leaders disagree) .

If you’re taking a certain subject at school or university, have you ever been asked: “But how will that get you a job?” If so, the questioner sees economic goals as the most important outcomes for education.

They’re not necessarily wrong, but it’s also clear that jobs are no longer the only (or most important) reason we learn.

Read the essay on what universities must do to survive disruption and remain relevant.

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Home — Essay Samples — Education — Importance of Education

Essays on Importance of Education

Hook examples for importance of education essays, anecdotal hook.

Imagine a world where knowledge is the currency of progress, where the pursuit of education opens doors to endless opportunities. As we embark on a journey to explore the profound significance of education, let's delve into the transformative power it holds.

Quotation Hook

""Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."" These words from Nelson Mandela underscore the transformative potential of education. Join me as we examine the impact of education on individuals and societies.

Educational Equality Hook

Access to quality education is a fundamental right. Explore the role of education in promoting equality, breaking down barriers, and addressing social disparities.

Empowerment Through Learning Hook

Education empowers individuals to take control of their lives and shape their destinies. Analyze how education equips people with the knowledge and skills to navigate challenges and make informed decisions.

Educational Innovation Hook

Education is not static; it evolves with the times. Delve into the world of educational innovation and explore how technology and new teaching methods are revolutionizing the learning experience.

Education for Global Citizenship Hook

Education is a bridge to global understanding and cooperation. Investigate how education fosters the development of global citizens who are aware of pressing global issues and actively engaged in solving them.

Lifelong Learning Hook

Learning doesn't end with graduation; it's a lifelong journey. Explore the concept of lifelong learning and how it contributes to personal growth, adaptability, and staying relevant in a rapidly changing world.

The Power of Education: Lessons from The Life of Malala Yousafzai

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My Views on Education and Its Importance

Education or values, the gauge of becoming a human, women education and the futures wheel, the importance of education to my future, the importance of education in society, the importance of education in shaping the society, a discussion on the importance of education for a person, the possibility of education to eradicate rural poverty, the role of education and learning in today's society, the benefits versus the cost of higher education, the arguments why education should be free for everyone, why post-secondary education should be free for everyone in canada, importance of every subject connected to our lives, the role of education in evolution, review of education priority, online education and education in indiana state, why school is actually really important in our lives, importance of girls’ education, importance of school environment in light of sustainable development goals, a teacher's perspective on the purpose of education, the role of civic education - my civic journey.

Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, habits, and personal development.

Education originated as transmission of cultural heritage from one generation to the next. Today, educational goals increasingly encompass new ideas such as liberation of learners, critical thinking about presented information, skills needed for the modern society, empathy and complex vocational skills.

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Chapter Outline

• What is education?

Formal and Informal Education

Purpose of schools, what is education.

Education is a social institution through which a society’s children are taught basic academic knowledge, learning skills, and cultural norms. Every nation in the world is equipped with some form of education system, but the systems vary greatly. The major factors affecting education systems are the resources and money that are utilized to support those systems in different nations. As you might expect, a country’s wealth has much to do with the amount of money spent on education. Countries that do not have such basic amenities as running water are unable to support robust education systems or, in many cases, any formal schooling at all. The result of this worldwide educational inequality is a social concern for many countries, including the United States.

International differences in education systems are not solely a financial issue. The value placed on education, the amount of time devoted to it, and the distribution of education within a country also play a role in those differences. For example, students in South Korea spend 220 days a year in school, compared to the 180 days a year of their United States counterparts (Pellissier 2010). As of 2006, the United States ranked fifth among 27 countries for college participation, but ranked 16th in the number of students who receive college degrees (National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education 2006). These statistics may be related to how much time is spent on education in the United States.

I Will Not Let an Exam Result Decide My Fate

In this spoken word piece by Suli Breaks, he explores how students are judged and tested by how well they perform on exams, but not all people perform well on exams. The inconsistencies of the education system are really peeled open to reveal a deep problem that needs to be addressed and how society’s needs have changed to make this even more apparent. If the video does not show you can view it on YouTube by clicking this link.

Then there is the issue of educational distribution within a nation. In December 2010, the results of a test called the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which is administered to 15-year-old students worldwide, were released. Those results showed that students in the United States had fallen from 15th to 25th in the rankings for science and math (National Public Radio 2010). Students at the top of the rankings hailed from Shanghai, Finland, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Analysts determined that the nations and city-states at the top of the rankings had several things in common. For one, they had well-established standards for education with clear goals for all students. They also recruited teachers from the top 5 to 10 percent of university graduates each year, which is not the case for most countries (National Public Radio 2010).

Finally, there is the issue of social factors. One analyst from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the organization that created the test, attributed 20 percent of performance differences and the United States’ low rankings to differences in social background. Researchers noted that educational resources, including money and quality teachers, are not distributed equitably in the United States. In the top-ranking countries, limited access to resources did not necessarily predict low performance. Analysts also noted what they described as “resilient students,” or those students who achieve at a higher level than one might expect given their social background. In Shanghai and Singapore, the proportion of resilient students is about 70 percent. In the United States, it is below 30 percent. These insights suggest that the United States’ educational system may be on a descending path that could detrimentally affect the country’s economy and its social landscape (National Public Radio 2010).

Sir Ken Robinson Speaks About Issues in American Education

In this video Sir Ken Robinson outlines 3 principles crucial for the human mind to flourish — and how current education culture in the U.S. is working against them. In a funny, stirring talk he tells us how to get out of the educational “death valley” we now face, and how to nurture our youngest generations with a climate of possibility.

As already mentioned, education is not solely concerned with the basic academic concepts that a student learns in the classroom. Societies also educate their children, outside of the school system, in matters of everyday practical living. These two types of learning are referred to as formal education and informal education.

Formal education describes the learning of academic facts and concepts through a formal curriculum. Arising from the tutelage of ancient Greek thinkers, centuries of scholars have examined topics through formalized methods of learning. Education in earlier times was only available to the higher classes; they had the means for access to scholarly materials, plus the luxury of leisure time that could be used for learning. The Industrial Revolution and its accompanying social changes made education more accessible to the general population. Many families in the emerging middle class found new opportunities for schooling.

The modern U.S. educational system is the result of this progression. Today, basic education is considered a right and responsibility for all citizens. Expectations of this system focus on formal education, with curricula and testing designed to ensure that students learn the facts and concepts that society believes are basic knowledge.

In contrast, informal education describes learning about cultural values, norms, and expected behaviors by participating in a society. This type of learning occurs both through the formal education system and at home. Our earliest learning experiences generally happen via parents, relatives, and others in our community. Through informal education, we learn how to dress for different occasions, how to perform regular life routines like shopping for and preparing food, and how to keep our bodies clean.

Education vs. Schooling

Often, students use the terms “schooling” and “education” interchangeably, but as you can discern from this reading, they have different meanings. What is the difference?

Cultural transmission

Cultural transmission refers to the way people come to learn the values, beliefs, and social norms of their culture. Both informal and formal education include cultural transmission. For example, a student will learn about cultural aspects of modern history in a U.S. History classroom. In that same classroom, the student might learn the cultural norm for asking a classmate out on a date through passing notes and whispered conversations.

Schools also can be agents of change, teaching individuals to think outside of the family norms into which they were born. Educational environments can broaden horizons and even help to break cycles of poverty and racism.

The purpose of schools can be divided into four major themes or functions:

Intellectual : Schools provide intellectual growth.

Political & Civic : Land of the Free, Home of the Brave — this doesn’t transcend from one generation to the next automatically.

Economic: Do you want to grow the GDP?

Social: Probably one of the most undervalued, yet critically important to life-long success — can you work on a team or be a leader? These skills are honed in the K12 classroom.

As you think about the four basic purposes of school: academic (intellectual), political and civic purposes, socialization, and economic purposes, what do you think?  Which one (or more) do you find as primary purposes of schooling in your own personal philosophy?

Schools teach us far more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. They also socialize us to cultural norms and expectations. 

From the moment a child is born, his or her education begins. At first, education is an informal process in which an infant watches others and imitates them. As the infant grows into a young child, the process of education becomes more formal through play dates and preschool. Once in grade school, academic lessons become the focus of education as a child moves through the school system. But even then, education is about much more than the simple learning of facts.

Our education system also socializes us to our society. We learn cultural expectations and norms, which are reinforced by our teachers, our textbooks, and our classmates. (For students outside the dominant culture, this aspect of the education system can pose significant challenges.) You might remember learning your multiplication tables in second grade and also learning the social rules of taking turns on the swings at recess. You might recall learning about the U.S. Constitution in an American Government course as well as learning when and how to speak up in class.

Season 2, Episode 7: The Recruitment Divide (Link to Podcast) THIS PODCAST IS OPTIONAL

There was a time when the decision of where to send your child to school was relatively simple: public or private. Now, in Nashville and many other cities, those choices have multiplied exponentially. In large part, it’s because of white families — a way to keep them in the public system, but on their own terms. But with so many choices at play, things have gotten messy. Judgement is cast. Pedagogy is ruthlessly ranked. Gossip and chatter steer decision making. And information begins to splinter. In this episode, we follow two mothers whose experiences in choosing a school couldn’t be more different.

Transcript of Podcast

Why does Public Education Exist? An Open Letter to Students Returning to School

In this video by the Vlog Brothers, John Green gives advice to students returning to school from summer break, discusses the reasons public education exists, and celebrates the landing of the Mars rover Curiosity, among many great things that have happened to humans since we began to invest in public education. If this video does not show you can view it on YouTube by clicking this link.

Kevin Kumashiro, Teachers Make a Difference

Education Week. 2004. “Tracking.” Education Week , August 4. Retrieved February 24, 2012 Click here to link to this article Godofsky, Jessica, Cliff Zukin, and Carl Van Horn. 2011. Unfulfilled Expectations: Recent College Graduates Struggle in a Troubled Economy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University. Iverson, Jeremy. 2006. High School Confidential. New York: Atria. Lauen, Douglas Lee and Karolyn Tyson. 2008. “Perspectives from the Disciplines: Sociological Contribution to Education Policy Research and Debate.” AREA Handbook on Education Policy Research. Retrieved February 24, 2012. National Public Radio. 2004. “Princeton Takes Steps to Fight ‘Grade Inflation.’” Day to Day, April 28. Mansfield, Harvey C. 2001. “Grade Inflation: It’s Time to Face the Facts.” The Chronicle of Higher Education 47(30): B24. Merton, Robert K . 1968. Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: Free Press. UNESCO. 2005. Towards Knowledge Societies: UNESCO World Report. Paris: UNESCO Publishing. World Bank . 2007. World Development Report. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Formal Education and the Purpose of Schools Copyright © 2022 by Angela Hooser and Janna McClain is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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What Is Education For?

Read an excerpt from a new book by Sir Ken Robinson and Kate Robinson, which calls for redesigning education for the future.

What is education for? As it happens, people differ sharply on this question. It is what is known as an “essentially contested concept.” Like “democracy” and “justice,” “education” means different things to different people. Various factors can contribute to a person’s understanding of the purpose of education, including their background and circumstances. It is also inflected by how they view related issues such as ethnicity, gender, and social class. Still, not having an agreed-upon definition of education doesn’t mean we can’t discuss it or do anything about it.

We just need to be clear on terms. There are a few terms that are often confused or used interchangeably—“learning,” “education,” “training,” and “school”—but there are important differences between them. Learning is the process of acquiring new skills and understanding. Education is an organized system of learning. Training is a type of education that is focused on learning specific skills. A school is a community of learners: a group that comes together to learn with and from each other. It is vital that we differentiate these terms: children love to learn, they do it naturally; many have a hard time with education, and some have big problems with school.

There are many assumptions of compulsory education. One is that young people need to know, understand, and be able to do certain things that they most likely would not if they were left to their own devices. What these things are and how best to ensure students learn them are complicated and often controversial issues. Another assumption is that compulsory education is a preparation for what will come afterward, like getting a good job or going on to higher education.

So, what does it mean to be educated now? Well, I believe that education should expand our consciousness, capabilities, sensitivities, and cultural understanding. It should enlarge our worldview. As we all live in two worlds—the world within you that exists only because you do, and the world around you—the core purpose of education is to enable students to understand both worlds. In today’s climate, there is also a new and urgent challenge: to provide forms of education that engage young people with the global-economic issues of environmental well-being.

This core purpose of education can be broken down into four basic purposes.

Education should enable young people to engage with the world within them as well as the world around them. In Western cultures, there is a firm distinction between the two worlds, between thinking and feeling, objectivity and subjectivity. This distinction is misguided. There is a deep correlation between our experience of the world around us and how we feel. As we explored in the previous chapters, all individuals have unique strengths and weaknesses, outlooks and personalities. Students do not come in standard physical shapes, nor do their abilities and personalities. They all have their own aptitudes and dispositions and different ways of understanding things. Education is therefore deeply personal. It is about cultivating the minds and hearts of living people. Engaging them as individuals is at the heart of raising achievement.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights emphasizes that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” and that “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Many of the deepest problems in current systems of education result from losing sight of this basic principle.

Schools should enable students to understand their own cultures and to respect the diversity of others. There are various definitions of culture, but in this context the most appropriate is “the values and forms of behavior that characterize different social groups.” To put it more bluntly, it is “the way we do things around here.” Education is one of the ways that communities pass on their values from one generation to the next. For some, education is a way of preserving a culture against outside influences. For others, it is a way of promoting cultural tolerance. As the world becomes more crowded and connected, it is becoming more complex culturally. Living respectfully with diversity is not just an ethical choice, it is a practical imperative.

There should be three cultural priorities for schools: to help students understand their own cultures, to understand other cultures, and to promote a sense of cultural tolerance and coexistence. The lives of all communities can be hugely enriched by celebrating their own cultures and the practices and traditions of other cultures.

Education should enable students to become economically responsible and independent. This is one of the reasons governments take such a keen interest in education: they know that an educated workforce is essential to creating economic prosperity. Leaders of the Industrial Revolution knew that education was critical to creating the types of workforce they required, too. But the world of work has changed so profoundly since then, and continues to do so at an ever-quickening pace. We know that many of the jobs of previous decades are disappearing and being rapidly replaced by contemporary counterparts. It is almost impossible to predict the direction of advancing technologies, and where they will take us.

How can schools prepare students to navigate this ever-changing economic landscape? They must connect students with their unique talents and interests, dissolve the division between academic and vocational programs, and foster practical partnerships between schools and the world of work, so that young people can experience working environments as part of their education, not simply when it is time for them to enter the labor market.

Education should enable young people to become active and compassionate citizens. We live in densely woven social systems. The benefits we derive from them depend on our working together to sustain them. The empowerment of individuals has to be balanced by practicing the values and responsibilities of collective life, and of democracy in particular. Our freedoms in democratic societies are not automatic. They come from centuries of struggle against tyranny and autocracy and those who foment sectarianism, hatred, and fear. Those struggles are far from over. As John Dewey observed, “Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife.”

For a democratic society to function, it depends upon the majority of its people to be active within the democratic process. In many democracies, this is increasingly not the case. Schools should engage students in becoming active, and proactive, democratic participants. An academic civics course will scratch the surface, but to nurture a deeply rooted respect for democracy, it is essential to give young people real-life democratic experiences long before they come of age to vote.

Eight Core Competencies

The conventional curriculum is based on a collection of separate subjects. These are prioritized according to beliefs around the limited understanding of intelligence we discussed in the previous chapter, as well as what is deemed to be important later in life. The idea of “subjects” suggests that each subject, whether mathematics, science, art, or language, stands completely separate from all the other subjects. This is problematic. Mathematics, for example, is not defined only by propositional knowledge; it is a combination of types of knowledge, including concepts, processes, and methods as well as propositional knowledge. This is also true of science, art, and languages, and of all other subjects. It is therefore much more useful to focus on the concept of disciplines rather than subjects.

Disciplines are fluid; they constantly merge and collaborate. In focusing on disciplines rather than subjects we can also explore the concept of interdisciplinary learning. This is a much more holistic approach that mirrors real life more closely—it is rare that activities outside of school are as clearly segregated as conventional curriculums suggest. A journalist writing an article, for example, must be able to call upon skills of conversation, deductive reasoning, literacy, and social sciences. A surgeon must understand the academic concept of the patient’s condition, as well as the practical application of the appropriate procedure. At least, we would certainly hope this is the case should we find ourselves being wheeled into surgery.

The concept of disciplines brings us to a better starting point when planning the curriculum, which is to ask what students should know and be able to do as a result of their education. The four purposes above suggest eight core competencies that, if properly integrated into education, will equip students who leave school to engage in the economic, cultural, social, and personal challenges they will inevitably face in their lives. These competencies are curiosity, creativity, criticism, communication, collaboration, compassion, composure, and citizenship. Rather than be triggered by age, they should be interwoven from the beginning of a student’s educational journey and nurtured throughout.

From Imagine If: Creating a Future for Us All by Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D and Kate Robinson, published by Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2022 by the Estate of Sir Kenneth Robinson and Kate Robinson.

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Persuasive Essay: Why is Education Important in Our Society?

Introduction.

Education is more than just learning from books, and it is a shame that a lot of schools do not see that it is more than just a curriculum and school score. A good education can teach a child how to learn so that the child may take up independent learning as an adult. Education may also teach a child how to reason so that a child does not grow up to be ignorant.

I will show you the two best reasons why education is important in our society.

Persuasive point 1

The biggest selling point for education in our society is the fact that it helps people learn “how” to learn. It is not about the knowledge they accumulate, it is the way a child is taught how to “learn” things. A child may come away from school not knowing a lot of the course, but if that child has been taught how to learn, then that child may become an adult that learns everything he or she needs in life. Otherwise, that child may grow up to be a person that cannot see the obvious because he or she cannot reason and consciously learn new things.

Persuasive point 2

Education teaches people how to reason, and if they are taught how to reason well, then they help subdue their own thoughts of ignorance. For example, there are lots of posts and websites on the Internet about childhood vaccinations and how dangerous they are. Ignorant people than never learned how to reason will look at them, believe them and support them. If a person is taught how to reason then he or she will know how to recognize empirical evidence.

That person would look at all the people in the US that have had childhood injections (most of them) and then look at all the people with autism. They would reason that if childhood vaccinations caused autism then most of the people in the US would have autism. If a person is taught how to reason then that person may see how people that smoke seem more likely to develop emphysema than people that do not smoke. They would then reason there is a link between smoking and emphysema. This sort of reasoning can be taught in schools, and if children are not taught it then they walk around risking their children’s lives by not vaccinating them, and walk around smoking because their daddy smoked for years and it never hurt him.

If education is not seen as important, then one day it will just be all about school scores and hitting the factors of a curriculum. There will be a day when children start to hate learning because school put them off it for life (this already happens in some cases). Plus, without education teaching people how to reason things out and teaching them how to separate what is fact from what is faulty evidence, then our society will become more and more ignorant until a smarter country simply marches over and takes our country from under out ignorant noses.

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Importance of Formal Education in our Society Reading Time : 7 minutes -->

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Billionaires such as Ritesh Agarwal (Founder & CEO, OYO rooms), Bill Gates (Co-founder, Microsoft) and Gautam Adani (Founder Chairman, Adani Group) are just a few examples of people who have achieved success without having a college degree. But education played a role in laying the foundation for their success. The basic knowledge and experiences gained are what allowed the wider picture to emerge in their later life.

Although they are excellent role models despite being college dropouts, we must remember that they represent only a handful of success stories as opposed to the ‘nobody’ status of the majority of college dropouts in reality. Let us also not forget that aspirations vary from person to person. Some dream of becoming an IAS or a doctor, whereas others might prefer a career in law, engineering etc. There are a variety of sought-after occupations that demand the fulfilment of prerequisite eligibilities, and formal education helps in this regard because it is legal, statutory, and recognized by the public, government, and society as a whole.

With the evolution of mankind in society, the scope of education has also broadened. Today, the nature of education can be segregated into two broad categories – formal education & informal education.

In the premises of formal education, a child is imparted academic knowledge and training by specialised teachers, starting from school and all the way up to college/university level. This type of education has universal applicability, which facilitates youths to learn within the scope of a planned, deliberate and systematic medium, as per their course of studies. The level of knowledge proficiency under formal education is assessed based on well-planned organised methods of assessment and evaluation.

However, education can be acquired outside of standardised schooling norms, which fall under the scope of the informal education system. There is a lot to be learned outside the scope of formal studies, which can allow people to acquire an in-depth understanding of topics and lessons that are otherwise not taught in schools. However, the existence of invaluable lessons that can be gained from informal education does not negate the purpose and importance of formal education. Formal education is still relevant and necessary for the holistic development of an individual.

Importance of Formal Education

–        Formal education is an attempt at the all-around development of a person, that can help them become responsible, passionate and productive citizens contributing to the advancement of our society.

–        Early introduction to formal education has the ability to enhance the behavioural traits of a child in a way that is desirable in our society. This implies the indispensable impact of formal schooling on a child’s upbringing. This is perhaps the reason why we see visible differences in the behavioural and knowledge-aspects of two children brought up under two different circumstances – one with formal schooling, and one without.

–        Formal education has the ability to   change the course of a person from alienation, poverty and destitution, and bring them on a path to security, social belongingness and prosperity. It moulds the physical, intellectual, emotional and social characteristics of a person in a balanced manner.

–        Furthermore, formal education trains children to develop critical thinking and reasoning power, shaping them into good citizens, and improving their social standing and independence.

Every child is born different. They have curiosity, urges and impulses of several kinds which constantly seek outlets. Formal education provides a sense of direction for them through carefully established channels, enabling them to reach their desired goals. It is the primary task of educational institutions to tap into the latent abilities, potentials, interests, behaviour and needs of the children and bring them forward in the best possible platform.

It is important to mention that educational institutions play a critical role in defining the career paths of the future working force of a nation. Teachers have the ability to guide students towards specialised fields after understanding the abilities and interests of individual students. The premise of formal education offers an excellent platform to foster such personalised guidance for students.

To be successful in all aspects of later years, a person needs to acquire some knowledge, skills, attitude and interests. Apart from assisting the child in laying a strong foundation for further and broader scope of education, formal education provides opportunities for social learning, group learning, group works, games and sports, dramatics, debates, discussions, cultural programmes, modes and various forms of democracy. They learn cooperation, understanding, friendship, tolerance, cordial manners and all such qualities essential for a successful living in society. So, the function of schooling is not limited to only individual development, but it also helps shape social development.

Educational institutions also facilitate the new generation to get acquainted with the history, literature, customs, traditions, beliefs, ancient myths and legends of the society and the world. It enables us to protect and preserve society’s events and achievements in the past and pass along the knowledge to the younger generation. Through schooling, it prepares children for the future by inheriting, enriching, preserving and transmitting culture and values.

The rules, principles and regulations that govern the functioning of institutions also impart valuable lessons on discipline, time management, punctuality, responsibility, morality, social values and more. With the accommodation of extra-curricular and co-curricular activities, the educational institutions promote national unity and integrity. The teachers through their practical efficiency, skills, and competency mould the behaviour of students into a desirable form by imparting socially desirable knowledge, skills and providing socially desirable experiences.

However, the knowledge & skill-based proficiency of two educated people can vary depending on their financial situation and the environment in which they learn. In comparison to public school students who mostly get to learn in a generic learning environment, students of private schools may receive better privileges & refined learning experiences, leading to global exposure early on. Nonetheless, the formal schooling structure is designed in such a manner that every child receives equal opportunities to receive higher education at premier institutions of national and international repute, such as the IITs, NITs, Harvard, Oxford, MIT, etc. Merit-based scholarships are made available to enable bright students with financial constraints to pursue higher education of their choice without being burdened with the cost involved.

India has come a long way since its struggle for freedom and made great strides in its development. Today, the lag in research & technology that once existed is being rapidly bridged with continuous development and investments to improve and widen the spectrum of education in India. The introduction of NEP 2020 by the Govt. of India is an excellent example of supporting this. Further, additional measures are being taken actively to bring reforms in the educational scenario and better serve the students of our nation. The best of talents and the majority of the self-reliant citizens of our nation have got their education to thank for the exposure they have received in their respective lives. We have a rich history of producing talented scientists, CEOs, business people and more who have had a positive impact on societies around the world.

Adding on, education has had a significant impact on social reformations and progress in India. It has allowed women in the country to be more independent. It has had a positive impact on poverty alleviation by helping people become more self-sufficient and self-reliant. It has also facilitated the eradication of social evils and superstitions through awareness buildup in society. In a nutshell, the role of formal education isn’t just to provide a means to livelihood for an individual but to rebuild our society and bring sustainable solutions to light, for the collective benefit of all.

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Education is Fundamental to Development and Growth

Elizabeth king.

Education is fundamental to development and growth. The human mind makes possible all development achievements, from health advances and agricultural innovations to efficient public administration and private sector growth. For countries to reap these benefits fully, they need to unleash the potential of the human mind. And there is no better tool for doing so than education.

Twenty years ago, government officials and development partners met to affirm the importance of education in development—on economic development and broadly on improving people’s lives—and together declared Education for All as a goal. While enrolments have risen in promising fashion around the world, learning levels have remained disappointingly and many remain left behind. Because growth, development, and poverty reduction depend on the knowledge and skills that people acquire, not the number of years that they sit in a classroom, we must transform our call to action from Education for All to Learning for All.

The World Bank’s forthcoming Education Strategy will emphasize several core ideas: Invest early. Invest smartly. Invest in learning for all .

First, foundational skills acquired early in childhood make possible a lifetime of learning. The traditional view of education as starting in primary school takes up the challenge too late. The science of brain development shows that learning needs to be encouraged early and often, both inside and outside of the formal schooling system. Prenatal health and early childhood development programs that include education and health are consequently important to realize this potential. In the primary years, quality teaching is essential to give students the foundational literacy and numeracy on which lifelong learning depends. Adolescence is also a period of high potential for learning, but many teenagers leave school at this point, lured by the prospect of a job, the need to help their families, or turned away by the cost of schooling. For those who drop out too early, second-chance and nonformal learning opportunities are essential to ensure that all youth can acquire skills for the labor market. 

Second, getting results requires smart investments —that is, investments that prioritize and monitor learning, beyond traditional metrics, such as the number of teachers trained or number of students enrolled. Quality needs to be the focus of education investments, with learning gains as the key metric of quality.  Resources are too limited and the challenges too big to be designing policies and programs in the dark. We need evidence on what works in order to invest smartly.

Third, learning for all means ensuring that all students, and not just the most privileged or gifted, acquire the knowledge and skills that they need. Major challenges of access remain for disadvantaged populations at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. We must lower the barriers that keep girls, children with disabilities, and ethnolinguistic minorities from attaining as much education as other population groups. “Learning for All” promotes the equity goals that underlie Education for All and the MDGs. Without confronting equity issues, it will be impossible to achieve the objective of learning for all.

Achieving learning for all will be challenging, but it is the right agenda for the next decade. It is the knowledge and skills that children and youth acquire today—not simply their school attendance—that will drive their employability, productivity, health, and well-being in the decades to come, and that will help ensure that their communities and nations thrive.

Read the full text of my speech to the Education World Forum here.

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Why education is the key to development

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Education is a human right. And, like other human rights, it cannot be taken for granted. Across the world,  59 million children and 65 million adolescents are out of school . More than 120 million children do not complete primary education.

Behind these figures there are children and youth being denied not only a right, but opportunities: a fair chance to get a decent job, to escape poverty, to support their families, and to develop their communities. This year, decision-makers will set the priorities for global development for the next 15 years. They should make sure to place education high on the list.

The deadline for the Millennium Development Goals is fast approaching. We have a responsibility to make sure we fulfill the promise we made at the beginning of the millennium: to ensure that boys and girls everywhere complete a full course of primary schooling.

The challenge is daunting. Many of those who remain out of school are the hardest to reach, as they live in countries that are held back by conflict, disaster, and epidemics. And the last push is unlikely to be accompanied by the double-digit economic growth in some developing economies that makes it easier to expand opportunities.

Nevertheless, we can succeed. Over the last 15 years, governments and their partners have shown that political will and concerted efforts can deliver tremendous results – including halving the number of children and adolescents who are out of school. Moreover, most countries are closing in on gender parity at the primary level. Now is the time to redouble our efforts to finish what we started.

But we must not stop with primary education. In today’s knowledge-driven economies, access to quality education and the chances for development are two sides of the same coin. That is why we must also set targets for secondary education, while improving quality and learning outcomes at all levels. That is what the  Sustainable Development Goal  on education, which world leaders will adopt this year, aims to do.

Addressing the fact that an estimated 250 million children worldwide are not learning the basic skills they need to enter the labor market is more than a moral obligation. It amounts to an investment in sustainable growth and prosperity. For both countries and individuals, there is a direct and indisputable link between access to quality education and economic and social development.

Likewise, ensuring that girls are not kept at home when they reach puberty, but are allowed to complete education on the same footing as their male counterparts, is not just altruism; it is sound economics. Communities and countries that succeed in achieving gender parity in education will reap substantial benefits relating to health, equality, and job creation.

All countries, regardless of their national wealth, stand to gain from more and better education. According to a recent  OECD report , providing every child with access to education and the skills needed to participate fully in society would boost GDP by an average 28% per year in lower-income countries and 16% per year in high-income countries for the next 80 years.

Today’s students need “twenty-first-century skills,” like critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and digital literacy. Learners of all ages need to become familiar with new technologies and cope with rapidly changing workplaces.

According to the International Labour Organization, an additional 280 million jobs will be needed by 2019. It is vital for policymakers to ensure that the right frameworks and incentives are established so that those jobs can be created and filled. Robust education systems – underpinned by qualified, professionally trained, motivated, and well-supported teachers – will be the cornerstone of this effort.

Governments should work with parent and teacher associations, as well as the private sector and civil-society organizations, to find the best and most constructive ways to improve the quality of education. Innovation has to be harnessed, and new partnerships must be forged.

Of course, this will cost money. According to UNESCO, in order to meet our basic education targets by 2030, we must close an external annual financing gap of about $22 billion. But we have the resources necessary to deliver. What is lacking is the political will to make the needed investments.

This is the challenge that inspired Norway to  invite world leaders  to Oslo for a  Summit on Education for Development ,  where we can develop strategies for mobilizing political support for increasing financing for education. For the first time in history, we are in the unique position to provide education opportunities for all, if only we pull together. We cannot miss this critical opportunity.

To be sure, the responsibility for providing citizens with a quality education rests, first and foremost, with national governments. Aid cannot replace domestic-resource mobilization. But donor countries also have an important role to play, especially in supporting least-developed countries. We must reverse the recent downward trend in development assistance for education, and leverage our assistance to attract investments from various other sources. For our part, we are in the process of doubling Norway’s financial contribution to education for development in the period 2013-2017.

Together, we need to intensify efforts to bring the poorest and hardest to reach children into the education system. Education is a right for everyone. It is a right for girls, just as it is for boys. It is a right for disabled children, just as it is for everyone else. It is a right for the 37 million out-of-school children and youth in countries affected by crises and conflicts. Education is a right regardless of where you are born and where you grow up. It is time to ensure that the right is upheld.

This article is published in collaboration with Project Syndicate . Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

To keep up with the Agenda  subscribe to our weekly newsletter .

Author: Erna Solberg is Prime Minister of Norway. Børge Brende is Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Image: Students attend a class at the Oxford International College in Changzhou. REUTERS/Aly Song. 

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Formal vs informal education: differences, similarities, and how to use both, share this article.

When thinking about what route you want to take to learn or teach something new, you’re going to quickly realize just how many options are out there. Especially when you’re looking at options online, in-person, available via mobile applications, through reading textbooks, or any variety of learning that’s available – it feels overwhelming.

One way to help narrow down your search is to look at informal versus formal education. Understanding this distinction in learning approaches provides an overarching way to break down how you want to learn. From there, you’ll be able to look for specific options that can give you the lessons you need – or you could create your own hybrid training program that has the best of both approaches! 

Skip ahead:

What is formal education?

What is informal education, similarities between formal and informal education, differences between formal and informal education, how formal and informal education complement each other.

Formal education is training that has a specific curriculum. It’s clear what will be taught, in what way the content will be delivered, and how the student’s learning will be measured (eg. tests, presentations, research articles, etc). 

Most formal education is done through an institution such as a school, university, or even a tutor. However, there are also a lot of e-learning marketplaces like   Udemy or   Khan Academy which offer many types of courses with specific learning objectives. Regardless of where you go to earn your formal education, it can be delivered to you through one lesson or course, or can even extend out to an entire undergraduate or graduate degree, for example. 

There are also a lot of supplemental resources available in formal education such as textbooks, keynote presentations, hands-on labs, and practice exams. 

Informal education is, in some ways, the opposite of formal education. Most often, informal education isn’t even planned in advance. A lot of lessons are pulled from everyday life, such as when you hear a story from a family member or co-worker that you later apply to your own life. As such, there’s not really any use of reading materials, guides, or exams as there would be in formal learning paths.

Because of its unstructured and sometimes unpredictable nature, you may not always guarantee exactly what you’re going to learn. It can sometimes be faster to take in new information in informal settings, but in other cases it can be longer. The speed of your learning is more heavily dependent on who is teaching you (as they’re not actually a professional educator) and your readiness and willingness to learn in the moment. 

Despite seeming so different, there’s actually a few things that both informal and formal education approaches have in common. These are essential takeaways from any kind of learning activity, and they’re especially important to keep in mind here, too. 

Drive to learn

As silly as it sounds, one of the biggest similarities between formal and informal education is that the student has a drive to learn! You might either be looking to have new knowledge or even just try to expand on knowledge that you’ve earned from a prior learning experience. Either way, this person must be ready to be curious, to understand new concepts, and to ask questions when they’re confused. 

Lessons learned

Regardless of how you learn, you’re still going to learn. Lessons can be taught in a lot of different ways, and some people need more structure to digest the information while others need a hands-on, in-practice approach. No matter how you go about learning, you’re still going to have similar takeaways at the end of the day. This is especially true if you’ve specifically set out to learn something in particular, and you’ve asked people who you know are going to be experts in the field. In this case, getting a lesson from a university class might give you the same information as your next door neighbor who’s had a career in that area their whole life.  

Formal and informal education settings have a lot of differences, which can help you with making the right decision for what you’re looking to learn next. Let’s dive into a few of these differences here! 

Learning environment

Put simply, formal education is mostly done within a classroom setting and informal education is done during your day-to-day life activities. Today, a lot of classes for formal lessons are hosted online as well as in-person, so there’s a lot of flexibility in how you can access this type of education. 

On the other hand, there’s no go-to place to get all of your informal learning needs. Instead, it might take some practice asking around, doing solo research, or observing your environment to get the same kind of lessons. In that way, informal education is great for people who like to “learn by doing.”

Learning structure

Courses offered in formal learning paths allow students to know exactly what they’re going to learn. Professors strategically plan course topics to build off each other, often so that more basic concepts are learned first before diving into advanced topics. There’s more predictability for knowing how the course will work with your learning style as well.

However, informal learning doesn’t guarantee what you’re going to learn, or how . You might even stumble upon a new lesson unintentionally! And even if you’re actively seeking a specific answer, you might get part of the information from one source and the rest of the information from somewhere else. Because of this, you might frequently learn the more advanced topics first before the fundamentals – and it won’t make sense right away until you’ve had that other piece of the lesson come into your learning path. As complicated as this sounds, it can be good for people who like diving head-first into things.

Predictability for course length

With formal education paths, you can choose to take longer or shorter courses, and the course length will always be clearly stated before you even start the course. This is great for knowing how in-depth you want to go when learning about a given topic. 

Informal education, on the other hand, isn’t predictable for time. You might learn something in five minutes or you might find you’re spending a lot of your personal time researching around to find the answer. Because you don’t have anyone who’s already done the research and is offering to teach you the content within a set period, the amount of time for you to find and understand the same information can vary greatly. 

Types of skill development

Because of how different the learning approaches are in each type of education, the skills that are actually learned are different. For formal education, students tend to get more theoretical knowledge around a specialized area. But in informal education, students have the opportunity to practice hands-on work which can give practical experience and build strong interpersonal skills like communication, negotiation, team work, and active listening. This is great for activating knowledge that you’ve earned in a prior learning experience! 

Often, informal training is a lot less expensive than formal training programs. The reason is because informal learning can also happen throughout your day-to-day life experiences such as what you learn from a friend’s story about handling a difficult situation at work. Informal education also relies on readily available information such as what library books, online search engines, and your network of connections have in store already! 

On the other hand, formal education usually requires coordinating experts or professors to teach the content, a space to host the lesson, and sometimes even reading materials like textbooks.

There’s no rule that says you only need to rely on either formal or information education when learning something new. In fact, creating a hybrid mix of both approaches might even accelerate your learning! The best way to do this is by getting practical experience while partaking in a formal learning experience. 

For example, if you’re taking a class about How to Use Social Media for Marketing , this is the formal element that provides a good foundation of theoretical knowledge on how to use social media. At the same time, you can play around in your social media tools to see how different settings work or how different content types perform. You can also ask any social media experts in your network about their opinions on what works best or what trends are currently top performing. This is your informal learning experience that will give you hands-on insights about what really works. Then, while you’re following along your course, you’ll know more about what the theory is explaining, and you’ll have some of your own practical knowledge to reflect on!

Formal and informal education are two very different approaches to learning. One method may be better suited for your preferences or type of content that you’re learning about. Both types can provide great benefits and ultimately, both will help you get the answer you need. The true value comes from combining both approaches to apply theoretical knowledge in real life situations! If you’re looking to dive into some formal learning, you can check out some of these great (and free!) courses !

With 4+ years of experience leading brands in the tech & security industry, Alexandria loves to write about making the day-to-day more efficient. In her free time, she enjoys biking and traveling to find hidden gems around the world!

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• Why Formal Education is not Synonymous to Success

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Have you ever heard someone say that if they could just go back to school and get their degree they would be successful? Or if they could only get their Master’s degree they would be better off?

I have heard several statements of the same effect and every time I hear such statements I always ask, ‘Why are you waiting for a piece of paper to determine your life’s story?’

‘Tomorrow is my exam, but I don’t care because a single sheet of paper can’t decide my future.’ – Thomas Edison

Sure, if you are looking for professional white-collar employment it may be necessary for you to have gone the whole nine yards in formal education and attained that degree or that Master’s degree.

But is this the only road to success? If you are anything like me, the answer is definite ‘No’.

Don’t get me wrong, I think education is very important and I’m currently pursuing my LLB degree but that’s only because I am passionate about social change and I feel that this avenue would better position me to effect the kind of change the world around me needs.

However, at the same time I refuse to believe that formal education and being an employee is the only way I can end up being a success in life. If you are anything like me, you believe in creating employment, being creative, being an entrepreneur…you appreciate freedom and you would simply make a bad employee.

The common perception that going all the way through college and getting a good payment package from a big company is getting old… This is why the unemployment level is on the rise even for graduates, everyone is just waiting around to be ‘employed’, and no one is willing to create employment. This might have worked out well for Baby Boomers but it is about time that we change our thinking.

What’s the point of studying for about 25 years of your life only to be confined behind a desk making someone who broke out of this cycle money for the next 30 years? Why don’t you break out of the cycle as well? Challenge yourself… stop shielding yourself on the safety-net of employment, stop limiting yourself, take the leap, you’ll never know what you could have been if you don’t at least try…

What you need is to first re-think your idea of success. Do you consider success to be a big bank balance, exotic cars, a huge house, and a prestigious job title? I think this is an illusion of success, but then again, everyone will have a different idea of what success is, and that’s okay. I personally feel that success is measured by how much impact (positive) you have on the world when your story is over.

How many lives did you touch? Did you change someone’s life for the better? Did you make sure that future generations lead a better more comfortable life than you did? Did you inspire someone to break out of their shell and reach their full potential?

Let’s look at the most revered success stories in history… writers, actors, activists, religious leaders, entrepreneurs, fathers… these people are remembered not for the size of their banks or mansions but for the number of hearts they touched and the impact they had on the world. Creating something valuable and lasting was their idea of success and I feel that we should all learn to view success in a similar light.

For me, success will be changing the social culture of my world, teaching them how to look at the world differently and to shun the negative practices as opposed to glorifying them. This can’t be done by going through college but by feeding my passion, educating myself on social thinking patterns and approaches that resonate with the masses, hence effectively positioning myself to influence change. For me, this is the most important kind of education, one driven by passion as opposed to the hopes of a stable life.

In the past, a lot of people have dropped out of school to follow an unconventional idea of success, to work on their passions, and they became hugely successful. These people chose to educate themselves informally to reach their goals and they eventually found success and happiness.

We have missed the real meaning of education. The real point of education is to make us aware of ourselves and the world around us. Once a person has realized what they want, they can educate themselves and acquire the necessary skills to reach the heights that they set for themselves. I mean look at a man like:

Case Study: Malcom X.

From being a regular street thug, he found his passion while in prison, converted to Islam, educated himself on the social injustices that were ongoing against his people at the time, reflected on possible solutions, and came out to become the spokesperson of one of the largest civil rights movements in the world’s history, the Nation of Islam. Today he is remembered not for a college degree, or a big house, or luxury cars, but for the significant role in the civil rights revolution.

This article will emphasize on the importance of education but at the end, it will explain to you why formal education isn’t necessarily synonymous to success, I hope you will have changed your idea of success and become inspired to truly educate yourself and follow your passion. If you do this, I guarantee you a happier and more fulfilled life ahead.

THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

Undeniably, formal education has paved way for the modern era and is the basis of logical and rational thinking. However, it is inaccurate to say that without education people would not be able to read, write, or calculate… Think of the Egyptian Hieroglyphs .

Nonetheless this form of education has been extremely beneficial to people across the globe in both small and large measures. Education has contributed immensely to social development across the world and has provided different people with the skills necessary to navigate a world beyond their own.

There are other benefits that formal education has brought the world. What are the most significant and notable of these?

Global Citizenship/Equality

Formal education provides you with global citizenship . By this I mean that formal education opens your eyes to the fact that regardless of a person’s nationality, gender, language, or skin color, we are all human beings.

When you learn about the history of people from different corners of the world you realize that, as human beings, we have all faced the similar struggles, suffered the same pains, and enjoyed the same pleasures. This plucks any notion of racism/ethnicism that your mind might have conceived and you begin to treat the entire human race as one, you view everyone as an equal regardless of their origins.

Essentially formal education exposes us to knowledge and truths that change our outlook on the world, an outlook that we would perhaps never acquired without it. It produces men and women of moral integrity who are tolerant, wise, and inclined to public service.

Development in Developing Countries

I am against the idea that formal education came to save developing countries whose people were disorganized savages constantly at war with each other. However, I do believe that formal education has played a role in social integration and contributed to the blurring of ethnic lines in young nations.

Formal education gives you an understanding of yourself and others, enabling you to view others as brothers and sisters and as opposed to a threat. The cohesion that arises from this effectively drives economic and social development in a young nation because people focus on pooling their efforts for the greater good of the nation rather than constantly engaging in a tag of war in which no one really benefits.

A Stable Life

Granted, employment does not necessarily imply that you have to be formally educated but with education most people are able to get a stable job with consistent income, hence being they are able to meet the basic material needs of their lives.

Without formal education it is more than likely that you could end up holding an unstable minimum wage jobs, it’s not a guarantee, but it is highly likely. At the least, education assures you a more stable and secure life … But with the rising levels of unemployment, even this is starting to seem like a gamble.

Reduction in Crime Rate

Formal education instills in your mind the difference between right and wrong, lawful and illegal. You may argue that this is not enough to stop a person from committing a crime, that there are also white collar crimes such as fraud and tax evasion. It’s a good argument and I agree with it, but formal education gives you something that an uneducated person may not have… hope.

An educated person will have hope of getting stable employment that will ensure a stable life for him. On the other hand, an uneducated person may lack the same kind of hope for opportunity and as a result that person may often be driven to crimes such as theft and robbery in a desperate attempt to secure a better future.

With wide spread formal education , this hopelessness can be mitigated, leading to a reduction of crime rate, promote an entrepreneurship spirit, and encourage social peace and harmony.

Builds your Confidence

Although it is not an accurate assumption, it is a common perception that a college degree is proof of knowledgeability. When you’re educated, people around you are more willing to listen to you and take you seriously.

Due to this widely held perception, an uneducated man may feel inadequate and therefore find it difficult to voice his opinions even when he has a good point to make, and even when he really does have a good point, people may not put that much weight to his words. An educated person, on the other hand will generally feel more confident to express his opinions, which people will gladly consider, gradually building his confidence .

Shields you from Exploitation

When you’re uneducated it is easier for people to take advantage of your illiteracy and ignorance.

Due to a lack of exposure, most uneducated people may not even be aware of their constitutional rights which leaves them open to harassment by police officers, mistreatment by landlords, exploitation by sales men and conmen… it’s far much easier to take advantage of innocent and illiterate people than it is the educated.

Formal education gives you an awareness of your fundamental rights and as a result you are aware when any situation deprives you of those rights at which point you are able to fight against that mistreatment or exploitation.

HOW EDUCATION COULD BETTER POSITION YOU FOR SUCCESS

I would be deceiving you and myself if I told you that education plays absolutely no role in a person’s success. I believe success is unlocking your true potential by applying the knowledge you have acquired in order to make a difference in the world around you as well as making your own life a beautiful master piece. I also believe that reaching a level where you no longer define yourself or your success with material possessions is itself an indication of success.

True education challenges you to creatively apply the knowledge you’ve acquired and think for yourself. Formal education that purely tests on your effectiveness to remember a bunch of facts is not true education. Anyone can cram a bunch of facts in their mind for a few days but once the tests are over a lot of people forget those facts… So what’s the point really?

Being educated is being able to make independent decisions and opinions about different subjects, enabling you to make an original contribution in the field you choose to delve in. A good education encourages the development of two facets, analytical intelligence and emotional intelligence.

Analytical intelligence enables you to solve technical problems while emotional intelligence enables you to communicate and make connections with others. An education focused on these two facets as opposed to simply memorizing a bunch of facts breeds characters who are capable of achieving success and leading a happy content life.

Here are two of the strongest arguments I have found to be in support of the opinion that education plays a significant role in your success.

Provides Skill Set/Experience to Succeed

The kind of education that inspires success is not just the formal kind. Education that promotes hands on skillset acquisition and experience that goes beyond the cramming of facts better prepares you for success.

A form of education that encourages one-on-one time between the teacher and the student is much more effective than conventional education were the teacher feels that his only obligation is to disseminate information without any consideration of whether the students are challenged or inspired to think independently on the subjects being covered.

This formal education rarely positions you for success unless you personally take a keen interest in the subject and educate and challenge yourself further, otherwise all you’ll be doing is keeping facts in your head, facts that you’re probably not even interested in.

However, true education leads you towards success by challenging you to apply the things you’ve learned to solve real issues and to make original contributions in whatever field you are involved in, hence paving the way for your success.

Access to Knowledge

At its most basic, formal education enables you to read and write, not in Egyptian Hieroglyphs, but in the most commonly used letters and languages. This gives you the access to a vast collection of human knowledge and wisdom that spans across numerous centuries and generations.

With access to such vast knowledge you can learn from the teachings of the masters of whatever field you have chosen to engage in and this will propel your own success. When you stand on the shoulders of your predecessors who made great contributions in your field you are able to see much further than they did, it’s better than starting from scratch.

Great achievers like Isaac Newton have acknowledged that the contribution of his predecessors immensely contributed to their success. Malcom X once said it’s important to study history because we get to learn from people who experienced the same predicaments, so we already have the solutions in place.

WHY FORMAL EDUCATION IS NOT EQUAL TO SUCCESS

Winners have an edge over their competition despite the fact that they possibly have the same educational level because they think outside the box and push the limits rather than take comfort in things as they are. They choose to innovate and make their own unique contributions in their field.

‘Our actions, not our thoughts, define who we are.’ – Unknown

Our actions define who we are and in time the actions we consistently repeat come to us automatically and become second nature, they become impulsive, you could almost do them in your sleep.

Good habits like pushing through your tasks for the day even when you don’t really feel like it can propel you towards success while bad habits such as snoozing through your first alarm and allowing yourself to slack off can be detrimental for your success.

In this light, no matter what your level of education is, if you haven’t mastered discipline in your work and you are therefore never consistent in your efforts towards your goals you are almost guaranteed to miss your mark.

A less educated person who has cultivated positive habits , for example waking up before daybreak, never letting himself slack off, and who is willing to go that extra mile to achieve his goals will certainly achieve success. In this case your level of education has nothing to do with your level of success. The habits you cultivate, that inherently become you, are a greater determinant of whether you fail or succeed.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit Doesn’t Discriminate/Thinking outside the Box

Formal education takes you out of the class right into a career, possibly for a big company. But who creates these companies?… Entrepreneurs… The entrepreneurial spirit does not consider your educational level, if it finds you it finds you. Entrepreneurship is not a career you have to qualify for. Entrepreneurship is a calling, a fire inside you that overwhelms you; it becomes a lifestyle, a way of life.

Formal education confines you in a predictable environment where the results are predetermined and controllable. The formula is… finish college, possibly do your Master’s and Phd, get a well-paying job in a big company/become a university professor… Formal education doesn’t encourage you to think outside of this box and most people never break out of this line of thinking.

They never feel prompted to do more or make an effort to leave their own mark in their field as long as they keep receiving that stable income at the end of each month.

Entrepreneurs are the people who create the jobs for the college graduates. They are the ones who dared to break out of the conventional reliance on formal education to achieve success.

Case Study: Bill Gates

Gates dropped out of Harvard to follow his passion and found Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen.

I am not in any way encouraging you to drop out of school but it is a noteworthy example… How a regular student who over the years had honed his skills in coding didn’t need a university degree to follow his passion and go on to build one of the most successful and wealthiest companies in the world today with an employee base of over 100, 000.

Belief in Yourself is the Key

The best lessons to be learned are actually learned from life itself. Besides formal education, the adoption of strong ethos’, our abilities to self-reflect and adapt, as well as our belief in or abilities and capabilities all play a key role in whether we become successful or fail.

The real key to success is our belief in ourselves , this is what enables us to tap deep into our cores and unleash our potential. Formal education does not encourage self-introspect but if you put yourself on a path of self-discovery that results in self-belief and self-confidence in your own abilities, you will have the tools necessary to achieve success in anything you choose to do.

Attaining a college education may be important, but the most important lessons are those that forge men of character who are willing to break away from conventional boundaries and are bold enough to take the bull by the horns to achieve their dreams.

Goals are also never determined by your level of education. Sure some courses will lead to better paying careers than others. Sure formal education may expose you to realities that may be hidden from a person who did not attain the same level of education but whether you are formally educated or not your dreams have no limit… there is no cap to dreaming.

You may be educated but set goals that are too easy and never make any significant progress, remaining stagnant in that well-paying job of yours, never reaching your full potential. On the other hand, you could skip formal education but set lofty goals that inspire you to work harder to attain them, so much so that you even create employment for the formally educated.

‘Impossible is Nothing.’ – Muhammed Ali

To attain true success, whether you are formally educated or not, you should establish broad but flexible long-term goals that detail your long-term success, while simultaneously having small day-to-day goals that you remain dedicated to in order to achieve the broad vision .

You cannot achieve true success if you have no vision regardless of whether you have a college degree or not, do not just assume that you can relax and success will come to you just because you have a formal education, you have to chase it.

Environment/Company

Have you heard of the phrase ‘You are a product of your environment’?

I have personally found this to be true. If you create an environment that feeds your distractions you will never make significant progress and possibly miss the mark of success. For example, when you live in an untidy environment don’t you feel that your mind is clogged and unable to focus? It works the same way in life. For you to be successful you have to maintain a tidy environment.

Even when you are educated if you surround yourself with unmotivated, apathetic, and lazy people you will find yourself being equally reckless with your time, being unable to motivate yourself to reach for your goals.

‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.’ – Unknown

If the kind of company you keep doesn’t acknowledge ambition and hard work they will slowly suck the ambition out of you and you will find yourself stagnating. On the other hand, an uneducated person who is surrounded by ambitious individuals who feed his passion will be greatly motivated to reach for his goals and is better positioned to achieve success, even surpassing individuals with a formal education.

Create an environment that feeds your ambitions, that propels you towards your goals. Structure your work environment and surround yourself with people who encourage your productivity and lead you to success. Whether you have a college degree or not, once you start creating this environment you will find yourself gravitating towards success. With a vision, a great attitude, and the perfect environment, nothing can stand in the way of you and your success.

Case Study: Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, was a firm believer in keeping good company, one of his most notable words we, ‘Surround yourself with the dreamers, the ones who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.’

As a closing remark, yes, I believe we need education to be successful, but not in the conventional sense of the word ‘education’. We need to redefine what true success is and educate ourselves in a manner that will enable us to achieve it.

More than anything, your attitude is the most important determinant for achieving success. Attitude affects how you cope with failure as well as the enthusiasm with which you approach your objectives as well as your challenges. Formal education cannot teach you attitude or enthusiasm and without these the drive to go for your dreams and to positively impact the world around you will be little or non-existent.

‘Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.’  – Ralph Waldo

Formal education has many benefits, but makes no mistake; it is not an automatic prerequisite for success. You are not going to become automatically successful because you have a college degree; it takes much more than that.

To be successful you must be ambitious, driven, disciplined, and passionate. You must educate yourself in your field of interest beyond what you learn in the classroom, study your predecessors and stand on their shoulders to be able to make an original/unique impact of your own, to influence (positively) the world around you, and leave a lasting legacy before passing over the baton to the next generation.

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Formal and Informal Education Essay

In this formal and informal education essay you have to discuss whether it is better for young children to begin formal education when they reach age 7 instead of beginning when they are younger than this.

Take a look at the essay question.

Some people think that formal education should start for children as early as possible, while others think that it should not start until 7 years of age.

Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Understanding the Question

Sometimes IELTS questions ask you to discuss issues that may not be immediately familiar. What are  formal and informal education ?

Here is a definition from the web:

"Formal education is classroom-based, provided by trained teachers. Informal education happens outside the classroom, in after-school programs, community-based organizations, museums, libraries, or at home".

So  formal education  is provided by teachers and based around a curriculum and syllabus. It usually has minimum requirements for attendance and has assessments such as exams.

Informal or non-formal education  can be anything outside of that. It does not have to be at home as children could still go to a pre-school organisation, perhaps run by local people. But this would be based around play activities rather than having structured lessons in writing, reading etc. 

This is why it is a good idea to do plenty of reading for IELTS around topical issues in today's society as questions are often based around these aspects.

For example, reading an internet article such as this titled ' Too much, too young: Should schooling start at age 7? " will help you to generate ideas. 

So in your formal and informal education essay, in order to discuss both opinions, you need to explain:

• The advantages of starting formal education as early as  possible
• The advantages of waiting till age 7

And of course provide  your own opinion . 

Now take a look at the formal and informal education essay model answer and comments below the essay.

Formal and Informal Education Essay Sample

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer

While some people are of the opinion that the optimum time for children to begin their formal education is as soon as possible, others disagree and believe that it should not commence until they are aged 7. Personally, I believe that later is better. 

Those who argue for beginning earlier base this on several reasons. Firstly, they believe that the earlier a child starts to learn, the better their intelligence will be. This is because they will have a head-start over those starting later who will fall behind. Another reason is that children will learn to be competitive, independent, and motivated as they aim to get the best scores and to complete their homework on their own. These are strong arguments in a world which these days rewards the highest achievers with the best jobs. 

Despite these arguments, I believe starting at age 7 is the right choice. This is due to the fact that over-burdening them with academic study and trying to beat others simply leads to stress. This is not a good situation for the very young, who should be encouraged to enjoy their lives not compete with their peers. Also focusing on play-based programmes at home or elsewhere develops cognitive abilities most effectively. For example, in countries such as Sweden and Finland children start formal education later and they have shown better schooling results than many other countries. Thus, there is clear evidence of its benefits.

In conclusion, I think that children should start school later because they can learn more through play-based activities than formal education. Formal education at an early age simply leads to stress and does not help children achieve higher grades long-term.

(283 Words)

This formal and informal education essay for IELTS would score well as it answers the question, discussing both the opinions, with the writer also giving their own opinion.

It is a clearly organised essay, with each body paragraph based around one central idea. There is also a good mix of vocabulary and grammar, used correctly and accurately. 

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Why early childhood care and education matters

The right to education begins at birth.

But new UNESCO data shows that 1 out of 4 children aged 5 have never had any form of pre-primary education. This represents 35 million out of 137 million 5-year-old children worldwide. Despite research that proves the benefits of early childhood care and education (ECCE), only half of all countries guarantee free pre-primary education around the world.

UNESCO’s World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education taking place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 14-16 November 2022 will reaffirm every young child’s right to quality care and education, and call for increased investment in children during the period from birth to eight years.  

Here’s what you need to know what early childhood care and education.

Why is early childhood care and education important?

The period from birth to eight years old is one of remarkable brain development for children and represents a crucial window of opportunity for education. When children are healthy, safe and learning well in their early years, they are better able to reach their full developmental potential as adults and participate effectively in economic, social, and civic life. Providing ECCE is regarded as a means of promoting equity and social justice, inclusive economic growth and advancing sustainable development.

A range of research and evidence has converged to support this claim. First, neuroscience has shown that the environment affects the nature of brain architecture – the child’s early experiences can provide either a strong or a fragile foundation for later learning, development and behaviours. Second, the larger economic returns on investment in prior-to-school programmes than in programmes for adolescents and adults has been demonstrated. Third, educational sciences have revealed that participation in early childhood care and education programmes boosts children’s school readiness and reduces the gap between socially advantaged and disadvantaged children at the starting gate of school.

From a human rights perspective, expanding quality early learning is an important means for realizing the right to education within a lifelong learning perspective. ECCE provides a significant preparation to basic education and a lifelong learning journey. In 2021, only 22% of United Nations Member States have made pre-primary education compulsory, and only 45% provide at least one year of free pre-primary education. Only 46 countries have adopted free and compulsory pre-primary education in their laws.

How has access to ECCE evolved?

Overall, there has been significant global progress in achieving inclusive and high-quality ECCE. Globally, the ratio for pre-primary education has increased from 46% in 2010 to 61% in 2020. The global ratio for participation in organized learning one year before the official primary school entry age also increased to reach 75% in 2020. However, in low- and lower-middle-income countries, fewer than two in three children attend organized learning one year before the official primary entry age.  Furthermore, the proportion of children receiving a positive and stimulating home environment remains significantly low with only 64% of children having positive and nurturing home environments. Great regional disparities remain the biggest challenges. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 40% of children have experienced a positive and stimulating home learning environment compared to 90% of children in Europe and Northern America.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted ECCE?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effect on ECCE and amplified its crisis. Young children have been deemed the greatest victims of the pandemic, experiencing the impact of on their immediate families, and because of stay-at-home orders of lockdowns, having been deprived of essential services to promote their health, learning and psychosocial well-being. Some children will start basic education without organized learning experiences to the detriment of their readiness for school. It was estimated that the closure of ECCE services has resulted in 19 billion person-days of ECCE instruction lost with 10.75 million children not being able to reach their developmental potential in the first 11 months of the pandemic.

What are the consequences on foundational learning?

ECCE is a pre-requisite for meeting the right to learn and to develop. In particular, access to pre-primary education is a basis for acquiring foundational learning including literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional learning. Yet, according to the recent estimate, about 64% of children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple story at age 10. The roots of this learning poverty start in ECCE and its lack of capacity to make children ready for school.

What is the situation regarding ECCE teachers and care staff?

As the calls grow for higher quality ECCE provision, teacher shortages and quality has received increasing attention. The number of teachers who received at least the minimum pedagogical teacher training, both pre-service and in-service, increased from 68% to 80% between 2010 and 2020. It is estimated that ECCE services need another 9.3 million full-time teachers to achieve the SDG target . Most Member States have established qualification requirements for ECCE teachers, while far less attention has been focused on ECCE teachers’ working conditions and career progression. The low social status, poor salaries and job insecurity of ECCE teachers and care staff tend to have an adverse impact on attracting and retaining suitably qualified early childhood educators.

What are the policies, governance and financing implications?

It is time for societies and governments to implement relevant policies to recover and transform their ECCE systems. ECCE is seen by many countries as a key part of the solution to a myriad of challenges including social inclusion and cohesion, economic growth and to tackle other sustainable development challenges. According to the 2022 Global Education Monitoring Report, 150 out of 209 countries have set targets for pre-primary education participation by 2025 or 2030. The proportion of countries that monitor participation rates in pre-primary education is expected to increase from 75% in 2015 to 92% in 2025 and 95% in 2030. It is expected that the pre-primary participation rate for all regions will exceed 90% by 2030. In Central and South Asia, East and South-East Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, participation rates are expected to be nearly 100%. At the same time, it is projected that participation rates in Northern Africa and Western Asia will be about 77% by 2030.

What are the obstacles to ensuring access to quality ECCE?

• Policy fragmentation: In many countries, ECCE policies and services are fragmented and do not leverage whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to addressing the holistic needs and rights of families and their young children. This is particularly challenging for national governments with limited resources, low institutional capacities and weak governance.
• Lack of public provision : Non-state provision of ECCE continues to grow in many contexts, and the role of non-state actors in influencing policy development and implementation is evident. Non-state actors provide a large proportion of places in pre-primary education. In 2000, 28.5% of pre-primary aged children were enrolled in private institutions, and this rose to 37% in 2019, a figure higher than for primary (19%) or secondary (27%) education.
• Insufficient regulation of the sector : Specific regulations and standards for ECCE are not in place in most countries. Regulations usually do not establish quality assurance mechanisms and those that do, tend not to focus on outcomes.
• Chronic underfunding : An average of 6.6% of education budgets at national and subnational levels were allocated to pre-primary education. Low-income countries, on average, invest 2% of education budgets in pre-primary education, which is far below the target of 10% by 2030 suggested by UNICEF. In terms of international aid, pre-primary education remains the least funded sector.

What are the solutions?

Political will and ownership are key to transforming ECCE. UNESCO’s review highlights progress in some countries, giving an indication of what is required to successfully strengthen the capacity of ECCE systems:

• Expanding and diversifying access : Increasing investment and establishing a legal framework to expand ECCE services are essential steps. Innovative ECCE delivery mechanisms such as mobile kindergartens with teachers, equipment for learning and play, have been deployed in some countries to reach remote areas and provide children with pre-primary education.  
• Enhancing quality and relevance : ECCE curriculum frameworks should cover different aspects of early learning and prepare children with essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions to transit smoothly to formal education.
• Making ECCE educators and caregivers a transforming force : For the transformation of ECCE to take place, ECCE educators need to be adequately supported and empowered to play their part.
• Improving governance and stakeholder participation : Countries have adopted different modes of governance. There are generally two systems that are followed, an integrated system and a split system.
• Using funding to steer ECCE development : Strengthening domestic public financing is important for providing affordable ECCE. Since ECCE services are offered by different ministries, there must be a clear demarcation of funding and financing rules for different sectors and different ministries. Innovative financing may include earmarking resources from economic activities and other sources.
• Establishing systems for monitoring and assessing whole-of-child development . System-level action in strengthening the availability and reliability of data obtained from assessments enables efficient and timely monitoring of programmes and child developmental milestones.
• Galvanize international cooperation and solidarity . The World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education is an opportunity to mobilize existing global, regional, and national networks to increase focus on identifying and sharing innovations, policies and practices.

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What is Formal Education? Benefits & Examples of Formal Education

Formal Education

Formal Education refers to the structured and systematic process of learning that typically takes place within an organized educational institution, such as a school, college, or university. It is characterized by a set curriculum, defined learning objectives, standardized assessment methods, and the awarding of recognized qualifications or degrees upon successful completion of the program.

Key features of formal education include:

• Structured Curriculum: Formal education programs have a predetermined curriculum that outlines the subjects, topics, and skills students are expected to learn during their course of study.
• Trained Educators: Qualified teachers or instructors lead formal edu programs. They are responsible for delivering the curriculum, guiding students, and assessing their progress.
• Standardized Assessment: Formal edu typically includes regular assessments, exams, or evaluations to measure students’ understanding and knowledge of the material. These assessments often determine whether a student can progress to the next level or earn a degree or diploma.
• Duration and Progression: Formal education programs have a specific duration and progression. Students typically advance through different levels or grades, such as elementary school, middle school, high school, and higher education, before completing their formal edu.
• Certification and Degrees: Successful completion of formal edu programs often results in the awarding of certificates, diplomas, degrees, or other credentials, which are recognized and valued in society.
• Accreditation: Educational institutions offering formal edu programs are often subject to accreditation and quality assurance standards established by educational authorities or governing bodies.
• Classroom Settings: While formal education can also occur online, in workshops, or through distance learning, it often involves traditional classroom settings where students interact with teachers and peers.

Benefits & Examples of Formal Education

Formal education offers numerous benefits and can significantly impact an individual’s personal, professional, and social development. Here are some of the key benefits of formal edu, along with examples:

• Structured Learning: Formal education provides a structured and organized learning environment with a well-defined curriculum. This helps students build a strong foundation in various subjects. Examples include primary and secondary school education, where students learn subjects like mathematics, science, history, and language arts.
• Skill Development: Formal education equips individuals with a wide range of skills, including critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and research skills. For instance, a university education can develop research skills through coursework and projects.
• Career Opportunities: Formal edu often leads to better career opportunities. A college degree or vocational training, such as a certificate in nursing or a diploma in engineering, can enhance employability and earning potential.
• Professional Networking: Educational institutions provide opportunities to network with peers and professionals. These connections can be valuable throughout one’s career. For example, business schools offer networking events and alumni networks that help students build professional relationships.
• Personal Growth: Formal edu fosters personal growth and self-discovery. Courses in psychology, sociology, or philosophy, for example, encourage individuals to explore their beliefs, values, and perspectives.
• Access to Specialized Knowledge: Universities and colleges offer specialized programs that delve deep into specific fields. Examples include medical schools, law schools, and engineering programs, which provide in-depth knowledge and expertise in their respective disciplines.

Extra Benefits & Examples…

• Global Perspective: Formal education often exposes individuals to diverse cultures and perspectives. International exchange programs and multicultural campuses offer opportunities to develop a global perspective.
• Credentials and Recognition: Graduates of formal edu programs earn recognized credentials (e.g., degrees, diplomas, or certifications), which are widely accepted by employers and institutions worldwide. For instance, a Bachelor of Science degree is recognized as proof of expertise in a particular field.
• Research and Innovation: Formal education institutions are hubs of research and innovation. Students and faculty often engage in research projects that contribute to advancements in various fields such as science, technology, and healthcare.
• Personal Fulfillment: Beyond career and financial benefits, formal edu can bring personal fulfillment and a sense of achievement. Pursuing a passion or interest through formal education, like studying art or literature, can be deeply rewarding.
• Community Engagement: Educational institutions often encourage community engagement and volunteerism. Students may participate in outreach programs or community service, contributing to social well-being.
• Adaptability: Formal edu can equip individuals with the ability to adapt to new challenges and changing circumstances. This adaptability is valuable in a rapidly evolving job market.

Formal Education plays a crucial role in providing individuals with foundational knowledge, skills, and qualifications that can lead to career opportunities and personal development. It is a structured approach to learning that aims to prepare individuals for various aspects of life, including employment, citizenship, and further education.

It’s important to note that the specific benefits of formal education may vary depending on the level of education (e.g., primary, secondary, tertiary), the chosen field of study, and individual goals. Additionally, formal edu is just one avenue of learning, and it can be complemented by informal and lifelong learning experiences to provide a well-rounded education throughout one’s life.

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