Do you really know what non-formal education is?

Hello, I hope you are well, this time I would like to introduce you to the concept of “non-formal education”.

Going back in time approximately in the month of February I had to fill out a program form, before starting my adventure in Germany, where they asked me “What do you understand by non-formal education?”, A concept that I personally know well, but that many people do not know how to define it or do not understand it at all.

During my two seminars it was made clear to me that the European Union Solidarity Corps Program had non-formal education as its fundamental pillar, but no one clearly defined it and many of the participants thought that the seminar was not really planned and unstructured. Some even felt lost without a guide, but I think that happened because no one  explained what non-formal education is when it is a great pillar of this project.

In order to better understand this concept, we must first define what education is:

According to Oskar Anweiler:

Education, discipline that is concerned with methods of teaching and learning in schools or school-like environments as opposed to various non formal and informal means of socialization. Education can be thought of as the transmission of the values ​​and accumulated knowledge of a society.

Defined by the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), Education means "action and effect of educating". Parenting, teaching and doctrine given to children and youth. Instruction through teaching activities".

As we can see, it is a big concept, which can be interpreted in various ways, but a great majority relates it to “formal” education, which is the one we receive at school, university, institutes, that is, regulated training centers, with staff that It has been trained in the area of ​​education in its methodology, it is characterized by being systematic.

This education is designed to be universal, sequential, standardized and institutionalized and to guarantee a certain measure of continuity. (Upa University)

But apart from formal education, there are two other types of education, “non-formal” education and “informal” education.

Non-formal education is the life process where each individual acquires knowledge, skills, criteria and attitudes, through experience and their relationship with the environment.

This type of education is generated with courses, seminars, workshops, extracurricular activities, etc., this education is planned and structured like formal education, but it is not rigid, it has more space for creativity, improvisation, according to the UNESCO:

“In the context of each country, non-formal education can include adult literacy programs, basic education for out-of-school children, skills for daily life, job training or general knowledge.

While informal education is one that presents spontaneity and is carried out outside the framework of formal education and non-formal education. Learning is determined by everyday situations of social contact, most of it is not organized. These are experiences that occur in informal settings such as the family, which is the main social group in which this type of learning takes place, friendships, with whom sociability is experienced, among others; and also the big media like tv, radio, instagram, facebook, youtube, etc.

References:

https://dle.rae.es/educaci%C3%B3n

http://www.ehu.eus/ikastorratza/12_alea/contextos.pdf

http://www.universidadupav.edu.mx/documentos/BachilleratoVirtual/Contenidos_PE_UPAV/6Trimestre/PEDA%20I/Unidad1/tema3.pdf

https://www.britannica.com/topic/education

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1Y9OqSJKCc