What is nonformal Edu.

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What is Nonformal Education?
Arlen Etllng. Assistant Professor
The Pennsylvania State University

Can you list specific differences between forma1 and nonformal education? Is
informal education the same as nonformal education? Why do some agricultural educators
spell nonformal with a hyphen (non-formal) while others do not? Are these questions
really pertinent to the profession?

I believe that these are important questions. I believe that agricultural educators do a
disservice to the profession when they use such basic terms in an unscholarly manner. I
believe that important distinctions exist between formal and nonformal education and
between nonformal and informal education. I believe that agricultural educators need to be
aware of the distinctions in order to be effective educators, especially when moving from
formal settings to nonformal settings. I believe that the differences of opinion between
classroom teachers and extension educators will never be resolved until the distinctions
are fully understood and appreciated.The purpose of this philosophical article is to express a position and invite response.

My position (summarized in the previous paragraph) is based on preparation as
an agricultural educator (B.S. & M.S. in Agricultural Education) and on experience in
teaching in the classroom as well as in nonformal educational settings with the
Cooperative Extension Service. I have worked in two university departments that were
trying to prepare both forma1 and nonformal educators. Invariably conflicts have arisen
between those two efforts, usually over scarce resources. Without an understanding of the
strengths and weaknesses of both formal and nonformal education in agriculture, those
conflicts can be damaging.

This article will explore some of the differences and similarities among formal.
nonformal, and informal education. It will then state reasons why a balanced and informed
understanding of the three is important to our profession. Ultimately the goal of this
article is to lay the foundation for unity among agricultural educators whether they work in
forma1 settings, nonformal settings, or both. Agricultural educators, to me, include
secondary and post-secondary teachers of agriculture, teacher educators, professionals in
state departments of education whose primary responsibility is for agricultural programs,
extension agents, and individuals engaged in international agricultural education. My
opinions are presented here in order to begin a conversation rather than to deliver the final
work. Let us start with a key question.

What is Education?
Numerous definitions exist. Some of the older ones are some of the better ones. For
me education means learning knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The most important of
these is learning how to learn. Learning means deciding about your own lifestyle.
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Teaching, by itself, does not constitute learning; neither does passive listening.
Learner’s must decide to incorporate any knowledge, skill or attitude into their own set of
values and behaviors (lifestyle), or the learning is not meaningful. Learning happens
outside the classroom as well as within. Some learning results from teachers and some
does not. Some learning is intended and some is accidental.
Three Types of Education

Most of the general population assume that education and schooling are
interchangeable terms. Many educators seem to feel that any education that happens
outside of school is somehow inferior, usually dubious, and certainly uncontrolled. Other
educators and many philosophers point out that learning takes place inside and outside of
classrooms. I believe that learning occurs in formal, nonformal, and informal educational
settings and that the learning experience can be equally powerful in each of those settings.
Formal education is properly associated with schools. A more precise definition is
by Coombs (1973), “the hierarchically structured, chronologically graded
educational system running from primary school through the university and including, in
addition to general academic studies, a variety of specialized programs and institutions for
full-time technical and professional training” (p. 11).

Nonformal (NFE) has been defined (Kleis. 1973. p. 6) as any intentional
and systematic educational enterprise (usually outside of traditional schooling) in which
content is adapted to the unique needs of the students (or unique situations) in order to
maximize learning and minimize other elements which often occupy formal school
teachers (i.e. taking roll, enforcing discipline, writing reports, supervising study hall,
etc.).

Nonformal education is more learner centered than most formal education. It has to
be. Learners can leave anytime they are not motivated. NFE tends to emphasize a cafeteria
curriculum (options, choices) rather than the prescribed, sequential curriculum found in
schools. In NFE human relationships are more informal (roles of teachers and students are
less rigid and often switch) than in schools where student-teacher and teacher-
administrator roles are hierarchical and seldom change in the short term. NFE focuses on
practical skills and knowledge while schools often focus on information which may have
delayed application. Overall NFE has a lower level of structure (and therefore more
flexibility) than schools.

Even less structured is informal education which deals with everyday experiences
which are not planned or organized (incidental learning). When these experiences are
interpreted or explained by elders or peers they constitute informal education (Kleis.
1973. pp. 3-4).Some examples will help clarify formal, nonformal, and informal education. Formaleducation occurs in a typical public high school classroom. Nonformal education occurs.
with such organizations as 4-H and Scouts which are less structured than schools, allowing
youth more choices, providing less curricular sequencing, and enforcing it even less.
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Learning is controlled by the learners who may drop out any time without penalties. As a
result educators must emphasize those skills, knowledge, and attitudes which are desired
by the learners. Content is more practical, therefore, and responsibility for discipline
shifts from teacher to learner. An example of informal education is when infants and
young children are learning to speak. They learn by listening and imitating. Their trial
and error efforts are augmented by parents, siblings, and friends who encourage correct
sounds and spontaneously correct errors.Extension education is nonformal education with only a few exceptions. Althoughextension agents may take advantage of learning opportunities which arise
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serendipitously, to call extension work “informal education” is inaccurate.
A secondary vocational agriculture program is difficult to fit into one of the three
categories because it has elements of all three. Work in class which is tested and graded is
typical of formal education. Much of the FFA and supervised occupational experience
activities are typical of nonformal education. When students’ everyday experiences are
interpreted and augmented by their peers or parents this is typical of informal education.
All three types of education provide powerful learning opportunities. The most effective
teacher is one who allows and helps learning to take place during situations which fit all
three types of education. This may be done intentionally or instinctively.
While formal and nonformal education are different, they are not opposites. Both
emphasize organized and intentional learning. Both involve structure, professional
educators, and choices by learners. Responsibility for learning is shared among educators
and learners. The differences are more a matter of degree in each of these types ofeducation.

Educator Styles
An educator must be flexible in order to be effective in all three types of education.
An educator needs to use different leadership styles for different situations. Directive
leadership may work most of the time for formal settings but democratic and nondirective
(Laissez faire) styles are needed to enhance learning in nonformal and informal settings.
Some educators seem to be able to adapt to the situations. Too many, however, are
effective classroom teachers but less effective as nonformal educators because they try to
use classroom techniques and directive leadership in both settings. Likewise, certain
educators who are effective in nonformal settings lose their effectiveness when teaching
in the classroom because they do not adapt to the requirements of more structure and more
responsibility for learning.

Both formal and nonformal educators must be well prepared, enthusiastic, clear, and
business-like in their presentations, use a variety of teaching techniques and get students
involved in learning. But, the demands on educators in nonformal settings differ from
those of classroom teachers. The nonformal educator must be more flexible, ready to
change to meet students’ diverse and changing needs. Democratic and nondirective
leadership styles will be required more in nonformal settings and directive leadership will
be appropriate less frequently than in the classroom.
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Why Distinguish Between Formal and Nonformal?

I have been arguing that agricultural educators should distinguish, accurately and
sensitively, between formal and nonformal education. Let’s look more closely at my
reasons, in addition to educator effectiveness, for this argument. (1) Schools, having
occupied large chunks of our lives, tend to dominate our perceptions of education,
learning, and teaching. Formal educators tend to define the teaching role and relegate
nonformal education to lower importance. Most of the public resources available for
education are allocated to school-based programs. Formal educators, furthermore, are
justifiably concerned about losing any of those resources. (2) Land grand universities’
extension and resident instruction often seem to be in conflict philosophically and in
competition for scarce funds. More agricultural education departments are becoming
departments of agricultural education making those historical conflicts more evident and potentially more damaging. (3) Formal and nonformal education cancomplement each other if properly understood. Both, along with informal education,provide powerful learning opportunities which can strengthen and support one another.
(4) Due to our professional responsibilities, which in most cases emphasize one over the
other, we tend to prefer formal or nonformal settings and develop biases against the other.
Maintaining balance is very difficult. As educators, learners, and parents, however, we
cannot allow our limited experience or biases to limit the learning opportunities of
students.

And the Hyphen?
Finally, how should we spell nonformal education? Does it really make a difference if
I leave the hyphen out of “Non-formal?” I believe that it does make a difference.
According to my dictionary (Webster’s, 1988) “non-” is a prefix which means “not:
absence of; reverse of.” in other words the “opposite of’ something. But nonformal
education is not the opposite of formal education. In many ways they are similar or
overlap. Since nonformal education has a definition and unique philosophy, “nonformal
education” is the more accurate spelling. Save “non-formal” for occasions when you wish
to communicate absence of formality or the complete opposite of formal. If any doubts
still remain, go to your local university library and find nonformal education in the
computer (or card catalog). Although you will find both forms of spelling, the most
common usage in current literature is “nonformal education.”

Some Concluding Thoughts
To summarize, we (agricultural educators--whether local teachers, teacher educators,
state department of education professionals, extension educators, or international
agricultural educators) need to understand the differences among formal, nonformal, and
informal education if we are to be effective educators in each of the different settings. We
need to develop a greater appreciation of our colleagues who work predominately in the
“other” setting. We have an opportunity to broaden and strengthen departments of
agricultural and extension education by understanding and applying the different
techniques emphasized in each of the three settings. Ultimately, we have an obligation to
our clients, whether they are teachers, agents, students, or the general public, to take a
broad view of education--to appreciate and use all learning opportunities for their benefit.
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References
Coombs, P. (1973).
paths to learning for rural children and vouth. New York, NY:
International Council for Educational Development, p. 11.
Kleis, J., Lang, L., Mietus, J.R. & Tiapula, F.T.S. (1973). Toward a contextual detinition
of nonformal education. Nonformal education discussion papers, East Lansing, MI:
Michigan State University, pp. 3-6.
, .
. .
(1988) Springfield, MA; Merriam-Webster,
p. 802.
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