Chapter 3
Processes and Modes of
Education
STRUCTURE
• Introduction
• Objectives
• Education as an Activity or a Process
–– Education as an Activity
–– Education as a Process
• Processes of Education
• Modes of Education
–– Informal Education
–– Formal Education
- Face-to-Face Mode
- Distance Education Mode
–– Non-Formal Education
• Inclusiveness of School Education
• Need of Schooling for all Children
Let Us Sum Up
Review Questions
References
Basics in Education
Introduction
In the previous chapters you have read about the meaning,
scope and goals of education. You know that the education
is a product of social aspirations, national priorities and the
futuristic perspectives of the individuals and the society.
It has to keep pace with the national and international
developments as well. It is not a restricted activity or a one-
time affair with rigid nature or water tight boundaries. It
is not a transitional activity which could be conducted at
random. Rather, some aspects of education are transmitted
across generations in the form of knowledge or skills. In this
chapter we will discuss whether education is an activity or
the process and how the transmission of education takes
place from one generation to the next. This chapter will also
help you to understand what are the different processes of
education and in what manner this whole process is carried
out and why is schooling essential? This chapter will help us
in understanding different processes and modes of education.
Objectives
After going through the chapter, you would be able to:
1. distinguish between the education as an activity or a
process;
2. explain the processes of education;
3. differentiate between different modes of education; and
4. analyse the linkage between schooling and the outside
experiences.
Education As An Activity Or A Process
When we get up in the morning, we do a number of things
such as exercise, meditation, planning our activities for the
day. While getting children ready for school, parents do talk
about their culture and traditions and indirectly advocate
some values. The parents send their ward to school for getting
good quality education. In the foregoing discussion you might
get an impression that there are certain activities which are
consciously or unconsciously performed by the individual
every day. Thus, an activity may be the task performed
by an individual in a conscious or unconscious manner.
Similar is the case with education. Education begins at home
72
Processes and Modes of Education
with parents telling children about traditions, values, etc.,
through festivals, stories or ceremonies. Also, the society
and the school impart education for socialisation of children
through a lot of activities.
To a common person, education is regarded as a well-
thought activity that is consciously imparted by various
institutions including family, society, schools, etc. The schools
play important role in imparting education where teaching-
learning comprises of different disciplines or subjects, each
having a set of actions/tasks divided into different levels.
When you ask a person the question related his/her level
of education, it generally refers to the assumption that the
person would be in a position to perform certain mental tasks
appropriate to his/her level of education. The performing
of mental tasks is an activity. But is education merely an
activity? Does education consist of the same or different
activities? In the first unit you have studied that education is
referred to by some people as lifelong learning. It shows that
education is not merely an activity but is more than that.
Lifelong learning cannot be activity alone rather it indicates
about the process. The question arises is whether education
is an activity or the process? You also know that education
has been conceptualised by some philosophers as drawing
out the best out of the individual. Some others refer to it
as acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Some say
that education is nothing but training of people’s mind in
a particular direction to bring about desired changes. Two
definitions focus on the activity.
In doing any activity you think, act, evaluate, reformulate
and learn. The actions involved in performing the activity are
done in a sequential manner and an order is followed. There
could be more than one activity. The sequence of actions in
doing one or more connected activities is known as process.
A process is the manner or the way in which an activity
takes place or an activity is conceptualised or done. Education
is regarded as a socialisation process. Learning can not be an
activity alone. Development of personality through education
may involve a process of social interaction. Education is an
ongoing process by which the child learns ways and norms
of the society. It is a process by which an individual learns
the values, attitudes, norms and other attributes of one’s
73
Basics in Education
culture. Education is a complex and long process of acquiring
at least a few qualities. It may, however, be difficult to draw
a distinction between the activity and the process. If you ask
a statesman, an artisan, a teacher, a parent, a philosopher
and a student about what education means to them, you
would be surprised to know the multiple interpretations and
views people have about education. A large majority of these
views fall in the middle. Now let us try to understand these
two issues separately.
EDUCATION AS AN ACTIVITY
When education is consciously imparted through a formal
process, it can be called as an activity taking place in an
institution or elsewhere. When we talk of instruction, it is an
activity conducted with a definite purpose. When education
focuses on the development of skills with an objective and
rationale, it is an activity. Providing degrees through education
may be termed as an activity. Whenever we want to get
knowledge, we have to resort to an activity and thus gaining
knowledge is an educational activity. Imparting knowledge is
also an educational activity. Learning too cannot be without
an activity whatsoever it may be. Teaching or instructions
provided for education are also activities. Reading, writing,
calculating, performing, etc., are activities associated with
education. All these indicators suggest that education is an
activity. To meet the desired goals or in order to achieve the
objectives of education the activities will have to be performed.
Now let us take the example of development of skills. Can
the skills be developed without an activity? For example,
if you want to develop the skill of carpentry or fishery or
writing or reading, how will you do so? The skills can only be
developed through some activities. Developing these skills is
covered under education and thus education is an activity.
Not only development, but even testing of the skills or showing
how to perform a skill, repeating something or recapitulation
also involve activities. Thus, even development of skills
suggests that education is an activity. Further, application
of knowledge to new situations is covered under education.
How this application of knowledge can be understood or
taught? This is possible through activities only. A person can
be taught application through examples as activities.
74
Processes and Modes of Education
Activity 1
1. Organise a panel discussion of your classmates to
show that education is an activity.
2. Give two examples to suggest that education is a
purposeful activity.
3. Devise ways to show that application of knowledge
can be regarded as an educational activity.
EDUCATION AS A PROCESS
We discussed that education is an activity which is organised
to achieve some desirable goals. But is education only
an activity? Education is certainly not only restricted to
activities.
Let us take an example of a day in a school. It begins with
morning prayer involving prayers, exercises, yoga, National
Anthem, etc. Why all these activities are done during morning
prayer? These are consciously done to promote physical
and mental development of children. There is a way and a
rationale for performing these activities, which may be called
as process of organising morning prayers. Then classes are
held in organised manner which again involves a process.
Children learn games, or a concept through the process
of thinking and doing. Learning from simple concepts to
complex concepts involves a process. In a way, education
is a continuous lifelong process as an individual continues
to learn one or other things from the time of birth till death.
Some people equate education with formal schooling where
the child learns things in a graded fashion. The schooling in
the graded manner is also a process. Learning or teaching
is a process which involves a series of activities. Education
concerned with all round development of the child is a
process. Developing one’s potential to its optimum level
through education is a process. Understanding, using or
applying knowledge gained through education according
to situations also refer to the processes of education.
Observation and drawing inferences from the observations
are also educational processes. Education as you know
helps in a transmission of knowledge, skills, societal values
and processes from one generation to the next and thus
education can be considered as a process of transmission
75
Basics in Education
of all these virtues. It is a continuous process concerned
with the development of an individual. So, from the ongoing
discussions you may be tempted to conclude that education
is both an activity as well as a process. Now let us try to
discuss how education takes place?
Learning Check 1
1. What is the difference between education as an
activity and education as a process?
2. Which definition of education suggests that
education is an activity?
3. Analyse different meanings of education from the
point of it being an activity or a process.
Processes of Education
Though you must be familiar with some of the processes of
education but let us discuss some of these processes for the
sake of convenience and understanding. The process refer
to activities that take place under the umbrella of education
and the way these activities take place. You will be tempted
to say that in educational processes reading takes place or
the writing takes place. You may also say that educational
processes are nothing but teaching and learning. But
educational processes may include many things besides
teaching and learning. It may include understanding, training,
instructing, developing skills, acquisition of knowledge or
information and much more. The processes could also include
the verification of knowledge, revision and reinforcement
as well as creation of new knowledge. Education is also a
process of learning values, attitudes, norms and attributes
of culture. It is a process of understanding social interaction,
knowing traditions, religions, etc. All these processes lead to
the education of the child.
The processes of education include the socialisation of the
child; development of his/her personality, physical, social,
emotional and cognitive development, as well as harnessing
the innate potential. These processes of education are
practised through several means and modes. Let us begin
with the means and we will discuss different modes of
education in the latter part of this chapter.
76
Processes and Modes of Education
Education is imparted through the above mentioned
processes with the help of some set of activities in the form
of some defined curriculum in a graded manner. These set
of activities are then translated into syllabi and transacted
using various approaches. You must have heard of National
Curriculum Framework–2005. What is this? This is a broad
framework to give a common shape to the set of activities
desired to be undertaken at different levels in India and
has an inbuilt scope for the flexibility suiting to the diverse
needs of the people. The approach followed to transact this
curriculum in the form of activities too varies. According to
the NCF–2005, the approach suggested to be followed is the
constructivist approach where the child is supposed to be
the creator of one’s knowledge and the teacher is supposed
to be the facilitator in the process of education. You might be
learning more about NCF–2005 and constructivist approach
in subsequent chapters. All these processes of education
could form an activity in itself or can be a set of different
activities in the same process. You will have a better idea of
all these processes when you go for your teaching experience
programme. Processes and approaches to education may
vary according to modes of education. Let us now discuss
about these modes of education. Details about all these
processes will be told to you in your foundation of education
courses like psychology and sociology of education.
Modes of Education
The ways in which education takes place or the processes
are carried out in educating the child are known as modes
of education. It is the manner in which all the educational
activities are carried out. In order to understand different
modes of education, let us try to understand how education
has developed historically. You must be familiar that earlier
education was confined to a limited number of people who
could afford it. This was the privileged class or the so called
elites who only had a reach to education. However, with the
passage of time and realisation of the importance of education
by all nations including India towards its contribution in nation
building, the outreach of education has now been expanded
to every citizen. With the implementation of national schemes
77
Basics in Education
like District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) and later
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik
Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), compounded by the Right to Free
and Compulsory Education Act 2009 in India, the spread of
education has widened to a great level. In order to meet this
huge demand of education and with the advancement in
technologies, lots of ways and means or modes are available
to provide education at every door step. It may take place
formally or informally and sometimes consciously in a non
formal manner. In the following sections, you will read about
the different modes of education: Informal, Formal and Non-
formal.
Activity 2
1. Discuss among your colleagues how they have
got their education till now and classify them
in different categories by thinking of different
possible classifications.
2. Ask your classmates to make a list of some other
ways in which the education can take place.
Informal Education
Even when few people had an access to education, all humans
learnt a lot of things without making any conscious effort for
the same. An illiterate person, without even having familiarity
with a single alphabet, possesses a lot of knowledge. From
where did he/she acquire knowledge? Who taught them?
Every child, or for that matter every human being or even
animals, has a tendency to learn. Every one learns a lot of
things consciously or unconsciously through observation,
experience or imitation at home or in the surroundings, from
parents, peers, family members and the community. This
kind of education earned by an individual from the sources,
other than the ones that are purposely meant for imparting
education, is called informal education. The type of learning
resulting from daily life activities related to work, family
or leisure is called informal learning. It is not structured
(in terms of learning objectives, learning time or learning
support) and typically does not lead to certification. Informal
learning may be intentional like the one from mother telling
78
Processes and Modes of Education
the daughter about the traditions, but in most cases it is
non-intentional (or “incidental”/random) (Cedefop 2001).
Informal education takes place all the times and throughout
the life of an individual. It does not have any limit or
boundaries. Informal education, or in other words we call
it as socialisation, begins at home. It may be accidental or
incidental. It may be conscious or unconscious. Education
through mass media and exposure to other experiences like
exhibitions, films, newspapers, visits to different places, etc.,
also constitute informal education. However, tutoring at
home or private tuitions are not covered under this mode of
education.
Activity 3
1. Organise a panel discussion with your classmates
to find out the characteristics of informal
education.
2. Observe a child for a few days to understand the
role of informal learning in the development of the
child.
3. Make a list of ways in which informal education
can take place.
4. List, with the help of your friends, different ways
in which informal education takes place at places
other than at home.
Formal Education
Since ancient time, education is consciously imparted through
different institutions. The Guru-Shishya Parampara (Teacher-
Pupil tradition), prevalent during ancient days, desired the
pupil to live in the ashram of the Gurus, called Gurukuls,
for getting education. This kind of institutionalised effort to
provide education may be termed as formal education. Thus,
formal learning is the learning that is typically provided by
an institution, is structured (in terms of learning objectives,
learning time or learning support), and often leads to
certification. Formal learning is intentional from the learner’s
perspective (Cedefop, 2001). With the passage of time, the
formal mode of education took the shape of schooling.
The most popular and effective mode, formal mode of
79
Basics in Education
education, helps in developing the capabilities of individuals,
transmitting requisite knowledge from one generation to
the other, inventing new knowledge, advancement, etc. The
formal mode of education is supplemented by the informal
mode that an individual gets from other sources including
the experience. Formal education also takes place in various
manners. Depending upon the way of delivery of formal
education, it can be classified in different categories.
Face-to-Face Mode
When the learner is in direct contact with the instructor in
a face-to-face situation, it is called the face-to-face mode
of imparting education. Such a situation exists in case of
classroom teaching in the schools where teacher and the
pupils physically remain present in a face-to-face manner at
the time of getting education. This is regarded as the most
effective mode of education as there is a greater scope for a
learner to interact with the teacher and the teacher also can
explain as per the need and requirement of the learner. This
is the most used and the most demanded mode of education.
It is also known as the traditional or the conventional mode of
providing education. The face- to-face mode can be organised
full time or part time depending upon the need of the learner
and the time devoted for the purpose.
When the learner devotes the time or does the work as
per the time prescribed for the education one intends to
get, it may be called full time face-to-face mode. It is the
learning according the requisite hours of the course per day
at one stretch without breaking it into parts. The learner
in such a situation learns at the pace of the institution or
the course. The learner is registered with institution for the
period needed for the education and attends the institution
accordingly. This type of education is usually being provided
in schools across the country. Most of the formal education
is available in this mode at all levels.
If the learner is not in a position to devote the prescribed
time for the course because of one’s compulsions, the full
time courses are bifurcated into part time courses. It is for
convenience of the learners to get more time to complete
the courses at their pace. In such a case, the duration of
the same course has to be increased. It is mostly done to
80
Processes and Modes of Education
accommodate the learners already in job or having some
other compulsions so that they are not deprived of education.
In this mode, except for the increased duration of the course,
all other things remain the same as in full time face-to-face
mode. It is an alternative to the full time face- to- face mode.
It may be noted here that the semester courses are not part
time courses, rather they are full time courses.
Distance Education Mode
As an alternative to face-to-face mode, and in order to cover
the larger groups of learners who could not be educated
through face-to-face mode for diverse reasons, the mode of
distance education has come into existence. As the name
suggests, this mode adopts an approach in which education
is provided from a distance. The learner and the teacher may
geographically be located at different places and the education
is imparted using means other than direct interaction or
face-to-face teaching-learning. However, even though the
two are not face-to-face to each other, the learner is vitally in
touch with the teacher. In a way, the distance mode has also
some inbuilt component of face-to-face interaction between
the teacher and the taught. Distance mode, however, also
assumes various means.
Distance education through correspondence is earliest
mode of distance education. In this mode the education
provider develops the learning material, which is sent to
the learners. In this mode, the teaching learning material is
developed in a learner-friendly manner in the form of some
modules or lectures and sent to the learners by post. The
learner can interact with the teacher through correspondence
by post or otherwise. The progress of the learner is monitored
through feedback and assignments. This method is still
partly prevalent though it has been supplemented with more
modes.
Teleconferencing is a mode where the teacher and the
taught are connected with the help of satellite and there
are possibilities of interaction through communication
technology. Distance mode through teleconferencing is
used as an adjunct to the correspondence education. The
teleconferencing is largely used for interaction with students
in order to clarify their doubts or to provide education to the
81
Basics in Education
learners of distance education. You know that now in India
EDUSAT is used for this purpose. In this mode the learners
get instructions from an educational studio at one end, while
they themselves remain physically present at the other distant
end. It could be a two-way communication though satellite
with different means available for questioning by the learners
like telephone, internet or other technological means.
Distance education through video-conferencing is similar
to teleconferencing where both the instructor and the
learners can see and interact with each other although both
may remain physically thousands of kilometres apart. This is
done in various ways through internet like Skype or through
a satellite based two-way interaction systems as is the case
of teleconferencing.
Distance education is also done through mass media
like television, newspapers and radio. Gyan Vani and Gyan
Darshan are the popular mass media programmes besides
educational TV and other radio programmes of various
nature and duration, which are in use for distance education
of the learners and are aired for education at different levels.
In the distance education through online, the learners
get education at their convenience, where place, time and
duration do not constitute the barriers. In this mode, the
total course material is uploaded on the site of the learners
or sent as an attachment by e-mail and the learners enjoy
the facility of using this interactive material as per their
convenience. These online courses need a proper planning
and implementation with a facility for on the spot clarification
of the doubts.
e-learning mode of distance education is a recent
development which is totally computer based. In this mode,
the learner is provided with computer-based interactive
materials having several alternatives and solutions of the
problems. The teaching-learning process takes place with
use of internet, e-mails, and discussion forums, in addition
to the basic material and the supporting teachers. It utilises
the facility of both the computer technology as well as
communication technology. Now even e-books have started
coming in the market to facilitate e-learning.
Like e-learning a new concept of distance education, called
m-learning or learning through mobile, has begun to take
82
Processes and Modes of Education
shape. In this type of learning, in addition to educational or
instructional materials that is made available to the learners,
the mobile is used for online interaction between the tutor(s)
and the learners. At present, it is in very limited use but
time is not far when m-learning could also become a powerful
mode.
It may be mentioned here that no single mode can be
said to be self-sufficient and if different modes are used
in combination they could have a compounded effect on
education of the learners.
Learning Check 2
1. What is formal mode of education?
2. How can formal education be imparted?
3. Discuss different ways of face-to-face education.
4. Is distance education an alternative to formal
education? Discuss.
5. What are different modes in which distance
education is imparted to the children?
6. Which mode of education do you think is preferable
and why?
7. How EDUSAT can be a powerful mode of
education? Discuss.
8. Can you think of some more modes of distance
education than those discussed in this unit?
Non-Formal Education
There are other modes too through which education
takes place. Do you know how literacy campaigns help in
educating masses? There are many other programmes, such
as awareness campaigns, adult literacy, etc., which may not
conform to the requirements of formal educational mode but
are equally important and are carried out with specific aims
and objectives. These alternative modes are called non-formal
modes of education. This non-formal education is a mix of
formal education and informal education in the sense that it
takes place informally in a formal environment. Non-formal
education, therefore, refers to the organised and sustained
educational activities that do not correspond exactly to the
definition of formal education. Non-formal education takes
place both within and outside educational institutions,
83
Basics in Education
and cater to persons of all ages, depending on the country
contexts. It may cover educational programmes to impart
adult literacy, basic education for out of the school children
or may be development of life skills, work skills, and general
culture for vocational courses such as sewing, stitching,
or music, etc. Non-formal educational programmes do not
necessarily follow the ladder system and may have differing
duration, and may not confer certification of the learning
achieved (UNESCO, 1997, 41). Hobby courses, small duration
vocational courses, education provided through mass media
or the adult education or the training of entrepreneurs for
special trainings could be covered under non-formal mode of
education.
Activity 4
1. Organise a seminar on non-formal mode of
education.
2. Discuss in your class how non-formal education
is useful and why?
3. Discuss with your teacher about the utility of
non-formal education for unorganised sector.
4. Make two groups in your class and have a debate
on formal and non-formal education.
Inclusiveness of School Education
India is a country with lot of diversities in terms of religion,
social group, culture, etc. In order to establish the integration
of outside experiences with the school learning, it becomes
imperative that the school education be inclusive. This
means that the school should try to provide an environment
conducive to allow the integration of experiences to take
place with that of school functioning. The school education
should provide experiences that may be beneficial to the
child in the outside world. For example, it needs to help in
development of meaningful life skills. The inclusiveness of
school education may include physical inclusion (in terms of
the infrastructure and resources), social inclusion (inclusion
of all types of social, cultural and racial groups) and other
kinds of inclusions as enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
Inclusiveness of school education is possible only when
the children learn to respect all religions, cultures and social
84
Processes and Modes of Education
groups. The school education needs to develop values that
help in developing an attitude of appreciation among the
child for different social and religious groups in the school
and the society. The school education is expected to meet
all these challenges and work for an inclusive society with
peace and harmony for all kinds of diverse groups. It needs
to create unity in diversity. You must have studied about all
these diversities and the inclusiveness of Indian education
system in other papers as well as in your previous classes
also. Inclusiveness also includes the inclusion of home
experiences with the school experiences. This can be possible
only when the teachers get an autonomy and freedom to do
activities according to the need of the inclusive society.
Inclusiveness in education is also concerned with
embracing children with disability and the differences
arising due to socio-economic disadvantaged conditions. The
National Policy on Education (NPE, 1986) stressed the need
for integrating children with disability with other groups.
The objective to be achieved, as stated in NPE 1986, is “to
integrate the physically and mentally handicapped with
general community as equal partners, to prepare them for
normal growth and to enable them to face life with courage
and confidence”. The National Curriculum Framework 2005
(p.84) enumerated the characteristics of inclusive education
(see Box 1).
Box 1: Characteristics of Inclusive Education
• Inclusive education is about embracing all.
• Disability is a social responsibility – accept it.
• No selection procedures to be adopted for denying admission to learners
with disabilities.
• Children do not fail, they only indicate failure of the school.
• Accept difference... celebrate diversity.
• Inclusion is not confined to the disabled. It also means non-exclusion.
• Learn human rights ... conquer human wrongs.
• Handicap is a social construct, deconstruct handicap.
• Make provisions – not restrictions: adjust to the needs of the child.
• Remove physical, social and attitudinal barriers.
• All good practices of teaching are practices of inclusion.
• Learning together is beneficiary of every child.
• If you want to teach, learn from the child. Identify strengths not
limitations.
• Inculcate mutual respect and inter-dependence.
85
Basics in Education
Need of Schooling for all Children
Education has assumed different meaning in different times.
Earlier the people were educated for communicating with each
other, or for the purpose of getting jobs in offices to carry out
administrative functions of the country or the regimes. But
now it has been very well recognised that education means
socialisation of human beings. If you see the definitions
and explanations about education in previous chapters or
elsewhere, you must appreciate that education is not only
needed for the development of innate potential of human
beings but is also an essential component needed for the
development of a nation. Throughout the world, it is reiterated
that education is required for all the human beings in order
to harness their potentials and make best use of it for the
humanity. Providing education to all the children has been
on priorities in the charter of all the countries throughout the
world. The education has been accepted as an instrument
of constructive change and upliftment of humanity. United
Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) has been trying for the education of all children in
all the countries.
India is committed to the education of all the children
up to the age of 14 years since the implementation of its
Constitution, initially through the Directive Principle 45,
which later took the shape of the Right of Children to Free
and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE). To achieve this
goal, the Act envisages the responsibilities of governments’,
schools and teachers. The governments’ responsibility
is to ensure compulsory admission, attendance and
completion of elementary education by every child; provide
a neighbourhood school; and infrastructure including school
building, teaching staff and learning equipment. The Act also
expects every teacher to be regular, punctual and conduct as
well as complete the entire curriculum within specified time
and assess the learning ability of each child. The schools
will have 1:40 teacher-pupil ratio which has to be ensured
by the respective governments. The Act has also prepared
a schedule of norms for number of teachers, buildings,
minimum number of working days/instructional hours in an
academic year, minimum number of working hours per week
for a teacher, teaching-learning equipment, library, play
86
Processes and Modes of Education
materials, games and sports equipments. Local governments
and communities can plan, monitor the implementation of
RTE through School Management Committees. The parents
are the key functionaries of School Management Committees
which are supposed to draw school development plan as
per RTE norms, manage their implementation in the school,
supervise and support the implementation of plans, monitor
the finance, management, academic progress, etc., ensure
accountability and transparency in the system, make a
liaison between the school and the authorities for releasing
and generating funds for the schools. Thus schooling or the
teaching learning system under RTE is a collaborative effort
among the teacher and the community. The details of this
Act may be found in the Journal of Indian Education (2011,
Vol. XXXVII, Number 2, pp. 141-153).
Education has been accepted as the only mean that could
bring the desirable changes in the behaviour of the children.
School is the formal socialising agency that could be used
for modification of the behaviour of children and develop
the social and individual values needed for well being of the
social system. Schooling is the largest network which has
been created to fulfil this huge task of providing education
to all the children in the country or for that matter all over
the world. It has been assigned not only the responsibility
but also been provided with all the resources to carry out
this work effectively and efficiently. No other system in the
world is powerful enough to owe the responsibility and large
enough to carry out this huge task.
Learning Check 3
1. Why education has been made a Fundamental
Right?
2. Is there a need to make education a right?
Activity 5
1. Organise a debate on the issue of Right to
Education in your institution.
2. Make different groups in your class and discuss
the utility of different modes of education in
separate group.
87
Basics in Education
Let Us Sum Up
In this chapter, you have learnt that education is both an
activity as well as a process. There are several modes of
education. We all get educated through various informal
modes as is imbibed at home or through observation and
experience. Education can be imparted through formal, non-
formal or informal modes. Formal education is the most
practised and largest set of institutionalised educational mode.
It can be provided through face-to-face mode or the distance
mode. Face-to-face is the classical system of education as is
provided in schools. Education through distance mode could
be provided in various ways like correspondence education,
online education, teleconferencing, video conferencing, etc.
e-learning, and m-learning are the latest additions to
the distance learning mode. Non-formal education is the
education provided through untraditional mode like the one
provided through mass media or the adult education, etc. It
is clarified that no one mode could be said to be inferior, or
superior to the other. Every mode has its own advantages as
well as limitations. Every mode has a specific purpose and
need to be used accordingly. Two or more modes of education
can also be used simultaneously.
Education does not take place in the schools only. The
experiences gained by an individual outside the school
also contribute immensely to his/her education. In fact,
the school education becomes more meaningful when it is
integrated with the outside experiences. The education in
schools has to be linked to outside school experiences. The
education has been very well recognised as an activity that
needs to be provided to every individual and the schools are
the best the foremost sought means to provide it. The schools
can meet the demand as well as the need of education as
per the individual and social requirement. Education is the
Fundamental Right of an individual. It meets the national
priorities as well as the individual and social needs.
88
Processes and Modes of Education
Review Questions
1. Why is education known as an activity?
2. Is education a process or an activity? Justify your answer
with appropriate examples.
3. Differentiate between different modes of education on
the basis of their objectives.
4. What is the informal mode of education? How does it
help in education?
5. Which mode of education is most sought of?
6. Through what means can education through distance
mode be imparted?
7. What is the relationship between the school education
and the outside experiences? How can the two be
integrated?
8. Why education in the form of schooling is needed to be
provided to all citizens?
REFERENCES
Eaton, Sarah Elaine. 2011. Formal, non-formal and informal
learning. http://www.infed.org/archives/e-texts/eaton_
formal_nonformal_informal_learning. htm] Archived 22
May 2011.
Cedefop Glossary http://www.cedefop.europa.eu/EN/about-
cedefop/projects/validation-of-non-formal-and-informal-
learning/european-inventory-glossary.aspx]
Mc Givney, V. 1999. Informal Learning in the Community: A
Trigger for Change and Development (Leicester: NIACE).
Cited in Helen Colley, Phil Hodkinson and Janice Malcolm
(2002), Non-formal Learning: Mapping the Conceptual
Terrain. A Consultation Report. Leeds: University of Leeds
Lifelong Learning Institute. Also available in the informal
education archives:http://www.infed.org/archives/e-
texts/colley_informal_learning.htm]
Hodkinson, Phil; Colley, Hellen and Janice Malcolm. 2003.
The Interrelationships between Informal and Formal
Learning. Journal of Workplace Learning, 15, 313–318.
89
