Non-Formal Education

Education falls broadly under three categories: informal, non-formal, and formal. While formal education refers to standardized, classroom style learning and informal education refers to the life and human skills all people learn throughout childhood and adulthood, non-formal education is a term which describes any education process that has learning objectives and goals but is not part of the formal learning process. Non-formal education (NFE) has been part of education discourse since the 1960s. As countries across the world work to make formal education available to more people, alternatives to formal education have also been developed as well. NFE is particularly desirable in developing countries, often because formal education has not consistently produced its intended results, and, in some instances, created problems for citizens and economies. NFE programs offer educational models that can help overcome some of the problems that formal education creates. It can be both an alternative and helpful complement to formal education programs.

Keywords Informal Economy; Informal Education; Formal Education; Non-Formal Education; Non-Government Organizations; Primary Education; Tertiary Education; Western Education Models

Overview

Non-formal education (NFE) is a broad category for any organized learning process with discernible learning objectives that falls outside of the standardized, formalized, and usually Westernized education systems of a region or area. This is not to confuse NFE with informal education, which is the natural learning process that occurs within the family and the culture as opposed to inside a classroom. Informal education, rather, focuses primarily on the practical lifestyle skills and cultural knowledge that children and adults receive by virtue of interacting within their culture (Smith, 1996). NFE is a more deliberate process aimed at not just instilling life skills, but also helping people become educated, literate, and globally aware.

Education for All & Developing Nations

Rogers (2004) pointed to two key areas of change which were influential in bringing about the idea of NFE, which began to emerge during the 1960s. First, over the past several decades, there has been a worldwide focus on educating as many people as possible. Although, historically, formal education was limited to a select category of people (primarily boys from wealthy families), recently education has begun to be conceived not as a privilege for the elite, but rather as something which all people have the right to access. One of the biggest forces in changing the concept of education has been the United Nations, which, through the efforts of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is working to implement its Education for All (EFA) vision to bring access to a primary education to all people of the world by 2015. This worldwide interest in education has naturally turned nations' attention to increasing access to good quality education. In both instances, viable alternatives to formal education have often been sought to ensure both the quantity and quality of education.

The second change which brought about interest in NFE was a worldwide focus on how education could benefit developing countries in particular. Education provides ways not only for citizens to better their lives but for nations as a whole to achieve development goals and make important improvements. Both these changes in viewpoints helped birth the concept of NFE (Rogers, 2004).

Formal vs. Non-Formal Education

Formal & Western-Style Education

Other factors that helped turn researchers' attention to formal education alternatives were problems with the formal education system itself. The formal education models that were most liberally spread throughout the world were primarily Western-style. Western-style education models tend to enact the free, compulsory education of young people by removing them from their surrounding community and placing them within a government-monitored environment. Curriculum seeks to build citizens who can serve their nation and culture, and is therefore standardized and carefully monitored. Western education also emphasizes creative problem-solving and free thinking, and those who undergo Western-style education often have excellent creative thinking skills. These characteristics have helped make Western style models of education quite attractive and popular (Spring, 2004).

However, despite the benefits Western-style education models offer, many nations became concerned about the effect these models were having on different cultures and countries. Van Riezen (1996) described the attitude of the 1960s as one that believed Western culture needed to show the rest of the world how it was to arrange itself and its thinking patterns. Consequently, Western-style models of education were pushed as being the best way to improve nations and reduce economic problems. However, Western models of education did not automatically cause economic success, and many countries argued that the focus on Western-education style only gave the West too much power and dominion. Western aid groups working in developing countries often served to drive wedges between cultures and people groups, and the focus on formal education often overlooked the needs of cultures and people groups that the education system was supposed to serve (Rogers, 2004, p. 38).

One of the problems inherent to formal models of education is that the mass education of citizens as emphasized by the EFA agenda forces school systems to cope with a number of students who have different learning styles, needs, and abilities and disabilities. Schools in impoverished, rural areas often have scant educational resources, particularly teachers. A school system may struggle just to provide quality formal education to those students who are reasonably well-prepared, motivated, and free from hindrances; it may be unable to adequately instruct students who are poorly prepared, suffer from learning or physical disabilities, or face setbacks to their education such as needing to work to support their families.

Even for students who do succeed in a formal educational environment, the benefits they receive from this schooling are sometimes questionable. Although many governments have looked to education as a means to bolster sagging economies, many researchers have argued that merely increasing the level of citizens' education will not automatically result in economic improvements. The job prospects for educated people in many countries, particularly African, continue to be low. Many parents are finding themselves in the position of having to pay higher educational costs for their children in exchange for increasingly lower chances that their children will find higher-level employment. Sadly, in some areas of the world, this is working to foster the sense that education is pointless.

A final troubling point with formal education is that it is typically aimed at children and youth. However, EFA and the global concern with education are focused on seeing all people, children and adults, receive at least a primary education. UNESCO (2003) stated that in 2000, 20% of all people over the age of 15 were illiterate and predicted that there will be 800 million illiterate adults by 2015. Additionally La Belle (1986) pointed out that life expectancy, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, has increased, and, therefore, many regions are faced with the problem of adults who are not able to support themselves throughout their increasingly longer lives (p. 20).

While formal education does extend to tertiary levels, it must be emphasized that adult education is often separate from formal education. Most adult learners have responsibilities such as working and parenting that often prevent them from seeking formalized education. Other methods of education are needed that suit adult learners' needs. In short, there is a crucial need worldwide for adult education, but the nature of formal education does not normally extend to adults. As nations around the world seek to fulfill EFA, the plight of millions of uneducated adults must be attended to as well as that of the young.

Non-Formal Education

In light of the problems with formal education, NFE is often upheld as an alternative or supplement to formal education. NFE is usually more flexible and innovative in its approach to education, and therefore able to better serve the needs of disadvantaged students. It allows individuals to take more control and ownership of their education (UNESCO, 2006), and often is better able to help individuals connect learning with life and previous knowledge. Since NFE has its roots largely in humanitarian activities (La Belle, 2000), it is a powerful force towards effecting significant improvement in areas of the world.

NFE has been an important topic in education discourse for the past several decades. At it gains momentum, it is likely to continue to be a strong force in helping people improve their lives through education.

Further Insights

Hoppers (2000) divided NFE into three categories: supplementary (programs to augment formal education), compensatory (programs to help young people who have problem accessing or performing well in formal education), and alternative (separate learning systems that exist as an alternative to formal schooling). NFE can be a helpful way for students to maximize their success rates in formal education, for example by helping students make up for a less than ideal preparatory background or assisting students with learning disabilities. Additionally, NFE can take the place of formalized schooling and give students an alternative learning environment that is more tailored to their specific needs. Since NFE programs are typically supported by non-government organizations or private sources and as a result enjoy a fairly high level of autonomy, they also have the freedom to be innovative in their approaches to education (La Belle, 1986; Hoppers, 2005).

NFE has been a particularly important force in developing countries, mainly because these nations face difficulties that NFE is often able to address better than formal education systems. Additionally, formal education is causing significant problems in certain developing areas, and NFE is often able to circumvent these issues.

NFE & Sub-Sahara Africa

Africa, particularly Sub-Sahara Africa, is one region of the world where education is most crucially needed. The people of this region suffer from the highest levels of poverty, infant and material mortality, and illiteracy: all difficulties that education can help resolve. Like other countries, the government structures in Sub-Sahara Africa have spent the past several decades focusing on improving education - primarily formal education - in that region. However, this focus on formal education has created negative outcomes alongside positive outcomes.

Hoppers (2000) named four types of problems formal education has created in Africa: economical, pedagogical, cultural, and gender-related. The economical problems highlight what Minnis (2006) and others stated: schools, particularly in Africa, are becoming increasingly more expensive and less beneficial. In particular, the economy of Sub-Sahara Africa is heavily dependent upon agriculture - approximately 70% of its workers are employed in agriculture. Since the job market in Sub-Sahara Africa has few openings for higher level "white collar" positions, this focus on formal education does little for people since it does not improve their employment prospects. What it has done is produce what Minnis (2006) termed a "credential mania", a highly competitive nature to higher level employment, and an enormous focus on applicants' credentials. Furthermore, Minnis (2006) stated that seasonal employment is shrinking in this region, and poor farmers are losing supplementary employment opportunities; there is also a serious lack of permanent, full-time positions.

Pedagogically, African schools have trouble adapting to the needs and diversity of students, expecting them to conform to the set schooling pattern placed before them. Culturally, there is the gap between Western-style education and practices and the surrounding community and culture. Some also argue that Western-style education separates girls from their cultural roots and promotes a patriarchal system. Because of these issues with formal education in Africa, alternative educational approaches are highly desirable (Hoppers, 2000).

There are many NFE forces at work in Africa today to create innovative ways of transmitting knowledge and overcome some of the problems formal education has helped foster. One such force is the Working Group on Non-Formal Education (2004). This group is dedicated to improving the educational system of Africa in connection with other non-government organizations, partner agencies, and African ministers of education. WGNFE understands that "no single educational modality will meet the demands in Africa." It seeks to foster positive changes in both formal and non-formal education throughout Africa so that NFE may be a definite force in helping achieve EFA. In 2002 WGNFE translated and disseminated a particular dossier about NFE so that speakers of the four main languages of Burkina Faso would have access to this document. In Kenya, WGNFE created the project "Literate Environment, Life, Vocational and Entrepreneurial Skills and Income Generating Activities" to help literacy be a key issue in improving people's daily lives. In Tanzania, WGNFE organized a session to analyze and review cases studies of NFE programs so that improvements could be made and objectives clarified.

NFE, Latin America, & the Caribbean

However, NFE is not isolated to African countries: other developing areas are concentrating their efforts on NFE as well. Latin America and the Caribbean have seen much emphasis on NFE, particularly between the 1950s to the 1980s. Many of these "community based" systems of NFE originated in 20th century social reformation practices. In Mexico, for example, medical workers, teachers, and skilled laborers would live for a time in a particular area in order to teach people certain skills. NFE was often the center focus of different organizations which sought to improve the lives of the poor and disfranchised in the Caribbean and Latin America (La Belle 2000).

For Latin America and the Caribbean areas, NFE is particularly important because it equips workers to function in an "informal economy" (temporary employment, small business work, bartering), and this economy, particularly during the 1980's, made up a significant percentage of the total economic activity of these regions. Since the formal education system typically is not suited to helping people function in an informal economy, NFE is particularly important as it shows people how to establish their own businesses, train for trades, and create goods for sale (La Belle 2000).

NFE is particularly beneficial because it helps connect government agency groups in ways that formal education cannot. The model for formal education typically calls for separate government or agency workers to exist as educational specialists in fields such as literacy or agriculture, and these specialists usually work in isolation from one another. In contrast, NFE work means that often in Caribbean and Latin American areas, agency and government workers collaborate together to carry out similar objectives and activities although their individual programs are not connected (La Belle 1986, p. 3).

One example of this sort of collaboration would be the Brazil Literate Program, a joint effort between governmental forces, NGOs, and private organizations to improve literacy in Brazil. Under the leadership of a National Literacy Commission, this program seeks to both train literacy workers and teach literacy to youth (UNESCO 2006, p. 246).

Throughout the world and particularly in developing countries, organizations and private citizens are striving to make education not only accessible but also beneficial and understandable. Since formal education has created difficulties, supplements and alternative models are particularly welcome in many areas of the world. NFE has had a very positive impact in many parts of the world, and NFE programs continue to be developed and utilized across the globe.

Viewpoints

When educational researcher Philip Coombs was approached by UNESCO in 1972 to answer the question of how NFE might be used to serve and strengthen formal learning, the result was his seminal book New Paths to Learning. NFE became a catchword in academic research, one that was guaranteed to attract attention and funding; Rogers (2004) claimed that "It is possible that no other educational programme or ideology (not even 'popular education') had received such intensive discussion and such widespread support" (p. 3).

Rogers (2004) and Smith (1996) stated that the term "non-formal education" is not a universal term, and other terms are sometimes more preferable. "Non-formal learning" (Rogers 2004) is sometimes used as well as "community learning" or "social pedagogy" (Smith 1996). Despite the difference in terms, the concept and resulting conversation about it have remained unchanged over the past few decades (Rogers 2004, p. 2). However, Rogers (2004) argued that the term NFE has "lost its way" (p. 3) in today's world. One of the reasons is because it is such a broad term and it is unclear whether this term is related to child learners or adult learners. Another reason is possibly because of how NFE has been viewed over the decades.

Is NFE a Long Term Solution?

In Africa, NFE has often been viewed as an emergency and temporary approach to a difficult situation, a way of coping with the problem until the government steps in and corrects it. There has not been much initiative in Africa to form NFE into viable alternatives to Westernized formal education (Hoppers 2000). Rogers (2004) agreed, stating that "NFE was a creation of Western aid agencies sent out like a dove to bring peace and harmony to a disunited international educational world, a panacea for all educational ills" (pp. 38-39).

Viewing NFE solely as a temporary fix to a problem has several flaws, and one is overlooking the benefits NFE offers as a permanent alternative to education. UNESCO (2006) reported that some of the benefits of NFE are that it allows people greater control over their education and places more focus on oral rather than written communication. Since most human interaction is oral, NFE allows greater connection between teacher and students, and greater opportunity for learners to access the knowledge they already possess and connect it with new information (p. 248).

Understandably, attitudes about formal education tend to fall into two camps. According to Rogers (2004), some researchers view the formal education system as flawed but fundamentally valuable: it needs much improvement, but is redeemable. The latter view sees formal education as a corrupt system which will destroy society and needs to be replaced with a completely different model (p. 39). In a forum discussion of NFE in Africa, the general consensus was that NFE and formal education are deeply wedded together, and that although NFE is an effective way of educating, it is not without its difficulties (Hoppers 2005).

Benefits & Drawbacks of NFE

La Belle (1986) pointed out one of characteristics of NFE is that it is largely autonomous. Since NFE programs typically are organized by non-government organizations (Hoppers 2005), they fall outside the authority of the state. If they become too subversive, they run the risk of being shut down; however, their autonomous positions often allow them to effect real change on a society and culture. However, since NFE programs are generally not state-sponsored, they cannot grant degrees and diplomas. As a result, most NFE programs cannot equip students for higher-level employment (La Belle 1986).

Although there is a scarcity of higher-level career positions in many parts of the world, this does not mean that education should focus solely on preparing students for lower-level jobs. Students of NFE, particularly students for whom NFE is their sole method of learning, need the training and resources to reach beyond basic employment. NFE's inability to provide students with verifiable degrees is one of its most significant disadvantages.

Another problem inherent with NFE is its target student body. La Belle (2000) argued that despite a long history of innovation, focus, and progress, the implementation of NFE in the Caribbean and Latin America has fallen away from adult education and instead become focused largely on youth and child education. Even though La Belle (2000) stated that there has been "considerable economic growth on the macro level" (p. 22) in these regions, the gap between the poor and the rich continues to widen. One reason why that during the 1980s, Mexico suspended payments for its debt outside the country, an action that is considered to be the second most serious financial problem Latin America faced, and one that heavily influenced the next decade. One effect of the suspension was the government withdrawal of a great deal of support from NFE programs. More non-government organizations took control of NFE programs, and less attention was paid to adult education programs.

Africa has a critical need for more focus to be placed on NFE for adults. Rogers (2004) stated that during the 1960s and 1970s concerns arose that, unable to serve the growing demand for education and under increased pressure from Western nations to do so, some Sub-Sahara Africa areas were actually moving backwards (p. 38). Because of these problems, Minnis (2006) called for "educational policies (to) shift from expansion per se to redirecting substantial investments and resources to the nonformal, adult education sector, particularly aimed at smallholder farmers who constitute the majority of the rural population" (p. 122). For areas like Sub-Sahara Africa, where agriculture is such a tremendous focus, resources must be used to equip farmers and agriculture workers, and greater attention must be paid to NFE for adults, not just for children and youth.

Conclusion

Non-formal education, like formal and informal education, has its particular benefits and problems. In developing nations, NFE can be a vitally innovative and welcome method of spreading literacy, improving employment opportunities, and creating access to education for marginalized students. In contrast, it can also be a temporary educational alternative with few long-term benefits, or an excellent but poorly understood and implemented idea. As nations around the world have turned their attention to both increasing and improving formal education programs, NFE programs also need further development and study so that their particular benefits can be accessible to students across the globe.

Terms & Concepts

Informal Economy: Refers to smaller level economic activities, particularly for small businesses and households. These activities can include barter, work in exchange for goods or services, illegal work, and domestic employment.

Informal Education: The education and learning that people achieve through living in and interacting with a culture and environment.

Formal Education: The standardized, regulated education process that primarily takes place within a classroom setting and has learning objectives and a set curriculum.

Non-Formal Education: Organized educational activity that takes place outside of formal education but is still formed around learning objectives and a clear vision.

Non-Government Organizations: Organizations maintained by private citizens for the purpose of promoting a common good.

Primary Education: Equates to six consecutive years of good quality schooling (a sixth grade learning achievement)

Tertiary Education: Equates to college level learning

Western Education Models: Involves the mass education of citizens (primarily children) free of charge. Students are removed from the community and placed into a government regulated setting to learn a standardized curriculum. The aim of Western education is to produce citizens capable of serving their state.

Bibliography

Blândul, V. (2013). Analyzing the need for using didactic strategies specific to non-formal education in the continued professional training of teachers: A case study from Bihor County, Romania. Problems of Education in the 21St Century, 568-15. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=93312483&site=ehost-live

Gîmbuta, A. (2011). Non-formal education- a logical analysis of the term. Journal Plus Education / Educatia Plus, 7, 266-286. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=76974145&site=ehost-live

Hoppers, W. (2000). Nonformal education, distance education and the restructuring of schooling: Challenges for a new basic education policy. International Review of Education, 46 (1/2), 5-30. Retrieved October 29, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=3312581&site=ehost-live

Hoppers, W. (2005). Summary report on the electronic discussion forum on challenging non formal education in Africa; Where do we go from here; What role for an ADEA working group? Working Group on Non-Formal Education. Retrieved October 30, 2007, from http://www.adeanet.org/wgnfe/documents/2005/SumReport_WGNFE_eDiscussion.pdf

La Belle, T.J. (1986). Nonformal education in Latin America and the Caribbean: Stability, reform, or revolution? New York: Praeger Press.

La Belle, T.J. (2000). The changing nature of non-formal education in Latin America Comparative Education, 36 , 21-36. Retrieved October 31, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=2941867&site=ehost-live

Madjar, N., & Cohen-Malayev, M. (2013). Youth movements as educational settings promoting personal development: Comparing motivation and identity formation in formal and non-formal education contexts. International Journal of Educational Research, 62162-174.Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=91971315&site=ehost-live

Minnis, J.R. (2006). Nonformal education and information economics in Sub-Sahara Africa: Finding the right match. Adult Education Quarterly, 56 , 119-133. Retrieved October 29, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=19690096&site=ehost-live

Rogers, A. (2004). Non-formal education: Flexible schooling or participatory education? Hong Kong: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Schwier, R.A., & Seaton, J. (2013). A comparison of participation patterns in selected formal, non-formal, and informal online learning environments. Canadian Journal of Learning & Technology, 39, 1-15. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=87378835&site=ehost-live

Smith, M.K (1996). Non-formal education. Infed. Retrieved October 29, 2007, from http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-nonfor.htm#contrasts

Spring, J. (2004). How educational ideologies are shaping global society: Intergovernmental organizations, NGO's, and the decline of the nation-state. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

UNESCO. (2003). World literacy in brief. UNESCO. Retrieved October 29, 2007, from http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12874&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

UNESCO. (2006). Synergies between formal and non-formal education: An overview of good practices. UNESCO. Retrieved October 31, 2007, from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001460/146092E.pdf

Van Riezen, K. (1996). Non-formal education and community development: Improving the quality. Convergence, 29 , 82-96. Retrieved October 29, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9607103120&site=ehost-live

Working groups in non-formal education. (2004). Retrieved October 29, 2007, from http://www.adeanet.org/wgnfe/whatwedo/activity02.html

Suggested Reading

Barr, J. (2007). Educational research and undiscovered public knowledge. Studies in the Education of Adults, 39 , 22-37.

La Belle, T.J. (1983). The impact of nonformal education on income in industry, Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela. In J.C. Bock and G.J. Papagiannis (Eds.) Nonformal education and national development: A critical assessment of policy, research, and practice. New York: Praeger Publishing.

Nath, S.R; Sylva, K.; Grimes, J. (1999). Raising basic education levels in rural Bangladesh: The impact of a non-formal education programme. International Review of Education, 45 , 5-26. Retrieved October 31, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=2177058&site=ehost-live