We explain what education is and its different meanings according to several authors. In addition, the types of education that exist.
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What is education?
Education is called the facilitation of learning or obtaining knowledge, skills , values and habits in a particular human group, by other people more versed in the subject taught and using various pedagogy techniques: narration, debate , memorization or investigation.
Education is a complex process in the life of the human being , which occurs primarily in the family and then in the different stages of school or academic life that the individual transits (from kindergarten to university).
However, not only organized and compartmentalized knowledge of science and knowledge is education: so are local traditions, family beliefs or inherited modes of behavior.
The end result of the educational process is uncertain, since the human being never stops learning , therefore, to change his behaviors and his precepts. However, the initial stages of life are considered crucial for the formation and education of the individual (both in formal aspects and in affective, citizen, etc.), since they will be responsible for the way of acting that the individual presents in adulthood .
At the same time, formal or academic education is considered in our societies an institution at the service of the human being, its improvement and its learning, in which it can not only acquire deep and complex knowledge, but also shape a way of thinking in the issues of ethics , morals , affectivity, etc.
And yet, access to this type of education is usually restricted to the middle and upper classes, which is always an additional difficulty for the most disadvantaged classes, often immersed in ignorance.
Education can take place through different models and diverse ranges of experiences, but it is generally in charge of a tutor, teacher, teacher or guide , who is a figure of relative authority over the apprentices or students, responsible for ensuring the correct understanding of the issues and to solve the doubts that may arise in the process, since not all people have similar learning mechanisms.
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Education concepts
Depending on the author consulted, education is defined as:
- “Education consists in directing feelings of pleasure and pain towards the ethical order” – Aristotle (Greek philosopher, 384-322 BC)
- “The attainment of a healthy soul in a healthy body, such is the end of education” John Locke (English philosopher, 1632-1704).
- “Education has finally the development in man of all the perfection that its nature carries with it” Immanuel Kant (German philosopher, 1724-1804)
- “Education is the only way to learn to live for others because of the habit of prevailing sociability over personality” –Auguste Comte (French philosopher, 1798-1857)
- “Education is evolution, rationally conducted, of the specific faculties of man for his perfection and for the formation of character, preparing him for individual and social life, in order to achieve the greatest possible happiness” – Rufino Blanco (Spanish educator, 1861- 1936)
- “Education is a process of transmission of the traditions or culture of a group, from one generation to another” – Fernando de Azevedo (Brazilian educator, 1894-1974)
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Types of education
There are numerous classifications of the educational act, sometimes by model or by topics of interest. However, the most important distinction is often the following:
- Formal education . That which takes place within the program organized, planned, evaluated and taught by the institutions of society : academies, schools, institutes, universities and other instances of organized knowledge. They usually lead to obtaining a degree and social recognition of the knowledge acquired.
- Non – formal education . That which is received intentionally and organized, but outside the formal institutions dedicated to it, that is, outside the academies and without the endorsement of a degree (or having it, but without any professional value).
- Informal education . That which is acquired unintentionally and disorganized, through the accumulation of experience and knowledge incorporated by trial and error. It is, say, education “of life” and everyone acquires it in their own way.
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Physical education
Physical education is a pedagogical discipline, that is, a branch of education, focused on the human body from various physical perspectives of exercise and improvement, in pursuit of a comprehensive management of the healthy human body, as well as sports training and education. combat of sedentary life.
