Education (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what education is and its various meanings according to various authors. Also, the types of education that exist.

What is education?

Education is called the facilitation of learning or obtaining knowledge, skills, values and habits in a specific human group, by other people more versed in the subject taught and using various pedagogical techniques: narration, debate, memorization or research.

Education is a complex process in human lifewhich occurs fundamentally within the family and then in the different stages of school or academic life that the individual goes through (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 conduct.

The final result of the educational process is uncertain, since human beings never stop learningtherefore, to change their behaviors and their precepts. However, the initial stages of life are considered crucial for the training and education of the individual (both in formal aspects and in emotional matters, citizenship, 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 human beings, their improvement and learning, in which they can not only acquire deep and complex knowledge, but also shape a way of thinking in the issues of ethics, morality, affectivity, etc.

You may be interested: Interpersonal Communication

And yet, access to this type of education is usually restricted to the middle and upper classes, which always represents an additional difficulty for the most disadvantaged classes, often immersed in ignorance.

Education can occur through different models and diverse ranges of experiences, but It is usually carried out by a tutor, teacher, teacher or guidewhich is a figure of relative authority over the apprentices or students, in charge of ensuring the correct understanding of the topics and resolving any doubts that may arise in the process, since not all people have similar learning mechanisms.

Education concepts

Depending on the author consulted, education is defined as:

“Education consists of directing the 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).
“The purpose of education is the development in man of all the perfection that his nature carries with it” Immanuel Kant (German philosopher, 1724-1804)
“Education is the only way to learn to live for others through the habit of making sociability prevail over personality” – Auguste Comte (French philosopher, 1798-1857)
“Education is the evolution, rationally conducted, of man's specific faculties 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 transmitting the traditions or culture of a group, from one generation to another” – Fernando de Azevedo (Brazilian educator, 1894-1974)

You may be interested: Public Administration

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 title and social recognition of the knowledge acquired.
Non-formal education. That which is received in an intentional and organized manner, but outside the formal institutions dedicated to it, that is, outside the academies and without the endorsement of a degree (or having one, but without any professional value).
Informal education. That which is acquired in an unintentional and disorganized way, through the accumulation of experience and knowledge incorporated through trial and error. It is, let's say, the education “of life” and everyone acquires it in their own way.

Physical education

Physical education is a pedagogical discipline, that is, a branch of education, focused on the human body from various physical exercise perspectives and improvement, in pursuit of comprehensive management of the healthy human body, as well as sports training and the fight against a sedentary life.