Formal education occurs in a structured environment whose explicit purpose is teaching students. Usually, formal education takes place in a school environment with classrooms of multiple students learning together with a trained, certified teacher. Most school systems are designed around a set of values or ideals that govern all educational choices, including curriculum, organizational models, design of physical learning spaces, student-teacher interactions, methods of assessment, class size, and educational activities.
After centuries of development, modern education has taken on a tiered structure of levels known as primary, secondary, and tertiary.
Preschool
Preschools provide education from approximately ages three to seven, depending on the country. These are also known as nursery schools and as kindergarten. Kindergarten provides a child-centered, preschool curriculum that aims at unfolding the child’s physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them.
Primary Education
Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first five to seven years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six to eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between countries. Globally, around 89% of children aged six to twelve are enrolled in primary education.
Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education. In many countries, it is compulsory. Primary schools are often subdivided into infant schools and junior schools.
Secondary Education
Secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from compulsory primary education to optional tertiary education. Depending on the system, schools for this period may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools.
In the United States, Canada, and Australia, primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education, or to train directly in a profession.
Secondary education in the United States did not emerge until 1910, with the rise of large corporations and advancing technology in factories, which required skilled workers. High schools were created with a curriculum focused on practical job skills.
Tertiary (Higher) Education
Higher education is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school such as a high school or secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities mainly provide tertiary education.
In most developed countries, a high proportion of the population now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right and as a source of trained and educated personnel.
One type of university education is a liberal arts education, which can be defined as a college or university curriculum aimed at imparting broad general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum.
Vocational Education
Vocational education is a form of education focused on direct and practical training for a specific trade or craft. Vocational education may come in the form of an apprenticeship or internship as well as institutions teaching courses such as carpentry, agriculture, engineering, medicine, architecture, and the arts.
Special Education
In the past, those who were disabled were often not eligible for public education. Children with disabilities were repeatedly denied an education by physicians or special tutors. Early pioneers like Itard, Seguin, Howe, and Gallaudet set the foundation for special education today. They focused on individualized instruction and functional skills.