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The Differences Between Education and Training (With Definitions)

Chances are, you’ve used the terms “education” and “training” interchangeably for most of your life. But did you know these two terms actually have incredibly different definitions? 

Education is the process of systematic learning. An educator helps students understand theories through spoken and written concepts. Training, on the other hand, puts theories into motion. A trainer provides hands-on guidance to teach about specific skills and behaviors. 

If you’re in the eLearning or knowledge broker industry, or want to start a career as a self-educator, you must be able to differentiate between education and training. Understanding what sets the two apart will help you discover what you truly offer to your students.

Are you an educator who teaches theories, or are you a trainer who helps develop hands-on skills? 

In this blog, we dive into the difference between education and training, complete with education and training definitions. We also help you decide which path is best for your self-education journey. Let’s get started!

What is Education?

In fancy terms, education can be described as an acquisition of knowledge . In more simple terms, it can be described as a process of understanding. It allows students to develop a sense of reasoning about a certain topic. 

Education focuses on theoretical knowledge . In other words, it discusses the ideas surrounding a specific subject, like values, beliefs, facts and principles. For example, math is a type of theoretical knowledge. Educators teach it based on established values, principles and formulas. While math skills can be applied to real-life scenarios—such as filing taxes or establishing a mortgage—they exist mainly as non-physical ideas. 

In the past, education was restricted to classroom learning. Nowadays, education can happen anytime, anywhere, (a trend furthered by the COVID-19 pandemic). Educators no longer need to rely on traditional high school or college settings to teach students skills for future jobs. 

Education can take the form of online courses, podcasts and even life-changing books . Anyone with valuable theoretical knowledge to share can become an educator, both in-person and online.

What is Training?

Where education focuses on theoretical knowledge, training focuses on practical knowledge . This means that training goes beyond the basic understanding of a theory. Instead, training teaches students how to practically apply that theory in their own lives. 

In other words, training is a practical application of skills that can be used in real-world scenarios. Training helps students develop new skills  for future jobs. It also helps them improve their competency in skills they already have. Training can be specific to a student’s needs, particular job or career, or skills-gap. For instance, learning how to use a new project management software is a type of training.

Similar to education, a new wave of eLearning has allowed trainers to teach students using the digital landscape. While training is most often hands-on, an in-person environment can be replicated through 3-D models, webinars and live chats that coach students through the learning process. Both in-person and online training programs can guide a student to confidently navigate a new system or set of skills. 

Education vs. Training: What are the Key Differences? 

Technically speaking, education and training both fall under the same ‘teaching’ umbrella. So, it’s no wonder why people easily confuse the two. However, the next time you mix up the terms education and training, think of this example. 

Imagine your teenager just told you they enrolled in a sex education course at school. No harm there, right? Now, instead, imagine your teenager just told you they’re planning to take part in a sex training course at school. That’s an entirely different story! As you can see, the difference between education and training is more significant than you may have thought! 

Education Is Ideas-Based. Training Is Skills-Based.

The main difference between education and training is that one teaches theoretical knowledge where the other teaches practical knowledge. Education courses are about developing a student’s understanding of theories, facts, events, and other ideas. Training courses allow students to apply their knowledge in a practical, hands-on way, either by developing new skills or building upon existing ones. 

Education is ideas-based. With education, you provide students with abstract information. You want to deepen a student’s knowledge base on a certain subject. Training is skills-based—so with training, you teach by doing something hands-on. In this way, training helps students acquire the skills they need to perform certain tasks rather than simply knowing in theory how to do them. For example, someone can be educated about what goes on under the hood of a car, but they must be trained in order to fix it.

Not sure which branch of teaching best describes your abilities? We’ve got you covered.

Training vs. Education: Which Should You Offer?

Now that you know the difference between education and training, you might be wondering which better suits your path. Are you an educator or a trainer? Of course, you should never feel like you have to restrict yourself to just one label. Ideally, however, you want to select the role that best matches your skill set.

So, think about how you act in your present job:

• Do you tell colleagues or clients how to do something, or do you show them how to do it? 
• Are you an avid reader and writer, or do you prefer to be more hands-on? 

If you prefer telling rather than showing, or ideas rather than action, you’re probably better-suited to be an educator instead of a trainer. On the other hand, if you prefer to be more hands-on and show people how it’s done, you’d likely prefer being a trainer. 

Again, there’s absolutely no wrong answer here! People need fantastic educators to learn new ideas, and they also need wonderful trainers to apply new skills. Whichever you choose to offer your students depends on your individual strengths and preferences.

Mentorship: The Power of Education and Training Combined 

If you’re having trouble choosing between education vs. training, we have some good news for you: You might not need to choose after all! If you want to provide both theoretical and practical knowledge, you can become a mentor .

With certain jobs, you have to choose either teaching ideas or coaching—but not with mentoring. Mentoring consists of sharing both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. In this way, a mentee learns the theory and how to apply the theory in real life. 

For example, imagine if a mentee set a goal to learn more about project management. A mentor could then teach them the theories behind and the practical application of project management. They could teach them about the project life-cycle, as well as the software skills needed to set the project in motion. As you can see, the mentor can share the ideas surrounding project management, as well as the practical skills the mentee would need in a future job. 

Mentorship combines the hands-on approach of training with the idea-rich curriculum of education. Mentors can split their time between teaching abstract concepts and teaching tangible skills. If you choose to become a mentor, you can offer students the powers of education and training combined! 

Educator, Trainer or Mentor? You Decide!

With the definitions of education, training and mentorship under your belt, there’s just one question left to answer: Are you an educator, trainer or mentor? Remember, there’s no wrong answer! There’s only what feels best for you.

It’s just like Dean Graziosi always says, “The time will pass anyway. You can either spend it creating the life you want or living the life you don’t. The choice is yours.” Choose to become the knowledge broker that feels most authentic to who you are. The rest will fall into place with hard work and a positive mindset . 

Did you learn something new from today’s article? Tell Dean directly by sending a message to 480-400-9019 (his personal cell!) today!

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What’s the Difference Between Training, Education, and Learning?

Ever sat across from a client or Subject Matter Expert (SME) as they asked you to help create “training,” “education,” and “learning”—all in the same breath? While these terms might sound academic and share some DNA, they’re not interchangeable. They all have slightly different meanings. Failing to clarify and build a shared understanding of these terms with your clients can contribute to misunderstandings and rework later. 

So let’s unpack the meaning of each of these terms—training, education, and learning—and place them into a workplace context. Understanding them will help ensure that you and your clients are on the same page right from the start!

What is training?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives many different definitions for the word “training,” but the most applicable is “to undergo instruction, discipline, or drilling.” And when you look up the synonyms for training, it shows “drill,” “exercise,” and “practice.” 

Hmm. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a pretty clear mental picture of a runner being trained by a coach. Training a runner is the act or process of instructing them to improve their performance. It’s a form of education that’s focused on a defined goal or task—in this case, making it through a marathon and shaving a few minutes off the time. 

Taking an example from a workplace setting: let’s say your sales team needs to learn to use new software to process returns. This is a task-specific goal that can be easily addressed with training. 

What is education?

If training is a form of education, what’s the difference between being trained and being educated?

Turning to my trusty ol’ dictionary once again, we see that “education” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “knowledge and development resulting from the process of being educated.” Development implies a change that happens over time as you absorb knowledge. That means that, unlike training, education isn’t a task-oriented one-off experience.

Another key difference between training and education is that education is more conceptual in nature. The skills and knowledge we acquire through education are often more theoretical and less practical. 

Again, using our new software example, most of us would agree that it’s probably not the best use of company time and resources to send learners who only need to know how to process returned merchandise on a new system to a multi-week, intensive sales education program. 

So, if the goal is discrete and skills-based, like learning new software to perform a task, training is a more appropriate solution than education.

What is learning?

If training is the act or process of formally instructing someone on how to perform a task or perform it more efficiently, and education is the long-term process of developing knowledge, what is learning? 

Learning is the desired outcome of training—and the path to being educated. And the best part of learning is that it happens naturally through life experience. Of course, the likelihood of learning something new can be increased by our environment, upbringing, work, and mindset, among many other factors.   

In a workplace setting, learning occurs when people internalize information or skills, retain it, apply it, and then make additional connections to something else they’ve learned. It’s that connection of knowledge to ideas and experiences all woven together that forms the fabric of learning.

Not only do we learn all the time, people learn in different ways—through formal training or, more often, informally, through their own experiences, or through the shared experiences of others. 

Regardless of how people learn, the process of learning equips them to take on more complex challenges. For instance, if we use our new software training example once again, a team member who’s been successfully trained to use the new software to process returns is a training win. But even better is the employee who’s learned how to marry their knowledge of the new software with their understanding of the latest changes to your company’s 30-day return policy and uses their customer service skills to do what’s right. That kind of layered, dynamic thinking and problem-solving is where training, education, and learning all intersect.

If it feels like the devil is in the details, you’re not wrong! These terms are similar and related but with slightly different meanings that might escape all but the nerdiest of instructional design pros. Understanding these nuances can be helpful for navigating tricky client conversations with ease and confidence.

What other common threads do you see with these terms? Would you define them differently? Let me know with a comment below, or strike up a new conversation in the Building Better Courses forum and hear from all our resident e-learning pros!

Like what you read here? Be sure to follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.

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Home  /  News  /  Training Vs. Education: What’s The Difference?

Training Vs. Education: What’s The Difference?

If you are looking to advance in your field or improve your earning potential, you may be wondering whether workforce training vs. education through a formal degree program is the best route for you.

Though the words  training  and  education  are often used interchangeably, they are fundamentally different. The biggest difference between training and education is that one focuses on building skills, and the other provides a foundation for further learning. Let’s explore these concepts in more detail to determine which is right for your professional goals.

What Is Workforce Education?

What is workforce training, education vs. training: the difference between education and training.

Universities like  Unity offer formal education programs  that can lay the framework for career advancement or change.

Workforce education (versus training) is a more continuous process of learning. While education may include learning new skills, it also is likely to provide context to those skills, such as a theoretical framework or relevant history. Education is typically focused on acquiring knowledge and the skills necessary to gain more knowledge about specific subjects. There are multiple levels of formal education with many professionals choosing to pursue a credential, certificate,  associate degree ,  baccalaureate degree, or master’s degree .

Education usually occurs in classrooms at schools, colleges, and universities, but it can also occur online and in workplaces. For example, companies may invite educational speakers or provide a curated resource library to employees. Some companies will even pay the tuition for their employees to earn a baccalaureate or master’s degree because it is beneficial for them to invest in the education of a team member. Also, an educated individual is more likely to value and practice  cultural competence  in educational and professional settings. 

Both training and education rely on  purposeful instructional design  to effectively teach and engage students.

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Unity offers much more than environmental science degrees. We have several baccalaureate and Master’s programs that educate people on how to incorporate green practices into business.

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Workforce training equips individuals with specific skills and/or knowledge. It is usually specific to an organization, job role, or task. For instance, a company may have all new employees complete the same onboarding training. New technologies or systems often require training current employees or specific teams.

Workforce training, like education, can occur  online or in person . Yet, for many workforce development skills, in-person training is needed to provide hands-on practice or  experiential learning . Some types of workforce training are optional, while others are required for all or certain employees. For example, all educators must complete several standardized trainings about laws and safety regulations regarding children.

Is educating the workforce about education or training? It’s actually about both. However, when deciding what type of professional development to pursue, it’s important to distinguish between training and education options. Consider their different approaches to learning and development within the context of the workforce.

Skills Vs. Knowledge

Short-term proficiency vs. long-term growth, specialized abilities vs. comprehensive insight, immediate use vs. progressive integration.

The main goal of workplace training is to gain practical skills that can be applied immediately on the job. The main goal of education is to instill knowledge. When skills are taught in education, they are often needed for further learning to take place. Workplace education can provide individuals with a broad, conceptual understanding of their field and industry, which can be advantageous to their careers. 

In other words, education vs training is about learning to know vs learning to do. Quality education informs students of facts, concepts, and theories, whereas training focuses on applications.

When considering the average length of training vs education programs, training programs are usually shorter. They aim to achieve proficiency quickly in the trained individuals. On the other hand, education’s goal is to foster long-term personal and professional growth. 

Research shows that formal higher education can transform an individual’s sense of self and interpersonal relationships. Other  advantages of formal education  for individuals and society as a whole include more:

• Environmental stewardship
• Technological literacy 
• Financial stability
• Civic engagement

Discover  popular green jobs  and research the training and education required to succeed in them. 

Training often concentrates on developing specialized abilities essential for particular tasks. Educational programs provide comprehensive insight aimed at developing a deeper understanding of a field. For example, if you work in the  regenerative travel  or  sustainable hospitality  industry and want to advance to management, you may have the choice between a manager-in-training program at your job or a tuition stipend to earn a  bachelor’s degree in business management . Both could advance your career, but the approaches they take are very different.

The skills learned in workforce training are usually immediately applicable in the workplace. However, with education, there may not be a direct correlation between what you are learning and how you can apply it in your career. Instead, you may notice a gradual integration of knowledge from educational programs. This is part of the reason why both education and training are so important to professional success for individuals and businesses, as they operate on different timelines. 

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Both education and workforce development are vital to individual and collective growth. The key is not to choose between them but to find the right balance at the right times. If you are leaning toward formal education, you can earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree completely online at  Unity Environmental University . Just filter by Distance Education programs in our  Program Search . We offer multiple start dates throughout the year, meaning you can begin your degree when you are ready.

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Difference Between Education and Training: 9 Fundamentals

• January 24, 2024

We have explored the difference between learning and training in our previous blog. Similarly, there’s a difference between education and training.

Both the terms are often used synonymously. But they hold distinctly different meanings and implications.

And knowing this distinction is key to delivering efficient programs. Aimed at both personal and professional development .

In this article, we’ll unravel the difference between education and training. Shedding light on how they diverge and intersect.

What is the Basic Difference Between Education and Training?

Education, in its broadest sense, is about learning. In a way that helps us understand our world and develop critical thinking.

It’s a journey through a rich landscape of theory, concepts & abstract knowledge. And is often without immediate practical application.

In contrast to that, training is more focused. Its typically aimed at teaching specific skills or competencies needed for a particular job or activity.

Why is Knowing the Difference Between Education and Training Important?

Despite the distinction, there’s one common thing. And that’s: overall development of an individual .

However, being aware of the differences in education vs training. Can result in more effective strategies towards achieving this unique goal.

Additionally, knowing the difference between training and education is important. Majorly for the following key reasons:

In short. Recognizing the difference between education and training is vital for making strategic decisions.

Be it in career development, personal growth, organizational planning, or policy making.

What is Education?

It is a broad process. That includes acquisition of knowledge, understanding, values, skills, and moral habits.

An enlightening experience. Focused on the holistic development of an individual. All while encouraging critical thinking, creativity, and personal growth.

Furthermore, its not confined to academic learning. But extends to understanding the world around us. And fostering intellectual and emotional maturity.

Key Points About Education

• Broad and Theoretical : It often covers a wide range of topics and theories. It provides a comprehensive understanding of subjects.
• Long-term Focus : It aims at long-term intellectual development. Added with the cultivation of a lifelong love for learning.
• Holistic Development : Focuses on the all-round development of an individual. This includes moral, emotional, and social aspects.
• Flexible and Exploratory : Encourages exploration, questioning, and understanding of various perspectives.

Types of Education

• Formal : A structured and systematic form. It includes primary, secondary, and tertiary.
• Informal : Learning that occurs outside formal institutions. For instance learning from family, peers, or self-study.
• Non-formal : Organized learning outside the formal system. This includes adult classes or community workshops.

What is Training?

Training is a systematic process focused on developing specific skills or practical knowledge. Aimed at improving performance in a particular task or job.

It is often practical, job-specific. And focused on enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in a professional context.

Training is more about application than theory. Hence, making it an essential component for vocational or technical learning.

Key Points About Training

• Skill-Focused : Primarily a method of skill development. Centered around developing practical skills and competencies.
• Short-term and Goal-Oriented : Usually has a specific time frame with clear objectives. It’s often related to improving job performance.
• Hands-On Approach : Involves practical exercises and real-world application.
• Performance Measurement : The success is often measured by one’s ability to perform specific tasks/functions.

Types of Training

• On-the-Job Training : Practical training provided at the workplace while performing the actual job.
• Off-the-Job Training : Conducted outside the workplace, like workshops, seminars, or online courses.
• Vocational Training : Focused on acquiring skills for a particular trade or profession. Often provided by technical or vocational schools.

With this, we can now appreciate how education and training play distinct yet complementary roles. In personal and professional development .

9 Core Difference Between Training and Education (Education vs Training)

Education vs Training: The former broadens our horizons and builds a foundation for critical thinking. While training equips us with the necessary tools & skills to apply in specific scenarios.

In the table below, we list down the key differences between education and training.

This table clearly draws the line how each serves a unique purpose.

Summary on Education vs Training

In conclusion. Both education and training are distinct. And yet somehow interrelated in shaping both personal and professional landscapes.

While the former casts a wide net, training zeroes in on specific skill sets.

This understanding is not just academic. But instrumental in guiding individuals and organizations. Towards more targeted and effective learning strategies.

By appreciating the differences between education and training and where they intersect. We can better navigate our paths.

FAQs on Differences Between Training and Education

1.can someone receive education and training simultaneously.

Absolutely. Many programs incorporate elements of effective training. Particularly in fields where practical skills are essential. For instance, medical learning. It includes both comprehensive theoretical learning and practical training in clinical skills.

2.Can training be considered a part of education?

Yes. Particularly in the context of vocational or technical education. Where specific skills are taught as a part of a broader curriculum.

3.Is education more important than training?

Neither is inherently more important; they serve different purposes. Education is beneficial for a wide range of professions and life in general. Training, on the other hand, is essential for acquiring specific skills.

4.How do the methodologies of education and training differ?

Traditional education methodologies often involve exploratory and theoretical learning. Encouraging questioning and a deep understanding of subjects. Training methodologies are more practical. Focusing on hands-on skills and direct application of knowledge in specific scenarios.

5.Is online learning considered education or training?

Online learning can be both. Depending on the nature of the course. If the course is aimed at broad knowledge and theoretical understanding, it’s traditional education. If it’s focused on specific skills or tasks, such as coding bootcamps, it’s considered training.

6.Can training lead to personal growth similar to traditional education?

Yes, training can contribute to personal growth. Especially in terms of building confidence, honing specific skills, and improving job performance.

Nikhil Dutt

Nikhil, a seasoned writer, excels in content ranging from long-form content, ad copies, UX microcopies & scripts. With an in-depth understanding of social media algorithms, he's driven notable growth across platforms. Proficient in SEO & SMO, he champions holistic content creation with a mission to elevate businesses through powerful storytelling. Although an IT graduate, his writing passion defines him, making him a diverse professional. Outside work, Nikhil enjoys reading, journaling, and exploring new places. Volunteering as a Life & Relationship Coach, he's committed to helping individuals foster more joyful lives and relationships.

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• Key Differences

Know the Differences & Comparisons

Difference Between Training and Education

These two are so closely intertwined that with the passage of time the difference between training and education is getting increasingly blurred. Nevertheless, these two terms are different in their nature and orientation. The worker, who takes training, in the organization, is said to have had some education and thus, there is no training, without education.

Content: Training Vs Education

Comparison chart, definition of training.

Training is nothing but learning by doing. It is a well-planned program aimed at developing specific skills and knowledge of the manpower. It is a common concept of human resource development where an attempt is made to improve the performance, productivity and competency of the existing and potential employees through learning. The program is specially designed by the organisation to achieve definite goals.

Training helps in imparting job-related skills in the employees so that they can do the job efficiently and effectively. Training can be on-the-job or off-the-job, paid or unpaid, part time or full time, depending on the contract with the employer. At the end of the program, the employees are tested by observing, what they learned during training. Some common types of training are:

• Sensitivity training
• Vestibule training
• Job rotation
• Laboratory training
• Apprenticeship training
• Internship training
• Orientation training

Definition of Education

By the term education, we mean learning in the classroom to acquire certain knowledge. Education does not equal to schooling, but it refers to what a person gains while he is in school or college. It is aimed to deliver knowledge about facts, events, values, beliefs, general concepts, principles, etc.  to the students. This helps in developing a sense of reasoning, understanding, judgement and intellect in an individual.

The lessons learned during the process of education helps a person to face future challenges, and it prepares a person for future jobs. Nowadays, education is not confined to classroom learning, but new methods are implemented that offers practical knowledge about the world.

There are various phases of education like kindergarten, primary, high school, higher secondary, undergraduate, post graduate etc. Certificates or degrees are awarded to the students when they clear a particular level of education.

Key Differences Between Training and Education

The significant differences between training and education are mentioned in the following points:

• Training refers to an act of inculcating specific skills in a person. Education is all about gaining theoretical knowledge in the classroom or any institution.
• Training is a way to develop specific skills, whereas education is a typical system of learning.
• Training is completely based on practical application, which is just opposite in the case of education that involves theoretical orientation.
• The concept of training is narrow while the concept of education is comparatively wider.
• Training involves hands-on experience regarding the particular job. On the other hand, education involves learning in the classroom.
• The term of education is longer than the duration of training.
• The training prepares a person for the present job. Conversely, education prepares a person for future job and challenges.
• The purpose of training is to improve the performance and productivity of employees. As opposed to education, where the purpose is to develop a sense of reasoning and judgement.
• During training, a person learns, how to do a specific task. Unlike Education, which teaches about the general concepts.

Though with the changing environment, the approach towards training and education is also getting changed. Normally, it is presumed that every employee who is going to take training, has got some formal education. Moreover, it is also true that there is no training program which is conducted without education.

Education is more important for the employees working on a higher level as compared to the low-level workers. Although education is common for all the employees, regardless of their grades. So, the firms should consider both the elements, at the time of planning their training program because there are instances when the employees need to take decisions themselves regarding their work, where education is as important as training.

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September 1, 2016 at 8:40 pm

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October 22, 2017 at 7:53 pm

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November 7, 2022 at 10:38 pm

Interesting article. I enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing it.

babar cheema says

December 13, 2022 at 9:48 am

Thanks for your information. I read your article. I am very impressed

Surendra says

December 15, 2022 at 12:40 pm

Thanks for sharing the useful information. Really informative post and very helpful. I wish you good luck with your future blogs.

Jayson Musk says

December 27, 2022 at 7:27 pm

Great content; thanks for your information. I read your article and am very impressed and i agree that there is greats difference between education and learning.

olliescharles says

February 6, 2023 at 12:54 pm

Nice article. Thanks for sharing the informative post keep posting

February 20, 2023 at 11:07 am

Thank you for creating such an interesting blog with clear details.

sarthak says

February 22, 2023 at 12:05 pm

I had this confusion; thanks for clearing

February 22, 2023 at 12:06 pm

Thanks for helping me out of the confusion between the two

April 11, 2023 at 1:31 pm

thanks for writing a nice article

Charlotte Mason says

May 31, 2023 at 4:10 am

Thanks for sharing this informative information.

June 1, 2023 at 3:12 pm

Vanshika says

July 1, 2023 at 1:48 pm

Thank you for sharing such valuable insights.

July 23, 2023 at 2:01 pm

Thankyou for sharing the data which is beneficial for me and others likewise to see.

Rechtsanwalt says

July 24, 2023 at 6:26 pm

Excellent work.

July 25, 2023 at 5:19 pm

You’ve completed in excellent work.

suchi sharma says

October 9, 2023 at 11:11 pm

“This blog provides a clear and insightful breakdown of the distinctions between training and education.

Thank you for such an amazing blog.

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What Is The Difference Between Training And Education?

Training is a burgeoning field and an important tool for any workforce. This is not only true in the oil and gas industry, but in every industry. Companies want their workforces to be safer, more efficient, and more prepared than ever before, and they realize the need for effective training in order to achieve these goals. Whenever the workforce grows, the company implements a new initiative, or disaster strikes, people point to the need for training. New employees need to be trained. Current employees should be retrained. Former employees leave because of a lack of training.

But isn’t training just another word for education? And aren’t employees already educated before they are hired?

To answer these questions, we simply need to refer to the definitions of these terms. Education is defined by Merriam-Webster as the process of gaining knowledge, skill, and development from study or training. Training , on the other hand, is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as the process of learning the skills one needs to do a particular job or activity. As is obvious from these definitions, while education and training are absolutely related, they are by no means the same.

Education refers to the acquisition of broad knowledge and skills, typically within a classroom or other educational environment. The skills and knowledge acquired through education tend to be more theoretical and allow students to develop reasoning and judgment surrounding broad topics. Education typically occurs on a more protracted timeline, over the course of a semester or, in some cases, over multiple years. Additionally, education is typically sought out and paid for by a student in the hopes of securing future employment or advancing along a career path.

Training refers to the acquisition of specific and applied knowledge and skills. Training can occur in a variety of settings, including within a classroom, but frequently training takes place “on the job” or “in the field.” The purpose of training is to improve performance and productivity among employees, typically with a focus on one set of skills. Training usually occurs after employment has already been secured, and is usually mandated, provided by, and funded by one’s employer. Although some training courses can last for multiple weeks, training courses are usually of a much shorter duration than educational courses due to the fact that training encompasses more specific and focused topics.

To put it simply, training is a much more specialized form of education. It can fall under the umbrella of education as both training and education focus on the acquisition of knowledge, but training is much more task-oriented, and skills based.

So, you may be wondering, why is continued training necessary within the workforce? Can’t employees be trained once, educated once on a particular topic, and then perform effectively?

The answer is an emphatic NO!

Training is necessary because the workplace is ever-changing. Best practices within any field or industry constantly change and evolve, and the workforce must be enabled to evolve with these changes. Although a company’s employees may be well-educated, very few employees come to a company already well-trained, and those who are well-trained may be trained according to a different company’s standards and culture. And the fact of the matter is, whatever knowledge employees may have acquired throughout the course of their education can quickly become outdated.

In order to ensure that best practices are being followed, employees are on the same page, and your workforce is as safe and efficient as it possibly can be, training must be a priority. Training can only be effective when it is both an investment and a commitment made by the company. Training is a promise to the employees and the community that your company is doing all that it can to stay safe, up to date, and prepared for any situations that may arise.

Should you wish to contact the author, you may do so by posting a comment at the bottom of this blog. If you think your workforce could benefit from retraining or employing a new system of training, click the link belor or call Becht Performance Group at 908-580-1119.

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Education vs Training vs Development. What Is the Difference?

Education, training, and development are often used interchangeably. But what exactly do they mean? And why is it important to know the difference between the three?

To help clear the confusion about what each term signifies, we asked experts to discuss the difference between education, training, and development.

Here are their insights:

Vice President of Learning and Development, Kiddie Academy Educational Child Care

Development , education , and training are the concepts that may seem synonymous. Still, they are as different as the arts and sciences—yet work together in tandem to develop a curious mind.

Development is an abstract art

Development is an abstract art —it is the nature of watching a skill or person grow over time. It is a continual improvement toward an overarching goal that can be more informal and is observed relationally over time ( Example : a mentor observing a mentee).

Education is a science

If development is an art, education is a science . Education is the standardized practice of attaining a piece of knowledge or skill that will follow you throughout your life.

In education, there are facts in figures. There is a conceptual understanding that everyone should be able to reach when successfully trained.

Training is a vessel by which education is achieved

On the other hand, training is a vessel by which education is achieved. Training is meant to teach knowledge , skill , or attitude (KSA) that can be immediately understood and implemented.

Development is more informal and abstract to track

Assessment is the significant difference between training and development. You can assess learning through training immediately (through examination, such as a quiz). Development is more informal and abstract to track (such as mentor observing mentee).

The purpose of training is to have facts and figures that prove different outcomes because of the learning that happens in training.

Our academy aims to equip our franchisees (at nearly 300 locations around the country) to develop as impactful entrepreneurs in the educational child care industry through training, education, and development.

A team of operations, marketing, and education experts works with the franchisee to get to know them, their families , their professional backgrounds , and their goals .

We work with franchisees to provide regular training opportunities (pre-opening, regional, and at our annual conference). But we also help them develop and refine skillsets specific to their entrepreneurial goals in an ever-evolving one-on-one setting.

We also have the unique vantage point of impacting the education and development of young children in our classrooms. There are tangible benefits of a curriculum that prepares children for kindergarten, but more so in developing good character.

In an early childhood classroom, it’s easy to imagine the education opportunities we provide. But surprisingly, there is no lack of development opportunities.

You can familiarize a child with a skill (for example, sharing, working through conflicts with friends, etc.) through education and training, but how you approach the application of that skill relies upon development .

Development is contingent upon the teacher knowing the child

Development is contingent upon the teacher knowing the child and investing in their personal growth with one-on-one support and connection. Thus, genuinely successful development correlates with relational investment.

Training, development, and education are necessary throughout career and personal growth from grade school.

To be a lifelong learner is to pursue development constantly , and training and education are two practical tools by which we develop.

Eliana Levine

Co-founder,  FindPeopleEasy

Training is the process of improving an employee’s knowledge and abilities for them to do a specific job.

Development is thought to be more general than training and more targeted to human requirements and organizational needs , and it is typically aimed at management personnel .

Education is the process of expanding a company’s workers’ general knowledge and comprehension.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world

According to Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” He says this because education is the key to gaining the knowledge, critical analysis, confidence, and skills necessary to improve the world.

Education is the process of acquiring and interpreting information

Education is the process of acquiring and interpreting information. It does not supply concrete answers but instead facilitates a logical and rational mind capable of telling links between relevant variables and, as a result, interpreting a situation .

Education teaches:

• intellectual and moral characteristics
• awareness of fundamental ideas
• the ability to analyze, interpret and evaluate information fairly

It has a more extensive range than training, which is more focused on organizational goals than individual goals.

Merits of education

• Leads to a healthier lifestyle.
• Gives access to socialization and better personal and professional networking.
• Allows people to pursue their passion.
• Provides an incredible feeling of accomplishment.
• The more a person is educated, the more their chances of securing a job.
• Encourages civic participation and citizenship.
• It provides a more significant opportunity to identify individual skills.

Related: Why Is Education Important in Our Life?

Training improves the employees’ knowledge and ability

Training improves the employees’ knowledge, ability, and abilities in performing a specific profession. It has a particular goal in mind: to enhance knowledge and skill .

In today’s global world, every corporation requires high-quality employee performance to stay in business; hence training is essential.

The training aims to transmit the essential knowledge , abilities , and attitudes to execute job-related tasks. It seeks to directly increase a person’s job performance and increase output with the better work quality.

Merits of training

• It leads to increased production in both terms of quantity and quality.
• It helps employees learn a variety of skills.
• Performances can improve through proper training.
• The organization’s cooperative environment.
• It instills trust in employees’ abilities to complete tasks.
• It reduces employee turnover.
• Mistakes at work are less likely to occur with good training.

The development includes activities that boost work performance

The development includes activities that boost work performance and those that promote personal growth, assisting employees in maturing and realizing their full potential so that they can become not only good employees but also great men and women to society.

Development is the process of preparing someone for a bigger and better career

In terms of the workplace, development aims to provide people with the skills to advance and take on more responsibilities. Development is the process of preparing someone for a bigger and better career.

This may entail the transmission of specific skills and knowledge and the installation of some personality characteristics and intellectual views.

Merits of development

• It helps improve performance.
• It improves one’s ability to deal with unforeseen circumstances.
• An organization’s development and learning culture help to recruit new employees and promote loyalty.
• It helps in the development of prospective good employees into exceptional leaders.
• With proper development programs, you can increase employee engagement and motivation.
• A company’s development programs will allow it to expand, develop, and successfully compete within its sector.

Differentiation and interactions in education, training, and development:

Though education and training are concerned with learning, education has a broader reach.

Education is a set of formal instructions received at a school or college

Since training and education often happen simultaneously, it’s challenging to distinguish between the two. Education is a set of formal instructions received at a school or college.

Training is more professional and is provided solely to do a specific job

At the same time, training is more professional and is provided solely to do a specific job. Training, rather than education, has a more immediate practical objective.

Many conventional technical school programs are solely job-oriented, whereas some training and development activities have a much broader reach and might be considered educational .

Development refers to how a person nurtures the skills to improve the overall performance

Education and development are closely linked. In other terms, development can easily be converted into education because it is more individual-oriented than training, which is more focused on the organization.

Development refers to how a person nurtures the skills to improve the overall performance in which a particular corporate sector achieves its desired outcomes.

The terms “training,” “education,” and “development” are widely employed. There could be no difference between them, but a closer examination reveals specific differences. There is little education in all training, and there is little training in all education.

Nance L. Schick, Esq.

Employment Lawyer, Third Ear Conflict Resolution | Workplace Mediator | Author, “ DIY Conflict Resolution ”

Education is a formal instruction toward a certificate

I am an employment attorney-mediator and diversity trainer based in New York City. I have gotten a lot of education, which I would describe as formal instruction toward a certificate (e.g., diploma, degree, license).

It was very knowledge-based and often focused on theory more than implementation. I struggled in law school until I shifted the focus of my responses from “real world” to theoretical.

I returned to school at age 29 after working as an operations supervisor, human resources supervisor, employee relations representative, sports marketing director, and minor league hockey agent.

It took me a couple of semesters to remember that my legal education was generally aspirational, if not idealistic.

It taught me how to think like a lawyer:

• Spot the issues
• Identify the laws that apply
• Gather the evidence in support of a client’s position
• Argue the client’s position

Training is more about building the skill necessary to apply the knowledge effectively

My education would not have been complete without training. While in law school, I received some of that training, but some of the best training I have ever gotten came from the management training program at United Parcel Service.

We reviewed laws , rules , regulations , policies , and procedures in that two-week program. Yet the focus wasn’t on memorizing them for an examination.

Related: What Is the Difference Between Law, Policy, and Regulation

We had discussions and participated in role plays to practice different techniques, see how they worked in different situations with other people, make mistakes, and try again. Training is more about building the skill necessary to apply the knowledge effectively.

Development builds on knowledge and skills

Finally, there is development, which is exactly what it sounds like. Development builds on knowledge and skills, usually more personal and individualized than education or training.

Development might include mentoring or coaching and education and training, depending on the person’s goals and needs. Sometimes the development is professional , such as reviewing an area of law or a new technique .

The development could be personal

At other times, the development could be personal , such as conflict resolution skills or communication skills (which are also arguably professional skills, yet many people still deem them personal).

When an employer offers the development, the individual’s goals will be aligned with the employer’s goals, which sometimes means it’s in everyone’s best interests to end the employment relationship.

Yet, in those cases, the separation is often much more amicable . I have twice unintentionally assisted employees in finding more compatible employment by discussing their personal and professional development goals.

In both, we ended the employment , but not all aspects of our relationship. That is possible in more cases than is often believed, and it is how I want to continue to run my business indefinitely.

Owen Wilcox

Financial Expert | Co-founder, USInstallmentLoans

The differences between training, education, and development are sublime , leading most communicators to interchange or use one instead of another wrongly.

That, however, doesn’t hinder the fact that their differences are as clear as day and night.

Differences in the objectives

Training is a learning process meant to teach a person skills.

Training is a learning process meant to teach a person skills necessary for a particular job or task. For example, training may involve teaching employees skills for operating machinery at a manufacturing plant.

Education refers to the learning process to sharpen a student’s intellect

Education refers to the learning process to sharpen a student’s intellect and thinking capacity .

To expound on the previous example, training fosters operational skills, and education leads to understanding why the machinery behaves and how to fix or improve its features.

Development is creating a holistic individual in tune with their mind, body, and soul

On the other hand, development is creating a holistic individual in tune with their mind, body, and soul. The aim is to enhance the recipients’ self-awareness , emotional intelligence , and creativity .

Differences in the teaching methodology

Training is undertaken through specialized courses, textbooks, and practices.

Training is undertaken through specialized courses , textbooks , and practices to transfer skills and competencies required to carry out particular tasks.

Organizations mainly train employees to:

• Appraise them for the company culture
• Improve their productivity
• Build confidence at work
• Foster a cooperative environment

Education is a lifelong process conducted through the exchange of knowledge

Education, on its part, is a lifelong process conducted through the exchange of knowledge and books other than textbooks. In education, the learner is encouraged to think and write to grasp the knowledge better and critique it to come up with better concepts.

Development may be undertaken with the help of teachers in the initial stages

On the other hand, development may be undertaken with the help of teachers in the initial stages. Still, it’s mainly a personal journey . Only the recipient can speak with certainty about whether they have reached their destination.

In this regard, development is comparable to eating , as only the one eating can state when they are satisfied.

Sasha Laghonh

Strategist | Author | Speaker, Sasha Talks

Education is acquiring knowledge through exploring ideas

Education is acquiring knowledge through exploring ideas and understanding how these concepts came into existence. This includes acknowledging the evolution of ideas that oversees the past , present , and future .

Education isn’t always categorized as non-fiction due to the genre of knowledge available, or else society’s identity would be limited without the presence of fictional elements and critical thinking .

Training is the step where individuals put their knowledge/ideas to good use

The latter seeds of knowledge yield their utility value through training and application . Training is the step where individuals put their knowledge/ideas to good use to produce results that align with their goals.

For example, if you’re a baker, you learn to make bread. This can be done through:

• taking classes
• apprenticeships
• watching videos
• reading books
• even word of mouth

The training stage welcomes the baker to put their acquired knowledge to good use

The training stage welcomes the baker to put their acquired knowledge to good use by creating their desired output (bread).

This process is not confined to a time frame because some students are fast learners while others require more time to process information before effectively applying it through practice.

The specific baking skills needed for making bread will require repetitive processes performed over time, which helps the baker refine their approach and technique to produce a result.

Sooner or later, the training milestone eventually transitions to the development phase . This is where the pre-existing and new knowledge, including practice, translates to custom strategies the baker can implement by exercising more creative control of their craft.

The baker hosts the fundamentals of making bread. They’ve learned what works through trial and error from experience; now, they’ve graduated to infusing their custom knowledge in “their” baking process.

It’s become a more sacred engagement for them, which began as a foreign concept that has become personalized to their preferences.

The baker may find better ways to optimize their time and resources in making bread by modifying the steps of baking different types of bread for different audiences under other circumstances.

Learning doesn’t cease because new aspects of education can be sought

Learning doesn’t cease because new aspects of education can be sought during the training and development phase . The latter stage allows the baker to develop and communicate their expertise through education mediums to teach others.

It’s important to remember some people host pre-existing knowledge on specific topics, but they haven’t had a reason or perhaps an opportunity to apply it through training and development .

Some people engage in learning for pleasure , while others may engage in fulfilling a required metric to meet academic or professional needs.

Founder and Head Of Design

Training is a crucial tool for every workforce

Training is a crucial tool for every workforce. This is true in all industries, not just oil and gas. Companies want their employees to be safer , more efficient , and more prepared than ever before, and they recognize the need for excellent training.

Training is mentioned whenever the workforce increases, a firm launches a new endeavor, or a crisis hits. New hires require training. Retrain current personnel. Employees depart due to a lack of training.

Education is acquiring information, skill, and development via study or training

By definition, education is acquiring information, skill, and development via study or training . The Cambridge English Dictionary defines training as the process of learning the abilities required to do a job or activity.

As these definitions show, while education and training are closely connected, they are not identical.

Education is the process of gaining broad information and skills in a classroom

Education is the process of gaining broad information and skills in a classroom or other educational setting. Educated skills and knowledge help kids build thinking and judgment around vast themes.

Education usually takes place throughout a semester or even years

Education usually takes place throughout a semester or even years. A student often seeks and pays for education to get a future job or advance in their profession.

Training refers to gaining technical information and abilities

Training refers to gaining technical information and abilities. It might take place in a classroom or out in the field. It is designed to increase employee performance and productivity by focusing on a specific skill set.

Training is frequently mandated, delivered, and sponsored by an employer after employment is gained.

Although some training courses might continue for weeks, they usually are considerably shorter than educational courses since they cover more precise and concentrated topics.

Simply defined, training is a specialized sort of education . Training and education focus on information acquisition, while training is significantly more task-oriented and skills-based.

Jim Wasserman

Litigation Attorney | Retired Teacher, ORCID

Training is helping to do a specific task

Training is helping to do a specific task, often by way of a good response/reaction. My students went into the test knowing that if they could eliminate one of five multiple-choice answers, the odds were in their favor to guess.

They also knew some great historical quotes (Abigail Adams’ “Remember the ladies” ) to use in essays.

Development was the improvement of students’ skills over time

Development was the improvement of their skills over time. Hopefully, between the beginning of the course and the test, my students learned how to read a question and understand what it was asking, come up with pertinent facts and insightful analysis , and then display those skills with a well-constructed essay.

I had students who began the course unable to write a tight introductory paragraph with a thesis that directly answered the question. They had developed that skill through their hard work during test time and then carried it into college.

Education understands the broader and deeper meaning of matters

Education understands the broader and deeper meaning of matters in the greater picture of life. For my course, that was the most important lesson, that how one score on one test on one day is a terrible metric of how good a student one is and, even more, how one will fare in life.

In fact, one’s high school career is not measured by where one goes to college but by what one takes with them wherever they go (including knowing and accepting yourself).

I used to have a student write down the names of people they admired in their life and then the university they attended (if they did) to see there was little correlation between leading an admirable life and where they enrolled.

In essence, I trained students for my paycheck, I helped develop students’ skills for them to realize their potential, and I educated them to make a better world .

Beverly Gearreald

College Counselor | Community Manager, Transizion

Education typically grants you a degree

This program typically grants you a degree, a high-school diploma, or a Ph.D. However, there is also a broader context in that one is generally considered “ educated” when one knows enough general knowledge, whether a formal education was involved.

Indeed, some people with a formal education still end up coming across as uneducated, depending on the quality of their education.

Training tends to be more specific and shorter than “getting an education”

This tends to be more specific and shorter than “getting an education.” For example, one can be trained to use a particular tool or software independent of one’s level of formal education.

This can result in taking a test and getting a certificate but typically does not involve getting a formalized degree.

The development includes improving any skill

Of all the titles used thus far, this is the hardest to define for me because it can be extensive. In particular, professional development can include improving any skill, especially soft skills, necessary for a job.

One can also get certificates for participating in professional development programs, but these are generally not standardized and are not widely recognized.

That being said, depending on what you’re hoping to achieve in your career, professional development can be an extremely important component , such as improving language or communication skills .

One of the best ways to figure out how to advance your career is through mentorship . A mentor in the same field can help determine whether you need another degree, a certification, or just an improved skill set to help you get the promotion or new job you want.

As a mentoring company with professionals from various fields, our company can help you do just that.

Ellie Walters

CEO, FindPeopleFaster

It is easy to confuse the three or two of the three because they each speak of improvement . However, there is a difference between these three concepts and their applications within the language and organizational expectations.

Education is giving and receiving systematic instruction

Education is giving and receiving systematic instruction, typically concerning a particular field of knowledge. This process involves the indoctrination of concepts; students or employees read or are read to.

They are expected to show that they remember what they have been taught by being able to replicate that information on request.

Training involves undertaking or supervising actions

Training involves undertaking or supervising actions towards achieving a particular condition or acquiring a specific ability or skill.

This process involves routine actions taken by the participants to carry out specific tasks more effectively . Participants are then expected to carry out the skill for which they were trained as a test of the completion of their training.

Development is a change in a situation or subject

Development is a change in a situation or subject resulting in advancement or decline in the state of that situation or subject.

While education and training can be restricted to a field, development is more general. It refers to the improvement or decline of the subject’s general state, especially in other matters of the exact nature.

Differences between Education, Training and Development :

Thomas Niemczewski

Owner, Stayyy

Development refers to changing something

The main difference between education and training is that the former involves learning something while the latter does not. This is different from development, which refers to changing something.

Education is a process by which people learn something new

Education is a process by which people learn something new. However, it does not mean that they have to go through all the learning steps. They can learn something in a short period of time in a few short sessions with no preparation or guidance.

Training refers to all the steps involved in learning and teaching someone new skills

On the other hand, training refers to all the steps involved in learning and teaching someone new skills. Education and training are sometimes confused with each other. They are not the same thing .

Sometimes education can be classified as training, but it is not educational in the sense of learning something new in a short period of time. It is more like learning how to do something or perform a specific task very well, such as driving or cooking at home.

Education as applied to learning new skills at school to enter adult life successfully

Education can be limited or unlimited . There are many different definitions of education and training, but they all use the same basic ideas. The first one is “education,” as applied to learning new skills at school to enter adult life successfully.

Education as applied to learning new skills beyond school

The second definition is education as applied to learning new skills beyond school; this means that during your working life, you need to learn new “skills” that you will need or will be able to use in business or society.

Education as applied to education itself

Finally, there is the third definition, which is education as applied to education itself. This definition emphasizes learning on your own time and needs; it includes learning skills useful for all aspects of lifelong learning and career development.

Mathew Bowley

Marketing Manager, Solmar Villas

Training is the process of mastering a set of pre-programmed actions

Training is the process of mastering a set of pre-programmed actions. Training is the use of knowledge . It makes people aware of the norms and procedures that will guide their actions. It aims to improve their current job performance or prepare them for future employment.

Development encompasses activities that boost job performance

A related process is a development. It encompasses activities that boost job performance and those that promote personality development; it assists individuals in maturing and realizing their full potential so that they can become not only good employees but also better men and women.

It is intended to provide people with the skills they need to advance in their careers and take on more responsibilities. Development is the process of preparing someone for a bigger and better job.

This may entail the transmission of specific skills and knowledge and the installation of certain personality traits and mental attitudes. In this way, development and education are very similar .

Education entails the comprehension and application of knowledge

Education entails the comprehension and application of knowledge. It does not provide definitive answers.

It fosters the development of a logical and rational mind capable of determining relationships among relevant variables and, as a result, character and an understanding of fundamental principles and the development of analytical, synthesis, and objectivity skills.

Typically, education is not part of an organization’s mission . It necessitates skills and knowledge that can only be acquired through formal education . Such institutions can help an organization assist and enhance its internal training and development activities.

Andrea M. Dey

Founder, Dey & Co. Design Living, LLC

Education helps many to learn and discover new things

In 2020 the difference between education, training, and development became less and less apparent to the point that it took on a new meaning; reinvention and reinvent fast!

Leaving many, especially those over the age of 50, scrambling to catch up, stay on pace, or just leave it altogether.

I remember two distinct things in April of 2020 while staying at my mom’s (an executive at a major broadcasting news company) house:

• The first is the constant barrage of boxes from Amazon and furniture stores to convert her bedroom into her home office.
• The second was her growing frustration as she spoke with her department to set up her new workstation and troubleshoot its glitches.

Her frustration grew even more as she had to learn new software and programs for team meetings that were now only taking place through video and group chat apps.

As a veteran in the finance industry, spreadsheets were second nature to her, and anything that wasn’t, there was an assistant to handle it.

Now amid a global pandemic that was disrupting everything we once knew, she had to gain a new education, get hands-on training, and develop new skills daily to sometimes hourly.

Learning a new language, apps, how to lead remote meetings, and more happened simultaneously. It became sink or swim, as life was happening, and this new way of doing business was not going to go away anytime soon.

Fast forward to now, April 2022. She has not only perfected the art of remote work, but now has tips and techniques for controlling the lighting to the right colors in clothing for the work, happy hours, and more events taking place virtually.

Education is the foundation that familiarizes one with the language and the basic formula

Education is the foundation that familiarizes one with the language and the basic formula. It’s the start of the conversation per se.

We then put it into practice through hands-on training. This allows us to gain experience and firsthand knowledge of navigating the subject matter or area of interest.

The development stage is a series of adapting, updating, and expanding on that knowledge

We hit the development stage, which is an ongoing process. It’s a series of adapting , updating , and expanding on that knowledge in changing times.

The pandemic has created a new language, formulas, and a new way of training and development.

CEO,  WebSpero Solutions

Education is the formal teaching and learning environment

Education is the formal teaching and learning environment in schools , colleges , and universities . It means giving knowledge of the unknown, introducing the learners to new concepts/theories, and clearing their doubts about the previous learning.

Education consists of three important things:

• Reception (acquiring knowledge from different sources)
• Retention (retaining it in your mind to be stored in the brain’s long-term memory)
• Recall (to reproduce what is learned in tests and exams)

Without these three elements, education is incomplete.

Training means practicing and applying the skills learned in real-life situations

It means practicing and applying the skills learned in real-life situations . Training always comes after learning, for example, job training and internships.

Training enhances learning by doing . The more one practices the skill with their hands, the more perfect and able one becomes in doing that particular job efficiently .

Development is a blend of both education and training

Development is a blend of both education and training . For example, in an organization, when the training and development programs are run for the employees, they enhance the employee’s overall development.

First, he is educated about the new skills and then is trained practically in what he is taught. As a result, employees learn new capabilities that boost their self morale, and they grow on a professional and personal front.

Angedith Poggi, MPH, DHSc

Adjunct Professor | Educational Consultant

Education is a powerful tool for making informed decisions

Education is a powerful tool for making informed decisions related to personal , professional , and societal matters ; consequently, education impacts many people’s lives .

Learners pursuing higher education degrees are motivated not only by their personal goals but also by the contribution they may have to their field.

Earning a higher education degree may represent professional opportunities , a salary increase , and the privilege to contribute to research through projects related to a specific field.

However, formal education or higher education involves many expenses , sacrifices , and time . For instance, many learners struggle to balance their personal and professional life commitments while pursuing an academic degree.

Related: How to Live a Balanced Life? What Does it Really Mean?

Training and professional development represent viable options for adult learners

Therefore, training and professional development represent viable options for adult learners to acquire practical and relevant skills to advance their careers.

“Education is power.” Learning is crucial for individuals who seek professional opportunities, regardless of the duration and type of the program.

As a lifelong learner, I encourage everyone to maximize the opportunities to continue learning through formal , informal , and nonformal training.

James Chapman

Operations Manager,  BELLA Bathrooms

In business, you will see the distinction between these three following concepts:

• Development

They are all necessary for you to succeed as an employee and employer.

Education is a process of gaining knowledge through the usage of a school system

Education is a highly acknowledged source of expertise that companies usually accept because the credibility of the person’s expertise is demonstrated through the diploma certificate issued , especially when the diploma comes from a prestigious institution .

Training is acquiring knowledge, skills, and competency for a specific purpose

Training is acquiring knowledge, skills, and competency for a specific purpose under the supervision of someone with superior authority or experience in the role. It is highly focused on the job taken.

Development is the act of growth you have acquired

Development is the act of growth you have acquired after being able to go through various situations. The progress will reflect on your actions in handling your job, embodying the knowledge, skills, and competency you have acquired from your training and education.

It is career-oriented and reflects on your entire performance as an employee. These three concepts can significantly impact your performance as an employee or an employer if used well.

Dr. Brian Harris

Lead Medical Advisor, SNOW

Education is the process of learning a new concept

Education is the process of learning a new concept and refers to a broader spectrum. It isn’t just limited to a concept or skill; it caters to developing a sense of judgment and reasoning skills.

Education is through books , lectures , and videos and is usually carried out in schools and universities.

Training usually refers to learning new skills that have immediate use

Training usually refers to learning new skills that have immediate use. Training is a more short-term process where you learn a new skill to be used in your career.

It is more vocational-oriented and is mainly carried out at work when you’re already in a role.

Development is usually a long-term process built upon your current education and training

Development is usually a long-term process built upon your current education and training. When you’re developing a skill, you’re enhancing your skills to be more efficient and effective.

This is a continuous process and includes both professional and personal growth.

Founder, Kimsadvice

Education is something that you don’t have knowledge of

Education is the knowledge the employee has to get at school in the computer field. Education is something that you don’t have knowledge of, and you seek that knowledge.

It is called education. For example, Bachelor’s degree in computer science is called education.

Training is when a person is about to finish their degree

Training is when a person is about to finish their degree. They have to do training in an organization to put into practice what they have learned in school.

It could also be training from any employee within an organization about a particular topic. Training is about putting your hand and doing the work with the supervision of some sort by someone else.

Development is when a person wants to acquire more knowledge in some area

Development is when this same person wants to acquire more knowledge in some area, either personal or professional . They can seek any course to enhance their learning.

This person already has some base, and when to improve this base is called development.

Agnieszka Goulin

Head of People,  Spacelift

Training refers to expanding the knowledge, skill, attitude, abilities, and potential of the employee

Training refers to expanding the knowledge , skill , attitude , abilities , and potential of the employee to improve and hone the job performance.

It ensures better job performance and is crucial in the age of constant advancement in technology, wide use of computerization, and related culture.

Education has a broader objective as its purpose is to develop the individual

While training concerns the increase in knowledge, skills, and abilities for a particular job, i.e., has a narrow aim, education has a broader objective as its purpose is to develop the individual.

Education takes place in schools, colleges, and universities, while the place of work usually provides training. It enhances the individual’s general knowledge and motivates them to understand the environment.

Development refers to the growth of an individual in all respects

Training refers to the enhancement of skills for a particular job, and development refers to the growth of an individual in all respects. Training achieves immediate gains for the organization, while development focuses on the organization’s long-term needs.

A combination of training and development programs and an HR strategy allows for effective and efficient operation.

Dr. Ritesh Jain, MBBS, FRACP

Consultant Respiratory and Sleep Medicine | Co-Founder, WhatASleep

Education focuses more on theoretical knowledge and academic skills

The major difference between education, training, and development is each method’s opportunity to hone one’s skills. Education focuses more on theoretical knowledge and academic skills.

Training allows you to put that theoretical knowledge into practice

On the other hand, training allows you to put that theoretical knowledge into practice. As a result, you get to know how different the real world is compared to the academic world.

Development helps you further improve the skills you learned

Lastly, development is different from the other two because it helps you further improve the skills you learned during the education and training phase.

Education focuses on a systematic way of learning

The learning system that education, training, and development follow is entirely different. Education focuses on a systematic way of learning. This is usually done through a classroom setting and learning via theory .

Training emphasizes learning through practical application to boost one’s productivity and performance. Development also focuses on practice, but a more advanced form of it. People should concentrate on honing a wide range of skills in the development phase.

Lanny Tuchmayer

Lawyer | Director of Operations, Bergel Law

Training refers to learning to do something through performing or practicing

The major distinction between education and training is that they use different approaches to knowledge acquisition . Training refers to learning to do something through performing or practicing , whereas education refers to learning to do something theoretically .

They are both training two separate areas of the brain in this manner. The word education brings up images of children in classrooms for most people. However, the term can be applied in a variety of other settings.

Education refers to the act, process, or methodology of transmitting or gaining general knowledge

When used in this context, education refers to the act , process , or methodology of transmitting or gaining general knowledge, developing reasoning and critical abilities, and preparing oneself or others for a particular life role.

The term “training” has a variety of definitions. Some types of training are intended to help people learn specific work skills. Other types of training include instructing people on how to perform a given task for particular employment.

In general, training is the process of educating or instructing someone on how to perform various activities.

Elliot Lucas

Marketing Assistant, Portland Training Company

Education is learning to understand something

Education is learning to understand something. A lousy education is all about absorbing facts. You cram, cram, cram until you can regurgitate it. When you receive a good education, you’ll also understand how the facts interrelate and why they are true.

Training is learning to do something

Training is learning to do something. Unlike education, this usually has a hands-on component.

Development is learning to be something

Development is learning to be something. You can become competent at something with training alone. But you cannot become a master of it without action.

For example, you can receive training in painting, giving you the technical skills required, but you have to develop into an artist. I think this is true for all professions. By definition, development always involves rewriting who you are a little bit.

In practice, these three things usually come as a bundle. For example, my company is helping someone back into work as a forklift driver.

The learner needs education (health and safety, what does that button do etc.), training (we run them through an indoor maze on the forklift until they can navigate well), and development (the transition from long-term unemployment back into work requires grit and often a confidence boost).

Director of Marketing,  Syntax Integration

Training is imparting knowledge and skills on precise, factual, and narrowly focused subject matter

Training is imparting knowledge and skills on precise , factual , and narrowly focused subject matter and skills. It is a structured learning activity that takes place in a classroom setting.

A broader intellectual or theoretical subject matter and the evolution of human attitudes are all included in the definition of development . There are many different learning activities, including both on and off-the-job training.

Education is the way professors provide content to pupils about a topic

There is also a formal classroom component. The primary purpose of education is for professors to provide content to pupils learning about the topic area they are teaching them.

The subject matter under research is well-known on a fundamental level. Teaching and training are examples of activities that fall within this category.

Learning is defined as acquiring new knowledge

Learning is defined as acquiring new knowledge or abilities through study, practice, or instruction. Learning can take place in any setting. It is an experience-based process that results in long-term changes in the potential for behavior.

When an individual has the potential to behave in a specific way to achieve a goal, this is referred to as their behavior potential .

Rodney Warner

Business Development Manager | CEO, Connective Web Design

Education is a brilliant way for the capitalist to control the working class

Education is a brilliant way for the capitalist to control the working class. They try to instill practices that will benefit them in the long and short run. This hidden agenda promotes social inequality among the working and ruling class.

Training allows individuals to develop some skills that are useful for everyday life

Training, unlike education, is more on the practical side. It allows individuals to develop some skills that are useful for everyday life.

As a result, they can enhance their existing knowledge and outshine others who focus on sticking to old practices, like rote learning.

The development allows individuals to grow and achieve their personal and professional goals

On the other hand, development is an informative process that allows individuals to grow and achieve their personal and professional goals. This is an attempt to overcome any future challenges and try to come up with practical solutions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can organizations support education, training, and development for their employees.

When it comes to nurturing employee growth, education, training, and development are critical components. Organizations that invest in their employees’ education and skill development benefit from improved productivity, increased employee satisfaction, and reduced turnover.

Here are some ways that organizations can support education, training, and development for their employees.

• Offer training programs : Organizations can provide structured training programs for employees to learn new skills or develop existing ones. This could involve in-person training sessions, online courses, or a combination of both.

• Provide mentorship opportunities : Pairing employees with mentors who have more experience and knowledge can help them develop professionally. This allows employees to learn from seasoned professionals who can offer guidance and insights.

• Encourage continuous learning : Encourage employees to continue learning by providing access to resources such as books, articles, and podcasts. Organizations can also provide support for employees who want to pursue additional education, such as degree programs or professional certifications.

• Create a culture of learning : Organizations can foster a culture of learning by promoting the value of education and development. Encouraging open communication and feedback, and providing opportunities for employees to share their knowledge and expertise, can help create a collaborative and learning-focused work environment.

• Offer career development programs : Organizations can offer career development programs that help employees identify their career goals and create a plan to achieve them. This could include coaching, workshops, and other resources to help employees advance in their careers.

• Provide job shadowing opportunities : Allowing employees to shadow their colleagues or leaders in different roles can help them gain a better understanding of different departments and roles within the organization. This can help employees develop a broader perspective and gain insights into how the organization operates.

• Provide feedback and recognition : Feedback and recognition are essential components of employee development. Providing constructive feedback and recognition for achievements can help employees improve their performance and feel valued.

How does education and training affect development?

Education and training play a critical role in the overall development of individuals, and have been found to impact various aspects of life. Here are some ways in which education and training affect development:

• Cognitive Development : Education and training help individuals develop better cognitive skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. They also aid in the development of literacy and numeracy skills.

• Personal Development : Education and training help individuals build self-confidence, self-esteem, and a sense of purpose. They also help individuals develop social skills, empathy, and emotional intelligence.

• Career Development : Education and training equip individuals with the skills and knowledge required to pursue a successful career. They also help individuals stay up-to-date with the latest developments in their fields.

• Economic Development : Education and training play a vital role in the economic development of a country. They help create a skilled workforce, increase productivity, and drive innovation and technological advancements.

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The Editors

InStride celebrates five years of growth, innovation and social impact Read More

July 15th, 2022 · 5 min read

Training vs. education: Which is right for your workforce?

In this post

Insights and ideas for people leaders

Stay informed with the biggest trends in workforce education.

For companies looking to increase retention, encourage innovation and equip employees with future-ready skills, learning and development (L&D) tops the list of critical strategies. 

But what does effective L&D actually look like in practice? It’s a question that HR leaders have long faced. 

Finding the right mix of workplace learning that builds in-demand employee skills for varying positions across an entire enterprise can pose a significant challenge. That’s why the most innovative organizations make use of both training and formal education as part of their L&D initiatives.

Though you’ll often hear training and education used interchangeably, there are distinct differences — and both play a role in developing a highly-skilled, productive workforce that’s prepared to take on the future of work. The question is not whether to use training or education, but when to use each and for what purpose.  

Let’s take a look at these key differences in workforce learning to see how this affects your current L&D strategy. 

Understanding training in the workplace

Workforce training teaches proficiency in specific skills so that your employees are better equipped to do their job well. This can take place in formal learning environments, such as in an online classroom, or while on the job. Training is distinct from workforce education with its laser focus on individual topics or skills. 

Let’s dive into this a little deeper.

• Often specific to an organization or job Training can be used to get groups of individuals on the same page, ensuring employees are abiding by specific company or industry standards. For example, many IT departments administer company-wide cybersecurity training to ensure that employees are well-versed on how to address cybersecurity threats.
• Training encourages consistency of service or approach When employees are trained with the same guidelines and instructions, everyone develops a baseline understanding of how things should work. This keeps business operations running smoothly and consistently.
• Typically short-term and laser-focused on a specific topic or skill While it’s possible that you have a long-term training plan in place, the individual training sessions themselves usually take a shorter, set amount of time.For instance, when a person joins a company, their onboarding training can last anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the position and their level of experience. Having standalone training periods like this allow you to “plug-and-play” training as it’s needed throughout the employee lifecycle. 
• Encourages rapid skills development High-quality training allows you to fast-track skill building and increase productivity. This is especially useful when rolling out a new process or technology that requires employees to get up-to-speed quickly.

How education differs from training

While training builds specific skills, workforce education provides a broader foundation upon which more learning can take place. It provides context, promotes critical thinking and teaches individuals how to look at problems from multiple angles. Education implies broader, longer-term thinking behind the more narrow topics of study. 

For example, education on tax accounting may cover topics like the progression of tax accounting over the past hundred years, nuances and ramifications of tax fraud, effective tax strategies based on business type or how proposed tax laws may affect the future of accounting. 

In comparison, tax training more likely covers the details of filling in IRS Form 1120-S, how to execute specific tax strategies, how to look up the tax code to confirm you’re in compliance and other tasks that can make you a better bookkeeper or accountant.   

Similarly, nursing education may give an overview of the nursing profession, with exposure to different specialties like NICU, endocrinology and orthopedics. It would also require a significant understanding of medical sciences, procedures, tests and their results, including discussions of patient care and bedside manner. This knowledge allows nurses to synthesize vast amounts of information about a patient’s situation, make more informed decisions about their care and communicate clearly and compellingly with patients and other care providers.

As nurses begin their clinical training, they begin to put their knowledge to use on real patients. If they’re already practicing, they may receive training on medical records software, intensive clinical practice on a new procedure or a management class to prepare for a promotion.

Characteristics of workforce education

Education encapsulates more under its umbrella than training does. Within the context of the workforce, here are some specifics on how to think about education:

• Teaches critical thinking Instead of learning the specific details of completing a task, education aims to show the individual how to figure it out on their own. This is not always specific to a job. Education encourages learners to draw conclusions and solve problems by asking questions and pursuing multiple paths of thinking. This is particularly beneficial for individuals who strive for a career — one that comes with opportunities for advancement and leadership development.
• Typically takes a longer time Degrees and other types of learning credentials take time for a reason. It can take months or years to become adequately educated on a subject. However, unlike traditional full-time students, adult learners are in a unique position that allows them to take what they learn and apply it on the job almost immediately.
• Theoretical, yet vital Whether through a college degree, short-form certification or other learning credentials, education surrounds employees with ideas and then asks them to be curious. It’s this kind of curiosity that sparks creativity and innovation — benefitting both the employee and ultimately, your business. 

Training vs. education: Why both are necessary for your workforce

By now, you know that both training and education are vital to the prosperity of your workforce. When used alongside each other, training and education work together to equip your employees with the skills and confidence to be successful in their roles. Job training is an excellent place to start for short-term skills and learning needs, whereas education is a longer-term investment that puts workers on the path to meaningful career advancement and even leadership development.

It’s worth noting that although many modern organizations are moving towards skills-based hiring , this doesn’t negate the need for training, degrees and learning credentials. In fact, it reinforces it.

Removing degree requirements from job listings opens doors for countless skilled individuals that may not have had access to formal education or job training. This means companies that adopt a skills-based hiring approach must invest even more in quality training and education so that their people have the continuous learning opportunities needed to succeed in the long term.

Regardless of your industry, having skilled employees is an essential asset to your organization. Knowing when to apply different teaching methods creates a workforce powerhouse of confident, career-driven people who are ready to take on the future. 

Discover more: Learn how the world’s most innovative organizations integrate workforce training and education to drive impact for their people and business. Connect with one of InStride’s workforce education experts today. 

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What is the difference between training and education?

When it comes to professional development, there are many different options and approaches. Terms like training and education are often used interchangeably, but actually have very different meanings when it comes to professional development. So, what is the difference between training and education?

While training and education are essential for developing skills and knowledge, there are some critical distinctions. Here are some of them:

• Training is more specific and focused, while education is broader and covers a wider range of topics
• Training is usually shorter in duration, while education can last for many years
• Education provides students with theoretical knowledge, while training provides them with practical skills
• Education prepares people for a career, while training prepares them for a specific job

Education often occurs in a formal setting such as a school or college, while training can be obtained from many different sources.

The cost of education is usually higher than the cost of training.

Both have their place in helping people learn, but it's essential to understand the distinction. This article will look at the differences between training and education.

Training is more specific and focused, while education is broader and covers a wider range of topics.

Training is typically more narrowly focused and is designed to provide employees with specific skills that they can use in their jobs. On the other hand, education is designed to provide employees with a more general understanding of a subject matter and can be helpful in a variety of different situations.

Training is usually shorter, while education can last for many years.

Training is usually shorter in duration than education , as it focuses on teaching students specific skills rather than general knowledge. Education can last for many years, providing students with a more in-depth understanding of a subject matter. This can be useful in various situations, such as when they are looking for a new job or need to update their skills for their current position.

Education provides students with theoretical knowledge, while training provides practical skills.

Training is typically job-specific and practical, while education can be more general and provides a theoretical foundation.

Training focuses on teaching people the skills they need to do a particular job – when they need to learn how to do something, often to achieve a specific outcome.

Education teaches people about a range of topics, not just specific skills. It can be theoretical or practical – it's about expanding horizons and becoming a more well-rounded individual.

Education typically leads to a degree or other certification, while training may not.

Finally, education tends to be more rigorous than training. People who receive an education must usually meet high academic standards. They take courses that challenge them and help them think critically about the world around them. On the other hand, training is often more practical and hands-on, designed to give people the skills they need to perform a specific task or job.

Education prepares people for a career, while training prepares them for a specific job.

Education prepares people for a career by teaching them the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their chosen field. Training prepares people for a specific job by teaching them the skills and knowledge they need to do that job. Both are important, but for different reasons.

Education provides a foundation of general knowledge and skills to apply to many different careers. It teaches people how to learn, think critically, and solve problems. These are essential skills that can be used in any field. Education also helps people develop their strengths and passions, guiding them towards specific career paths.

Training provides specific skills and knowledge that are needed for a particular job. It teaches people how to do their job efficiently and effectively. This can be very important for jobs requiring specialized skills, such as healthcare or engineering. Training also helps people develop their work-related strengths and passions, which can help them advance in their careers.

Both education and training are essential for success in today's workforce. Employers value employees who have the education and the training necessary to perform their jobs effectively.

Education is the process of learning and acquiring knowledge at an institution such as a school or university, allowing for a controlled environment where the trainer can ensure that the participants learn what they need to know. Education also generally happens under a teacher or instructor's guidance and may involve both theory and practice.

On the other hand, training is usually more focused on practical skills and can be provided either in an educational setting or on the job. It can be obtained from many different sources – books, the internet, and even talking to subject matter experts.

The cost of education is generally higher than training because teaching provides a more complete and comprehensive learning experience. Education also commonly takes place over a more extended period than training, making it more expensive.

Additionally, education typically leads to a degree or other credential that can help students get better jobs and earn more money over their lifetimes.

Despite the higher up-front cost, many people believe that education is worth the investment.

Edubrite is here for your training and education needs

Both training and education are essential for the growth of individuals and organizations, but there are some critical distinctions between the two.

At Edubrite, we believe in providing learners with both the high-quality education and excellent training they need to thrive in their careers.

Edubrite’s Learning Management System can help you create an education and training program that meets your organization's needs.

Contact us today to learn more about how our system can help you grow!

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• Our Mission

What Is Education For?

Read an excerpt from a new book by Sir Ken Robinson and Kate Robinson, which calls for redesigning education for the future.

What is education for? As it happens, people differ sharply on this question. It is what is known as an “essentially contested concept.” Like “democracy” and “justice,” “education” means different things to different people. Various factors can contribute to a person’s understanding of the purpose of education, including their background and circumstances. It is also inflected by how they view related issues such as ethnicity, gender, and social class. Still, not having an agreed-upon definition of education doesn’t mean we can’t discuss it or do anything about it.

We just need to be clear on terms. There are a few terms that are often confused or used interchangeably—“learning,” “education,” “training,” and “school”—but there are important differences between them. Learning is the process of acquiring new skills and understanding. Education is an organized system of learning. Training is a type of education that is focused on learning specific skills. A school is a community of learners: a group that comes together to learn with and from each other. It is vital that we differentiate these terms: children love to learn, they do it naturally; many have a hard time with education, and some have big problems with school.

There are many assumptions of compulsory education. One is that young people need to know, understand, and be able to do certain things that they most likely would not if they were left to their own devices. What these things are and how best to ensure students learn them are complicated and often controversial issues. Another assumption is that compulsory education is a preparation for what will come afterward, like getting a good job or going on to higher education.

So, what does it mean to be educated now? Well, I believe that education should expand our consciousness, capabilities, sensitivities, and cultural understanding. It should enlarge our worldview. As we all live in two worlds—the world within you that exists only because you do, and the world around you—the core purpose of education is to enable students to understand both worlds. In today’s climate, there is also a new and urgent challenge: to provide forms of education that engage young people with the global-economic issues of environmental well-being.

This core purpose of education can be broken down into four basic purposes.

Education should enable young people to engage with the world within them as well as the world around them. In Western cultures, there is a firm distinction between the two worlds, between thinking and feeling, objectivity and subjectivity. This distinction is misguided. There is a deep correlation between our experience of the world around us and how we feel. As we explored in the previous chapters, all individuals have unique strengths and weaknesses, outlooks and personalities. Students do not come in standard physical shapes, nor do their abilities and personalities. They all have their own aptitudes and dispositions and different ways of understanding things. Education is therefore deeply personal. It is about cultivating the minds and hearts of living people. Engaging them as individuals is at the heart of raising achievement.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights emphasizes that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” and that “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Many of the deepest problems in current systems of education result from losing sight of this basic principle.

Schools should enable students to understand their own cultures and to respect the diversity of others. There are various definitions of culture, but in this context the most appropriate is “the values and forms of behavior that characterize different social groups.” To put it more bluntly, it is “the way we do things around here.” Education is one of the ways that communities pass on their values from one generation to the next. For some, education is a way of preserving a culture against outside influences. For others, it is a way of promoting cultural tolerance. As the world becomes more crowded and connected, it is becoming more complex culturally. Living respectfully with diversity is not just an ethical choice, it is a practical imperative.

There should be three cultural priorities for schools: to help students understand their own cultures, to understand other cultures, and to promote a sense of cultural tolerance and coexistence. The lives of all communities can be hugely enriched by celebrating their own cultures and the practices and traditions of other cultures.

Education should enable students to become economically responsible and independent. This is one of the reasons governments take such a keen interest in education: they know that an educated workforce is essential to creating economic prosperity. Leaders of the Industrial Revolution knew that education was critical to creating the types of workforce they required, too. But the world of work has changed so profoundly since then, and continues to do so at an ever-quickening pace. We know that many of the jobs of previous decades are disappearing and being rapidly replaced by contemporary counterparts. It is almost impossible to predict the direction of advancing technologies, and where they will take us.

How can schools prepare students to navigate this ever-changing economic landscape? They must connect students with their unique talents and interests, dissolve the division between academic and vocational programs, and foster practical partnerships between schools and the world of work, so that young people can experience working environments as part of their education, not simply when it is time for them to enter the labor market.

Education should enable young people to become active and compassionate citizens. We live in densely woven social systems. The benefits we derive from them depend on our working together to sustain them. The empowerment of individuals has to be balanced by practicing the values and responsibilities of collective life, and of democracy in particular. Our freedoms in democratic societies are not automatic. They come from centuries of struggle against tyranny and autocracy and those who foment sectarianism, hatred, and fear. Those struggles are far from over. As John Dewey observed, “Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife.”

For a democratic society to function, it depends upon the majority of its people to be active within the democratic process. In many democracies, this is increasingly not the case. Schools should engage students in becoming active, and proactive, democratic participants. An academic civics course will scratch the surface, but to nurture a deeply rooted respect for democracy, it is essential to give young people real-life democratic experiences long before they come of age to vote.

Eight Core Competencies

The conventional curriculum is based on a collection of separate subjects. These are prioritized according to beliefs around the limited understanding of intelligence we discussed in the previous chapter, as well as what is deemed to be important later in life. The idea of “subjects” suggests that each subject, whether mathematics, science, art, or language, stands completely separate from all the other subjects. This is problematic. Mathematics, for example, is not defined only by propositional knowledge; it is a combination of types of knowledge, including concepts, processes, and methods as well as propositional knowledge. This is also true of science, art, and languages, and of all other subjects. It is therefore much more useful to focus on the concept of disciplines rather than subjects.

Disciplines are fluid; they constantly merge and collaborate. In focusing on disciplines rather than subjects we can also explore the concept of interdisciplinary learning. This is a much more holistic approach that mirrors real life more closely—it is rare that activities outside of school are as clearly segregated as conventional curriculums suggest. A journalist writing an article, for example, must be able to call upon skills of conversation, deductive reasoning, literacy, and social sciences. A surgeon must understand the academic concept of the patient’s condition, as well as the practical application of the appropriate procedure. At least, we would certainly hope this is the case should we find ourselves being wheeled into surgery.

The concept of disciplines brings us to a better starting point when planning the curriculum, which is to ask what students should know and be able to do as a result of their education. The four purposes above suggest eight core competencies that, if properly integrated into education, will equip students who leave school to engage in the economic, cultural, social, and personal challenges they will inevitably face in their lives. These competencies are curiosity, creativity, criticism, communication, collaboration, compassion, composure, and citizenship. Rather than be triggered by age, they should be interwoven from the beginning of a student’s educational journey and nurtured throughout.

From Imagine If: Creating a Future for Us All by Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D and Kate Robinson, published by Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2022 by the Estate of Sir Kenneth Robinson and Kate Robinson.

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Vocational education.

• Stephen Billett Stephen Billett Griffith University, School of Education and Professional Studies
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1739
• Published online: 18 July 2022

This chapter aims to discuss what constitutes the project of vocational education through the elaboration of its key purposes. Although taking many and diverse institutional forms, and being perhaps the least unitary of educational sectors, vocational education stands as a distinct and long-standing educational provision premised on its own specific set of purposes. It has long been central to generating the occupational capacities that societies, communities, and workplaces need, contributing to individuals’ initial and ongoing occupational advancement and their sense of selves as working age adults. It also has the potential to be, and often is, the most inclusive of educational sectors by virtue of engaging the widest range of learners within its programs and institutions. Yet, because its manifestations are shaped by country-specific institutional arrangements and historical developments, it defies attempts to easily and crisply define or capture the singularity of its purposes, forms, and contributions. In some countries it is a distinct educational sector, quite separate from both schools and universities. This can include having industry-experienced teachers. In others, it is mainly enacted in high schools in the form of a broadly based technology education, mainly intended for students not progressing educationally beyond schooling, which promotes and reinforces its low standing. In others again, it comprises in postsecondary institutions that combine general and occupational education. These distinctions, such as being either more or less general or occupational educational provision, also change across time as policy imperatives arise and decline. Much of vocational education provisions are associated with initial occupational preparation, but some are also seen more generally as preparation for engaging in working life, and then others have focuses on continuing education and training and employability across working lives. Sometimes it is enacted wholly within educational institutions, but others can include, and even largely comprise, experiences in workplaces. So, whereas the institutions and provisions of primary, secondary, and university education have relatively common characteristics and profiles, this is far less the case with what is labeled vocational education. Indeed, because of the diversity of its forms and purposes, it is often the least distinguishable of the educational sectors within and across countries. In seeking to advance what constitutes vocational education, the approach adopted here is to focus on its four key educational purposes. These comprise of (a) preparation for the world of work, (b) identifying a preferred occupation, (c) occupational preparation, and (d) ongoing development across working life.

• vocational education
• occupations
• educational purposes
• preparation for working life
• identifying an occupation
• developing occupational capacities
• continuing education training

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education, community-building and change

What is education? A definition and discussion

Education is the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning and change undertaken in the belief that we all should have the chance to share in life.

Mark k smith explores the meaning of education and suggests it is a process of being with others and inviting truth and possibility., contents : introduction • education – cultivating hopeful environments and relationships for learning • education, respect and wisdom • education – acting so all may share in life • conclusion – what is education • further reading and references • acknowledgements • how to cite this piece, introduction.

When talking about education people often confuse it with schooling. Many think of places like schools or colleges when seeing or hearing the word. They might also look to particular jobs like teacher or tutor. The problem with this is that while looking to help people learn, the way a lot of schools and teachers operate is not necessarily something we can properly call education. They have chosen or fallen or been pushed into ‘schooling’ – trying to drill learning into people according to some plan often drawn up by others. Paulo Freire (1973) famously called this banking – making deposits of knowledge. Such ‘schooling’ too easily descends into treating learners like objects, things to be acted upon rather than people to be related to.

Education, as we understand it here, is a process of inviting truth and possibility, of encouraging and giving time to discovery. It is, as John Dewey (1916) put it, a social process – ‘a process of living and not a preparation for future living’. In this view educators look to learning and being with others rather than acting upon them. Their task is to educe (related to the Greek notion of educere ), to bring out or develop potential both in themselves and others. Such education is:

• Deliberate and hopeful. It is learning we set out to make happen in the belief that we all can ‘be more’;
• Informed, respectful and wise. A process of inviting truth and possibility.
• Grounded in a desire that at all may flourish and share in life . It is a cooperative and inclusive activity that looks to help us to live our lives as well as we can.

In what follows we will try to answer the question ‘what is education?’ by exploring these dimensions and the processes involved.

Education – cultivating hopeful environments and relationships for learning

It is often said that we are learning all the time and that we may not be conscious of it happening. Learning is both a process and an outcome. As a process, it is part of being and living in the world, part of the way our bodies work. As an outcome, it is a new understanding or appreciation of something.

In recent years, developments in neuroscience have shown us how learning takes place both in the body and as a social activity. We are social animals. As a result, educators need to focus on creating environments and relationships for learning rather than trying to drill knowledge into themselves and others.

Teachers are losing the education war because our adolescents are distracted by the social world. Naturally, the students don’t see it that way. It wasn’t their choice to get endless instruction on topics that don’t seem relevant to them. They desperately want to learn, but what they want to learn about is their social world—how it works and how they can secure a place in it that will maximize their social rewards and minimize the social pain they feel. Their brains are built to feel these strong social motivations and to use the mentalizing system to help them along. Evolutionarily, the social interest of adolescents is no distraction. Rather, it is the most important thing they can learn well. (Lieberman 2013: 282)

The cultivation of learning is a cognitive and emotional and social activity (Illeris 2002)

Alison Gopnik (2016) has provided a helpful way of understanding this orientation. It is that educators, pedagogues and practitioners need to be gardeners rather than carpenters. A key theme emerging from her research over the last 30 years or so that runs in parallel with Lieberman, is that children learn by actively engaging their social and physical environments – not by passively absorbing information. They learn from other people, not because they are being taught – but because people are doing and talking about interesting things. The emphasis in a lot of the literature about parenting (and teaching) presents the roles much like that of a carpenter.

You should pay some attention to the kind of material you are working with, and it may have some influence on what you try to do. But essentially your job is to shape that material into a final product that will fit the scheme you had in mind to begin with.

Instead, Gopnik argues, the evidence points to being a gardener.

When we garden, on the other hand, we create a protected and nurturing space for plants to flourish. It takes hard labor and the sweat of our brows, with a lot of exhausted digging and wallowing in manure. And as any gardener knows, our specific plans are always thwarted. The poppy comes up neon orange instead of pale pink, the rose that was supposed to climb the fence stubbornly remains a foot from the ground, black spot and rust and aphids can never be defeated.

Education is deliberate. We act with a purpose – to build understanding and judgement and enable action. We may do this for ourselves, for example, learning what different road signs mean so that we can get a license to drive; or watching wildlife programmes on television because we are interested in animal behaviour. This process is sometimes called self-education or teaching yourself. We join with the journey that the writer, presenter or expert is making, think about it and develop our understanding. Hopefully, we bring that process and understanding into play when we need to act. We also seek to encourage learning in others (while being open to learning ourselves). Examples here include parents and carers showing their children how to use a knife and fork or ride a bike; schoolteachers introducing students to a foreign language; and animators and pedagogues helping a group to work together.

Sometimes as educators, we have a clear idea of what we’d like to see achieved; at others, we do not and should not. In the case of the former, we might be working to a curriculum, have a session or lesson plan with clear objectives, and have a high degree of control over the learning environment. This is what we often mean by ‘formal education’. In the latter, for example, when working with a community group, the setting is theirs and, as educators, we are present as guests. This is an example of informal education and here two things are happening.

First, the group may well be clear on what it wants to achieve e.g. putting on an event, but unclear about what they need to learn to do it. They know learning is involved – it is something necessary to achieve what they want – but it is not the main focus. Such ‘incidental learning’ is not accidental. People know they need to learn something but cannot necessarily specify it in advance (Brookfield 1984).

Second, this learning activity works largely through conversation – and conversation takes unpredictable turns. It is a dialogical rather than curricula form of education.

In both forms, educators set out to create environments and relationships where people can explore their, and other’s, experiences of situations, ideas and feelings. This exploration lies, as John Dewey argued, at the heart of the ‘business of education’. Educators set out to emancipate and enlarge experience (1933: 340). How closely the subject matter is defined in advance, and by whom, differs from situation to situation. John Ellis (1990) has developed a useful continuum – arguing that most education involves a mix of the informal and formal, of conversation and curriculum (i.e. between points X and Y).

Those that describe themselves as informal educators, social pedagogues or as animators of community learning and development tend to work towards the X; those working as subject teachers or lecturers tend to the Y. Educators when facilitating tutor groups might, overall, work somewhere in the middle.

Acting in hope

Underpinning intention is an attitude or virtue – hopefulness. As educators ‘we believe that learning is possible, that nothing can keep an open mind from seeking after knowledge and finding a way to know’ (hooks 2003: xiv) . In other words, we invite people to learn and act in the belief that change for the good is possible. This openness to possibility isn’t blind or over-optimistic. It looks to evidence and experience, and is born of an appreciation of the world’s limitations (Halpin 2003: 19-20).

We can quickly see how such hope is both a part of the fabric of education – and, for many, an aim of education. Mary Warnock (1986:182) puts it this way:

I think that of all the attributes that I would like to see in my children or in my pupils, the attribute of hope would come high, even top, of the list. To lose hope is to lose the capacity to want or desire anything; to lose, in fact, the wish to live. Hope is akin to energy, to curi­osity, to the belief that things are worth doing. An education which leaves a child without hope is an education that has failed.

But hope is not easy to define or describe. It is:

An emotion . Hope, John Macquarrie (1978 11) suggests, ‘consists in an outgoing and trusting mood toward the environment’. We do not know what will happen but take a gamble. ‘It’s to bet on the future, on your desires, on the possibility that an open heart and uncertainty is better than gloom and safety. To hope is dangerous, and yet it is the opposite of fear, for to live is to risk’ (Solnit 2016: 21).

A choice or intention to act . Hope ‘promotes affirmative courses of action’ (Macquarrie 1978: 11). Hope alone will not transform the world. Action ‘undertaken in that kind of naïveté’, wrote Paulo Freire (1994: 8), ‘is an excellent route to hopelessness, pessimism, and fatalism’. Hope and action are linked. Rebecca Solnit (2016: 22) put it this way, ‘Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope… To hope is to give yourself to the future, and that commitment to the future makes the present inhabitable’.

An intellectual activity . Hope is not just feeling or striving, according to McQuarrie it has a cognitive or intellectual aspect. ‘[I]t carries in itself a definite way of understanding both ourselves – and the environing processes within which human life has its setting’ ( op. cit. ).

This provides us with a language to help make sense of things and to imagine change for the better – a ‘vocabulary of hope’. It helps us to critique the world as it is and our part in it, and not to just imagine change but also to plan it (Moltman 1967, 1971). It also allows us, and others, to ask questions of our hopes, to request evidence for our claims. (See, what is hope? ).

Education – being respectful, informed and wise

Education is wrapped up with who we are as learners and facilitators of learning – and how we are experienced by learners. In order to think about this, it is helpful to look back at a basic distinction made by Erich Fromm (1979), amongst others, between having and being. Fromm approaches these as fundamental modes of existence. He saw them as two different ways of understanding ourselves and the world in which we live.

Having is concerned with owning, possessing and controlling. In it we want to ‘make everybody and everything’, including ourselves, our property (Fromm 1979: 33). It looks to objects and material possessions.

Being is rooted in love according to Fromm. It is concerned with shared experience and productive activity. Rather than seeking to possess and control, in this mode, we engage with the world. We do not impose ourselves on others nor ‘interfere’ in their lives (see Smith and Smith 2008: 16-17).

These different orientations involve contrasting approaches to learning.

Students in the having mode must have but one aim; to hold onto what they have ‘learned’, either by entrusting it firmly to their memories or by carefully guarding their notes. They do not have to produce or create something new…. The process of learning has an entirely different quality for students in the being mode… Instead of being passive receptacles of words and ideas, they listen, they hear , and most important, they receive and they respond in an active, productive way. (Fromm 1979: 37-38)

In many ways, this difference mirrors that between education and schooling. Schooling entails transmitting knowledge in manageable lumps so it can be stored and then used so that students can pass tests and have qualifications. Education involves engaging with others and the world. It entails being with   others in a particular way. Here I want to explore three aspects – being respectful, informed and wise.

Being respectful

The process of education flows from a basic orientation of respect – respect for truth, others and themselves, and the world. It is an attitude or feeling which is carried through into concrete action, into the way we treat people, for example. Respect, as R. S. Dillon (2014) has reminded us, is derived from the Latin respicere , meaning ‘to look back at’ or ‘to look again’ at something. In other words, when we respect something we value it enough to make it our focus and to try to see it for what it is, rather than what we might want it to be. It is so important that it calls for our recognition and our regard – and we choose to respond.

We can see this at work in our everyday relationships. When we think highly of someone we may well talk about respecting them – and listen carefully to what they say or value the example they give. Here, though, we are also concerned with a more abstract idea – that of moral worth or value. Rather than looking at why we respect this person or that, the interest is in why we should respect people in general (or truth, or creation, or ourselves).

First, we expect educators to hold truth dearly . We expect that they will look beneath the surface, try to challenge misrepresentation and lies, and be open to alternatives. They should display the ‘two basic virtues of truth’: sincerity and accuracy (Williams 2002: 11). There are strong religious reasons for this. Bearing false witness, within Christian traditions, can be seen as challenging the foundations of God’s covenant. There are also strongly practical reasons for truthfulness. Without it, the development of knowledge would not be possible – we could not evaluate one claim against another. Nor could we conduct much of life. For example, as Paul Seabright (2010) has argued, truthfulness allows us to trust strangers. In the process, we can build complex societies, trade and cooperate.

Educators, as with other respecters of truth, should do their best to acquire ‘true beliefs’ and to ensure what they say actually reveals what they believe (Williams 2002: 11). Their authority, ‘must be rooted in their truthfulness in both these respects: they take care, and they do not lie’ op. cit.).

Second, educators should display fundamental respect for others (and themselves) . There is a straightforward theological argument for this. There is also a fundamental philosophical argument for ‘respect for persons’. Irrespective of what they have done, the people they are or their social position, it is argued, people are deserving of some essential level of regard. The philosopher most closely associated with this idea is Immanuel Kant – and his thinking has become a central pillar of humanism. Kant’s position was that people were deserving of respect because they are people – free, rational beings. They are ends in themselves with an absolute dignity

Alongside respect for others comes respect for self. Without it, it is difficult to see how we can flourish – and whether we can be educators. Self-respect is not to be confused with qualities like self-esteem or self-confidence; rather it is to do with our intrinsic worth as a person and a sense of ourselves as mattering. It involves a ‘secure conviction that [our] conception of the good, [our] plan of life, is worth carrying out’ (Rawls 1972: 440). For some, respect for ourselves is simply the other side of the coin from respect for others. It flows from respect for persons. For others, like John Rawls, it is vital for happiness and must be supported as a matter of justice.

Third, educators should respect the Earth . This is sometimes talked about as respect for nature, or respect for all things or care for creation. Again there is a strong theological argument here – in much religious thinking humans are understood as stewards of the earth. Our task is to cultivate and care for it (see, for example, Genesis 2:15). However, there is also a strong case grounded in human experience. For example, Miller (2000) argues that ‘each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to spiritual values such as compassion and peace’. Respect for the world is central to the thinking of those arguing for a more holistic vision of education and to the thinking of educationalists such as Montessori . Her vision of ‘cosmic education’ puts appreciating the wholeness of life at the core.

Since it has been seen to be necessary to give so much to the child, let us give him a vision of the whole universe. The universe is an imposing reality, and an answer to all questions. We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity. This idea helps the mind of the child to become fixed, to stop wandering in an aimless quest for knowledge. He is satisfied, having found the universal centre of himself with all things’. (Montessori 2000)

Last, and certainly not least, there is a basic practical concern. We face an environmental crisis of catastrophic proportions. As Emmett (among many others) has pointed out, it is likely that we are looking at a global average rise of over four degrees Centigrade. This ‘will lead to runaway climate change, capable of tipping the planet into an entirely different state, rapidly. Earth would become a hell hole’ (2013: 143).

Being informed

To facilitate learning we must have some understanding of the subject matter being explored, and the impact study could have on those involved. In other words, facilitation is intelligent.

We expect, quite reasonably, that when people describe themselves as teachers or educators, they know something about the subjects they are talking about. In this respect, our ‘subject area’ as educators is wide. It can involve particular aspects of knowledge and activity such as those associated with maths or history. However, it is also concerned with happiness and relationships, the issues and problems of everyday life in communities, and questions around how people are best to live their lives. In some respects, it is wisdom that is required – not so much in the sense that we know a lot or are learned – but rather we are able to help people make good judgements about problems and situations.

We also assume that teachers and educators know how to help people learn. The forms of education we are exploring here are sophisticated. They can embrace the techniques of classroom management and of teaching to a curriculum that has been the mainstay of schooling. However, they move well beyond this into experiential learning, working with groups, and forms of working with individuals that draw upon insights from counselling and therapy.

In short, we look to teachers and educators as experts, We expect them to apply their expertise to help people learn. However, things don’t stop there. Many look for something more – wisdom.

Wisdom is not something that we can generally claim for ourselves – but a quality recognized by others. Sometimes when people are described as wise what is meant is that they are scholarly or learned. More often, I suspect, when others are described as ‘being wise’ it that people have experienced their questions or judgement helpful and sound when exploring a problem or difficult situation (see Smith and Smith 2008: 57-69). This entails:

• appreciating what can make people flourish
• being open to truth in its various guises and allowing subjects to speak to us
• developing the capacity to reflect
• 
  being knowledgeable, especially about ourselves, around ‘what makes people tick’ and the systems of which we are a part
• being discerning – able to evaluate and judge situations. ( op. cit. : 68)

This combination of qualities, when put alongside being respectful and informed, comes close to what Martin Buber talked about as the ‘real teacher’. The real teacher, he believed:

… teaches most successfully when he is not consciously trying to teach at all, but when he acts spontaneously out of his own life. Then he can gain the pupil’s confidence; he can convince the adolescent that there is human truth, that existence has a meaning. And when the pupil’s confidence has been won, ‘his resistance against being educated gives way to a singular happening: he accepts the educator as a person. He feels he may trust this man, that this man is taking part in his life, accepting him before desiring to influence him. And so he learns to ask…. (Hodes 1972: 136)

Education – acting so that all may share in life

Thus far in answering the question ‘what is education?’ we have seen how it can be thought of as the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning. Here we will explore the claim that education should be undertaken in the belief that all should have the chance to share in life. This commitment to the good of all and of each individual is central to the vision of education explored here, but it could be argued that it is possible to be involved in education without this. We could take out concern for others. We could just focus on process – the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning – and not state to whom this applies and the direction it takes.

Looking beyond process

First, we need to answer the question ‘if we act wisely, hopefully, and respectfully as educators do we need to have a further purpose?’ Our guide here will again be John Dewey. He approached the question a century ago by arguing that ‘the object and reward of learning is continued capacity for growth’ (Dewey 1916: 100). Education, for him, entailed the continuous ‘reconstruction or reorganization of experience which adds to the meaning of experience, and which increases the ability to direct the course of subsequent experience. (Dewey 1916: 76). His next step was to consider the social relationships in which this can take place and the degree of control that learners and educators have over the process. Just as Freire (1972) argued later, relationships for learning need to be mutual, and individual and social change possible.

In our search for aims in education, we are not concerned… with finding an end outside of the educative process to which education is subordinate. Our whole conception forbids. We are rather concerned with the contrast which exists when aims belong within the process in which they operate and when they are set up from without. And the latter state of affairs must obtain when social relationships are not equitably balanced. For in that case, some portions of the whole social group will find their aims determined by an external dictation; their aims will not arise from the free growth of their own experience, and their nominal aims will be means to more ulterior ends of others rather than truly their own. (Dewey 1916: 100-101)

In other words, where there are equitable relationships, control over the learning process, and the possibilities of fundamental change we needn’t look beyond the process. However, we have to work for much of the time in situations and societies where this level of democracy and social justice does not exist. Hence the need to make clear a wider purpose. Dewey (1916: 7) argued, thus, that our ‘chief business’ as educators is to enable people ‘to share in a common life’. I want to widen this and to argue that all should have a chance to share in life.

Having the chance to share in life

We will explore, briefly, three overlapping approaches to making the case – via religious belief, human rights and scientific exploration.

Religious belief. Historically it has been a religious rationale that has underpinned much thinking about this question. If we were to look at Catholic social teaching, for example, we find that at its heart lays a concern for human dignity . This starts from the position that, ‘human beings, created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27), have by their very existence an inherent value, worth, and distinction’ (Groody 2007). Each life is considered sacred and cannot be ignored or excluded. As we saw earlier, Kant argued something similar with regard to ‘respect for persons’. All are worthy of respect and the chance to flourish.

To human dignity a concern for solidarity is often added (especially within contemporary Catholic social teaching). Solidarity:

… is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all. On Social Concern ( Sollicitudo rei Socialis . . . ), #38

Another element, fundamental to the formation of the groups, networks and associations necessary for the ‘common life’ that Dewey describes, is subsidiarity . This principle, which first found its institutional voice in a papal encyclical in 1881, holds that human affairs are best handled at the ‘lowest’ possible level, closest to those affected (Kaylor 2015). It is a principle that can both strengthen civil society and the possibility of more mutual relationships for learning.

Together, these can provide a powerful and inclusive rationale for looking beyond particular individuals or groups when thinking about educational activity.

Human rights. Beside religious arguments lie others that are born of agreed principle or norm rather than faith. Perhaps the best known of these relate to what have become known as human rights. The first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights puts it this way:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 26 further states:

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms….

These fundamental and inalienable rights are the entitlement of all human beings regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status (Article 2).

Scientific exploration. Lastly, I want to look at the results of scientific investigation into our nature as humans. More specifically we need to reflect on what it means when humans are described as social animals.

As we have already seen there is a significant amount of research showing just how dependent we are in everyday life on having trusting relationships in a society. Without them even the most basic exchanges cannot take place. We also know that in those societies where there is stronger concern for others and relatively narrow gaps between rich and poor people are generally happier (see, for example, Halpern 2010). On the basis of this material we could make a case for educators to look to the needs and experiences of all. Political, social and economic institutions depend on mass participation or at least benign consent – and the detail of this has to be learnt. However, with our growing appreciation of how our brains work and with the development of, for example, social cognitive neuroscience, we have a different avenue for exploration. We look to the needs and experience of others because we are hard-wired to do so. As Matthew D. Lieberman (2013) has put it:

Our basic urges include the need to belong, right along with the need for food and water. Our pain and pleasure systems do not merely respond to sensory inputs that can produce physical harm and reward. They are also exquisitely tuned to the sweet and bitter tastes delivered from the social world—a world of connection and threat to connection. (Lieberman 2013: 299)

Our survival as a species is dependent upon on looking to the needs and experiences of others. We dependent upon:

  Connecting: We have ‘evolved the capacity to feel social pains and pleasures, forever linking our well-being to our social connectedness. Infants embody this deep need to stay connected, but it is present through our entire lives’ ( op. cit. : 10) Mindreading: Primates have developed an unparalleled ability to understand the actions and thoughts of those around them, enhancing their ability to stay connected and interact strategically… This capacity allows humans to create groups that can implement nearly any idea and to anticipate the needs and wants of those around us, keeping our groups moving smoothly ( op. cit. : 10) Harmonizing: Although the self may appear to be a mechanism for distinguishing us from others and perhaps accentuating our selfishness, the self actually operates as a powerful force for social cohesiveness. Whereas   connection   is about our desire to be social, harmonizing   refers to the neural adaptations that allow group beliefs and values to influence our own. ( op. cit. : 11)

One of the key issues around these processes is the extent to which they can act to become exclusionary i.e. people can become closely attached to one particular group, community or nation and begin to treat others as somehow lesser or alien. In so doing relationships that are necessary to our survival – and that of the planet – become compromised. We need to develop relationships that are both bonding and bridging (see social capital ) – and this involves being and interacting with others who may not share our interests and concerns.

Education is more than fostering understanding and an appreciation of emotions and feelings. It is also concerned with change – ‘with how people can act with understanding and sensitivity to improve their lives and those of others’ (Smith and Smith 2008: 104). As Karl Marx (1977: 157-8) famously put it ‘all social life is practical…. philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; ‘the point is to change it’. Developing an understanding of an experience or a situation is one thing, working out what is good and wanting to do something about it is quite another. ‘For appropriate action to occur there needs to be commitment’ (Smith and Smith 2008: 105).

This combination of reflection; looking to what might be good and making it our own; and seeking to change ourselves and the world we live in is what Freire (1973) talked about as  praxis. It involves us, as educators, working with people to create and sustain environments and relationships where it is possible to:

• Go back to experiences . Learning doesn’t take place in a vacuum. We have to look to the past as well as the present and the future. It is necessary to put things in their place by returning to, or recalling, events and happenings that seem relevant.
• Attend and connect to feelings . Our ability to think and act is wrapped up with our feelings. Appreciating what might be going on for us (and for others) at a particular moment; thinking about the ways our emotions may be affecting things; and being open to what our instincts or intuitions are telling us are important elements of such reflection. (See Boud et. al. 1985).
• Develop understandings . Alongside attending to feelings and experiences, we need to examine the theories and understandings we are using. We also need to build new interpretations where needed. We should be looking to integrating new knowledge into our conceptual framework.
• Commit . Education is something ‘higher’ according to John Henry Newman. It is concerned not just with what we know and can do, but also with who we are, what we value, and our capacity to live life as well as we can . We need space to engage with these questions and help to appreciate the things we value. As we learn to frame our beliefs we can better appreciate how they breathe life into our relationships and encounters, become our own, and move us to act.
• Act . Education is forward-looking and hopeful. It looks to change for the better. In the end our efforts at facilitating learning have to be judged by the extent to which they further the capacity to flourish and to share in life. For this reason we need also to attend to the concrete, the actual steps that can be taken to improve things.

As such education is a deeply practical activity – something that we can do for ourselves (what we could call self-education), and with others.

Conclusion – so what is education?

It is in this way that we end up with a definition of education as ‘the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning undertaken in the belief that all should have the chance to share in life’. What does education involve?

We can begin with what Aristotle discusses as hexis – a readiness to sense and know. This is a state – or what Joe Sachs (2001) talks about as an ‘active condition’. It allows us to take a step forward – both in terms of the processes discussed above, and in what we might seek to do when working with learners and participants. Such qualities can be seen as being at the core of the haltung and processes of pedagogues and educators (see below). There is a strong emphasis upon being in touch with feelings, attending to intuitions and seeking evidence to confirm or question what we might be sensing. A further element is also present – a concern not to take things for granted or at their face value (See, also, Pierre Bourdieu on education , Bourdieu 1972|1977: 214 n1).

Beyond that, we can see a guiding eidos or leading idea. This is the belief that all share in life and a picture of what might allow people to be happy and flourish. Alongside is a disposition or haltung   (a concern to act respectfully, knowledgeably and wisely) and interaction (joining with others to build relationships and environments for learning). Finally, there is praxis – informed, committed action (Carr and Kemmis 1986; Grundy 1987).

The process of education

At first glance, this way of answering the question ‘what is education?’ – with its roots in the thinking of  Aristotle , Rousseau , Pestalozzi and Dewey (to name a few) – is part of the progressive tradition of educational practice. It seems very different from ‘formal tradition’ or ‘traditional education’.

If there is a core theme to the formal position it is that education is about passing on information; for formalists, culture and civilization represent a store of ideas and wisdom which have to be handed on to new generations. Teaching is at the heart of this transmission; and the process of transmission is education…

While progressive educators stress the child’s development from within, formalists put the emphasis, by contrast, on formation from without— formation that comes from immersion in the knowledge, ideas, beliefs, concepts, and visions of society, culture, civilization. There are, one might say, conservative and liberal interpretations of this world view— the conservative putting the emphasis on transmission itself, on telling, and the liberal putting the emphasis more on induction, on initiation by involvement with culture’s established ideas.(Thomas 2013: 25-26).

As both Thomas and Dewey (1938: 17-23) have argued, these distinctions are problematic. A lot of the debate is either really about education being turned, or slipping, into something else, or reflecting a lack of balance between the informal and formal.

In the ‘formal tradition’ problems often occur where people are treated as objects to be worked on or ‘moulded’ rather than as participants and creators i.e. where education slips into ‘schooling’.

In the ‘progressive tradition’ issues frequently arise where the nature of experience is neglected or handled incompetently. Some experiences are damaging and ‘mis-educative’. They can arrest or distort ‘the growth of further experience’ (Dewey 1938: 25). The problem often comes when education drifts or moves into entertainment or containment. Involvement in the immediate activity is the central concern and little attention is given to expanding horizons, nor to reflection, commitment and creating change.

The answer to the question ‘what is education?’ given here can apply to both those ‘informal’ forms that are driven and rooted in conversation – and to more formal approaches involving a curriculum. The choice is not between what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad’ – but rather what is appropriate for people in this situation or that. There are times to use transmission and direct teaching as methods, and moments for exploration, experience and action. It is all about getting the mix right and framing it within the guiding eidos and disposition of education.

Further reading and references

Recommended introductions.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. New York: Collier Books. (Collier edition first published 1963). In this book, Dewey seeks to move beyond dualities such as progressive/traditional – and to outline a philosophy of experience and its relation to education.

Thomas, G. (2013). Education: A very short introduction . Oxford: Oxford University Press. Simply the best contemporary introduction to thinking about schooling and education.

Boud, D., Keogh, R. and Walker, D. (eds.) (1985). Reflection. Turning experience into learning . London: Kogan Page.

Bourdieu, Pierre. (1972|1977). Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. First published in French as Esquisse d’une théorie de la pratique, précédé de trois études d’ethnologie kabyle, (1972).

Brookfield, S. (1984). Adult learners, adult education and the community . Milton Keynes, PA: Open University Press.

Buber, Martin (1947). Between Man and Man. Transl. R. G. Smith. London: Kegan Paul .

Carr, W. and Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming Critical. Education, knowledge and action research. Lewes: Falmer.

Dewey, J. (1916), Democracy and Education. An introduction to the philosophy of education (1966 edn.). New York: Free Press.

Dewey, J. (1933). How We Think. A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. (Revised edn.), Boston: D. C. Heath.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. New York: Collier Books. (Collier edition first published 1963).

Dillon, R. S. (2014). Respect. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). [ http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/respect/ . Retrieved: February 10, 2015].

Ellis, J. W. (1990). Informal education – a Christian perspective.   Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith (eds.)   Using Informal Education. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Emmott, S. (2013). 10 Billion . London: Penguin. [Kindle edition].

Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Freire, P. (1994) Pedagogy of Hope. Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed . With notes by Ana Maria Araujo Freire. Translated by Robert R. Barr. New York: Continuum.

Fromm, E. (1979). To Have or To Be . London: Abacus. (First published 1976).

Fromm, E. (1995). The Art of Loving . London: Thorsons. (First published 1957).

Gallagher, M. W. and Lopez, S. J. (eds.) (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Hope . New York: Oxford University Press.

Gopnik, A. (2016). The Gardener and the Carpenter. What the new science of child development tells us about the relationship between parents and children . London: Random House.

Groody, D. (2007). Globalization, Spirituality and Justice . New York: Orbis Books.

Grundy, S. (1987). Curriculum. Product or praxis . Lewes: Falmer.

Halpern, D. (2010). The hidden wealth of nations . Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Halpin, D. (2003). Hope and Education. The role of the utopian imagination . London: RoutledgeFalmer.

hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to Transgress. Education as the practice of freedom , London: Routledge.

hooks, b. (2003). Teaching Community. A pedagogy of hope. New York: Routledge.

Hodes, A. (1972). Encounter with Martin Buber. London:   Allen Lane/Penguin.

Illeris, K. (2002). The Three Dimensions of Learning. Contemporary learning theory in the tension field between the cognitive, the emotional and the social. Frederiksberg: Roskilde University Press.

Kant, I. (1949). Fundamental principles of the metaphysic of morals (trans.  T. K. Abbott). New York: Liberal Arts Press.

Kaylor, C. (2015). Seven Principles of Catholic Social Teaching. CatholicCulture.org. [ http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=7538#PartV . Retrieved March 21, 2015].

Klein, N. (2014). This Changes Everything. Capitalism vs. the climate . London: Penguin. [Kindle edition].

Liston, D. P. (1980). Love and despair in teaching. Educational Theory . 50(1): 81-102.

MacQuarrie, J. (1978). Christian Hope . Oxford: Mowbray.

Marx, K. (1977). ‘These on Feurrbach’ in D. McLellan (ed.) Karl Marx. Selected writings . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Moltmann, J. (1967). Theology of hope: On the ground and the implications of a Christian eschatology . New York: Harper & Row. Available on-line: http://www.pubtheo.com/page.asp?PID=1036

Moltmann, J. (1971). Hope and planning . New York: Harper & Row.

Montessori, M. (2000). To educate the human potential . Oxford: Clio Press.

Rawls, J. (1972). A Theory of Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rorty, R. (1999). Philosophy and Social Hope . London: Penguin.

Sciolli, A. and Biller, H. B. (2009). Hope in the Age of Anxiety. A guide to understanding and strengthening our most important virtue. New York: Oxford University Press.

Seabright, P. (2010). The Company of Strangers. A natural history of economic life. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Smith, H. and Smith, M. K. (2008). The Art of Helping Others . Being Around, Being There, Being Wise . London: Jessica Kingsley.

Smith, M. K. (2019). Haltung, pedagogy and informal education, The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education . [ https://infed.org/mobi/haltung-pedagogy-and-informal-education/ . Retrieved: August 28, 2019].

Smith, M. K. (2012, 2021). ‘What is pedagogy?’, The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education . [ https://infed.org/mobi/what-is-pedagogy/ . Retrieved February 16, 2021)

Thomas, G. (2013). Education: A very short introduction . Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Kindle Edition].

United Nations General Assembly (1948). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights . New York: United Nations. [ http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ . A ccessed March 14, 2015].

Warnock, M. (1986). The Education of the Emotions. In D. Cooper (ed.) Education, values and the mind. Essays for R. S. Peters . London: Routledge and Keegan Paul.

Williams, B. (2002). Truth & truthfulness: An essay in genealogy . Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.

Acknowledgements : Picture: Dessiner le futur adulte by Alain Bachellier. Sourced from Flickr and reproduced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) licence. http://www.flickr.com/photos/alainbachellier/537180464/

The informal-formal education curriculum diagram is reproduced with permission from Ellis, J. W. (1990). Informal education – a Christian perspective. Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith (eds.) Using Informal Education . Buckingham: Open University Press. You can read the full chapter in the informal education archives: http://infed.org/archives/usinginformaleducation/ellis.htm

The process of education diagram was developed by Mark K Smith and was inspired by Grundy 1987. It can be reproduced without asking for specific permission but should be credited using the information in ‘how to cite this piece’ below.

This piece uses some material from Smith (2019) Haltung, pedagogy and informal education and (2021) What is pedagogy? (see the references above).

How to cite this piece : Smith, M. K. (2015, 2021). What is education? A definition and discussion. The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education . [ https://infed.org/mobi/what-is-education-a-definition-and-discussion/ . Retrieved: insert date ].

© Mark K Smith 2015, 2021

Last Updated on April 9, 2024 by infed.org

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Definition of training

• practise

Examples of training in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'training.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1537, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing training

• assertiveness training
• autogenic training
• basic training
• crate - training
• high - intensity interval training
• interval training
• in training
• on - the - job training
• potty training
• spring training
• strength training
• toilet training
• training college
• training manual
• training school
• training shoe
• training table
• training wheels
• weight training

Dictionary Entries Near training

train guard

training aid

Cite this Entry

“Training.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/training. Accessed 7 Jun. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of training, more from merriam-webster on training.

Nglish: Translation of training for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of training for Arabic Speakers

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[ ej- oo - key -sh uh n ]

Synonyms: learning , schooling , instruction

• the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as for a profession.

a university education.

to show one's education.

Synonyms: enlightenment , knowledge , learning

• the science or art of teaching; pedagogics.

/ ˌɛdjʊˈkeɪʃən /

• the act or process of acquiring knowledge, esp systematically during childhood and adolescence

his education has been invaluable to him

education is my profession

a course in education

a university education

consumer education

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Other words from.

• anti·edu·cation adjective
• noned·u·cation noun
• over·edu·cation noun
• preed·u·cation noun
• proed·u·cation adjective
• super·edu·cation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of education 1

Synonym Study

Example sentences.

Simply listening to a lecture is not effective in the real world, and yet that largely remains the default mode of education online.

While Brunskill doesn’t believe there’s any silver bullet solution to fixing education or recruitment systems, he remains optimistic in Forage’s future.

A new study shows that academic medical researchers, who represent some of the most accomplished scientists with decades of education under their belts, are no exception to that trend.

Enormous investment in education going right the way back into the early 19th century.

In this bleak time for public education, I’ve been straining to decipher some silver linings.

Education controls the transmission of values and molds the spirit before dominating the soul.

What they believe impacts economic policy, foreign policy, education policy, environmental policy, you name it.

Congress is attempting to pass the buck on federal funding for education.

The Supreme Court eventually stepped in and ended legal segregation in the landmark 1954 decision, Brown v. Board of Education.

This is why arguments for little to no federal oversight of education are so disturbing.

It seems to be a true instinct which comes before education and makes education possible.

I am pleading for a clear white light of education that shall go like the sun round the whole world.

He became a doctor in two hours, and it only cost him twenty dollars to complete his education.

And now let me come to the second problem we opened up in connection with college education—the problem of its extension.

If we are to have a real education along lines of expression we must begin with the "content," or cause, of expression.

Related Words

• improvement
• information
• scholarship

More About Education

What is a basic definition of  education .

Education is both the act of teaching knowledge to others and the act of receiving knowledge from someone else. Education also refers to the knowledge received through schooling or instruction and to the institution of teaching as a whole. Education has a few other senses as a noun.

Education is a word that covers both the act of instructing and the act of learning. It usually refers specifically to the teaching of children or younger people and the learning done by them.

Real-life examples: Elementary schools, high schools, and colleges are institutions focused on education: People are taught important information and life skills at these places. Medical schools, law schools, and driving schools provide more specialized forms of education.

Used in a sentence: The proper education of children is considered important in every country. 

Related to this sense, education refers to the specific level or type of instruction a person has received.

Used in a sentence: He has a high school education. 

Education also means the specific knowledge or scholarship a person has acquired from being taught.

Real-life examples: Doctors have an education in medicine. Chemists have an education in chemistry. Bankers have an education in finance or economics.

Used in a sentence: She has an education in languages and is fluent in French and Italian. 

Education is also used to refer to the process or institution of teaching in general.

Real-life examples: Most teachers have college degrees in education. Nations often devote a portion of their budget to education.

Used in a sentence: My brother decided to pursue a career in education.

Where does  education come from?

The first records of education come from around 1525. It comes from the Latin ēducātiōn-. Education combines the verb educate , meaning “to teach or to train,” and the suffix -ion , which turns a verb into a noun.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to education ?

• antieducation (adjective)
• noneducation (noun)
• overeducation (noun)
• preeducation (noun)
• proeducation (adjective)
• supereducation (noun)

What are some synonyms for education ?

• instruction

What are some words that share a root or word element with education ? 

• educational

What are some words that often get used in discussing education ?

• elementary school
• high school

How is  education used in real life?

Education is a common word used to refer to teaching and learning. Almost everyone agrees that a person should receive some form of education.

For 80% of foreign business executives, the education and training of France's workforce make France attractive for foreign investment. — Gérard Araud (@GerardAraud) May 11, 2017

Too many of our young people cannot afford a college education and those who are leaving college are faced with crushing debt. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 24, 2015

We need to continuously invest in education. That means early childhood education, AP classes, and investing in New York City’s teachers. — Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) November 15, 2017

Try using  education !

True or False?

If a person has a college education, that means they have gained knowledge and instruction at a college.

Why Special Education Teachers Quit—and What Schools Are Doing About It

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Solutions to the perennial crisis of special education staffing must extend beyond training and recruiting more teachers to the more complex work of retaining educators who’ve already entered the field, experts say.

Twenty-one percent of public schools reported that they were not fully staffed in special education at the start of the 2023-24 school year, higher levels of reported shortages than for any other teaching specialty, federal data show. And about 8 percent of teachers who work with children who qualify for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are not fully certified .

All teachers juggle layers of practical and pedagogical responsibilities, but special education teachers carry an unusually complex workload that involves case management, teaching students in multiple grades and subjects, and cooperating with fellow teachers to help students meet educational goals.

“I just felt like I couldn’t meet all of my students’ needs with the resources and support that I had, no matter how hard I worked,” said Elizabeth Bettini, an associate professor of special education at Boston University who previously taught special education in K-12 schools.

Here are three ways states and districts are trying to keep current special education teachers on the job—and to improve their chances of retaining new recruits.

1. Districts experiment with higher pay for special education teachers

When special education teachers leave their roles, they aren’t always leaving teaching altogether, said Roddy Theobold, the deputy director of the National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research. Rather, special education teachers with multiple teaching endorsements often shift into another position, like elementary education, he said.

To quantify the trend, Theobold and other researchers analyzed 10 years of Washington state data collected from 2009 to 2019. They found that, in every year studied, the number of certified special education teachers in the state exceeded the number of teachers actually working in special education positions by more than 50 percent. They also found that dual-certified teachers were less likely to remain in special education placements than their peers who only carried special education credentials, according to a 2021 study published in the journal Exceptional Children .

Districts like Detroit have sought to recognize the challenges of the special education role by providing annual incentive pay of up to $15,000 for special education teachers.

But it can be politically challenging to pay teachers different salaries depending on their role, and it can require changing teacher contracts. Plus, researchers are still identifying what incentive structures could best move the needle on staffing challenges.

Starting in 2020, Hawaii’s statewide school district offered a $10,000 bonus for special education teachers, with larger bonuses for those who teach in schools deemed hard to staff. That’s on top of a base salary of $50,000.

Theobold and fellow researchers studied that state’s 2022 data. They found that, after the bonuses started, special education vacancies continued to increase alongside teacher vacancies in general, but they made up a lower proportion of total unfilled positions than they had before. They largely attributed the shift to teachers who were motivated by the incentive to move from general education classrooms to special education placements, not by increased retention of existing special education teachers.

While Hawaii’s special education teacher shortage hasn’t been erased, students within special education programs are now more likely to be taught by qualified teachers because of the bonuses, they concluded.

2. States and districts prepare new special education teachers with retention in mind

Advocates for grow-your-own programs and teacher apprenticeships—which allow candidates to earn teaching credentials while learning on the job—say the approach may allow new special education teachers to enter the role with a greater awareness of the challenges they will face. And that may help schools retain them longer.

Many participants in the University of North Dakota’s Special Education Resident Teacher Program complete their training at schools where they will later work full time, director Amy Jacobson said. The program allows candidates to earn a master’s degree in special education while working with a mentor in a partner district as well as a mentor at the university to learn the ropes.

Organizers recently developed an option that allows candidates without four-year degrees to get a bachelor’s and a master’s degree simultaneously. That opened the door for paraprofessionals, who often have years of hands-on experience in special education, to become full-time teachers.

“They are already vetted by the school districts, and they have an interest and a passion to work in special education,” Jacobson said.

Similarly, a unique teacher residency program led by the Washington Education Association draws former paraprofessionals and emergency substitute teachers with experience in special education classrooms, organizers recently told Education Week.

The program rotates participants through four different special education settings, including teaching alongside general education teachers, to better prepare them for a variety of potential roles.

“When you become a special ed. teacher, there’s so much variety within that, and you don’t know what you don’t know,” Annie Lamberto, the special populations coordinator for WEA, told Education Week. “We wanted our residents to be able to find not just what they’re good at and what their strengths are, but what they’re passionate about.”

3. Administrators combat special education teachers’ workplace isolation and burnout

Special education teachers are usually stressed because they lack the support and resources to do their jobs well, not because of the students they serve, Bettini said.

They have fewer in-school peers than their general education colleagues, and they are often led by principals without experience in special education, she said. That can lead to a feeling of isolation.

A lack of special education funding, inadequate support staff and school psychologists, and other systemic problems can lead teachers to feel like they are failing the very students they want to help, Bettini said.

Administrators can address these stressors by seeking their own professional development on how to support special education teachers and by inviting regular feedback about how to include special education teachers in curriculum purchasing decisions, planning schedules, and schoolwide policy conversations, she said.

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What you need to know about education for sustainable development

What is education for sustainable development  .

Education for sustainable development (ESD) gives learners of all ages the knowledge, skills, values and agency to address interconnected global challenges including climate change, loss of biodiversity, unsustainable use of resources, and inequality. It empowers learners of all ages to make informed decisions and take individual and collective action to change society and care for the planet. ESD is a lifelong learning process and an integral part of quality education. It enhances the cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural dimensions of learning and encompasses learning content and outcomes, pedagogy and the learning environment itself. 

How does UNESCO work on this theme?  

UNESCO is the United Nations leading agency for ESD and is responsible for the implementation of ESD for 2030 , the current global framework for ESD which takes up and continues the work of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) and the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD (2015-2019). 

UNESCO’s work on ESD focuses on five main areas: 

• Advancing policy
• Transforming learning environments
• Building capacities of educators
• Empowering and mobilizing youth
• Accelerating local level action

UNESCO supports countries to develop and expand educational activities that focus on sustainability issues such as climate change, biodiversity, disaster risk reduction, water, the oceans, sustainable urbanisation and sustainable lifestyles through ESD. UNESCO leads and advocates globally on ESD and provides guidance and standards. It also provides data on the status of ESD and monitors progress on SDG Indicator 4.7.1, on the extent to which global citizenship education and ESD are mainstreamed in national education policies, curricula, teacher education and student assessment.  

How does UNESCO mobilize education to address climate change?   

Climate change education is the main thematic focus of ESD as it helps people understand and address the impacts of the climate crisis, empowering them with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes needed to act as agents of change. The importance of education and training to address climate change is recognized in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change , the Paris Agreement and the associated Action for Climate Empowerment agenda which all call on governments to educate, empower and engage all stakeholders and major groups on policies and actions relating to climate change. Through its ESD programme, UNESCO works to make education a more central and visible part of the international response to climate change. It produces and shares knowledge, provides policy guidance and technical support to countries, and implements projects on the ground. 

UNESCO encourages Member States to develop and implement their  country initiative  to mainstream education for sustainable development. 

What is the Greening Education Partnership?

To coordinate actions and efforts in the field of climate change education the  Greening Education Partnership  was launched in 2022 during the UN Secretary General's Summit on Transforming Education. This partnership, coordinated by a UNESCO Secretariat, is driving a global movement to get every learner climate-ready. The Partnership addresses four key areas of transformative education: greening schools, curricula, teachers training and education system's capacities, and communities.

How can I get involved?   

Every single person can take action in many different ways every day to protect the planet. To complement the ESD for 2030 roadmap , UNESCO has developed the ESD for 2030 toolbox to provide an evolving set of selected resources to support Member States, regional and global stakeholders to develop activities in the five priority action areas and activities in support of the six key areas of implementation. 

UNESCO also launched the Trash Hack campaign in response to the 2 billion tons of waste that the world produces every year, waste which clog up the oceans, fill the streets and litter huge areas. Trash Hacks are small changes everyone can make every day to reduce waste in their lives, their communities and the world.   

Related items

• Education for sustainable development
• Environmental education

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• Exercise is Medicine

ACSM and CDC recommendations state that:

• All healthy adults aged 18–65 years should participate in moderate intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 30 minutes on five days per week, or vigorous intensity aerobic activity for a minimum of 20 minutes on three days per week.
• Every adult should perform  activities that maintain or increase muscular strength and endurance for a minimum of two days per week.

Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition, were published in the fall of 2018. Learn what the recommendations are here.

• Bill Kraus, M.D., FACSM, Introduces ACSM's New Scientific Pronouncements 2019
• Behind the Scenes of ACSM’s Collection of Scientific Pronouncements | Physical Activity Guidelines

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• CEPA Webinar: The 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans: What’s New? | Continuing Education Course 
• 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines – How to Meet the Goals in Everyday Activities
• Daily Steps and Health | Walking Your Way to Better Health
• Five Frequently Asked Questions About the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition
• High-Intensity Interval Training: For Fitness, for Health or Both?
• New ACSM Pronouncements Make the Case, Find the Gaps  | Introduction to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition and the accompanying ACSM pronouncements 
• Paradigm Shift in Physical Activity Research: Do Bouts Matter?
• Physical Activity: A Key Lifestyle Behavior for Prevention of Weight Gain and Obesity
• Physical Activity and Function in Older Age: It’s Never too Late to Start!
• Physical Activity and Health: Does Sedentary Behavior Make a Difference?
• Physical activity, decreased risk for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease: No longer any doubt and short bouts count
• Physical Activity for the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer
• What’s New in the ACSM Pronouncement on Exercise and Hypertension?

General Activity and Health Recommendations

• Physical Activity in School-Aged Children | Blog  | Infographic
• Being Active as a Teen | Handout
• Being Active as We Get Older | Handout
• Being Active for a Better Life  | Handout
• Being Active with Your Young Child | Handout
• Exercise Preparticipation Health Screening Process | Infographic
• Exercise Prescription Form  | Form
• Monitoring Aerobic Exercise Intensity | Infographic
• PAR-Q+/ Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire | Form  
• Physical Activity Vital Sign  | Form
• Resistance Training for Health  | Infographic
• Sit Less, Move More | Handout

Chronic Disease and Special Populations

Exercise is Medicine ®  offers many handouts on being active with a variety of medical conditions as a part of their Exercise Rx Series .

• Being Active When You Have Cancer | Handout
• Exercise for Cancer Prevention and Treatment | Infographic
• Moving Through Cancer, Exercise Prescription Form | Form 
• Physical Activity Guidelines: Cancer | Infographic

Hypertension

• American Heart Association Updates Blood Pressure Guidelines | Blog
• Being Active with High Blood Pressure | Handout
• Exercise for the Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension - Implications and Application | Blog 
• FITT Recommendations for Hypertension | Infographic
• What’s Changed: New High Blood Pressure Guidelines | Blog
• Being Active During Pregnancy | Handout
• Fit Pregnancy Guidelines, A Simple Guide | Blog 
• Pregnancy and Physical Activity | Handout
• Pregnancy, Physical Activity Recommendations | Infographic
• ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 10th Edition
• ACSM's Health-Related Physical Fitness Assessment Manual
• ACSM’s Exercise Testing and Prescription
• ACSM’s Health/Fitness Facility Standards and Guidelines, Fifth Edition

Official Positions

ACSM is pleased to present the scientific reviews underlying the second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines . Health professionals, scientists, community organizations and policymakers can use the papers included in the  ACSM Scientific Pronouncements: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition  to promote more active, healthier lifestyles for individuals and communities. All papers were published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise . 

• The U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Report—Introduction
• Physical Activity Promotion: Highlights from the 2018 PAGAC Systematic Review
• Daily Step Counts for Measuring Physical Activity Exposure and Its Relation to Health
• Association between Bout Duration of Physical Activity and Health: Systematic Review
• High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) for Cardiometabolic Disease Prevention
• Sedentary Behavior and Health: Update from the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee
• Physical Activity, Cognition and Brain Outcomes: A Review of the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines
• Physical Activity in Cancer Prevention and Survival: A Systematic Review
• Physical Activity and the Prevention of Weight Gain in Adults: A Systematic Review
• Physical Activity, All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality, and Cardiovascular Disease
• Physical Activity and Health in Children under 6 Years of Age: A Systematic Review
• Benefits of Physical Activity during Pregnancy and Postpartum: An Umbrella Review
• Physical Activity, Injurious Falls and Physical Function in Aging: An Umbrella Review
• Physical Activity to Prevent and Treat Hypertension: A Systematic Review
• Effects of Physical Activity in Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Umbrella Review

Earlier Papers

• Quantity and Quality of Exercise for Developing and Maintaining Cardiorespiratory, Musculoskeletal, and Neuromotor Fitness in Apparently Healthy Adults: Guidance for Prescribing Exercise

Guidelines for Physical Activity and Health: Evolution Over 50 Years

Presented as the D.B. Dill Historical Lecture at the 2019 ACSM Annual Meeting, William Haskell, PhD, FACSM, and ACSM past president, presented a timeline of the developing science behind the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

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