Free education

Free education refers to education that is funded through taxation or charitable organizations rather than tuition funding. Primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is free in many countries, for example, all education is mostly free (often not including books (from primary) and a number of administrative and sundry fees in university) including post-graduate studies in the Nordic countries. The Article 13 of International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ensures the right to free education at primary education and progressive introduction of it at secondary and higher education as the right to education. From 2013 in Northern Europe Estonia started providing free higher education as well. In Argentina, Norway and Finland, no fees apply for foreign students enrolling at a university, although they may not be eligible for a monthly study allowance and loan. Bachelor's degree programmes in Norway are solely taught in Norwegian.Master's degree programmes in Norway are offered in either Norwegian or English depending on the programme and/or university. Sweden, until recently, provided free education to foreign students but changes have been introduced to charge fees to foreign students from outside of the European community. Denmark also has universal free education, and provides a monthly stipend, the "Statens Uddannelsesstøtte" or "SU", to students over 18 years of age or students who are under 18 and attending a higher education. Bachelor and master's degree programmes in Denmark are offered in either Danish or English depending on the programme and/or university. Czech Republic, Greece and Argentina provide free education at all levels, including college and university.

Universal access to education

Universal access to education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, gender, ethnicity background or physical and mental disabilities. The term is used both in college admission for the middle and lower classes, and in assistive technology for the disabled. Some critics find this idea an example of "political correctness". In order to facilitate the access of education to all, certain countries have right to education.

Universal access to education encourages a variety of pedagogical approaches to accomplish the dissemination of knowledge across the diversity of social, political, cultural, economic, national and biological backgrounds. Initially developed with the theme of equal opportunity access and inclusion of students with learning or physical and mental disabilities, the themes governing universal access to education have now expanded across all forms of ability and diversity. However, as the definition of diversity is within itself is a broad amalgamation, teachers exercising universal access will continually face challenges and incorporate adjustments in their lesson plan to foster themes of equal opportunity of education.

As universal access continues to be incorporated into the U.S. education system, professors and instructors at the college level are required (in some instances by law) to rethink methods of facilitating universal access in their classrooms. Universal access to college education may involve the provision of a variety of different assessment methods of learning and retention. For example, in order to determine how much of the material was learned, a professor may enlist multiple methods of assessment. Methods of assessment may include a comprehensive exam, unit exams, portfolios, research papers, literature reviews, an oral exam or homework assignments. Providing a variety of ways to assess the extent of learning and retention will not only identify the gaps in universal access but may also elucidate the ways to improve universal access.

Adult Education

Adult education is designed to provide study opportunities for adults. It encompasses self-motivated education, staff training and labour market training. The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for self-motivated education, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy for labour market training and employers for staff training.

Some 800 educational institutions provide further and continuing education of varying duration, non-degree studies, as well as education leading to a qualification. Learning mostly takes place in working life and through informal studies using networks, libraries and other learning environments.

More than 1.7 million citizens participate in different types of adult education each year. More than half of this number is made up of the working age population, and this figure is high also in international terms. The aim is for the annual share of the working age population participating in education to reach 60 per cent by 2012. To achieve this figure, the participation base needs to be expanded and the study opportunities of the population groups who participate the least must be improved. The goal is to increase the study opportunities of people with no vocational education and training or whose education is outdated, entrepreneurs, the staff of small and medium-sized enterprises, immigrants and people aged over 55.
An average of 12 per cent of the Ministry of Education and Culture’s main title of expenditure is allocated to adult education. Of this total, about 40 per cent is allocated to vocational adult education and training and apprenticeship training, one fourth goes to adult education provided by higher education institutions, a fifth to liberal adult education, and about 5 per cent to developing adult education and continuing education for teaching staff.


The tasks and key reforms of adult education policy
The tasks of adult education policy are to ensure the availability and competence of the labour force, provide educational opportunities for the entire adult population, and strengthen social cohesion and equality. Adult education policy supports efforts to extend working life, raise the employment rate, improve productivity, enhance multiculturalism and implement the conditions for lifelong learning. In addition, adult education alleviates the effects of the recession.

The reform of adult education encompasses vocational adult education and training, apprenticeship training, adult education provided by higher education institutions, labour market training for adults, and staff training. A steering group was appointed for the preparatory work and it includes representatives from the ministries responsible for the reforms (the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of Employment and the Economy) as well as from national labour market organisations. The main proposals were completed in the summer of 2009 (Ministry of Education 2009:11), and their implementation has begun. Some of the key issues include strengthening learning in working life, recognising skills that have been acquired in different ways, facilitating opportunities to combine studies in a flexible way, enhancing adult education offered by higher education institutions, making information, guidance and counselling services more effective in order to improve the relevance of adult education, increasing study opportunities for the population groups that are least represented in adult education, clarifying the benefit systems available for adult education, and expanding the funding base. The implementation of the reforms to adult education requires extensive cooperation between the different ministries, labour market organisations as well as educational institutions and universities.

Liberal adult education has the task of responding to changing educational needs and, through its activities, of strengthening social cohesion, active citizenship and the conditions for lifelong learning. The development programme for liberal adult education is scheduled for 2009-2012. The proposals of the preparatory committee (Ministry of Education 2009:12) are serving as the basis for amending the legislation, funding system and the maintaining organisation and institutional structure of liberal adult education. Responding to the educational needs of immigrants, those who need educational rehabilitation, the unemployed and senior citizens, as well as ensuring the regional availability of education are emphasised.

Apprenticeship training constitutes the main form of learning in working life. An increasing share of vocational upper secondary education and training and vocational further education and training is arranged through apprenticeships. Apprenticeship training will be developed and expanded in accordance with the proposals of the rapporteur (Ministry of Education 2009:1) and the policies connected to the reforms to adult education. In 2009, apprenticeship-type training was integrated into continuing education for people with higher education degrees. In addition, labour market training is provided in the form of apprenticeship training.

The opportunities of teaching staff to constantly develop their professional competence will be improved by the launch of the Osaava programme and the recommendations of the working group (Ministry of Education 2009:16). Continuing education for teaching staff with an immigrant background will be a priority over the next few years.
 
The study opportunities of immigrants will be enhanced at all educational levels. The focus areas with respect to the adult population will be to improve language teaching and enhance study opportunities that support employment and integration.

Adult education and the Ministry of Education and Culture

At the Ministry of Education and Culture, adult education comes under the Division for Adult Education and Training Policy of the Department for Higher Education and Science Policy. The Division handles issues relating to adult education, liberal adult education and the promotion of educational policy based on the principle of lifelong learning. The following issues come under the scope of the Division for Adult Education and Training Policy:

• Developing the conditions for national adult education policy and lifelong learning
• Vocational adult education and training, apprenticeship training and competence-based qualifications
• Adult education offered by higher education institutions and open learning
• General adult education and national certificates of language proficiency
• Liberal adult education and educational and guidance organisations
• Guidance on adult education, counselling and the recognition of competence acquired in different ways
• Assessing the need for and provision of adult education as well as guidance (permission to provide education and performance steering)
• Coordinating training for teaching staff and immigrants
• Legislation, funding and economic planning for the sector
• The quality of the activities, evaluations and international cooperation

The Council for Lifelong Learning is an expert body within the Ministry of Education and Culture, which considers issues relating to cooperation between education and working life as well as the conditions for lifelong learning and developing adult education.

History of Russian Eduacation

Education in Russia has traditionally been a very important part of life. Mass education there took root with Peter the Great in the beginning of the 18th century. As his first act as tsar, he departed Russia to study abroad in Germany and Holland. When he returned, he placed great emphasis in establishing modern education systems in Russia as he had seen in those countries.

Under Peter’s system, secondary education took place in gymnasia, which were later divided into boys and girls schools. Students attended the gymnasium for 10 to 12 years. Initially, only those in high social circles could afford to send their children to these schools.  Later, in the late 18th, early 19th centuries, schools began to open to the general public.

Starting from the middle of the 18th century, higher education as a system started with the foundation of universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The system was modeled after that of the Germans: it was open to secondary school graduates and took five years to complete. Upon completion, a "Diploma of Higher Education" in a specialized area was granted. Since then, the system itself has not changed much.

The Soviets greatly expanded the public schools, so that (at least theoretically) the entire population had access to secondary education. They also built many universities and institutes, particularly scientific and diplomatic training centers. Many of these insititutions are still highly prestigious and, within Russia, the pursuit of higher education was and, to a large extent, still is considered to be very prestigious. More than 50% of Russians have received higher education of some sort.

As the world becomes more global, so has education in Russia. In order to more closely correspond with educational systems in the USA in Europe, the Russian system has begun to change. Now, many institutions offer Bachelor’s degrees with a four-year program and a Master’s degree with a two-year program. The transition, however, is still under way, and some departments operate on the modern system, and others on the old five-year system, which bestowed (bestowes) the title of "Specialist." The Bologna Process is also influencing the development of education in Russia.

After completing higher education, one may pursue additional postgraduate studies (aspirantura in Russian), for another three years. After one’s thesis is written and successfully defended, the “Candidate of Science” or Kandidat nauk degree is awarded. This has been deemed equivalent to the Ph.D. degree of the American system.

However, the Russian system also offers a degree higher than the Ph.D. equivalent “Candidate of Science.” It is known as the “Doctor of Science” or Doktor nauk degree. This process, known as doctorantura in Russian, takes three more years. After defending a doctoral thesis, the Doctor of Science degree is awarded.

Taken as a whole, the Russian system of higher education is one whose reputation has survived many governmental forms, and international and financial crises.  Russian degrees are recognized and respected the world over.  

Social Education

Social Education, our flagship journal, contains a balance of theoretical content and practical teaching ideas. The award-winning resources include techniques for using materials in the classroom, information on the latest instructional technology, reviews of educational media, research on significant social studies-related topics, and lesson plans that can be applied to various disciplines. Departments include Looking at the Law, Surfing the Net, and Teaching with Documents. Social Education is published 6 times per year: September; October; November/December; January/February; March/April; and May/June

Progressive education

Progressive education is a pedagogical movement that began in the late nineteenth century; it has persisted in various forms to the present. The term progressive was engaged to distinguish this education from the traditional Euro-American curricula of the 19th century, which was rooted in classical preparation for the university and strongly differentiated by social class. By contrast, progressive education finds its roots in present experience. Most progressive education programs have these qualities in common:[citation needed]

Emphasis on learning by doing – hands-on projects, expeditionary learning, experiential learning
Integrated curriculum focused on thematic units
Integration of entrepreneurship into education
Strong emphasis on problem solving and critical thinking
Group work and development of social skills
Understanding and action as the goals of learning as opposed to rote knowledge
Collaborative and cooperative learning projects
Education for social responsibility and democracy
Highly personalized education accounting for each individual's personal goals
Integration of community service and service learning projects into the daily curriculum
Selection of subject content by looking forward to ask what skills will be needed in future society
De-emphasis on textbooks in favor of varied learning resources
Emphasis on lifelong learning and social skills
Assessment by evaluation of child’s projects and productions

Educational technology

Educational technology is the effective use of technological tools in learning. As a concept, it concerns an array of tools, such as media, machines and networking hardware, as well as considering underlying theoretical perspectives for their effective application.

Educational technology is not restricted to high technology. Also called e-learning, it includes an array of approaches, components, and delivery methods. For example, m-learning emphasizes mobility, but is otherwise indistinguishable in principle from educational technology.

Educational technology includes numerous types of media that deliver text, audio, images, animation, and streaming video, and includes technology applications and processes such as audio or video tape, satellite TV, CD-ROM, and computer-based learning, as well as local intranet/extranet and web-based learning. Information and communication systems, whether free-standing or based on either local networks or the Internet in networked learning, underlie many e-learning processes.

Theoretical perspectives and scientific testing influence instructional design. The application of theories of human behavior to educational technology derives input from instructional theory, learning theory, educational psychology, media psychology and human performance technology.

Educational technology and e-learning can occur in or out of the classroom. It can be self-paced, asynchronous learning or may be instructor-led, synchronous learning. It is suited to distance learning and in conjunction with face-to-face teaching, which is termed blended learning. Educational technology is used by learners and educators in homes, schools (both K-12 and higher education), businesses, and other settings.

Economics of education

It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of economic growth. Empirical analyses tend to support the theoretical prediction that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich countries. However, technology transfer requires knowledgeable managers and engineers who are able to operate new machines or production practices borrowed from the leader in order to close the gap through imitation. Therefore, a country's ability to learn from the leader is a function of its stock of "human capital". Recent study of the determinants of aggregate economic growth have stressed the importance of fundamental economic institutions and the role of cognitive skills.

At the level of the individual, there is a large literature, generally related to the work of Jacob Mincer, on how earnings are related to the schooling and other human capital. This work has motivated a large number of studies, but is also controversial. The chief controversies revolve around how to interpret the impact of schooling. Some students who have indicated a high potential for learning, by testing with a high intelligence quotient, may not achieve their full academic potential, due to financial difficulties.[citation needed]

Economists Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis argued in 1976 that there was a fundamental conflict in American schooling between the egalitarian goal of democratic participation and the inequalities implied by the continued profitability of capitalist production

The intelligence–education relationship

Intelligence is an important factor in how the individual responds to education. Those who have higher intelligence tend to perform better at school and go on to higher levels of education. This effect is also observable in the opposite direction, in that education increases measurable intelligence. Studies have shown that while educational attainment is important in predicting intelligence in later life, intelligence at 53 is more closely correlated to intelligence at 8 years old than to educational attainment

Educational psychology

Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms "educational psychology" and "school psychology" are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists. Educational psychology is concerned with the processes of educational attainment in the general population and in sub-populations such as gifted children and those with specific disabilities.

Knowledge Day in Donetsk, Ukraine, 2013

Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology. Educational psychology in turn informs a wide range of specialties within educational studies, including instructional design, educational technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and classroom management. Educational psychology both draws from and contributes to cognitive science and the learning sciences. In universities, departments of educational psychology are usually housed within faculties of education, possibly accounting for the lack of representation of educational psychology content in introductory psychology textbooks (Lucas, Blazek, & Raley, 2006).

Educational theory

Individual purposes for pursuing education can vary. Understanding the goals and means of educational socialization processes may also differ according to the sociological paradigm used.

The early years of schooling generally focus around developing basic interpersonal communication and literacy skills. This lays a foundation for more complex skills and subjects. Later, education usually turns toward gaining the knowledge and skills needed to create value and establish a livelihood.

People also pursue education for its own sake to satisfy innate curiosity, out of interest in a specific subject or skill, or for overall personal development.

Education is often understood as a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality, and acquiring wealth and status for all (Sargent 1994). Education is also often perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potentials,with the purpose of developing every individual to their full potential.

Some claim that there is education inequality because children did not exceed the education of their parents. This education inequality is then associated with income inequality. Although critical thinking is a goal of education, criticism and blame are often the unintended by products of our current educational process. Students often blame their teachers and their textbooks, despite the availability of libraries and the internet. When someone tries to improve education, the educational establishment itself occasionally showers the person with criticism rather than gratitude. Better by products of an educational system would be gratitude and determination.

Developed countries have people with more resources (housing, food, transportation, water and sewage treatment, hospitals, health care, libraries, books, media, schools, the internet, education, etc.) than most of the world's population. One merely needs to see through travel or the media how many people in the undeveloped countries live to sense this. However, one can also use economic data to gain some insight into this. Yet criticism and blame are common among people in the developed countries.

Gratitude for all these resources and the determination to develop oneself would be more productive than criticism and blame because the resources are readily available and because, if you blame others, there is no need for you to do something different tomorrow or for you to change and improve. Where there is a will, there is a way. People in developed countries have the will and the way to do many things that they want to do. They sometimes need more determination and will to improve and to educate themselves with the resources that are abundantly available. They occasionally need more gratitude for the resources they have, including their teachers and their textbooks. The entire internet is also available to supplement these teachers and textbooks.

Education and technology in developing countries

The OLPC laptop being introduced to children in Haiti
Technology plays an increasingly significant role in improving access to education for people living in impoverished areas and developing countries. Charities like One Laptop per Child are dedicated to providing infrastructures through which the disadvantaged may access educational materials.

The OLPC foundation, a group out of MIT Media Lab and supported by several major corporations, has a stated mission to develop a $100 laptop for delivering educational software. The laptops were widely available as of 2008. They are sold at cost or given away based on donations.

In Africa, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has launched an "e-school program" to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years. An International Development Agency project called nabuur.com, started with the support of former American President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development.

India is developing technologies that will bypass land-based telephone and Internet infrastructure to deliver distance learning directly to its students. In 2004, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched EDUSAT, a communications satellite providing access to educational materials that can reach more of the country's population at a greatly reduced cost.

History of Education

Nalanda, ancient center for higher learning

Plato's academy, mosaic from Pompeii
Education began in prehistory, as adults trained the young in the knowledge and skills deemed necessary in their society. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling passed knowledge, values, and skills from one generation to the next. As cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond skills that could be readily learned through imitation, formal education developed. Schools existed in Egypt at the time of the Middle Kingdom.


Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclid's Elements published in 1607
Plato founded the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in Europe.The city of Alexandria in Egypt, established in 330 BCE, became the successor to Athens as the intellectual cradle of Ancient Greece. There, the great Library of Alexandria was built in the 3rd century BCE. European civilizations suffered a collapse of literacy and organization following the fall of Rome in AD 476.

In China, Confucius (551-479 BCE), of the State of Lu, was the country's most influential ancient philosopher, whose educational outlook continues to influence the societies of China and neighbors like Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Confucius gathered disciples and searched in vain for a ruler who would adopt his ideals for good governance, but his Analects were written down by followers and have continued to influence education in East Asia into the modern era.[citation needed]

After the Fall of Rome, the Catholic Church became the sole preserver of literate scholarship in Western Europe. The church established cathedral schools in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education. Some of these establishments ultimately evolved into medieval universities and forebears of many of Europe's modern universities. During the High Middle Ages, Chartres Cathedral operated the famous and influential Chartres Cathedral School. The medieval universities of Western Christendom were well-integrated across all of Western Europe, encouraged freedom of inquiry, and produced a great variety of fine scholars and natural philosophers, including Thomas Aquinas of the University of Naples, Robert Grosseteste of the University of Oxford, an early expositor of a systematic method of scientific experimentation, and Saint Albert the Great, a pioneer of biological field research. Founded in 1088, the University of Bologne is considered the first, and the oldest continually operating university.

Elsewhere during the Middle Ages, Islamic science and mathematics flourished under the Islamic caliphate which was established across the Middle East, extending from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Indus in the east and to the Almoravid Dynasty and Mali Empire in the south.

The Renaissance in Europe ushered in a new age of scientific and intellectual inquiry and appreciation of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press, which allowed works of literature to spread more quickly. The European Age of Empires saw European ideas of education in philosophy, religion, arts and sciences spread out across the globe. Missionaries and scholars also brought back new ideas from other civilisations — as with the Jesuit China missions who played a significant role in the transmission of knowledge, science, and culture between China and Europe, translating works from Europe like Euclid's Elements for Chinese scholars and the thoughts of Confucius for European audiences. The Enlightenment saw the emergence of a more secular educational outlook in Europe.

In most countries today, full-time education, whether at school or otherwise, is compulsory for all children up to a certain age. Due to this the proliferation of compulsory education, combined with population growth, UNESCO has calculated that in the next 30 years more people will receive formal education than in all of human history thus far.

Sociology of Education

The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes. It is mostly concerned with the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the expansion of higher, further, adult, and continuing education.

Education has often been very much so seen as a fundamentally optimistic human endeavour characterised by aspirations forprogress and betterment. It is understood by many to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality, and acquiring wealth and social status. Education is perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potential. It is also perceived as one of the best means of achieving greater social equality. Many would say that the purpose of education should be to develop every individual to their full potential, and give them a chance to achieve as much in life as their natural abilities allow (meritocracy). Few would argue that any education system accomplishes this goal perfectly. Some take a particularly negative view, arguing that the education system is designed with the intention of causing the social reproduction of inequality.

Human Rights Education

The emphasis on Human Rights Education began in 1995 with the beginning of the UN Decade for Human Rights Education, though previously addressed in 1953 with the UNESCO Associated Schools Program, which served as an “initial attempt to teach human rights in formal school settings”. The first formal request for the need to educate students about human rights came about in UNESCO’s 1974 article Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Cooperation and Peace, and Education Relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The participants of the International Congress on the Teaching of Humans Rights eventually met in 1978 to form a specific definition of what would be required application of the education in formal curricula. The aims at which the Congress agreed upon including the encouragement of tolerant attitudes with focus on respect, providing knowledge of human rights in the context of national and international dimensions as well as their implementations, and finally developing awareness of human rights translating into reality whether social or political on national and international levels.

Human Rights Education became an official central concern internationally after the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993. This conference brought the issue of educating formally to the top of many countries’ priority lists and was brought to the attention of the United Nations. It was two years later that the United Nations approved the Decade for Human Rights Education, which reformed the aims of application once again. Since the development of the UN Decade, the incorporation of human rights education into formal school curricula has been developed and diversified with the assistance of nongovernmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, and individuals dedicated to spreading the topic through formal education.

Today the most influential document used to determine what qualifies as human rights and how to implement these ideas and rights into everyday life is the Universal Declaration. This declaration was adopted by the General Assembly in 1948, making December 10 annual Human Rights Day ever since. To this day the 30 article compilation is seen as “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations”.

Educational Psychology

Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms "educational psychology" and "school psychology" are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists. Educational psychology is concerned with the processes of educational attainment in the general population and in sub-populations such as gifted children and those with specific disabilities.

Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology. Educational psychology in turn informs a wide range of specialties within educational studies, including instructional design, educational technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and classroom management. Educational psychology both draws from and contributes to cognitive science and the learning sciences. In universities, departments of educational psychology are usually housed within faculties of education, possibly accounting for the lack of representation of educational psychology content in introductory psychology textbooks (Lucas, Blazek, & Raley, 2006)
.

Higher Education

Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or postsecondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school such as a high school or secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities mainly provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Individuals who complete tertiary education generally receive certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees.

Higher education typically involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy.

University education includes teaching, research, and social services activities, and it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Universities are generally composed of several colleges. In the United States, universities can be private and independent like Yale University; public and state-governed like the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education; or independent but state-funded like the University of Virginia. A number of career specific courses are now available to students through the Internet.

One type of university education is a liberal arts education, which can be defined as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting broad general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum." Although what is known today as liberal arts education began in Europe,the term "liberal arts college" is more commonly associated with institutions in the United States.

Education

Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. Educational methods include storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and directed research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators, but learners may also educate themselves. Education can take place in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. The methodology of teaching is called pedagogy.

Education is commonly and formally divided into stages such as preschool or kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and then college, university or apprenticeship.

A right to education has been recognized by some governments, including at the global level: Article 13 of the United Nations' 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes a universal right to education. In most regions education is compulsory up to a certain age.