Guiding people to make decisions democratically. Agricultural Extension Service personnel help people understand that the most important thing is to obtain their education through individual expression, self-direction, and self-improvement, which is achieved by practicing what they have learned.
History of the SEA and Land Grant Colleges or Universities
The SEA's Philosophy
Types of Education
| Formal Education | Non-formal Education | Informal Education |
|---|---|---|
| Based on the institutionalized, chronologically graded, and hierarchically structured educational system that spans from elementary school to university. (Obtaining a degree.) | Any organized and systematic educational activity carried out outside the formal system structure to provide learning to subgroups of the population, whether they are adults or children. (Not leading to a degree.) | A lifelong process in which people acquire and accumulate knowledge, skills, and attitudes from daily experiences and contact with their environment. |
Non-formal Education
Six dimensions of non-formal education that we apply in the Agricultural Extension Service (Etling-1975 and Khan-1989):
1. It follows a learner-centered approach, in which the learner is actively involved in the educational process;
2. It is practical, flexible, and based on the needs of the participants;
3. The educational process is interactive, based on mutual respect and trust;
4. It solves problems creatively using existing resources, reducing costs without affecting the quality of the work;
5. Participation is not usually mandatory;
6. Its approach is less structured, offering greater flexibility in the educational process.