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For most people, learning in adulthood brings to mind classroom settings and this is indeed what Coombs (1985) and Coombs et al. (1973) had in mind with their classification of formal education. Formal education is highly institutionalized, bureaucratic, curriculum driven, and formally recognized with grades, diplomas, or certificates. It is “the institutional ladder that goes from preschool to graduate studies” (Schugurensky, 2000, para. 2) and thus can include “adult basic education programs that follow the prescribed curriculum and employ certified teachers” (Schugurensky, 2000, para. 3).

Historically, formal education, whether it be in public schools or postsecondary institutions, has had as its primary mission to serve youth. In more recent years the populations of some of these institutions—such as many community colleges, vocational-technical institutes, and colleges and universities—have changed so dramatically that they are now reaching more adult learners than traditional-age students. In fact, nearly half of the students in postsecondary institutions are over the age of 25 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019a). For formal settings, we envision adults sitting in a classroom, with an instructor, learning in a variety of ways, from formal lectures to small-group interactions. When we ask participants what they remember as positive about learning in formal settings, they often cite well-organized, knowledgeable, and caring instructors; participatory instructional methods and well-crafted lectures; relevant and useful materials; and respect for them as adults and learners. And, conversely, when we ask participants to recall some of their worst experiences, they talk about instructors who have no sense of them as people or learners, poorly delivered content whatever the method used, and poorly organized and irrelevant materials.

The term nonformal education has been used most often to describe organized learning opportunities outside the formal educational system. These offerings tend to be short term, voluntary, and have few if any prerequisites. However, they typically have a curriculum and often a facilitator. Nonformal educational opportunities are usually local and community-based, such as those programs offered by museums, libraries, hospitals, service clubs, and religious and civic organizations; mass media is also classified as a nonformal delivery system. Some insights into these nonformal settings are revealed in Taylor's studies of educators working in the nonformal settings of state and local parks (Taylor & Caldarelli, 2004); home improvement stores (Taylor, 2005b); and the cultural institutions of aquariums, libraries, museums, parks, and zoos (Taylor & Parrish, 2010). Instructors in these settings emphasize the informality, compressed time, and hands-on, interactive nature of the learning in which the needs and interests of the participants are paramount in the encounter. Diamond, Horn, and Uttal (2016) have even offered a “practical evaluation guide” for this type of setting including museums, science centers, zoos, aquariums, planetariums, and nature centers.

Although nonformal adult education is outside the formal schooling or education system, three subtypes can be discerned, all of which are “reactions to the limitations or failures of formal education” (Brennan, 1997, p. 187). The first subtype proposed by Brennan (1997) is nonformal education as a complement to the formal system. Targeted are those who have dropped out of the formal system, or who, for whatever reason, failed to obtain basic skills such as literacy while in the system. Adult literacy classes offered by the local public library or community college would be an example of this type of nonformal education.

A second type of nonformal education Brennan terms alternative to the formal system. This includes traditional and indigenous education, which we discuss in more detail in the following section. Nonformal education can also be seen as a supplement to formal education. Supplemental nonformal education (NFE) he sees as related to a response to national and global imperatives: “This type of NFE is required as a quick reaction to educational, social and economic needs because formal education is too slow in its response (if it does in fact decide to respond) to these needs” (p. 187). An example might be an ad hoc session for health care professionals on dealing with a sudden outbreak of measles. Another example of nonformal education as supplemental might be National Issues Forums sponsored by the Kettering Foundation. These forums are held in local communities and focus on public policy issues such as the health care crisis, immigration, terrorism, the opioid epidemic and so on (see www.nifi.org).

Nonformal education is also associated with international development programs designed to improve the living conditions of people in developing countries through community projects and training programs. These programs are typically sponsored by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and private voluntary agencies. Nonformal educational programs in developing countries (as well as some nonformal programs in the United States) are “expressly concerned with social inequities and often seek to raise the consciousness of participants toward social action” (Merriam & Brockett, 2007, p. 170).

Despite efforts to distinguish between formal and nonformal education, some adult learning opportunities that could be placed in this nonformal category often more closely resemble programs in formal educational institutions. Coombs (1989) himself identifies “homegrown hybrids” of formal and nonformal, such as programs for out-of-school youth, community learning centers, and so on. Recognizing the success of a nonformal creative writing center, for example, White and Lorenzi (2016) have proposed a model for transferring the nonformal program to a formal education setting thus merging the nonformal with the formal. And in the United States, how does one classify a corporate training center or a proprietary school? So does using this term nonformal have utility today? We believe that it does, both in terms of recognizing the many educational programs in developing nations as well as focusing on the community-based programs of adult learning in all environments that fit the parameters of less structure, more flexibility, and concern with social inequalities. In addition, another type of learning usually associated with nonformal education—indigenous learning—is again being recognized as an important form of learning. Therefore, in describing nonformal educational learning opportunities, we highlight two types of these opportunities: community-based adult learning programs and indigenous learning.