The Classroom and the Everyday: The Importance of Informal Learning for Formal Learning1

All education is learning, but not all learning is education. Formal learning takes place in an educational institution. Non-formal learning takes place outside of schools and changes depending on the individual. It is primarily self-directed. Informal learning occurs in everyday life and is not planned. This paper uses the image of the iceberg to illustrate this process: The tip of the iceberg is the conscious, formal learning, then comes the non-formal learning, but under the water there is a much larger part of informal learning.