Definition of Basic Education

It can easily be said that basic education is the most important education that an individual receives since it is the one that allows them to obtain basic knowledge from which to deepen their intellectual and rational sense. Basic education is part of what is known as formal education, that is, that type of education that is organized into levels or stages, that has clear objectives and that is taught in institutions specially designated for it (schools, colleges, institutes). . Although it is also possible for a child to receive basic knowledge from a tutor or even from his own family, the school is always the one most responsible for transmitting to the majority of the population what is considered basic and necessary knowledge.

We could point out two types of knowledge as the most distinctive elements of basic education: on the one hand, those that have to do with the development of reading comprehension skills, that is, reading and writing. On the other hand, basic or elementary education is also dedicated to teaching basic mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It is considered that from this primary combination of knowledge, the person can begin to communicate much better with the rest of society, as well as develop their intellectual and logical capacities.

The organization of basic education varies from country to country and even in some places public basic education is not the same as private basic education. In general terms, basic or elementary education begins around the age of six and lasts until the child is approximately twelve or thirteen, at which time secondary education must begin, in which knowledge is much more specific and more clearly divided into areas (for example, instead of being social sciences there is history, civic education, philosophy, geography, etc.). In most countries, basic education is compulsory and universal, which means that it does not depend on institutions such as the Church (although there may be private schools that do) but is organized and carried out by the State, which gives it a much more democratic and inclusive sense.

Following