education

ed‧u‧ca‧tion S1 W1 /ˌedjʊˈkeɪʃən $ ˌedʒə-/ BrE AmE noun
[Word Family: noun: education, educationalist, educationist, educator; adjective: educated ≠ uneducated, educational, educable ≠ ineducable, educative; verb: educate; adverb: educationally]
1. [singular, uncountable] the process of teaching and learning, usually at school, college, or university:
She also hopes her children will get a good education.
efforts to improve girls’ access to education ⇨ formal education at formal1(6)
2. [uncountable] the teaching of a particular subject
health/sex education
3. [uncountable] the institutions and people involved with teaching:
the local education authority
4. [singular] an interesting experience which has taught you something – often used humorously:
Having Jimmy to stay has been quite an education!
⇨ adult education, further education, higher education
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + education
▪ a good education All parents want a good education for their children.
▪ a poor education (=not very good) She had a poor education, and left school without qualifications.
▪ an all-round education (=including a balance of lots of different subjects) The school offers a good all-round education.
▪ full-time education (=spending every weekday in a school or college) Children must stay in full-time education until the age of 16.
▪ state education British English, public education American English (=provided by the government of a country) The state of California guarantees free public education to all children.
▪ private education (=that people have to pay for) I don't agree with the principle of private education.
▪ formal education (=from teachers at school or college, rather than learning by yourself) She had no formal education and was brought up by her grandmother.
▪ primary (school) education British English, elementary education American English (=for children aged between 5 and 11) The government has announced plans to improve the quality of primary school education.
▪ secondary education (also high school education American English) (=for children aged between 11 and 18) She hopes to start a teaching career in secondary education.
▪ university/college education Do you have a university education?
▪ further/higher education (=at a college or university) I did a carpentry course at the further education college.
▪ adult education (=for adults) They run adult education classes at the local community college.
▪ vocational education (=relating to skills needed for a particular job) We offer vocational education and job training.
▪ nursery/pre-school education (=for children aged under 5) The funding will provide nursery education for all four-year-olds.
■ verbs
▪ have an education The women have had little education.
▪ get/receive an education Some children grow up without receiving any education.
▪ give/provide an education The school aims to provide a good general education.
▪ enter education (=start going to school, college etc) The number of students entering higher education has risen.
▪ leave education British English (=stop going to school, college etc) She left full-time education at the age of 16.
▪ continue your education I hope to continue my education after high school.
■ education + NOUN
▪ the education system (=the way education is organized and managed in a country) Is the British education system failing some children?
▪ the education department (=the government organization that makes decisions about education) Newcastle City Council’s education department
▪ an education authority (=a government organization that makes official decisions about education in one particular area) The school is funded by the local education authority.
▪ the education service (=all the government organizations that work together to provide education) There are plans to expand the adult education service.
▪ education policy (=political plans for managing an education system) The teaching unions are calling for the government to review its education policy.
▪ education reform (=changes that a government makes to the education system in a country) the government’s programme of education reform

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

education

edu·ca·tion [education educations] [ˌedʒuˈkeɪʃn] [ˌedʒuˈkeɪʃn] noun
1. uncountable, singular a process of teaching, training and learning, especially in schools or colleges, to improve knowledge and develop skills
• primary/elementary education
• secondary education
• further/higher/post-secondary education
• students in full-time education
• adult education classes
• a college/university education
• the state education system
• a man of little education

• She completed her formal education in 1995.

2. uncountable, singular a particular kind of teaching or training
• health education
• an alcohol education programme (= to warn of the dangers of alcohol)

• Patient education is important to minimize the risk of a second heart attack.

3. (also Education) uncountable the institutions or people involved in teaching and training
• the Education Department
• the Department of Health, Education and Welfare

• There should be closer links between education and industry.

4. (usually Education) uncountable the subject of study that deals with how to teach
• a College of Education
• a Bachelor of Education degree

• She's an education major.

5. singular (often humorous) an interesting experience that teaches you sth
• The rock concert was quite an education for my parents!
Word Origin:
mid 16th cent.: from Latin educatio(n-), from the verb educare, related to educere ‘lead out’, from e- (variant of ex-) ‘out’ + ducere ‘to lead’.
Thesaurus:
education noun U, sing.
• He had little formal education.
teaching • • training • • learning • • study • |BrE coaching • |especially AmE tutoring • |formal schooling • • instruction • • tuition •
education/teaching/training/coaching/tutoring/schooling/instruction/tuition in sth
public/state education/schooling
private education/teaching/study/coaching/tutoring/schooling/tuition
have/get/receive (an) education/training/coaching/tutoring/instruction/tuition
Collocations:
Education
Learning
acquire/get/lack (an) education/training/(BrE) (some) qualifications
receive/provide sb with training/tuition
develop/design/plan a curriculum/(especially BrE) course/(NAmE) program/syllabus
give/go to/attend a class/lesson/lecture/seminar
hold/run/conduct a class/seminar/workshop
sign up for/take a course/classes/lessons
School
go to/start preschool/kindergarten/nursery school
be in the first, second, etc. (NAmE) grade/(especially BrE) year (at school)
study/take/drop history/chemistry/German, etc.
(BrE) leave/finish/drop out of/ (NAmE) quit school
(NAmE) graduate high school/college
Problems at school
be the victim/target of bullying
(BrE) play truant from/ (both BrE, informal) bunk off/skive off school (= not go to school when you should)
(both especially NAmE) skip/cut class/school
(BrE) cheat in/(NAmE) cheat on an exam/a test
get/be given a detention (for doing sth)
be expelled from/be suspended from school
Work and exams
do your homework/(BrE) revision/a project on sth
work on/write/do/submit an essay/a dissertation/a thesis/an assignment/(NAmE) a paper
finish/complete your dissertation/thesis/studies/coursework
hand in/ (NAmE) turn in your homework/essay/assignment/paper
study/prepare/ (BrE) revise/ (NAmE) review/ (NAmE, informal) cram for a test/an exam
take/ (both BrE) do/sit a test/an exam
(especially BrE) mark/ (especially NAmE) grade homework/a test
(BrE) do well in/ (NAmE) do well on/ (informal, especially NAmE) ace a test/an exam
pass/fail/ (informal, especially NAmE) flunk a test/an exam/a class/a course/a subject
University
apply to/get into/go to/start college/(BrE) university
leave/graduate from law school/college/(BrE) university (with a degree in computer science)
study for/take/ (BrE) do/complete a law degree/a degree in physics
(both NAmE) major/minor in biology/philosophy
earn/receive/be awarded/get/have/hold a master's degree/a bachelor's degree/a PhD in economics
Example Bank:
• 41% had some post-secondary education.
• Although he had had little formal education, he could read and write well.
• He received a classical education.
• He was at a disadvantage because of the poor education he had received.
• He went to America to complete his education.
• He'd received an excellent general education in Poland.
• How well a child does at school is influenced by the level of parental education.
• Many people lack the education and training that is needed for these jobs.
• Nigeria committed itself to universal primary education.
• No one is denied an education because they are poor in this country.
• Researchers have found that single-sex education may benefit girls.
• She brought up two children while pursuing a college education.
• She went to college to continue her education.
• Technology allows distance education to occur at all levels.
• The council has launched a new health education campaign.
• The project seeks to improve education for students.
• The school provides an excellent all-round education.
• There are additional education requirements for nurses on this course.
• They set up an account to fund their daughter's education.
• They want to broaden their research and education activities.
• We acquire much of our world knowledge through education.
• We need to invest in the higher education sector.
• a college of further education
• a policy that has been adopted by the entire education community
• adult education courses
• children in early education settings
• education about danger on the roads
• efforts to improve education standards
• funds provided by the local education authority
• parents who choose private education for their children
• students entering higher education
• the party's policy on comprehensive education
• young people who are just leaving full-time education
• Education about HIV and other preventable diseases needs to improve.
• Elementary education is excellent in this area.
• Every child in the country needs to be provided with a first-class education.
• He had little formal education.
• In those days it was very difficult for poorer people to get a university education.
• It is only through education that prejudice can be overcome.
• Only about 40% of girls in the poorer areas of the country have access to primary education.
• Parents are beginning to wake up to the importance of pre-school education.
• Sex education in schools needs to be improved.
• The government is planning major reforms in the education system.
• There needs to be more money going into state education.
• We have a thriving continuing education department.
• Where did he go to for his secondary education?

• Will she go on to higher education?

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

education / ˌed.jʊˈkeɪ.ʃ ə n / noun [ S or U ]

B1 the process of teaching or learning in a school or college, or the knowledge that you get from this:

As a child he received most of his education at home.

It's a country which places great importance on education.

She lectures in education (= the study of education) at the teacher training college.

It's important for children to get a good education.

Word partners for education

get / have / receive an education • a good education • be in education • an education authority / service / system

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

education

[e̱ʤʊke͟ɪʃ(ə)n]
♦♦
educations
1) N-VAR Education involves teaching people various subjects, usually at a school or college, or being taught.
  They're cutting funds for education...
  Paul prolonged his education with six years of advanced study in English.
  ...a man with little education.
2) N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp Education of a particular kind involves teaching the public about a particular issue.
  ...better health education.
3) → See also adult education, further education, higher education

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

education

ed·u·ca·tion /ˌɛʤəˈkeɪʃən/ noun, pl -tions
1 a [noncount] : the action or process of teaching someone especially in a school, college, or university
• The school is devoted to the education of children with reading difficulties.
- see also adult education, higher education, physical education
b : the knowledge, skill, and understanding that you get from attending a school, college, or university

[count]

• a college education
• She received her education at private schools.
• The applicants had comparable educations.

[noncount]

• He had little formal education. [=schooling]
2 [noncount] : a field of study that deals with the methods and problems of teaching
• She earned her master's degree in education.
• a school of education