The basic forms of education are family education, school education and social education.

The form of education refers to the form and state of education, a social phenomenon, and education has different forms of expression since it came into being. School education means that educators make use of the school system, exert influence on the body and mind of the educated purposefully, planned and organized according to the requirements of a certain society and the laws of individual physical and mental development, and cultivate them into people needed by a certain society.

Family education refers to the education that parents or other elderly people consciously give to their children in family life. Compared with school education and social education, family education is more extensive, and parents give their children all-round education they need to be human and do things.

Social education refers to the education of teenagers, children and adults by all social and cultural institutions and social groups or organizations other than schools and families, and social education is a necessary supplement to school education. With the concept of lifelong education put forward, social education has developed vigorously and become an integral part of lifelong education.

On the object of education, social education is not limited by age, sex, nationality and belief; In terms of educational content, social education includes not only the training of vocational skills, but also the education of enriching personal life; In terms of educational methods, social education has long-term teaching, short-term training, series of lectures, radio and television education and other teaching forms.