1. Differences in educational purposes: According to the theory of formal education, the main task of teaching is to develop students' faculties or abilities, especially their thinking ability, and to develop students' intelligence through the opening of formal subjects, without paying special attention to the practical significance of the subject content. According to the theory of entity education, the main task of teaching is to impart useful knowledge to life, such as physics, history and geography. There is no special cultivation of students' intelligence.

2. Different theoretical basis: The theory of formal education is based on functional psychology, which emphasizes that intellectual development depends on mastering knowledge, but it may ignore intellectual development. Based on associative psychology, the theory of substantive education emphasizes that psychological phenomena are the connection between experience and ideas, and teaching should pay attention to the accumulation, connection and systematization of knowledge.

3. Differences in teaching methods: The teaching methods of formal education theory attach importance to language, especially ancient language, mathematics and dialectics, so as to train students' thinking ability. On the other hand, the teaching method of entity education theory pays attention to natural science knowledge and social experience, ignores ancient history and language, and emphasizes adapting to the needs of large machine production and cultivating practical and technical talents.