Formal moral education takes place in structured settings like schools, religious institutions, and some community organizations. It involves planned curricula, lessons, and assessments designed to teach specific moral principles, values, and ethical reasoning.
Informal moral education occurs through everyday interactions and experiences. This includes learning from family, peers, media, and personal observations of others' behavior and consequences. It's less structured and often implicit, rather than explicitly teaching moral codes.
Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of moral development recognizes the contributions of both formal and informal processes. One doesn't exclude the other; rather, they work together to shape an individual's moral compass.