A Comparative Study of Formal and Informal Learning and Their Resources: A Case of the Students of Imam Ali University

Review of the literature shows that major parts of learning happen informally but actually a lot of investments are made for the purpose of formal learning. As an applied in purpose and descriptive-field study in method, this study was an attempt to investigate these two issues comparatively. For this purpose, 195 students sampled based on simple-random method from among the students population of Imam Ali University answered Shelli and Song (2008) Questionnaire customized a bit to meet the purpose. The data analyzed through Friedman's rank test and Wilcoxon's matched-pair test revealed that informal learning correlates more than the formal one does with students learning process. Meanwhile, socio-human source of interaction has the highest effects on student's learning.