Jerome Bruner (1960) writing about structure in The Process of Education states:
Grasping the structure of a subject is understanding it in a way that permits other things to be related to it meaningfully. To learn structure is to learn how things are related.
Earlier learning renders later performance more efficient through specific transfer and non-specific transfer. 'Specific transfer' is the application of certain skills and knowledge learnt to specific tasks; for example, in mathematics, a child who is taught to add two one-digit numbers should be able to compute problems involving the addition of two one digit numbers. 'Non-specific transfer', the basis of the process of education, suggests that tile knowledge gained in specific situations will enable pupils to master more complex examples, provided the knowledge has been presented in a way that will enable tile user to put it to good use. The continuity of learning produced by this type of transfer is dependent upon the mastery of the structure of the subject matter.