Civilizatia Britanica Si Americana Sistem Educational

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BRITISH AND AMERICAN CIVILIZATION.

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

Half of the world’s two hundred best universities are located in either the United States of America or in the United Kingdom. These two countries share an old and rich tradition regarding higher quality of the education, good research facilities and an educational culture that promotes intellectualism and academic freedom. While both countries provide a very good environment for learning and education, there are some differences between them regarding the educational system and education structure.

The biggest difference between the educational system in the United States of America and the educational system in the United Kingdom is the amount of time it takes for a student to finish his degree. Almost all degree programs in the United States of America take one year longer than the degree programs in the United Kingdom, even though this depends from program to program.

In both of the educational systems mentioned before, a graduate can go directly to a PhD program (doctorate) after finishing college, but in the United Kingdom is more common for a student to obtain a Master`s degree before getting their PhD`s. Courses of study are much shorter in the United Kingdom, but only because the course programs is more focused than in the United States of America.

An academic term, is also called term and it is represented by the portion of the entire academic year in which an educational institution teaches classes. Regarding their term, most universities in America begin their terms in August, but some smaller liberal arts colleges start their term later in September. Most universities take a break in December and begin the second semester in January. Universities that are using a trimester or a quarter-based term system begin the winter break at the end of November.

The term in the United Kingdom is a little more varied. Because most of the universities use the semester system in UK, we can see that the trimester and the quarter systems are only used in a small number of universities.

Most universities start school either in September or October and end their classes either in May or June, having a long academic year. The academic term is less standardized in United Kingdom as in United States of America.

Some of the universities in the United Kingdom are just a join of colleges dedicated to a specific subject. The colleges are usually governed by the universities, but each specific college has some autonomy from other colleges and from the university.

As an exception, in the United States of America the students apply to the universities and at first they have to take various courses, and they only have to declare a major after finishing the first year or during their second year in the university.

In most of the States in USA, the educational system is divided into school districts, managed by the school board. The school board is representing the local community. Considering their size, some school districts are small, covering small towns or counties and some are big, covering larger cities. School districts have local regulations, and they have responsibilities regarding the coordination of educational policies, the change in the educational needs of the communities and the establishment of school programs.

Therefore, there is huge variation among schools regarding courses, subjects, and other activities – it always depends on where the school is located. Still, there are some common points, as e.g. the division of the education system into three levels: elementary/primary education, secondary education, and postsecondary/higher education (college or university).

In the United States of America children start their education with the kindergarten, where they spend their time playing. Kindergarten is usually started at five or six years old, but there are children whom attend pre-school before kindergarten from three or four years old.

After kindergarten the children start elementary school (or grade school), as a compulsory form of education. Elementary school covers the first five years of school. The curriculum usually includes essential subjects like English, math and science.

After finishing elementary school, the children go to Junior High (or middle school), which lasts for three years. In the ninth grade the children will start attending High School for four years.

In the entire United States of America, the first year High School students are being called freshmen, the second year students are being called sophomores, the third year students are being called juniors and the fourth year students are being called seniors.

When students are in their junior year, they have to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (the SAT). This four-hour test quizzes students on their language, writing, math and critical thinking skills, among other things. The scores on this national test determine whether the students will succeed when they are applying to a university of their choice.

Some of the American universities are made of “Schools” or departments, as the School of Arts and Sciences, which comprises from a number of related majors in the Art and Science field. After students declare a major at some of the American universities, they still have to take different classes outside of the chosen field, classes which are known as “electives”.

The general emphasis of higher education in the United States of America is wider than in other countries, as students are getting a wide-range of knowledge from different fields. Comparing the American educational system to the British educational system we see that in the United Kingdom, the general emphasis of higher education has a deeper approach, as students are getting in-depth knowledge in their chosen fields.

BIBLIOGRAFIE

Corsi Bunker A., Guide to the Education System in the United States, International Student&Scholar Services, University of Minnesota.

Hansen K., Vignoles A. (2005), The United Kingdom Education System in Comparative Context, UK, Princeton University Press.