educational system uk and usa

[Gość: asińka]

How does educational system look like in USA and UK? Od przedszkola do
studiów? jak powiedziec "matura" i "magister"? Please help!!!1

[Gość: Atka]

Hi,
You can find info about educational systems of different countries at UNESCO -
International Bureau of Education website.
In USA:
Pre-school education

Elementary education includes one or two years of pre-school and one year of
kindergarten. Most public school systems provide half-day kindergarten classes
for children aged 5, and some provide pre-school classes for younger children,
though most pre-school programmes are offered privately. An important feature
of the increasing participation of young children in pre-primary schools is the
increasing proportion in full-day programmes.

Primary education

Although primary education may consist of six or eight grades, the six-grade
school is most common. The main purpose of primary school is the general
development of children from 6 to 12 or 14 years of age (depending on whether
the school is a six- or eight-year elementary school). During the 1960s, the
middle school gained widespread acceptance in U.S. education. A refinement of
the junior high school, which was designed to improve the transition from
elementary to secondary education, the middle school usually includes grades
five or six through eight, provides team teaching and other innovative
instructional methods, and emphasizes curricular exploration and growing
independence for students. Its purpose is to serve the educational needs of
students in the early adolescent period, those between 10 and 14 years of age.

Secondary education

Secondary education begins at Grade VII or Grade IX, depending on whether
elementary education in the system extends through Grade VI or Grade VIII. In
some systems, junior high school follows elementary school, and includes Grades
VII and VIII or VII-IX, followed by high school, which can include Grades IX-
XII or X-XII. At this level of education, students normally complete Grade XII
by age 17 or 18.
By the end of Grade X, most students have decided whether they will follow a
primarily academic programme leading to further education at the college level,
a vocational training programme leading to employment or specialized post-
secondary training, or a general programme combining elements of both the
academic and the vocational programmes.
All secondary programmes lead to the high school diploma and in most school
districts are offered in the same comprehensive institution. A comprehensive
institution offers a combined curriculum like the general programme, allows
students to transfer easily from one programme to another, and provides
flexibility for students to develop individual schedules to meet their own
personal goals. It is not unusual for a medium-sized comprehensive high school
to offer 200 or more separate courses. A comprehensive high school also
provides the opportunity for young people with different career interests, as
well as diverse social and economic backgrounds to have regular contact with
each other. However, in recent years many school districts have introduced
magnet schools, which are designed to attract students from all over the school
district with a special interest in a particular area of study, such as
science, the arts or languages. Thus magnet schools, while retaining economic
and cultural diversity, deliberately sacrifice some curricular variety in order
to achieve a more concentrated academic focus.

In UK:
Pre-school education

Pre-school provision is made either through the local authorities or by
independent bodies. In addition to nursery schools and nursery classes in
primary schools, local authorities may provide day nurseries, which accept
children below the age of 2 years. There are also private nursery schools and
pre-school playgroups organized by parents and voluntary or independent bodies.
In Northern Ireland, nursery education is provided in nursery schools and in
nursery classes attached to primary schools. From April 1999, local authorities
had a duty to secure and find sufficient, at least part-time, nursery education
places in their area for children below compulsory school age. In practice, a
part-time place for all 4-year-olds became available from September 1998. The
intention is to extend provision to 3-year-olds when resources permit.

Primary education

Compulsory education begins at age 5 in England, Wales and Scotland and at age
4 in Northern Ireland. There is little or no specialist subject teaching, but
great emphasis on literacy and numeracy in early years. At age 7 many children
move to junior schools. The usual age for transfer to secondary schools is 11
years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 12 years in Scotland, though
in some areas pupils attend a first school for three or four years, followed by
a middle school for a similar period before moving to a high school.

Secondary education

Compulsory education ends at age 16, though many pupils stay on beyond the
minimum leaving age. About 90% of state secondary school pupils in England,
Wales and Scotland go to comprehensive schools (96% in Scotland), which provide
a wide range of secondary education for most children of all abilities in the
11-18 age range (12-18 in Scotland). A few comprehensive schools only cover the
11-14 and 14-18 age ranges. At age 16 pupils in England and Wales may transfer
to sixth-form colleges or tertiary colleges. In Northern Ireland, secondary
education normally begins when pupils reach the age of 11. There are two main
types of school, grammar and secondary. Grammar schools provide a range of
courses for pupils between 11 and 18 years of age, while secondary schools
provide a similar range of courses for the 11-16 age group, although some
secondary schools offer opportunities for those 16+.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the General Certificate of Secondary
Education was introduced in 1988, replacing the GCE O-level and the Certificate
of Secondary Education examinations, and now serves as the principal
examination taken by secondary school pupils at 16+. GCE A-level examinations
are normally taken following the General Certificate of Secondary Education and
after two further years of study, usually in Form VI of secondary schools,
tertiary colleges or colleges of further education.

In Scotland, at the end of four years of lower secondary education students
are eligible to receive the Scottish Certificate of Education, Standard Grade.
The Higher Grade of the Scottish Certificate of Education, usually taken in the
fifth year of (upper) secondary education at about age 17, is the target of
many students who aim to enter professions or to go on to higher education. The
Certificate of Sixth-Year Studies is available for students who obtain a pass
at Higher Grade in their fifth year and wish to continue their studies for
another year. From 1999 a new unified system of post-16 National Qualifications
has been gradually introduced in schools, further education colleges and
training centres. The new National Qualifications are available at five levels:
Access, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Higher and Advanced Higher. The
Intermediate 1 and 2 levels are equivalent to the current Standard Grade
General and Credit levels respectively, while the Advanced Higher qualification
is equivalent to the Certificate of Sixth-Year Studies.

Post-school education takes place at universities, further and higher
education institutions, colleges of technology, etc. Other education is
provided in the form of degree and other courses of a standard higher than the
GCE A-level or equivalents. Degree titles vary according to the practice of
each university. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the most common titles
for a first degree are Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.)
and for a second degree Master of Arts (M