Education systems - Slovakia, U.S.A. and Great Britain

EDUCATION


Slovakia ranks among countries with well-developed school educational system. In general, education is under the control of state, church or private bodies. State and religious schools are free of charge, they are financed by the state, while private schools charge high tuition fees.
Pre-school education includes crèches, nursery schools and kindergartens. They are attended by the children at the age 2 to 6. Compulsory education is for children between the ages 6 to 16.
There is no selection of children entering primary schools. Primary education lasts 8 (9) years and is comprehensive, providing basic knowledge for the pupils. It includes subjects like : languages, maths, physics, history, geography, biology, music, physical education, arts and crafts, and so on.
The system of secondary education consists of three types of schools. There are 3-years vocation schools, secondary technical schools with or without school leaving examination and grammar schools where students are prepared for their next undergraduate study at universities and colleges.
Nowadays, several types of private grammar schools appeared which are usually specialized on languages, computers or economy.
After finishing a secondary school one can continue studying at any of technical, economic, medicine, natural science or other colleges. It is possible to choose Bachelor or Diploma study. The last one usually ends with the state examinations and the pleading of the thesis.
The last step in our educational system is the postgraduate study, where a student is improving his ability for independent scientific work under the guide of the experienced specialist.

Education in the U.S.

Compulsory education in all the states begins at the age of 6, in some states attendance is required to the age of 16, 17, or 18.
All the elementary and secondary education in the U.S. is comprehensive, there is no selection of children for various types of school.
System of U.S. education can be divided into the following stages:
1) Elementary education through Elementary School: 1st to 6th grade, i.e. between the ages of 6 and 12,
2) Secondary education through High School divided into:
a) Junior High School (7th to 9th grade, i.e. between the ages of 12 and 15),
b) Senior High School (10th to 12th grade, i.e.

between the ages of 15 and 18),
3) Higher education through college or university, which can be followed by graduate and professional schools.

Education in Great Britain

Full-time education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 16. Over 90% of all schoolchildren attend schools maintained from public funds.
There are some nursery schools for children between 2 and 5 years old, but their number is insufficient.
Primary education is given to children between the ages of 5 and 11. Primary schools are usually divided into infant schools for children between the ages of 5 and 7, and junior schools for children aged 7 to 11.
Secondary education is provided through grammar schools, comprehensive schools and secondary modern schools. Pupils at grammar schools remain there until 18 or 19 years old, especially if they want to go on to university. Secondary modern schools give a general education with a practical bias. It is common for more time to be given to handicrafts, domestic sciences and other practical activities than in grammar schools.
Secondary school pupils may take examinations leading to the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) or the General Certificate of Education (GCE).
Higher education (education beyond the secondary stage) comprises : (1) universities; (2) teacher training; (3) advanced courses in further education.
The universities are self-governing institutions, academically independent of the Department of Education and Science.
The English universities can be divided into three groups :
1) Oxford and Cambridge (or “Oxbridge“);
2) Provincial (or Civic ) Universities (or “Redbrick“): Birmingham, Bristol, Durham, Exeter, Hull, Keele, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Reading, Sheffield and Southampton.
3) The new universities (opened after 1960): Sussex, York, East Anglia, Essex, Lancaster, Warwick, Kent and some others. Like Oxbridge, the new universities are national, not provincial.
The basic qualification for university admission is the GCE at “A“ level, but applications for places at universities exceed the number available. Therefore entry to the universities is competitive: the candidates who have been most successful in their “A“ levels, or who make a good personal impression are usually accepted by the universities.
Over 90% of students in higher education are aided from public funds. The amount of the awards depends on the income of the student and his parents.
Students who are studying for a degree are called undergraduates. Those who have passed their examinations and have been awarded a degree are graduates.

Most universities differentiate between arts and science titles, and award the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), Master of Arts (M.A.), and Master of Science (M.Sc.). The abbreviations of these titles are put after a person’s name.