In this respect, education systems are distinctive as the countries they reflect; these differences may be due to cultural variations, history and the society. Here, we have tried to focus on two systems which are more unlike to the other systems, these are United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (USA) systems. In this article the authors are going to review primary, secondary and higher education systems of the two countries under comparison.
Primary and Secondary Education
United Kingdom:
For England and Wales, key stage 1 is the first level of the primary school, and it is the level that children at the age of five and six belong to, while key stage 2 holds children aged seven, eight, nine, ten as well as eleven years. These are then followed by the secondary education which comprises of Key Stage 3 & 4, in the age of 11-16 years. The United Kingdom has many types of schools in its system and they include; state schools, independent schools and grammar schools.
State Schools
These are schooling institutions which receive government subsidies and do not require students to pay tuition fee and fall under community schools, voluntary aided schools as well as academies. academies have of course a relative freedom in curriculum and finance more than other Schools.
Independent Schools
These are school which gets its funding from sources other than government grants and is fully funded by the students. They are more or less linked with excellent academic experience and a range of extra curricular activities.
Grammar Schools
These are selective schools that admit students at Genrys or on performances the students has shown in exams, which are referred to as 11-plus.
At the end of the Key Stage 4, there are sitting for the General Certificate in Secondary Education or popularly known as the GCSEs. These exams are important since they determine the subject and courses the students would wish to pursue in the next level. Again in Key Stage 5 or the post-16 learning, learners can choose options like A–levels, Vocational efficiency qualifications or Apprenticeships.
United States
In the USA education is in a systematic manner categorized in elementary School or grade school, middle school, and high school with children being taught from the age of 5 years to 18 years. Elementary school comprises of Kindergarten to grade 5, the Middle school takes students from grades 6 to 8 while the high school caters for students from grades 9 to 12.
Elementary and Middle School
As with the other schools, many of the offering are standardized with the basic curriculum embraces courses in English, math, science, and social studies among others. Although, great emphasis is not placed on single subjects, there is much focus on the overall intellectual development in the first years of school.
High School
Students finish their high school education by doing several examinations in different disciplines and by accumulating credited classes that they need to meet before they can graduate. They normally write examinations like the SAT or ACT,which are very vital in the college placement systems.
Those with high school education have an option of attending college, getting a job in the market or they can do other things. As a contrast to the UK students, there is no National examination at the end of high school; nevertheless, coursework and examinations contribute to the respective results.
Higher Education
United Kingdom
Common features of the higher education institution in the United Kingdom are three-year bachelor’s (four years in Scotland) degree programs. The different degrees available within the system include; the Bachelor’s academic degrees (BA, BSc), and technical degrees such as the Bachelor of Engineering (BEng).
University Admission
University admission is principally through A-level results or its equivalent and the students enter into universities through this means. UCAS or Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is the admission service for applying to take up universities.
Course Structure
University courses in the UK are often more focused, and tend to offer specialisation right from the basic courses unlike in the American systems.
Graduate Programs
Master’s programs normally will take a year or two to complete while the PhD programs would take between three and four years. Higher education system in the UK is Research based and many universities have great ranking in the world.
United States
The USA higher education system comprises of a wide array of learning institutions such as the community college, liberal arts college and research university. Taking four years of study, the program results to the award of the undergraduate’s degree, that is the Bachelor’s degree.
University Admissions
It accepts students through the combined percentage and the standardized tests preferred being either the SAT or ACT scores, and equal weightage is given to high school performance, involvement in co-curricular activities and essays and letters of recommendation. It is seen that holistic admissions have become even more important compared to the UK market.
Course Structure
Usually students in the US adhere to liberal arts education system in that they have to take general courses before concentrating on their areas of specialization. That gives a balance of education and an opportunity to discover many fields of study.
Graduate Programs
Graduate programs can take different amount of time to complete. Master degree- It takes two years to complete whereas PhD and Doctors of Sciences and other doctorate degrees taking five to seven years or more focusing on research and dissertation.
Key Differences
Specialization vs. Broad Education:
, the United Kingdom has a clearly defined system of training and education, where great importance is also paid to early formalization of children’s choice of occupation. Concentration is more often achieved on particular disciplines at a relatively early age from time to time especially in the college and advanced levels.
The US system requires students to take a large number of courses before the graduate, and most of the specialization is done in the senior years.
Standardized Testing
The UK has largely depended on GCSE and A level examinations in education and admissions to university.
Currently, the US education system has other tests like the SAT and ACT incorporated in depending on the college admission but considers other parameters.
University Admission:
In the UK, the emphasis in university entrance is much more on the performance of the particular subjects.
In the US for instance, the admissions are more compound, they take in to account the academic results, the extra curricular activities and even the essay writings.
Higher Education Duration:
Undergraduate degrees of UK take three years but the similar degrees in the United States take up to four years.
Graduate Education
A graduate program in the UK normally takes less time to complete compared with a program in the United States and common for students to undertake most of their research towards the end of their program.
