I.                  BRITISH EDUCATION

1.    School attendance

-         Age of compulsory full time school education:

+ Full- time education is compulsory up to the middle teenage years. (5-16)

+ Education is free

     + The academic year begins at the end of summer.

     + Three recognized stated:

·                   The first stage (primary): At the age of five, last until they are eleven

·                   The second stage (secondary): at around the age of eleven or twelve

·                   The third stage (tertiary): is ‘further’ education at university or college.

-         School year:

+ Schools usually divide their year into three terms, starting at the beginning of September

·             Autumn term: Christmas holiday (about 2 weeks)

·             Spring term: Easter holiday (about 2 weeks)

·             Summer term: Summer holiday (about 6 weeks)

·             In addition, all schools have a ‘half- term’ (= half- term holiday), lasting a few days or a week in the middle of each term

+ The older children get, the more likely they are to be separated into groups:

·                   according to their perceived abilities

·                   sometimes for particular subjects only

·                   sometimes across all subjects

+ Some schools teach all subjects to ‘mixed ability’ classes

-         School life

+ There is no countryside system of nursery (pre- primary) schools.

·                   In some areas, primary schools have nursery schools attached to them, but in others, there is no provision of this kind.

    + Children do not begin full- time attendance at school until they are five       and start primary school.

      + Almost all schools are either primary or secondary school only

      + Schools work five- day week, with no half- day, are closed on Saturdays

      + The day starts at or just before nine o’clock, finishes between three and four, or a bit later for older children.

      + The lunch break lasts an hour- and- a- quarter

·                                           Nearly two- third of pupils have lunch provided by school

·                                           Parent pay for this, except 15% of poor people

·                                           Others go home for lunch or take sandwiches

     + There is a balance between formal lessons (with the teacher at the front of the classroom) and activities (in which children work in small groups round a table with the teacher supervising).

·                   In primary school: Teacher teaches all subject

·                   At age of seven and eleven: take national tests in English, math and science

·                   Secondary school: different teachers for different subjects with regular homework

2.    Curriculum

-         The national curriculum is being introduced gradually and will not be operating fully in all part of Britain until the end of the 1990s

-         There are three national curricula: for English and Wales, for Scotland and for Northern Ireland

-         The organization of subjects and the details of the learning objectives vary slightly from one to the other

-         Subject-matter of teaching:

·                   At the lower primary level: emphasis on three Rs (Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic (số học)

·                   At the higher levels: emphasis on science and technology

3.    Organization

-  There is comparatively little central control or uniformity.

- Education is managed not by one, but by three, separate government departments:

·                The Department for Education and Employment is responsible for England and Wales

·                The Department for Scotland

·                The Department for Northern Ireland

    - Role of these central authorities:

·                   No much control over the detail of what actually   happens in the country’s educational institution

·                   Ensure the availability of education

·                   Dictate and implement overall organization

·                   Set overall learning objectives up to the end of compulsory education.

-         Central government:

·                Does not prescribe a detail programme of learning or determine what book and materials should be use >>> Only offers occasional advice about how schoolchildren should learn

·                Does not dictate the exact hours of the school day, holidays or age at which a child must start in full- time education

·                Does not manage an institution’s finance >>> Only decides how much money to give it

·                Does not itself set or supervise the marking of the exam which older teenagers do

-         In general, as many detail as possible are left up to the individual institution or the Local Education Authority (LEA, a branch of local government)

-         Reason for this level ‘grass-roots' independence: the system has been influenced by the public-school tradition that a school is its own community

II.               AMERICAN EDUCATION

1.    School attendance

-         Age of compulsory full time school education:

+ Every American is entitle to an education

+ School attendance is compulsory for all children

+ Public education from kindergarten through grade 12 is tax-supported. No tuition is required

+ 85% of American children attend public school. 15% choose to pay tuition to attend private schools.

-         School year:

+ From September to June

+ High school students at the same level do not take the same courses

+ Student takes courses depending on:

·       Abilities

·       Future goal

·       Particular course offering of the school

-         School life:

+ Students attend school from five to seven hours a day, five days a week, and nine months a year

2.    Curriculum

-         There is no national curriculum, certain subjects are generally taught in all public school system across the country.

-         Elementary school: penmanship, science, math, music, art, physical education, language arts and social studies

-         Secondary school: English, math, science, social studies, physical education, elective courses

-          High school: “ core” curriculum (math, science, social studies, english)  and

·       basic accounting, typing, agricultural science ( do not plan to go to college)

·       college-preparatory courses such as chemistry, political scien, advanced writing( college- bound students)

-         Higher education: wide variety of degree programs is remarkable

+ Colleges and universities: offer degrees in traditional fields of scholarship

+ Small art colleges: ballet, film- making, circus performing

3.    Organization/ Decentralized funding and administration

-         There is no national education system in the US.

+ In public school:

·       Decisions are made by boards of education at the state and/or district level.

·       Spending is determined by state and local education leaders.

-         Education standard and requirements differ from the state to state

·       New York administers standardized competency test to students

·       Some school system requires s high school student complete 3 years of math before graduation.