Educational System in Great Britain, USA and Ukraine, Детальна інформація

Full courses of study offer the degree of Bachelor of Art or Science.

Most degree courses at universities last three years, language courses 4 years (including year spent aboard). Medicine and dentistry courses are longer (5-7 years).

Students may receive grants from the Local Education Authority to help pay for books, accommodation, transport, and food. This grant depends on the income of their parents.

Most students live away from home, in flats of halls of residence.

Students don’t usually have a job during term time because the lessons called lectures, seminars, classes of tutorials (small groups), are full time. However, many students now have to work in the evenings.

University life is considered «an experience». The exams are competitive but the social life and living away from home are also important. The social life is excellent with a lot of clubs, parties, concerts, bars.

There are not only universities in Britain but also colleges. Colleges offer courses in teacher training, courses in technology and some professions connected with medicine.

4

2. Educational System in the USA

General Pattern of Education in the USA

The general pattern of education in the USA is an eight-year elementary school, followed by a four-year high school. This has been called 8—4 plan organization. It is proceeded, in many localities, by nursery schools and kindergartens. It is followed by a four-year college and professional schools. This traditional pattern, however, has been varied in many different ways. The 6—3— 3 plan consists of a six-year elementary school, a three-year junior high school, and a three-year senior high school. Another variation is a 6—6 plan organization, with a six-year elementary school followed by a six-year secondary school.

American education provides a program for children, beginning at the age of 6 and continuing up to the age of 16 in some of the states, and to

18 in others.

The elementary school in the United States is generally considered to include the first six or eight grades of the common-school system, depending upon the organization that has been accepted for the secondary school. It has been called the "grade school" or the "grammar school".

There is no single governmental agency to prescribe for the

American school system, different types of organization and of curriculum are tried out.

The length of the school year varies among the states. Wide variation exists also in the length of the school day. A common practice is to have school in session from 9:00 to 12:00 in the morning and from 1:00 to 3:30 in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. The school day for the lower grades is often from 30 minutes to an hour shorter. Most schools require some homework to be done by elementary pupils. Elementary Schools, High

Schools and Institutions of Higher Learning

5

Elementary Schools, High Schools and Institutions of

Higher Learning

There are eight years of elementary schooling. The elementary school is followed by four years of secondary school, or high school. Often the last two years of elementary and the first years of secondary school are combined into a junior high school.

The school year is nine months in length, beginning early in September and sometimes a shorter one in spring. There are slight variations from place to place. Students enter the first grade at the age of six and attendance is compulsory in most states until the age of sixteen or until the student has finished the eighth grade.

The elementary schools tend to be small. The high schools are generally larger and accommodate pupils from four or five elementary schools. A small town generally has several elementary schools and one high school. In some rural communities the one-room country school house still exists. Here may be found from five to twenty-five pupils in grades one through eight, all taught by the same teacher.

Admission to the American high school is automatic on completion of the elementary school. During the four-year high school program the student studies four or five major subjects per year, and classes in each of these subjects meet for an hour a day, five days a week. In addition, the student usually has classes in physical education, music, and art several times a week. If he fails a course, he repeats only that course and not the work of the entire year. Students must complete a certain number of courses in order to receive a diploma, or a certificate of graduation.

Institutions of higher learning supported by public funds are not absolutely free. The state colleges and universities charge a fee for tuition or registration. This fee is higher for those who come from outside the state. Working one's way through college is commonplace.

Usually there is no admission examination required by a state university for those who have finished high school within the state.

Sometimes a certain pattern of high school studies is necessary, however, and some state universities require a certain scholastic average, or average of high school grades.

Private colleges and universities, especially the larger, well-known ones such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, have rigid scholastic requirements for entrance, including an examination.

6