14 Flashcards
Is education free?
To which age is education compulsory?
Compulsory education is free of charge
Compulsory to middle teenage years
Public means private
state/independent (public schools) (UK/US)
UK – public schools (private, expensive schools)
US - public schools (government school system)
What is the history of government involvement in organizing education
Government got involved in education at end of the 19th century
One of the last countries in Europe to organize education for everybody
What were the social effects of public schools?
Absolvents formed the ruling elite and formed a closed group into which entry was difficult with a different education
What were the basic features of the public school system?
Boys only
High fees
Boarding schools,
Divided into houses,
What are the national curriculum revisions?
Government’s plan of what children in state schools are supposed to learn
Due to anti-intellectualism, teachers have low status and there is few of them and thousands of foreign teachers are recruited every year
What are League tables and Ofsted
School exam results
Office for Standarts in Education
From what class are the children who do best considering education?
Majority of children who do well in education are from middle-class (wealthy background)
What is the purpose of grammar schools?
What are comprehensive schools?
Grammar schools prepare students for university, professions or managerial jobs
Schools to which nowadays most eleven-year olds go to
What is the role of central government vs school autonomy (sense of distinctiveness)
Central government does not dictate exact hours of the school day or dates of holidays.
It also does not manage school’s finances, only decides how much money to give it and also does not supervise the marking of exams which older teenagers take.
Name the three Rs (basic literacy and numeracy)
Reading/wRiting/aRithmetic
What was the purpose of school uniforms in the past
Name arguments for/against
In the past school uniforms a symbol of status
FOR – less money than buying fashionable clothes
AGAINST – uniforms stifle creativity and individualism
To what age are foreign languages compulsory?
Students are allowed to drop foreign languages at the age of 14
Learning for its own sake vs learning for a practical purpose
Emphasis was on the quality of person that education produced, not the quality of abilities
Reflections and effects of the „academic“ approach to study
People have to study at a specialized school for certain professions
Inclusion of social and personal matters
Schools teach „citizenship“ and also „sex and relationships education“
Priority to sport
Sporting success enhances the reputation of an institution, people with poor academic records were sometimes accepted as students because of their sporting prowess
Priority to understanding over factual knowledge
It is more valued that people understand basic things and how Britain works, not know every fact
Nursery education
All children are guaranteed a free part-time education place for up to two years before reaching the compulsory school age
Compulsory school age
Age of 5
Typical school day
Typical school day begins around 9 a.m. and finishes between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Primary/secondary schools and a difference between them
Almost all schools are either primary or secondary, secondary schools are generally larger
What is the method of teaching in the UK?
Balance between formal lessons with the teacher at the front of the classroom
and
activities in small groups with the teacher supervising
At what age are the National tests taken and from what scope of subjects?
National tests are taken at the age of 7 and 11
English, mathematics, science
What are mixed ability classes?
Some schools teach all subjects to „mixed abilities classes“
How is the school year divided?
Name school holidays
School year is divided into 3 „terms“
Schools have a „half-term holiday“ – few days or a week in the middle of each term
and also Christmas Holiday, Easter Holiday and Summer Holiday
What is the meaning of “public” considering examining boards?
Who takes the public exams?
The boards are independent
Formally individual people enter for these exams, not pupils in a particular year of school
What did the history syllabuses consist of in the 20th centur?
Most history in British schools consisted of learning about the glories of the British empire, later in that century on twentieth century dictatorships (Stalin, Hitler)
What are the methods of assesment?
Exams were taken in the form of a take-home assignments rather than timed, sit-down exams