primary education in Belarus and Great britain

Primary education in Belarus and Great Britain

Plan

1. Education in Belarus

2. Primary education in Belarus

3. Education in Great Britain

4. Features of education in Great Britain

5. Primary education in Great Britain

Education in Belarus

We can say that Belarus has developed its own system of education. Scientific and intellectual potential is the main strategic resource of Belarus. The republic guarantees its citizens the right to universal secondary education and creates means for further professional education. It tries to pay much attention to common human values, developing independent critical thinking instead of simple perception of information. The system of education in the republic comprises the following stages.

·         Stage one – general primary education.

·         Stage two – general profound education. The main task of this stage is to reveal and develop the pupil’s gift.

·         Stage three – general special training. The task of this stage is to train middle-qualification personnel. It is supposed to give special knowledge but of general character.

·         Stage four – profound special training, higher education.

·         Stage five – higher special training.

Such a system is remarkable for its flexibility. The stages are interconnected and mutually determined. It enables to harmonically combine general erudition and a high degree of specialization.

All schools in Belarus are under the general supervision of the Department of Education. Most of the expenditure on education in Belarus comes from the state budget. Government expenditures on education account for 2,6 percent of the budget.

Primary education in Belarus

Primary and secondary school education is compulsory. All in all it last 11 years. Children come to school at the age of 6 or 7. School year begins on September 1st and ends at the end of May. It’s divided into 4 terms. At the end of each term pupils have holidays.

The basic goal of school is to provide pupils with knowledge of particular subjects: the Russian and Belarusian Language and Literature, Maths, a foreign language, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, History, Geography, IT, PE.

Primary education in Belarus is compulsory for all children aged 6 to 10. Primary education is the first stage that children face.  Primary education in Belarus provides fundamental skills in mathematics, reading and writing. This educational level builds a basis for learning, and personal as well as social development.  For 4 years of primary education, children acquire the first knowledge about the world, communication skills and solving applied problems.

Primary education in Belarus is compulsory for all children aged 6 to 10. Primary education in Belarus provides fundamental skills in mathematics, reading and writing. This educational level builds a basis for learning, and personal as well as social development. 

Education in Great Britain

The educational system in the UK is considered to be among the best in the world. Many decisions — especially concerning curriculum design and grading systems — are made by schools and universities at the local level. Thanks to this, studies are suitable for students with completely different needs.

Education is a highly topical issue in Britain since it affects nearly everybody. Everyone has at one stage of their lives attended school and after all it is there where people acquired their first long-time friends, developed their social personalities and gained a lasting sense of a communal identity. Governments both Labour and Conservative have always influenced the education system according to their believes and so the discussion around that controversial topic 'education' never finds an end.

Features of education in Great Britain

·    Comprehensive education. Already in the first grade, children study 10 compulsory subjects. Many schools also introduce additional classes. The range of disciplines covers all spheres of human life: natural and human sciences, art, technology, and sports. This broadens the horizons of the students and allows them to discover a variety of talents.

·    Early specialization. By high school, the number of subjects, on the contrary, is reduced. A few years before entering a university, it is advisable for students to already decide on the direction in which they plan to study. During the last two years of study — in grades 12 and 13 — students choose 3-5 subjects and focus solely on them.

·    Encouragement of independence. The educational system in the UK is aimed at developing the skills of critical thinking, initiative, and independent search for information at all levels. Even in primary school, students write essays and create their own research projects.

·    Good conditions for teachers. English teachers earn a higher wage than teachers in other developed countries, such as France, Italy, and Sweden[2]. In addition, they are sponsored by state grants and scholarships. This makes the teaching profession truly prestigious, attracting the most talented teachers to schools and universities.

·    Long term education. In Britain, compulsory secondary education lasts from grades 1 to 11 or from 5 to 16 years of age. In fact, most children study even longer: from 3 to 18 years of age, then moving on to university.

·    Conditions for foreigners. While education at public English schools is free, it is available only to citizens of the country. Children of foreigners enter private institutions, where the cost of education is 15,000-30,000 USD per year. At universities, the situation is the same: foreigners have to pay several times more than local residents. For example, at Oxford, the tuition is at least 34,551 USD per year (instead of 11,480 USD).

·    Equality in access to education. The UK government is trying to ensure access to education for all people, regardless of their social status. To do this, free public schools attract the best teachers, and universities pay scholarships to students from families in need

Primary education in Great Britain

There are about 40,000 schools in Britain. Education in Great Britain is compulsory and free for all children between the ages of 5 and 16. Compulsory education begins at the age of 5 when children go to primary school.

A primary school in Britain is a state school for children aged between 5 and 11. A state school is a school that offers free education and receives money from the government. Primary schools often consist of a separate infant school and junior school. An infant school in Britain is a type of school for children from the age of five, when children are required by law to start school, until the age of seven. A junior school in Britain is a state school for children aged between seven and eleven. In primary school, children learn English, mathematics, science, art and design, geography, history, music, and physical education. Students begin learning a foreign language in third grade. The school day lasts from 8:30 to 15:30 with a lunch break and additional15 minute breaks.

The grading system in English primary schools is based on the expectation of how a child should develop at his age (expected standard). In total, four levels are distinguished:

·    The student works at the expected level.

·    The student strives for the expected level.

·    The student performs below the expected level.

·    The student performs above the expected level.

Each school sets its own specific criteria for evaluation. This makes the system more flexible.

At the end of their second and sixth years, students take standardized SATs. After second grade, children take tests in reading and mathematics, and after sixth — in reading, mathematics, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Questions:

1. What is the aim of Belarusian education system?

2. What do pupils study at primary school in Belarus?

3. How can you charactarize British education system?

4. What is the main feature of British education system in your opinion? Why?

5. What do pupils study at primary school in Great Britain?

References:

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2. Education in Belarus. [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа:  https://justarrived.by/en/page/education. Дата доступа: 27.01.2023

3. The system of education in Belarus. [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа:  https://fortee.ru/2018/04/28/card-2-the-system-of-education-in-belarus/. Дата доступа: 27.01.2023

4. Education in the UK. [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: https://www.unipage.net/en/education_system_uk. Дата доступа: 27.01.2023

5. Education in Great Britain. [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа:  https://in2english.net/2018/09/20/education-in-great-britain/ . Дата доступа: 27.01.2023

6. Elementary educational institutions. [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: https://studfile.net/preview/1671760/. Дата доступа: 27.01.2023

7. School education in Great Britain. [Электронный ресурс]. – Режим доступа: https://otherreferats.allbest.ru/pedagogics/00624934_0.html. Дата доступа: 27.01.2023