The Evolution and Structure of British Education: A Comprehensive Overview, Appunti di Cultura Inglese I

Scarica The Evolution and Structure of British Education: A Comprehensive Overview e più Appunti in PDF di Cultura Inglese I solo su Docsity! BRITISH EDUCATION British education today operates on three main levels: schools, higher education and adult education. Schools are divided into state (public funds) independent (privately finance) sector (the latter mainly in England). But there is not common education organization for the UK, England/Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have different school system. Adult and higher education have similar structure throughout Britain are mostly state-funded. The individual countries of the UK have significant degrees of either national or devolved self- government in education matters at all these levels. A Economist international league table in May 2014 showed the UK had achieved a good global performance in 6 place and 2 place in Europe. British pre-school and primary education also give poor results. So the governments argue that they have prioritized education and promised to focus on improving its quality and making it a lifelong learning experience. Primary school literacy has risen somewhat and further reforms are being encouraged. National school examinations have been strengthened to avoid grade inflation. School history The complicated nature of British schools and current educational arguments have their roots in school history. State involvement in education came later, and the fist attempt to establish a unified system of state- funded elementary schools was made in 1870 for England and Wales. It was 1944 when the state provided a comprehensive and national apparatus for both primary and secondary state schools, which were free and compulsory. Other schools were also periodically established by rich individuals or monarchs. There were independent, privately finance institutions and were variously known as high, grammar and public schools. Later more children benefitted as the Church created new schools, but the majority of children received no adequate education. By the 19 th century, Britain (except for Scotland) had haphazard school structure. Church schools guarded their independence from state and secular interference and provided much of the available schooling. By 1880 the state system was providing free and compulsory elementary schooling in most part of Britain for children between the ages of 5 and 10. The Balfour Act (1902) abolished the school boards, made local government responsible for state education. But state schools provided education for children up to age 14. The school system in the early twentieth century was still inadequate for the demands of society, working - and the lower -middle- class children lacked extensive education, and hard-pressed governments avoided any further large-scale involvement until 1944. The 1944 Education Act In 1944, an Education Act reorganized state primary and secondary schools in England and Wales and greatly influenced future generations. State schooling became free and compulsory up to the age of 15 and the educational structure was divided into three stages: primary schools (5-11years) secondary schools (11-15), and further post-school training. two types of state school resulted from the act: country and voluntary. Country schools were created by LEAs in each country and divided into primary and secondary schools. Voluntary schools were mainly those elementary schools which had been founded by religious and other groups and which were now partially financed by LEAs. The intention of the 1944 act was to provide universal and free state primary and secondary education. In the 1950 it was felt that these aims were not being achieved under the selective secondary school system. Education became a party-political battlefield. The battle for the comprehensive and selective systems was fierce. The Labour government in 1976 intended to establish comprehensive schools nationwide. Government reforms to he state school system are still being made with the introduction of academies and free schools. The contemporary state school sector Education in the UK is now free for children between the ages of 5 and 18, after the school- leaving age was raised from 16, effective in 2014. The option are full-time education at a school or college. These students can apply to 16-19 funding schemes to help with education costs. In England, the Department for Education initiates overall policy. Today, state schools broadly consist of non-denominational schools, former grant- maintained schools and voluntary schools, which are usually state-aided and self-run, with some being connected to specific religious groups. State schooling before the age of 5 is not compulsory in Britain and there is no statutory requirement for the LEAs to provide such education. All 3 and 4 years olds in England are entitled to free early education and child care, often taken as 20-30 hours each week for 38 weeks of the year. Pupils attend state primary school from the age of 5. They then move to secondary schools normally at 11 until the age of 18. There are only a small number of grammar and secondary modern schools left in the same system. These schools achieve very good national examination results and provide a disciplined academic background. There are some good comprehensive schools, which are not necessarily confined to privileged and affluent areas. But there are also some very weak and failing ones, which suffer from a variety of social, economic and educational problems and are usually associated with deprived inner cities. The Labour government from 1999 also promoted school diversity. It created a system of publicly funded, part privately sponsored, self-governing academies independent of LEA control which replaced failing and under- performing schools and were intended to revitalize deprived areas, created secondary-level specialist schools which concentrated on the sciences, modern foreign languages, sports ecc. The Conservative coalition of 2010-15 expanded these models and introduced further reforms in 2010. It allowed all existing secondary and primary state schools to apply for academy status with state budgets and to opt out LEA control. It also allowed parents, charities and other bodies to apply to set up “free schools” with state funding for each pupil they attract and which are also independent of LEAs. In Northern Ireland the state schools are mostly divided on religious grounds into Catholic and Protestant and are often single- sex, although there are some tentative movements towards integrated co-education schools. Wales tends to follow state school and examination system in England, although there are relatively few independent and single-sex schools. These changed have meant a shift from educational to management roles within state schools and involve increased burdens of time and administration. Parents also have a legal right to choose a particular school for their children. Student finance There are significant differences between the student finance systems in England, Wales, Northern, Ireland and Scotland. This section deals mainly with England. After the 1944 Education Act, English students who gained a place at an institution of higher education were awarded a grant from their local education authorities (LEAs). The grant was in two parts: first, it covered the tuition fees of a first degree course , and second after means- testing of parents’ income, maintenance expenses of the students such as the cost of travel away from home, rent, food and books for a course during term time. In 1988, a Labour government replaced the student grant with tuition fees and maintenance loans repayable by students. The present situation is complicated, but for most students it consist of two components. First students studying in England have to pay annual tuition fees for their courses. Second, full -time English students may apply for a maintenance loan from the Student Loan Company, which is intended to cover living cost. Student start to pay back their loans after graduation when they are employed and reach a salary level of ₤28,000. The open university (OU) The Labour Party broached the idea of the Open University in the 1960. It was hoped that OU courses might appeal to working-class students who had left school at the official school- leaving age and wished to broaden their horizons, as well as those with health disabilities. The Open University opened in 1969 with its first courses started in 1971. As the Open University developed, dedication, stamina and perseverance were necessary to complete its long part-time courses. Earlier students, who were often employed, followed their lessons and lectures at home. Part-time tutors in local areas marked the students’ written work and met them regularly to discuss their progress. There were also special weekend and refresher courses throughout the year at universities and colleges to enable students to take part in intensive study. The Open University was generally considered to be a cost-effective success, has provided valuable alternative educational opportunities for many people and has served as a model for distance learning across the world. Further, adult and lifelong education An important aspect of British education is the provision of further and adult education and cover a variety of activities and programmes. Some of these organizations originated to some degree in the thirst for knowledge which was felt by working-class people in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly after the arrival of elementary state education and growing literacy. Today a wide range of education opportunities is provided by self-governing , state-funded colleges of further education schools and the other institutions. These offer vocational and academic subject for skills, such as art and design, catering, engineering and business and finance. Private training companies cooperate with colleges and employers to provide practical work and qualifications in subjects such as engineering, construction, ICT and social care. Attitudes to education Attitudes to British education are mixed. Concerns about the quality of schools, universities and educational policy are consistently voiced by Britons and respondents in public opinion polls. Many think that state schools are not run well, that more money should be spent on education generally, and that people’s wishes about their children’s education are not taken seriously by politicians. Both Labour and coalition governments have responded by giving more funding to the school system and have attempted to change its structures by creating more types of schools, such as “free schools”, and expanding the academies programme, as well as reforming examination structures and the National Curriculum. The arguments continue from both the left and the right of the political spectrum , arguably leaving the British education system in an uncertain state. Despite the fact that this poll was commissioned by trade unions, respondents’ replies indicated a traditional response to schooling and local direction of education by LEAs, which may be widely supported. The replies might also suggest that respondents wanted certainty, control and stability in their children’s schools rather than constant change and creation of diversity instigated by central government.