Education 国外教育

Education PolicyEducation in the UK is overseen by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Local authorities (LAs) take responsibility for implementing policy for public education and state schools at a local level.The education system is divided into early years (ages 3–4), primary education (ages 4–11), secondary education (ages 11–18) and tertiary education (ages18+).Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged between 5 and 17 (from 2013, and up to 18 from 2015), either at school or otherwise, with a child beginning primary education during the school year he or she turns 5. Students may then continue their secondary studies for a further two years (sixth form), leading most typically to A-level qualifications, although other qualifications and courses exist, including Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) qualifications, the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Cambridge Pre-U. The leaving age for compulsory education was raised to 18 by the Education and Skills Act 2008. The change takes effect in 2013 for 16-year-olds and 2015 for 17-year-olds. State-provided schooling and sixth form education is paid for by taxes. England also has a tradition of independent schooling, but parents may choose to educate their children by any suitable means.Until 1870 all schools were charitable or private institutions, but in that year the Elementary Education Act 1870 permitted local governments to complement the existing elementary schools, to fill up any gaps. The Education Act 1902 allowed local authorities to create secondary schools. The Education Act 1918 abolished fees for elementary schools.Primary and Secondary Education in the UK PrimaryState pre-school education is available for ages two to four/five through playgroups and nursery schools. The emphasis is on group work, creative activity and guided play.Compulsory education begins at five in England and Wales. At primary level, there is little or no specialist subject teaching and there is great emphasis on Literacy (English) and Numeracy.SecondaryCompulsory education currently ends at age sixteen, though many pupils stay on beyond the minimum leaving age. The majority of state secondary school pupils in England and Wales attend comprehensive schools. These provide a wide range of secondary education for children of all abilities from a particular district, in the eleven to sixteen age ranges.At secondary school, teachers teach specialist subjects in addition to many cross curricular subjects such asLiteracy, Numeracy, Citizenship, ICT and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE).The School DayTeaching hours in schools are from approximately from 8.30am to 3.30pm.Structure of the typical school dayPrimary SchoolAll schools have control over the structure of their own school day although most will finish at 3.30pm. The statutory Literacy Hour and Numeracy Hour is a feature of all school timetables. The example below illustrates what you will typically find in a primary school.09.00am Registration09.10am School Assembly09.30am Literacy Hour10.30am Break-time10.45am Numeracy Hour11.45am Subject class12.15pm Lunch13.30pm Afternoon Registration13.35pm Classes14.45pm Break-time15.00pm Classes15.30pm End of school daySecondary SchoolA typical day is shown below.09.00am Registration09.20am Period 110.00am Period 210.40am Break11.00am Period 311.40am Period 412.20pm Lunch13.20pm Registration13.40pm Period 514.20pm Period 615.00pm Period 715.40pm School endsFurther education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom, is a term used to refer to post-compulsory education (in addition to that received at secondary school), that is different from the higher education offered in universities. It may be at any level above compulsory secondary education, from basic skills training to higher vocational qualifications such as PGCE, NVQ, City and Guilds, BTEC, HNC, HND or Foundation Degree.From 2001-2010 FE in England was managed by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the then largest government agency funding education provision. The LSC had a budget of some £13 billion and is organised on a regional basis through around 47 local councils. The LSC had a particular mission to improve and expand further education provision, driven by the UK government's desire to increase standards in post-16 student retention and achievement, particularly in skills-based vocational provision in FE colleges. Recent government-driven LSC and Department for Children,Schools and Families policies, such as Success for All and the Skills Strategy, articulate this vision.Colleges in England that are regarded as part of the FE sector include:General FE (GFE) and tertiary collegesSixth form collegesSpecialist colleges (mainly colleges of agriculture and horticulture and colleges of drama and dance)Adult education institutesIn addition, FE courses may be offered in the school sector, both in sixth form (16-19) schools, or, more commonly, sixth forms within secondary schools.A distinction is usually made between FE and higher education HE, an education at a higher level than secondary school, usually provided in distinct institutions such as universities. FE in the United Kingdom is usually a means to attain an intermediate or follow up qualification necessary to attend university, or begin a specific career path, e.g. Quantity Surveyor, Town Planner or Veterinary Surgeon, for anyone over 16, primarily available at Colleges of Further Education, work-based learning, or adult and community learning institutions.Higher education (HE) primarily describes post-18 learning that takes place at universities, as well as other colleges and institutions that award academic degrees, professional qualifications and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) modules.What qualifications do you think constitutes HE? Higher EducationWith outstanding teaching and facilities, UK universities and colleges offer you a world-class higher education and qualifications that are respected by employers and academics worldwide.UK higher education students are generally aged 18 or over (17 in Scotland), and have usually already achieved further education qualifications, such as A-levels, the International Baccalaureate, Scottish Highers or an equivalent qualification from the UK or another country. Many have completed a foundation or access course too.UK higher education is split into two levels: •Undergraduate programmes include bachelors degrees, foundation degrees, higher national diplomas and Diplomas in Higher Education•Postgraduate programmes include masters degrees, MBAs, PhDs, doctorates and more. Usually you need an undergraduate qualification to enter a postgraduate programme.Most courses are taught in universities, but plenty are taught at colleges, specialist art institutions, business schools and agricultural colleges.What is the history of UK Universities?The first universities were established in the 13th century in Oxford and Cambridge. Oxford was already an important town geographically, commercially and favoured by royalty. Cambridge was established as a seat of learning when some Oxford students had a quarrel with Oxford citizens and moved to Cambridge. There were no further universities created in England for about 600 years until universities were established at London and Durham in the 1830's. In the mean-time Scotland had created four universities starting with St. Andrews in 1413 followed by Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. The Queen’s University of Belfast was established as a college in 1845 as part of the federal Queen's University of Ireland and achieved independence in 1908. The federal university of Wales was founded in 1893 and remained so until 2007 when it's component institutions became independent. Manchester became the headquarters of the federal Victoria University in 1880 which had colleges in Leeds and Liverpool. After problems Leeds and Liverpool set up there own universities in the first decade of the 20th century along with Birmingham, Sheffield and Bristol. These were collectively called "civic" universities as they were founded to bring benefits of higher education to provincial life. Younger civic universities created later were founded in Reading, Nottingham, Southampton, Hull, Exeter and Leicester.T here were 24 universities created in the 1960’s and 40 in the 1990’s when the Polytechnics were given university status as a result of the Further and Higher Education Acts 1992. In August 2004, the government made it easier for university colleges to gain university status. A university gives the image of a town a great boost and in the new millennium so far over 40 new universities have come into existence, either from mergers or improved status.British universities are legally independent and have complete academic freedom to set courses, award degrees and admit students.The vast majority of United Kingdom universities are government financed, with only two private universities (the charitable University of Buckingham and profit making The University of Law) where the government does not subsidise the tuition fees.British undergraduate students and students from other European Union countries who qualify as home students have to pay university tuition fees up to a maximum of £9,000. A government-provided loan is available which may only be used towards tuition fee costs. Welsh undergraduate students studying in a Welsh university have to pay a maximum university tuition fee of £1,200. However, if they choose to study outside of Wales they are subject to the same tuition fees as students from that country. i.e. if a Welsh student studies in Englandthey pay £3,125. Scottish and European Union students studying in Scotland have their tuition fees paid by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.Overseas students have to pay a much higher rate, even if they have been in the UK for more than 3 years, without Indefinite Leave to Remain. Such students are not eligible for loan from the Students Loan Company either.Which famous UK universities have you heard of? Class activity:Would you like to study in Britain? What are the similarities and differences between education in China and in Britain? If you were sent to study in Britain on an Exchange Programme, how easy do you think it would be to cope with the way of teaching and learning there?。