Monday 7 June 2010

Education in the USA

neral 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   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.     It usually takes four years to meet the requirements for a Bachelor  of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree.A Master of Arts  or  Master  of  Science degree may be obtained in one or two additional years.The  highest  academic degree is the Doctor of Philosophy.It  may  take  any  number  of  years  to complete the original research work necessary to obtain this degree.                             Higher Education Institutions      It has become common for the college program to be divided  into  broad fields,such as languages and  literature,the  social  sciences,the  sciences and mathematics, and the fine arts.Many colleges require  all  freshmen  and sophomores  to  take  one  or  two  full-year  courses  in  each  of   three fields.Certain Courses,such  as  English  or  history,may  be  required  for all,with some election permitted in the other fields.     Higher educational institutions usually are  governed  by  a  board  of regents or a board of trustees.     The executive head of a college or a university is usually  called  the president. The various colleges or schools which take up  a  university  are headed by deans. Within  a  school  or  college  there  may  be  departments according to subject matter fields,  each  of  which  may  be  headed  by  a professor who is designated as department head or  chairman.  Other  members of  the  faculty  hold  academic  ranks,  such  as   instructor,   assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. Graduate  students  who  give some part-time service may be designated as graduate assistants or fellows. Professional education  in  fields  such  as  agriculture,  dentistry,  law, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, teaching, etc. is pursued  in  professional schools which may be part of a university or may  be  separate  institutions which confine their instruction to a single profession.  Often  two,  three, or four years  of  pre-professional  liberal  arts  education  are  required before  admission  to  a  professional  school.  Three  to  five  years   of specialized  training  lead  to  professional  degrees  such  as  Doctor  of Medicine, Bachelor of Law, etc.                   Private and State Colleges and Universities      Harvard College was established in 1636, with the principal purpose  of providing a literate  ministry1  for  colonial  churches.  It  was  a  small institution, enrolling only 20 students in 1642 and  60  in  1660.  It  soon became more than a theological training school2 and established itself as  a liberal arts college. The next institution of  higher  learning  established in the American colonies was the College of William and Mary,  which  opened in 1693 at Williamsburg, Virginia. Other colleges were founded in  the  next century, but all of them remained small schools for long  periods.  Students entered at the  age  of  14  and  remained  until  they  were  18,  and  the curriculum, while rigidly academic  and  classic  was  by  modern  standards rather secondary in nature.     Private colleges and universities were established in  various  states. The first state university was the University of Virginia, founded in  1819. Some  state  universities  have  large  endowment  funds1  which  provide  a substantial portion of their support. Other sources of  income  are  student fees, gifts and endowments.     In general, higher education in the USA may be divided into  two  broad fields: liberal arts and professional. Each of these fields may  be  further subdivided  into  undergraduate  and  graduate  levels.  The  liberal   arts program, on the undergraduate  level,  may  be  a  two-year  junior  college course, or a four-year course leading to a degree of  Bachelor  of  Arts  or Bachelor of Science. The four-year  course  is  usually  subdivided  into  a lower division (which may be called the junior college), consisting  of  the two first years, and the upper division, which is the last  two  years.  The first two years continue the general education and specialization begins  in the third year.                         Teaching Profession in the USA      Requirements for teachers' certificate vary among  50  states.  Usually the state department of education, or a state  certification  board,  issues certificates which permit teachers to be employed within the  state.  Forty- four of the 50 states  require  at  least  the  completion  of  a  four-year course, with the bachelor's degree, as a minimum for high  school  teaching: the tendency to require  a  fifth  year  beyond  the  bachelor's  degree  is increasing. Graduation from a two-year normal school or at least  two  years of college education is the minimum requirement for elementary  teaching  in 36 states; others demand the  completion  of  a  four-year  course  and  the bachelor's degree.     Because of the decentralization of school control in the  USA  teachers are employed by local districts rather than by the national government.  The American teacher does not have the absolute security  of  tenure  which  the French or Australian teacher enjoys. A higher  proportion  of  the  teaching force are women than in some other countries.     The  teacher-training  institutions  have  not  been  able  to  provide sufficient numbers of fully trained teachers to replace those  retiring  and dropping  out  of  the  profession  and  at  the  same  time  to  meet   the requirements for new classes each year. The problem of recruiting and  suply of teachers remains a serious one. In general the  problem  of  shortage  of teachers has not been met by lowering certification standards. 

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