IFI Social studies I: Education in comparison
Britain United States
Educational Basic features
system  Full-time education is compulsory up to
16
 Academic year begins in the end of
summer
 Compulsory education is free of charge,
but there are independent schools
 One of the last countries to organise
education for everybody.
STATES SCHOOLS. Most schools are financed by
Local Education Authorities (LEA). Education in
these schools is free.
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS. Fee-paying. Most for
younger pupils are mixed but the majority of
private secondary are single-sex.
Day schools which have classes from Monday to
Friday. School day begins at 9 and ends at 4.
Organization Pre-school
 Provided by nursery schools
 They have lunch, a rest in the afternoon.
They play and paint, don’t have proper
lessons.
Primary education
 Provided by primary schools.
 Compulsory education begins at 5 when
children go to infant schools (5-7). This,
has its own building and playground.
Classrooms are cheerful with children´s
work in walls.
 At 7, the children move to Junior school,
where the work is more systematic.
Secondary education
 At the age of 11 they move to
secondary school.
 90% goes to comprehensive schools
(all- inclusive, very large and vary in
size)
 4% goes to Grammar Schools which
offer academic education.
 6% goes to Secondary Modern
Schools which provide a more
general education up to the age of
16.
At the age of 16 students may leave secondary
school and enter some type of training courses.
Further education
 All 16-17 years olds are guaranteed a
place in full-time education.
 Is provided by comprehensive and
grammar schools and by independent
There is no national system of education in US.
In fact, every state has its own school system in
which, every child gets minimum 13 years of
education -regardless race, sex, learning
problems, physical handicap or ability to speak
English-.
All schools are controlled by and elected local
body known as the “school board” and by the
city and state in which the school is located.
Public schools are free. They are financed by the
state or local government. They are also mixed
schools - coeducational for boys and girls-. The
school year begins in mid- August, mid-
September and ends in May or in June. It is
divided into 3 terms – fall, spring and summer-.
After each term children get a report card which
informs their parents about their results at
school.
Pre-school:
Day care or Nursery: for children up to 3 years.
It is a popular choice among working parents.
Begins to provide an early childhood
education. Preschool: for children to 3 from 4
years. It is not mandatory. Can be 5 days of just
few days a week – it is varying from state to
state – Kindergarten:
up to 5 years. It is also not mandatory. Can be
half-day or full-day programs. – it is varying
from state to state Nursery and preschool are
private. But in some states kindergarten is
public.
In US we have 12 grades of education:
Primary School:
Elementary school: compulsory education stats
at the age of 6. It is for the lower grades of
education – form the 1st till the 5th grade- 6 to
10 years old, in most of the states. The 2 most
important things are children’s happiness and
interest.
Secondary school:
Middle school or Junior high school: for the
middle grades – from the 6th to 8th grade-, 11
to 14 years old.
Senior High School: four-year program – 9 th ,
10th , 11th, 12th, grades- these grades receive
a specific name: freshman year, sophomore
year, junior year and senior year. When you
graduate from High school you receive a High
School Diploma. Besides, it is not mandatory to
graduate from high school – a child must
attend school at the age of 16 -. Some schools
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 six-form colleges (schools which provide
academic and non-academic education
beyond General Certificate of Secondary
Education) or by tertiary colleges (offer a
range of fulltime and part-time
vocational courses)
Higher education
 Universities, teacher training colleges
and other colleges of technology, art, etc.
 All of these institutions enjoy complete
academic freedom.
 Universities can be divided in
Oxford and Cambridge (the older ones).
Redbrick universities (were founded in
19th century) and Universities opened in
the 20th century
 Bachelor degree: is given to students
who pass examinations at the end of
three of four year of studying.
 Master´s degree: may be obtained by
attending a postgraduate course or
by writing a paper, or thesis.
 Degree of doctor of philosophy: is
given for a thesis both in humanities
and science.
Main Public debate still focuses on how school can help
important their charges became good members of the
Ideas society. British schools and universities give
priority to sport. This, helps to develop the idea of
“complete person”. The notion of school as a
community.
Another reflex, the approach to study tends to
give priority to developing understanding and
sophistication of the approach over the
accumulation of factual knowledge
Topics of debate
Quality
 British schoolchildren do not learn
enough (they are less literate and less
numerate that other countries)
Social justice
 The British are always worrying about
equal opportunities in education.
 Governments are obsessed with the good
ones are from middle classes
comparatively to wealthy background
 1970 grammar schools and secondary
schools. The ones on the first one were
better and the others were failures. The
system reinforces class distinctions.
may offer different programs of study in which
you can choose a level of academic study -
which is known as a track. Students should
have taken on average 17 subjects during their
studies and 20 subjects those who want to
enter university.
Higher education:
2 years or community college: vocational and
semi-professional degree.
Associate of Art Degree. Vo- Tech (vocational
and technical schools): from 6 months to 2
years. Universities and College: both offer a
four-year program which is an undergraduate
program. When this program is finished the
person receive a Bachelor Degree of Art or
Science. The division of the years is the same
as in secondary school (freshman, sophomore,
junior and senior). This program is for many
professions that required higher education.
The difference between University and College
is that the University also provides Graduate
programs. Every university has its own
curriculum.
Graduate school: further than College and
Universities. Here you are a graduate student
and after 1 to 3 years of studies the person
receives a Master degree of Art, Science or of
Business of Administration. The highest degree
of education in US is a Doctoral Degree: after 2
to 5 years of study the person becomes a
Doctor. Doctor of Philosophy.
Guiding ideals:
Access to education: the American educational
system is based on the ideal that as many
people as possible should have access to as
much education as possible.
Universal Literacy: a second ideal is producing a
society that is 100% literacy. No Child Left
Behind Law.
Equal opportunity: providing comparable
educational programs to everyone, regardless
race, income level, social class, physical or
mental disability.
Local Control: the US has no national ministry of
education. Primary and Secondary schools are
under the general direction of bodies called
“board of education” or “school board”.
Superintendents and principals oversee the
curriculum of the schools in their jurisdiction
and review teacher performance.
Parental involvement: schools encourage
parents to become acquainted with the
facilities and with their children´s teachers.
Analysis and Synthesis: the sixth ideal is the
basic nature of knowledge and learning. The
ideal educational situation is one in which
Ángeles Concina, Eliana Malizia
 Freedom of choice
 The British dislike of uniformity was
the reason why Britain school had
the national curriculum so late. And
it never specified exactly what must
be taught on a day-to-day basis on
prescribed particular teaching
material. As many possible detail are
left to the individual institutions or
the Local Education Authority.
students are learning the skills of analysis and
synthesis and are applying those skills to the
process of discovering new knowledge.
Well-rounded people: they are expected to
have a general acquaintance with many
disciplines. Participating in non-academic
“extracurricular” activities in and out school.
Also, American are suspicious of
intellectualizing and theorizing.

Marks  A: Best possible grade, excellent (around A EXCELLENT

70–100%) B- SUPERIOR, ABOVE AVERAGE
 B: Above average grade, very good C- SATISFACTORY
(around 60–70%) D- PASSING GRADE
 C: Minimum pass, improvement needed E- COMPLETELY UNSACTISFSCTORY
(around 50–60%)
 D: Close fail (between 40% and 49%)
 N/A: Fail/No Pass (0–40%)

Examinations At the end of their compulsory schooling,
schoolchildren take exams.
Some of these involve knowledge specified by
the national curriculum, they are un principle
separated from the school system. Exams are set
and marked by largely independent board. There
are several of these. Each one publics its own
syllabus.
Each school or LEA decide which board´s exam
its pupils take. In practice, all pupils do exams in
English, maths and science. There is a tendency
to return to more conventional exams, because
students have the opportunity for cheating with
the internet making it easy for them to
download relevant writing and pretend it is their
own.
The High School Diploma is given by local
authorities or districts, it is given after passing
the General Education Diploma (GED). Because
there is no national school leaving examination
in US to select students for College or University
entrance, students have to do the Scholastic
Aptitude Test (SAT), which is taken in English
and Math. Another test is the American College
Testing (ACT) which measures skills in English,
Math and the Social and Natural Science.
Foreign applicants must past the TOEFL test
(Test Of English as a Foreign Language)

About higher education

According to the world university rankings compiled by the Times Higher Education, more than half of the world’s top
200 universities are located in either the US or the UK. Both countries share a rich tradition of quality higher
education, excellent research facilities, and a culture that promotes intellectualism as well as academic freedom.
However, while both certainly provide an excellent environment for learning, there are many differences between the
two countries regarding the structure of the university as well as student life. In this article, we will explore the primary
differences between the American and British systems of education.

America Britain
Length of Time Bachelor´s Degree: 4 years Bachelor´s Degree: 3 years
Master´s degree: 2 years Master´s degree: 1 year
Doctor of philosophy degree: 5-7 years Doctor of philosophy degree: 3 years
or longer
Academic Most schools use the semester system, Most also use a semester system, but some use trimester or
Term but some use a trimester or quarter quarter systems. The start and end of an academic year varies
by university.
Ángeles Concina, Eliana Malizia
 system. Most schools start in mid to late
August and end in May.
University Universities are often divided into University acts an umbrella organization for the different
Organization schools by subject, but these schools do colleges. Colleges are fairly independent of one another.
not typically have a lot of autonomy
from the university.
Style of More varied, liberal arts, study outside Take only classes in your college.
Education your major.
What they Breadth Depth
focus on
Homework Constant reading and writing General assignments or no assignments throughout the
assignments semester
Cost High Moderate
Grades Based on overall performance on all Based mostly on the final exam
assignments
Athletics Important social activity; athletic Intramural sports; generally, no athletic scholarships available.
scholarships available.
Living Dormitories with roommate. Off-campus Dormitories without roommate generally. Off-campus housing
Situation housing occasionally available. generally available.
Types of Associates, Bachelors, Masters, PhD, Higher National Diploma, Certificate of Higher Education,
Degrees variety of vocational and professional Diploma of Higher Education, Foundation Degree, Bachelors,
degrees. Masters, PhD, variety of professional and vocational degrees.
Postgraduate degrees divided into taught and research degrees.

Ángeles Concina, Eliana Malizia