“Differences between the systems of education in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Russian Federation”

XIII Local Contest of Young Researchers “A Step to Science”

Section: “Cultural Studies”

Topic: “Differences between the systems of education in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Russian Federation”

Realizer:

Shalamova Arnela Yur’evna

Academic advisor:

Kireeva Vladislava Nikolaevna,

teacher of English

Vladikavkaz, 2015-2016

Content

1. Introduction p. 3

2. International correspondence p. 4

3. Comparison of education in Great Britain and Russia p. 5

4. Montessori schools p. 9

5. Conclusion p.12

6. List of references p.13

7. Enclosure p.14

Introduction.

“Knowledge is power” as the famous proverb says. We get this knowledge from different sources and during all our life. We get some skills, new facts and information and it determines our future, our way of life. Knowledge makes us to be progressive, not to stay at the same step. And our society reaches high aims due to the knowledge.

Of course, the first skills and elementary background we get from our parents. But the huge role in our formation plays education.

The first time we are introduced to formal education is in school. The school years are the grounding years of one's education. Schools are institutions that lay the foundation of a child's development. They play a key role in developing children into responsible citizens and good human beings. It's a school where young talent is recognized and nurtured. On leaving school, we are all set to soar high in life, and enter the real world in pursuit of our dreams.

Education provides us with knowledge about the world. It paves the way for a good career. It helps build character. It lays the foundation of a stronger nation. Education makes a man complete. An Indian philosopher highlighted the fact that education enriches people's understanding of themselves. He said that education was an investment in human capital, and it could have a great impact on a nation's growth and development.

But the question on which I would like to find an answer is whether education is similar in different countries, for example in the UK and Russia, or not.

The goal of our work is to show the similarities and differences in educational system of the UK and Russia evidence from the international correspondence and to determine merits and demerits of it.

The objectives are as follows:

• to show the advantages of British and Russian aspects of school education;

• to improve knowledge in English;

• to widen my horizons in cultural and social aspects of English;

• to organize the correspondence with the foreigner in order to get some practical information and photos to analyze the educational system of two countries.

The problem of education is important today because some people think that it is very prestigious to study abroad, others consider Russian education to be classic and time-tested. That is why our task is to prove or disapprove some statements.

International correspondence.

Nowadays there are a lot of schools and institutions which suggest education for foreigners all over the world. As far as I know, there are many students in our country who came here to get Russian education. So, what is the difference between educational systems? Why do many people leave their native country to get a foreign diploma? What are merits and demerits of our system of education? It is possible to answer these questions after making a comparison study of educational systems of two countries. We decided to compare the UK and Russia which is quite obvious.

But we could hardly speak about it truly and extensively if we have no our own experience of living and studying abroad. Unfortunately, we have never been to London. That is why we decided to use another opportunity. My tutor spent several years in the Netherlands. She had some contacts who could help us in our research work. Anna Marie was so kind to answer some questions and provide us with some photos. The extracts of our correspondence are in enclosure. But first of all let me introduce my pen friend.

Anna Marie is a woman of 38 years old. She has a husband and three children. Due to her husband’s work they have to move from time to time. So, they spent 3 years in Great Britain. And Anna Marie shared her opinion on education in Great Britain. They lived in___________ not far from_____________. Their elder son went to ________________. He was about 4 years old then. I was greatly interested in what type of Montessori schools are. That is why, using some information of Anna Marie I made a great research work. First of all I found a lot of information concerning the types of schools, curricular, uniform, exams and so on. But both systems has very much in common except Montessori schools. That is why I paid more attention to this question, because I intended to show some interesting differences in education systems.

Comparison of education in Great Britain and Russia.

Education is very important in England, as it is in Wales and Scotland too. British children are required by law to have an education until they are 16 years old. Education is compulsory, but school is not, children are not required to attend school. They could be educated at home.

Education is free for all children from 5 to 18. About 94 per cent of pupils in England, and the rest of the UK, receive free education from public funds, while 6 per cent attend independent fee paying schools.

Citizens of Russia have the right to education which is guaranteed by the Constitution and ensured by the broad development of compulsory secondary education, vocational, specialized secondary and higher education.

Types of schools in Great Britain.

Children's education in England is normally divided into two separate stages. They begin with primary education at the age of five and this usually lasts until they are eleven. Then they move to secondary school, there they stay until they reach sixteen, seventeen or eighteen years of age.

The main categories of school are:

• local authority maintained schools (State Schools)
  Free to all children between the ages of 5 - 16 

• independent schools (Private/Public Schools)
  Parents pay for their children's' education.

State schools.

In the UK 93% of the children in England and Wales go to "state schools". State schools are non fee-paying, funded from taxes and most are organized by Local Authorities (LA).

Parents are expected to make sure that their child has a pen, pencil, ruler etc. but the cost of other more specialized equipment, books, examination fees are covered by the school.

Parents are, however, expected to pay for their child's school uniform and items of sports wear. Charges may also be made for music lessons and for board and lodgings on residential trips. Schools may ask for voluntary contributions for school time activities - but no pupil may be left out of an activity if their parents or guardian cannot or do not contribute.

Primary schools (5 - 11 year olds)

In the UK, the first level of education is known as primary education. These are almost always mixed sex, and usually located close to the child's home. Children tend to be with the same group throughout the day, and one teacher has responsibility for most of the work they do.

Parents are strongly encouraged to help their children, particularly with reading and writing, and small amounts of homework are set to all children, even during the early years at school.

Secondary schools (11 - 16 year olds)

Most children transfer at the age of 11 - usually to their nearest secondary school, though the law allows parents in England and Wales to express preferences for other schools too. A place has to be offered at the parents' preferred school unless the school has more applicants than places; in that case it will admit the children who have the highest priority under its published admission arrangements which can vary a little in different places.

Most secondary schools cater for both sexes. They tend to be much larger than primary schools.

Nearly 88 per cent of secondary school pupils in England go to comprehensive schools, as do all pupils in Wales. These take children of all abilities and provide a wide range of secondary education for all or most of the children in a district from 11 to 16 or 18.

Grammar Schools are selective, they offer academically oriented general education. Entrance is based on a test of ability, usually at 11 (11+). Grammar schools are single sexed schools i.e. children either go to a Boys Grammar School or a Girls Grammar School. There are grammar schools in Northern Ireland and some parts of England.

Fee Paying Schools

Independent Schools 

7% of the children in England go to independent schools. Independent schools are known as private schools and public schools . Parents pay for their children to attend these schools.

Prep Schools

A preparatory school is a school to prepare pupils to go to a public school.

Public Schools

A public school is an independent secondary school. Public schools in England are not run by the government. The entrance exams used by most public schools are known as Common Entrance exams and are taken at the age of 11 (girls) or 13 (boys).

The most famous public schools are Eton, Harrow and Winchester.

Higher Education

Around 30% of the 18 to 19 year olds enter full-time higher education. The formal entry requirements to most degree courses are two A-levels at grade E or above. In practice, most offers of places require qualifications in excess of this.

A school year in England consists of three terms (trimesters). The beginning of the school year is always in September, whereby each school has its own term dates. The schools generally begin their lessons in the first two weeks of September. After a half of the teaching period, i.e. after approximately 6 weeks, pupils have their first holiday, which is referred to as “half term“. During this time the school is closed, and the children generally go home.

Education in Russia is organized and coordinated by the state, which ensures that general education is free and available for everyone. Most schools are state schools but private schools have also been established in recent years. 

Education usually begins with pre-school before the age of six, although it is not compulsory. Children typically go to kindergartens or other pre-schools which focus on both intellectual and physical activities. The next step is primary school, which is part of the general education programme. 

General education in Russia comprises three stages: primary education, which lasts for four years; basic general education lasting for five years and secondary education which lasts for two to three years. 

Russian general education is aimed at the intellectual, emotional, moral and physical development of the individual. It aims to develop the abilities that will allow a student to adapt to life in society as well as helping individuals to make conscious choices concerning professional education.

The academic year typically runs from 1 September to the beginning of June. School examinations are in June. 

The language of instruction is Russian in all state-accredited educational institutions, except in pre-schools. Citizens of the Russian Federation also have the right to receive their basic general education in their native languages.  

General education is compulsory. The basic curriculum has some compulsory fields of study such as the Russian language, foreign languages, mathematics, history, politics, natural sciences etc. Every school designs its own curriculum, which is based on state requirements, and there can be some extra or optional disciplines. In Moscow, there are also schools that specialise in certain subjects, such as maths, music, arts, and sports.

After completing primary and basic general education, the students participate in final examinations. They are awarded a Certificate of Basic General Education, Attestat ob Osnovom Obshchem Obrazovani, which entitles the student to be admitted to either secondary general education, to vocational education or to non-university level higher education.

After completing the secondary general education, the students need to pass the State final attestation (final examinations), after which they will be awarded a Certificate of Secondary General Education, Attestat o Sredem Obshchem Obrazovanii. This school leaving certificate will allow students to continue to higher education: either vocational education or both non-university and university level education. 

Recently, new types of secondary schools have emerged called gymnasium and lyceum, which can be both state owned or private. The duration of studies can exceed that of secondary general schools, and the educational programmes can be more advanced. 

In total, general education takes 11 years to complete. Children are enrolled in schools at the age of six and normally they finish school by the age of 17. 

The Russian school year is comprised of 4 terms with vacations in between; 1 week in November, 2 weeks in January, 1 week in March and nearly 3 months in summer. School is held from September 1 until the final week of May, with exams in June.

The school day normally starts at 8 a.m. and finishes at 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Students generally attend class 5 days a week, although some schools require extra study on Saturdays.

A typical lesson lasts 40 - 45 minutes with a 5 -15 minute break in between. In primary school students have 4 classes a day. This increases to 5 or 6 classes a day in secondary school, and 6 or 7 at a senior high school.

A normal class consists of 20-30 students. In primary school, pupils have one teacher for all the subjects taught.

As you can see generally there are not so many differences between the education in the UK and Russia. Of course, there are some aspects which differ from each other, but not so much.

But I am going to tell you about Montessori school and share the information with you which I got from Anna Marie.

Montessori schools.

My research work was connected with the information from the Anna Marie’s letters. And one fact was greatly interesting for me. Anna Marie described the school which her son attended. These schools differ from the ordinary state or private schools very much. These are Montessori schools. To tell you the truth, I’ve heard about it for the first time and decided to find out as much as possible.

Maria Montessori (1870-1952) is an Italian physician and educator. She is well known for her philosophy of education. Her educational method is in use today in some public and private schools throughout the world. She graduated from the medical school and she was a children’s doctor. But a bit later Maria Montessori organized a school for the weak minded children. She used some special methods in teaching and got some results. Some time later she tried to use such methods on ordinary pupils and she got the best results. She was convinced that children need a special area to develop. And she created such area, having developed materials which she used in teaching children.

So, the elder son of Anna Marie went to Paint Pots Montessori School “Bayswater” which is on Ladbroke Square in London. He was about 4 years old then. It was a private school and they had to pay for education. As she explained to me they didn’t hesitate in choosing the school, because they are Dutch and Montessori schools are wildly spread there. Maria Montessori spent her last years in the Netherlands and many people try their children to go to such schools. So, when the found themselves in London they decided to apply this school.

As we pointed out earlier, the educational systems of the UK and Russia have very much in common, but if we speak about Montessori schools they absolutely differ from our schools. Let’s see the details.

School day.

The school day begins at 8.30 a.m. All children should come in time because at 8.31 a.m. the door is closed and if you are late you should ring a bell and the director only will open the door. It’s unpleasant to explain him or her why you are late (despite of the fact that the director smiles always) , so mostly everybody is in time.

Each child has his own hook for the jacket with the picture on it. Pupils leave their sports wear at school on their hooks. Then the child enters the classroom and takes his seat. Until the bell ringing the pupil may read a book or use some Montessori materials. The break is at 10 and 11.30. During the first break the children eat fruits and biscuits which they bring with themselves. During the long break, at 11.30 they eat their sandwiches and after that they go for a walk to the schoolyard. During the long break the students play in the schoolyard, ride the bikes or play active games.

After the break at 12.20 they return to their class and do some activities such as reading, improving their language on computer, modeling and so on. The school day ends at 15.30. Usually parents should bring the child and take him from the school until he or she is 12 years old. So, all parents gather in the schoolyard and after that the children decide whom they would like to invite today to play with. As far as the pupils do not have home task they have a plenty of time to play. Sometimes they have a home task, but this task is for the long period of time, for about a month. It’s a project work. For example, the pupils should prepare the information about solar system or dinosaurs, or what not.

Daily plan.

Each child has his own seat with a drawer where all his books and copybooks are held. And each pupil has an individual daily plan and the weekly plan in his drawer. The pupil himself may decide what subject he wants to choose first and what he wants to do later. After making some kind of work the pupil should color the box with its task using proper color for every subject. So, the main idea is that the child plans for himself what to do now and then.

Multiage groups.

There are about 25 pupils in a group. But I was impressed when I found out that there are groups of three ages in the Montessori schools. For example, children of 4, 5 and 6 years are in the same group. As Anna Marie explained to me, it allows smaller children to learn something new from the elder ones. They try to be as clever and skilled as their classmates. And vise versa, elder pupils learn to take care of the smaller ones, they teach to be kind and tolerant.

Curricular.

The main difference of Montessori schools from the others is that pupils study in a special area. There are a lot of different deductive materials and the child himself decides how he can do the task. Only specially trained teachers can work in these schools. And the teacher is not in the center of the class. The teacher just comes to the pupil when the child needs some help. Because the main principle of Montessori schools is: “Let me do it myself.” Mostly children sit on the floor; they may change their place in class if the teacher finished his explanation. In fact, it is an individual education taking into consideration that the group is multiage.

The school subjects are as follows: language, math, literature, physical training, science, art, swimming (for the first two groups). As for the swimming, it is suggested that all the pupils should have A-diploma. And there’s also some extraordinary thing for me. There are three types of diploma – A, B, C. And before getting the grade, pupils should pass some sort of exam. Before A-level they should swim in T-shirts and shorts, for B-level they swim in sweater and jeans, for C-level they swim in jackets and boots! It is supposed that if a child finds himself in water he will be ready to swim in clothes because it is more difficult.

At art the pupils create some unusual things and make school exhibitions.

Children at Montessori schools have many projects. These are very interesting performances which can be done during one day or even a month. For example a musician comes to school one day and brings different musical instruments with him. So, during the first part of the day children learn to play instruments, they sing a song or act the play and in the afternoon their parents come to see this project work.

Meetings of parents.

Another interesting thing is parents’ meetings. The meetings are held for 3 or 4 days. By the end of the term each parent should write on the paper which time is more convenient for them to come. The teacher speaks with the parents of each child individually exactly 15 minutes. No more! Twice a year the teacher sends by post a report for the pupil. And if parents have any questions they may ask them during the meeting.

Everyday school life.

Pupils in such schools do not have uniforms. They wear their ordinary clothes. They bring fruits and lunch with them in beautiful lunchboxes. If the child has a birthday party, all the children sing a song for him, parents are allowed to bring some fruits or sweets. After that the pupil gets a big card and goes from one teacher to another and all the teachers write congratulations for him. It’s a great memory for children.

They also celebrate their teacher’s birthday. On that day everybody brings one flower and in the morning all the class gathers in the schoolyard. They sing a song for the teacher and one by one present the teacher with the flower, so at the end the teacher has a wonderful bouquet.

When the pupils are 10 all of them go to the camp for 3 days. It’s their first experience of living without parents. The children sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag, they cook for themselves with the help of adults, go to the forest trips. It’s a real adventure!

Gardening.

Another great experience is to raise vegetables. When the children are 10 once a week they have a class of gardening. The children go to the garden by bikes and bed out onion, potato, strawberry, radish and so on. It’s so nice to gather the harvest in time! These vegetables are the tastiest!

Nowadays there are a lot of Montessori schools all over the world, including Russia. And the interest to this type of schools is growing in our country. There are many schools, centers, web-sites where people communicate with each other in different Russian cities. As I’ve already told Montessori’s method is time-tested and some teachers try to use such methods.

I think that I’ve managed to show some differences in education. And I suggest that my friendship with Anna Marie will let me know more interesting facts about education and daily life in Britain.

Conclusion.

Education gives us knowledge of the world around. It helps us form opinions and develop a point of view. Education is not limited to lessons from textbooks. Real education is obtained from the lessons taught by life.

My main conclusion is that both English and Russian schools give the same basic education, after which the children can make a choice about their future life. In both education systems this choice depends on the pupils’ request to study and improve his\her knowledge. Diligent pupils win, lazy pupils lose.

Parent’s participation is also the same - they need to keep an eye on their children homework. They donate the school for different needs, such as furniture, equipment, etc… Parents take an active role in concerts, trips, etc. . . .

Parents in Britain and in Russia also want to communicate with the teachers all the time. They want to know about their children progress. But, as I noticed earlier the way of communication is different.

But I would like to point out that pupils in Russian schools are lack of practical skills. I think they need more activities which help them in their lives. In my opinion our Russian system could use some good ideas and practical aiming for better preparing children for their future life.

And if I had a choice to study abroad or in Russia I would choose my native country, because my home is here, my heart is here. And now I need to do my best to get a perfect education here and to be useful to my country.

As for the Montessori schools I should point out that the interest to this method grows every year. There are many schools and centers in our country with specially trained teachers and special Montessori materials. Of coarse,

For the progress of a nation, for the enrichment of society in general, education is important. In today's competitive world, it won't be wise to neglect the importance of education for the development of society as a whole. Most countries have realized this. It has led to the development of many government-aided educational programs and government grants to schools and colleges. The future of a nation is safe in the hands of the educated. Education is important for the social development and economic growth of a nation.

List of References.

2. Вяземский Е. Е. Современная система образования в Великобритании // Проблемы современного образования: журнал. — 2010. — № 6. — С. 68–84.

3. Levashova V.A. Britain Today: Life and Institutions – Moscow: INFRA-M, 2001

4. М.Монтессори. Помоги мне сделать это самому. – М.: Изд.дом «Карапуз», 2004 – 272 с., илл.

5. Электронный ресурс: http://www.montessori.ru/ - Ассоциация Монтессори-педагогов в России

6. Электронный ресурс: http://rms-montessori.org – Russian Montessori Society

7. Электронный ресурс: http://montessori-russia.ru/ - Международный институт Монтессори-педагогики

8. Электронный ресурс: http://www.youtube.com – Window on Britain. Schools.