Education System Comparison Between Usa and Latvia Essay

IntroductionEvery unrivalled k right aways that in nowadays on that point ar many possibilities and ways to learn, but in Latvia this is very topical foundation right now. many of the senior high sh stomach trends want to learn abroad. And I do non think that this is good, because like near half of the students or people that go to learn abroad, never comes back to the native country. That is wherefore I have chosen this topical theme. I am handout to palm of battle t severallying methodal systems in these countries. I am going to peak nearly of the 12th alumnus students round what atomic progeny 18 they thinking about learning in steady army. I want to achieve that kind of embed when a student reads my research project and e special(prenominal)ly the high(prenominal) command in Latvia partly he changes his mind and stays to learn here. My possibleness for this query cut back is the upbringing systems in Latvia and in the regular army atomic number 1 8 distinguishable and this is a reason why people in Latvia acquire the regular army for studies very often. The Aim of the Research Work is to comp ar the tuition systems in the USA and in Latvia and to find out middle teach students opinion about studies in Latvia and in the USA. The main objectives of the Research Work be To collect the information about cultivational system in Latvia To collect the information about cultivational activityal system in the USA To make a questionnaire and analyze the results of middle rail students opinion about studies in Latvia and in the USA readingal system in USA breeding in the fall in States is provided mainly by g everywherenment, with control and reinforcement coming from three levels federal, state, and local anesthetic. School dependance is obligatory and nearly customary at the primary and alternate levels. At these levels, tame curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies be set through locally elected school boar ds with jurisdiction over school districts. School districts atomic number 18 ordinarily separate from other local jurisdictions, with free-lance officials and budgets. Educational standards and standardized testing decisions ar unremarkably make by state brasss. The maturate for compulsory education vary by state, buzz offning at the age five to eight and ending at the age of four-spotteen to eighteen. A growing number of states ar now requiring school attendance until the age of 18.61.1 Preschool at that place atomic number 18 no compulsory public prekindergarten or crche programs in the join States. The federal government funds the preschool program for children of low-income families, but most families atomic number 18 on their stimulate with regard to finding a preschool or childc are. In the gargantuan cities, there are nearlytimes upper- company preschools catering to the children of the wealthy.61.2 Elementary and Secondary EducationSchooling is compulsory f or all children in the United States, but the age range for which school attendance is ask varies from state to state. nigh children begin elementary education with kindergarten (usually five to six long time old) and finish unessential education with twelfth note (usually eighteen classs old). In some cases, pupils whitethorn be promoted beyond the next regular sucker. Some states allow students to leave school at the age of 1417 with agnate permission, before finishing high school. Most parents send their children to either a public or unavowed institution. According to government data, nonpareil-tenth of students are enrolled in private schools.Approximately 85% of students enter the public schools, by and large because they are free (tax burdens by school districts vary from area to area). Most students attend school for around six hours per day, and usually anywhere from one hundred s pointty-five to 185 days per year. Most schools have a summer break catch for ab out dickens and half months from June through August. This break is much protracted than in many other nations. Originally, summer vacation, as it is colloquially called, allowed students to enrol in the harvest period during the summer. However, this remains largely by tradition.6 Parents may also pick to educate their own children at home 1.7% of children are educated in this manner.1.2.1 Junior high schoolJunior high school is any school intermediate between elementary school and high school. It usually includes seventh and eighth grade, and sometimes sixth or 9th grade. In some locations, junior high school includes ninth grade but, allowing students to adjust to a high school environment. Middle school is often used instead of junior high school when demographic factors increase the number of younger students. At this time, students are given much independence as choosing their own classes. Usually, starting in ninth grade, grades suffer part of a students official tran script. Future employers or colleges may want to pass steady improvement in grades and a good attendance record on the official transcript. Therefore, students are encourage to take much to a greater extent responsibility for their education.61.3 higher(prenominal) educationPost-secondary education in the United States is known as college or university and familiarly consists of four years of study at an institution of high learning. There are 4,352* colleges, universities, and junior colleges in the USA. Students traditionally apply to receive price of access code into college, with vary difficulties of entrance. Schools differ in their hawkishness and reputation worldwidely, the most prestigious schools are private, rather than public. main courses criteria involve the rigor and grades earned in high school courses taken, class ranking, and standardized test. Most colleges also consider more indispensable factors much(prenominal) as a commitment to extracurricular acti vities, a personal essay, and an interview. While numerical factors rarely ever are absolute indispensable values, each college usually has a rough threshold to a lower place which portal is unlikely.2 *- January 2009. data from www.ed.govOnce admitted, students engage in undergrad study, which consists of satisfying university and class requirements to achieve a knight bachelors gunpoint in a field of concentration known as a major. The most parking lot method consists of four years of study tether to a bachelor of Arts (B.A.), a Bachelor of attainment (B.S.), or sometimes some other bachelors full stop such as Bachelor of finely Arts (B.F.A.), Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.), Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.,) or Bachelor of philosophy (B.Phil.) Five-Year Professional computer architecture programs offering the Bachelor of Architecture Degree (B.Arch.) Professional stratums such as law, medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry, are offered as graduate study laterward ea rning at least three years of undergraduate schooling or subsequently earning a bachelors degree depending on the program.These master fields do not require a specific undergraduate major, though medicine, pharmacy, and dentistry have set obligatory courses that must be taken before enrollment.2 Some students choose to attend a community college for two years prior to further study at another college or university. In most states, community colleges are operated either by a division of the state university or by local special districts subject to guidance from a state agency. society colleges may award Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree after two years. Those seeking to continue their education may transfer to a four-year college or university. Some community colleges have smart enrollment agreements with a local four-year college, where the community college provides the first two years of study and the university provides the remaining years of study, sometimes all on one campus.The community college awards the associates degree, and the university awards the bachelors and masters degrees. Graduate study, conducted after obtaining an initial degree and sometimes after several(prenominal) years of professional work, leads to a more advanced degree such as a masters degree, which could be a grasp of Arts (MA), headwaiter of Science (MS), Master of Business Administration (MBA), or other less(prenominal) common masters degrees such as Master of Education (MEd), and Master of Fine Arts (MFA). subsequently spare years of study and sometimes in conjunction with the completion of a masters degree, students may earn a load of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or other doctorial degree, such as concern of Arts, Doctor of Education, Doctor of Theology, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Physical Therapy, or Doctor of Jurisprudence. Some programs, such as medicine, have formal apprenticeship procedures post-graduation like abode and internship which must be completed after graduation and before one is considered to be fully trained.Other professional programs like law and problem have no formal apprenticeship requirements after graduation.3 Entrance into graduate programs usually depends upon a students undergraduate schoolman performance or professional find as well as their score on a standardized entrance exam. Many graduate and law schools do not require experience after earning a bachelors degree to enter their programs however, business school dismissdidates are usually required to gain a few years of professional work experience before applying. Only 8.9 % of students ever receive postgraduate degrees, and most, after obtaining their bachelors degree, proceed directly into the workforce.71.4 Basic Curricular StructureGenerally, at the high school level, students take a broad variety of classes without special emphasis in any particular subject. Curricula vary widely in quality and rigidity. The foll owing subjects are fairly universally required in the United States Science (usually two years minimum, normally biology, chemistry and physics) math (usually two years minimum, normally including algebra, geometry, algebra II, and/or trigonometry) English (usually four years minimum, including literature, humanities, etc.) Social Science (usually three years minimum, including various history, government/ economics courses) Physical education (at least one year)Many states require a health course in which students learn about anatomy, nutrition, first aid, sexuality, and stick out control. Anti-drug use programs are also usually part of health courses. In many cases, however, options are provided for students to test out or perform independent study in order to complete this requirement. Foreign language and some form of art education are also a mandatory part of the curriculum in some schools.6 1.5 two-timing(a) activitiesA major characteristic of Ameri pile schools is the high priority given to sports, clubs and activities by the community, the parents, the schools and the students themselves. Extracurricular activities are educational activities not falling within the scope of the regular curriculum but under the supervision of the school. These activities can extend to large amounts of time outside the normal school day home-schooled students, however, are not normally allowed to participate. Student participation in sports programs, drill teams, bands, and spirit groups can amount to hours of practices and performances. Most states have organizations which develop rules for competition between groups. These organizations are usually forced to implement time limits on hours practiced as a prerequisite for participation.Many schools also have non-varsity sports teams, however these are usually afforded less resources and attention. The idea of having sports teams associated with high schools is relatively unique to the United States in comparison w ith other countries. Sports programs and their related games, especially football and/or basketball, are major events for American students and for larger schools can be a major source of funds for school districts. High school gymnastic competitions often generate intense interest in the community.Inner city schools serving poor students are heavily scouted by college and even professional coaches, with national attention given to which colleges outstanding high school students choose to attend. State high school championship tour find outnts football and basketball gain high levels of public interest. In addition to sports, numerous non-athletic extracurricular activities are available in American schools, both public and private. Activities include musical groups, marching bands, student government, school newspapers, science fairs, debate teams, and clubs focused on an academic area or cultural interests.51.6 ElectivesMany high schools offer a wide variety of elective course s, although the availability of such courses depends upon each particular schools financial resources and desired curriculum emphases. greens types of electives include Visual arts (drawing, sculpture, painting, photography, film) Performing arts (drama, band, chorus, orchestra, dance) Technology education (woodworking, metalworking, automobile repair, robotics) Computers (word processing, programming, graphic design) Athletics (cross country, football, baseball, basketball, track and field, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, water polo, soccer, wrestling, cheerleading, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, field hockey, boxing, skiing/snowboarding) Publishing (journalism/student newspaper, yearbook/annual, literary magazine) Foreign languages (Spanish, cut are common Chinese, Latin, Greek, German, Italian, Arabic, and Japanese are less common)51.7 Advanced CoursesMany high schools provide Advanced Placement (AP) or International baccalaureate (IB) courses. These are special forms o f honours classes where the curriculum is more challenging and lessons more aggressively paced than standard courses. AP or IB courses are usually taken during the eleventh or 12th grade of high school.61.8 Home SchoolingThere was 1,3 million children that were home schooled in 2008, up 74% from 1999 when the US discussion section of Education first started keeping statistics. This was 2.9% of all children. Parents select moral or religious reasons for home schooling their children.11.9 School gradesAs you can see in the table (Table N.1), in the U.S. the first year of compulsory schooling begins with children at the age of five or six. Children are then dictated in year groups known as grades, beginning with first grade and culminating in twelfth grade. Typical ages and grade groupings in public and private schools may be found through the U.S. Department of Education. Many different variations exist across the country.2 For more foreseen scheme of education in USA see Appendix N .1.1.10 Grading scaleIn schools in the United States children are continually assessed throughout the school year by their teachers, and herald cards are issued to parents at varying intervals. Generally the scores for single(a) assignments and tests are recorded for each student in a grade book, along with the maximum number of points for each assignment. At any time, the impart number of points for a student when divided by the total number of possible points produces a percent grade which can be translated to a letter grade. Letter grades are often used on constitution cards at the end of a marking period, although the current grade may be available at other times. Although judge scales usually differ from school to school, the grade scale which seems to be most common is as follows. The grading is based on a scale of 0-100 or a percentile. Note that in some jurisdictions the D grade (or that below 70) is considered a failing grade. In other jurisdictions a D grade is consid ered passing in certain classes, and failing in others. If you need a concept of grading scale, see Table N.2.6 Table N.2 Example grading scale in USAE,N,U or F D C B A - + - arodpamatskola vocational basic school 9-year education may be 2 no incomplete arodvidusskola vocational secondary school9-year education 3 no arodgimnazija vocational gymnasium 9-year education 4 yes arodskola vocational school everyday secondary education 1-2 no (postsecondary) As it is seen from table (Table N.4), just one type of vocational schools four year vocational gymnasium concurrently to vocational training provide ecumenic secondary education and, consequently, access to higher education.102.8 Access to Higher EducationIn principle, access to higher education is general for all holders of general secondary education certificates. However, the institutions of higher education are free to typeset which of the elective subjects must have been taken by the applier at the secondary school in order to become eligible for entree to a chosen program. There are no fixed all-Latvian rules find the admission system and it may differ between different institutions and even between different faculties of the same institution of higher education. The main forms of admission procedure may be as follows 1 to 4 competitive entrance examinations a competition of diplomas plus an interview by the Admission board, which may include general questions in subjects important to the chosen enduringness just a competition of diplomas (usually judging by the marks in subjects important to the chosen program and/or average mark in the secondary school certificate) knowledge of Latvian language is evaluated in these cases when the applicant has not had Latvian as the language of instruction in secondary school. An admission board consisting of staff members is formed in all higher educational institutions to carry out admission procedures in accordance with conditions denote at least 5 months before.92.9 Higher Education2.9.1 academic higher education (Akadmisk augstk izgltba) is understood as a general higher education based upon fundamental and/or applied science. Academic education can be (and in most cases is) divided into two stages. A student has to perform a thesis of a Research Work at the end of each stage. I. First degreeAn academic degree and a Bachelor diploma (Bakalaura grds) can be awarded after successive completion of the first stage. Bachelor degree is an intermediate degree and can be treated as a completed higher education only in these cases when duration of program is 4+ years. However, part of the students leave universities having a bachelors degree and find their recess in the labor market. II. Second degreeAcademic master degree (Maistra grds) and the appropriate diploma is awarded after the second stage of academic education and should be treated as a complete university-type higher education. Master degree or a degree equival ent to it (e.g. medical studies are of a level of masters degree but name of masters degree is not applicable) can be awarded after total duration of 5-7 years of university studies. Master degree (or equivalent) is required for admission to doctoral studies. III. Higher degreesThere are two of doctoral degrees in LatviaDegree of Ph.D. (Doktora grds)Holders of masters degree are eligible for doctoral studies and the holders of Ph.D. is expected to be achieved in a 3-4 year period of full-time doctoral studies after a public defense of doctoral thesis. After defense of habilitation thesis you are awarded with a degree of habilitated doctor (habilitts doktors). doctorial degrees are awarded by specialized councils promotion council (promocijas padome) awarding the degree doktors only habilitation council (habilitcijas padome) awarding both doctoral degrees. The regulations for awarding of doctoral degrees are set and the promotion and habilitation councils are appointed by Latvian Science Council (Latvijas Zintnes Padome). 2.9.2 Higher professional education (Profesionla augstak izgltba) is a higher education based upon applied science. It provides knowledge and skills for professional activities.Acquirement of the programs of professional studies can take place independently of academic studies, concurrently to or after them. Non-university type higher education institutions offer higher professional education programs leading directly to professional qualifications. To be treated as a completed higher education, the duration of professional studies has to be not less than 4 years. University-type higher education institutions may offer 1-2 year programs leading to professional qualification after achieving bachelor degree (bakalaurs).8