新英美概况 教学课件 齐智英英美概况电子教案齐智英 unit 6.pptVIP

Unit Six British and American Education Contents Unit Six 6.1. The Present Education System of the UK and the USA 6.1.1 The British Educational System The British educational system is a complicated one, compared with the Chinese educational system. Generally speaking, there are two systems of primary and secondary education in Britain ––– the state school and “public school”1. The former is in the majority, the latter is few in number but of great influence. Unit Six State laws provide a general framework within which the state schools operate and the central government provides a large part of the money, but there is only a fairly loose state control over the schools throughout the country. The Department of Education and Science establishes standards to schools which ought to conform and from time to time it sends out one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors to visit and make thorough reports on the work of every school. They give advice to the teachers and suggest new ideas, but their function is above all advisory. In every state school the head teacher has plenty of autonomy in deciding what is to be taught and how the teaching is to be carried out. Public schools are quite independent. Each has a board of governors separately constituted. They control the finances and appoint the headmaster, who in his turn appoints the other teachers. So the government operates no schools, employs no teachers, nor does it control universities. And now there is national curriculum. Unit Six 6.1.2． The American Educational System Education is “like a big window opening” according to the English novelist Mary Webb. Americans are proud of the fact that the window of knowledge is never shut for any of the nation’s citizens. All American children are offered twelve years of free public education, and most good students can get financial help to continue their studies for many more years. Adults who wish to attend school also find many opportunities. In this nation of rapid change, th