初中等教育
美国的教育体制规定每个人都有接受教育的权利。美国的儿童6-16岁必须入学。美国的公立学校由政府税收支持,学生免费入学;私立学校多由教会支持。美国的学校按年龄阶段分为以下三类:
1.初级学校:1-6年级(6-12岁)
2.初级中学:7-8年级(13-14岁)
3.中学:9-12年级(15-18岁)
高等教育
美国的大学一般为4年制(18岁以上),另有“研究院”或“专业学院”,为大学毕业学生从事研究而设立。在大学阶段又分为了三个时期即:本科、研究生、博士的就读时期。
一、高等教育三个时期
1.本科生事情
在本科学习阶段,头两年美国学生要学习普通学科领域的一些必修课程,第二年结束后选择一门或两门专业课,剩下的两年就学习这几门学科领域内的课程。获得学士学位以后,多数美国人会结束他们的“学习生涯”,开始准备就业。
2.研究生时期
在美国,研究生学习非常具体,录取也非常严格。同本科教育不同,研究生课程没有基础课,每个学生必须具备一定的本科基础课知识,进入研究生阶段后,才可以很快了解指导老师的意图,并和其“节奏”相一致的学习。一般来说,研究生需要二至三年的全职学习才可以获得相应学位。
3.博士生时期
在美国读取博士学位一般至少需要四年时间,有时可能需要七年。有些博士项目直接从读硕士开始,有些需要在获得了硕士学位的前提下才能读。所有读博士的学生都要上课,参加考试。博士生还必须在导师指导下写博士论文,这是完成博士学习最重要的一步。课程结束后,许多博士生到校园以外继续研究。同许多国家不同,在美国的博士生要自己制订研究计划和进行必要的研究,他们还要自己修改研究方向以适应答辩小组的要求。博士生一般需要进行论文答辩。
The Difference Between England And American Higher Education
British higher education has a long history in the UK.State education in England is in three stages:primary,secondary and further(including higher and adult).And British universities can be divided roughly into 3 main groups:the old universities; the Redbrick universities; the new universities.The old universities refer to those founded before 1600.Oxford & Cambridge are the oldest ones,dating back to the 12th and 13th century.Until the 19th century,they are the only 2 universities in England.The Redbrick universities include all the provincial universities of the period 1850-1930,as well as London University.They are so called because they were all built in the favorite building material of the period---red brick.The new universities are those founded since the 2nd world war.They have their own independent and modern approaches to teaching.Altogether,there are now 44 universities in the United Kingdom:33 in England,8 in Scotland,2 in Northern Ireland & 1,a federation of 7 colleges,in Wales.
U.S.university system is decentralized and very independent.U.S.university system has its own independent accrediting organization.In the U.S.there are public universities,private universities,liberal arts colleges,professional colleges,technical colleges and community colleges.Universities are research oriented institutions which provide undergraduate and graduate education.Colleges are usually 2 year or four year institutions which do not emphasize research but rather teaching.Some universities have professional schools in specializations like journalism,engineering,medical,law,pharmacy and dental.
In most U.S.universities American,students can begin their higher education at any time in their life,can take any major,can change majors at any time,can be a part-time or a full-time student,can stop or re-start their education at any time,can go to class during the day time or at night,can attend classes at sites off the campus of the university,and can take classes or a complete degree by a computer on-line.It is difficult to get into the best universities in the U.S.but not so difficult to get into lesser know universities even though the quality of education is still very high.Students attending universities are usually very intelligent and the universities demand much from them.The class work is very hard and requires much study.Much of their work is individual and requires much research and thinking.