Education in the United States

PowerPoint Presentation Chapter 6 Education in the United States American Studies Lecturer Vu Doan Thi Phuong Thao University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi CONTENT General overview The school system Other features GENERAL OVERVIEW National education budget (2010) 904 6 billion (all levels) Literacy (2003) • Men 97% • Women 97% Enrollment 76 million • Primary 37 9 million • Secondary 16 4 million • Post secondary 17 5 million http www ed gov GENERAL.

Chapter 6

Education in the United

States

American Studies

Lecturer: Vu Doan Thi Phuong Thao

University of Languages and International Studies,

Vietnam National University, Hanoi

• General overview

• The school system

• Other features

GENERAL OVERVIEW

• National education budget (2010) :

$904.6 billion (all levels)

GENERAL OVERVIEW

A large & diverse educational system, provided

mainly by government.

 School attendance:

• Formal shooling starts at the at of 5.

• Public school: free & open to all (at elementary &

secondary levels)

• Attending school required until the age of 16-18

depending on the state  Compulsory school

attendance

GENERAL OVERVIEW

 Varied opportunity:

• Choice of courses

• Wide variety of degree program in higher education

• Varied academic standards & reputation

 Decentralized funding & administration:

• Educational standards and standardized testing

decisions are usually made by state governments

• Spending for public education is determined by

states and education leaders.

 Cirriculm: No national school system & no national

curriculum

GENERAL OVERVIEW

US School System

• 3 types of school: public,

private, and home-schooling.

• Most of private schools are

run by religious groups.

• 85% of students enter public

schools.

Schools

in the USA

Private

Public

schooling

Home-THE SCHOOL SYSTEM

• Pre-schooling programs

offered at the age of 3

or 4.

• Children attend nursery

school, day care or

pre-school.

Elementary Education

• Includes kindergarten and the next five or six years of education (K-6th grade)

• Basic subjects are taught, traditionally the

three Rs : reading, writing and arithmetic.

• Other subjects, creative activites and sports are included

Elementary Education

• Pupils spend most of the day with their

class.

• The class is taught most of the time by

the same teacher.

• Elementary school teachers must earn

either a Bachelors or Masters Degree in

Early Childhood & Elementary

Education.

Secondary Education

• Divided into: Junior & Senior high schools

(middle school & high school).

• Junior high school:

Secondary Education

• Senior high school:

- From grade 9 to 12

- Take technical subjects such as computer

programming alongside with academic ones

- Receive diploma when graduating.

- After high school, the majority of Ss go on to college

Secondary Education

Common types of electives

• Visual arts (drawing, sculpture, painting,

• Publishing (journalism/student newspaper,

yearbook, literary magazine)

• Foreign languages (French, German, Spanish are

common; Chinese, Latin, Greek and Japanese are

less common)

Higher Education

• Undergraduate Studies for Bachelor’s Degree (B.A, B.S.)

- Technical institutes

- Private career schools

- Colleges and universities

• Graduate Studies for Master’s Degree (M.A, M.Sc.)

• Postgraduate Studies for Doctor’s Degree (Ph.D.)

Colleges and Universities

• Colleges offer classes only for

undergraduate Ss for bachelor’s

degree in arts and sciences.

• Universities are larger than colleges

and also offer courses for graduate Ss.

• Public colleges and universities charge

tuition but much lower than private

ones.

Colleges and Universities

• 25% of colleges and universities are privately operated by religious groups.

• No distinction between the quality of education provided at public and private colleges and

AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM

SUM UP

American colleges & universities

University of Columbia

Princeton University

University of Pennsylvania

American colleges & universities

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

University of California, Berkeley

Colleges and Universities

• standardized test scores

(such as the SAT or ACT

tests).

Graduate study

Entrance into graduate programs depends upon:

• a student's undergraduate academic performance

• professional experience

• the score on a standardized entrance exam (the GRE (graduate schools in general), the LSAT (law), the GMAT (business), or the MCAT (medicine)

• cater to college-bound students

• for gifted students, students

with learning disabilities or

other special needs, or students with specific religious

affiliations

Extracurricular activities

• Educational activities not falling within the scope of the regular curriculum but under the supervision

No Child Left Behind Act

• Signed on January 8, 2002

• Reauthorizes federal programs

to improve the performance of

U.S primary and secondary

schools

• Requires states to set

educational standards for

achievement at different grade

levels and to take steps to

improve the performance of

those who don’t meet the

standards

• Provide parents more flexibility

in choosing schools for their

children

• In the past, schools for blacks were not

only separate but unequal.

• Desegregation began after the Brown

case in 1954

• Integration has succeeded in narrowing

the gap between blacks and whites.

• Dropout rate among black high school

has declined significantly.

American Education Reflects American Beliefs and Values

American Education Reflects American Beliefs and Values

• Americans value education for its monetary value The more schooling people have, the more money they can earn

• American education is to develop individual’s critical thinking skills and competitiveness

• Americans try to achieve racial balance in

public school after a long time of

discrimination

INDIVIDUALISM

MULTICUTURAL EDUCATION

• In the 1990s, curricula were changed to include varied cultural information and perspective into education

• African-American History Month (February) or Hispanic Heritage Month (September-October) are celebrated

Questions for discussion

1 List and explain the similarities and

differences between Vietnamese education system and the US’s

2 Why do a lot of foreign students, not just

Vietnamese, want to get education in the US? What do you think are the most attractive elements of the US education?

3 How are the traditional American beliefs

and values reflected in the educational system?