Education in the usa

1. Governmental policy

America has always had tremendous respect for education. Education has been of great national importance since the earliest times and even now in the USA education is the essential indicator in determining a person’s social role. Universities were founded by the settlers from England. Harvard College was established in 1636 by refugees from Cambridge. The Pilgrim Fathers (the very first settlers) had landed on the American continent just 15 years before. By 1776 there were 8 other colleges. For a long time they had just few students. As for religious bodies, they have been very active in developing elementary and secondary schools. Soon after 1800 progress was made towards universal education. It was decided that universal education would be paid from taxes.

Except in the south America was before Europe to provide schools for all children and America was before Europe to provide free education up to the age of 18.

There are two significant influences on American education which give American education it’s present-day character and size:

1. legal (governmental);

2. cultural.

Legal

The system of American formal education developed in the 19^th century. It differed then from the systems of education applied in western European countries in three fundamental respects:

1)

2) Americans in the 19^th century were confident in the power of education. They provided more years of schooling for a larger percentage of population than other countries.

3) Educational institutions primarily were governed by local authorities rather than by federal ones. Thus they gut better provisions and supervision.

The USA doesn’t have a national system of education. Under the Constitution the federal government doesn’t have any power to make laws in the field of education. Education is considered to be a matter of business for the people of each state. Each state is absolutely and fully responsible for educational matters within their own territory.

In America there’s the federal Department of Education, but its function is merely to gather information, to launch and to sponsor certain educational programs.

The federal government can give financial help. There were several laws which really helped to provide help. In the USA there’s the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. It’s another department headed by a member of the President’s Cabinet. This department is also responsible on the federal level for its functions, for giving financial help and advise.

Each state is free to determine its own system for its own public schools. There are the so-called school districts on the territory of the USA, in all states. Schools are managed and provided by local community boards of education. These local boards of education set school policy and usually they decide what must be taught. If a city is rather large, it has several boards of education.

Practice shows that all states have compulsory school attendance up to the age of, say, 14, but the great majority of states require attendance up to the age of 16. In the district of Columbia secondary education is compulsory up to 17. In some states it’s even 18.

In the south attitude of people towards education is different. We may say that there more people are illiterate. There are many universities and colleges county owned, many of them are supported by the state. But colleges and universities are still always free to determine their own individual standards, terms of admission and graduate requirements.

There’s an enormous amount of flexibility of education.

62% of those who completed high school go to colleges. 1/3 of school-leavers prefer to take a bachelor’s degree. Most children attend mixed schools (co-educational schools, i.e. for both sexes). Education in all parts of the USA is comprehensive, i.e. there’s no selection of children who attend full time and full scale secondary schools. Though there are some private organization, and here we can speak about certain distinctions. Private schools are for those who can pay for them.