The British Educational System All over the world mention of English educa

游客2023-12-28  10

问题    The British Educational System
   All over the world mention of English education suggests a picture of the "public school" , and it suggests in particular the names of certain very famous institutions— Eton, Oxford and Cambridge; but people do not always realize what place these institutions occupy in the whole educational system. Oxford and Cambridge are universities, each having about 12,000 students out of a total of over 250, 000 students at all British universities. Eton is a public school, and the best known of the public schools, which, in spite of their name, are not really public at all, but independent and private secondary schools taking boys from the age of thirteen to eighteen years. The public schools in reality form a very small part of the whole system of secondary education; only about one out of forty English boys goes to a public school, and out of 1, 500 goes to Eton.
   Apart from the so-called public schools, there is a complete system of state primary and secondary education, which resembles in its general form the state education in most other countries. All children must, by law, receive full-time education between the ages of five and sixteen. Any child may attend, without paying fees, a school provided by the public authorities, and the great majority attend such schools. They may continue, still without paying fees, until they are eighteen. In presenting an overall picture of English education it would be reasonable to concentrate on the state system alone and refer briefly to the public schools. However, although the public schools are not important numerically, they have been England’s most peculiar and characteristic contribution to educational methods, and they have an immense influence on the whole of English educational practice and on the English social structure. For a hundred years most men in leading positions in banking, insurance, high finance, some industries, the army, the church and conservative politics have been educated at public schools. Things are beginning to change but it will take time. Among the universities Oxford and Cambridge hold a dominant position. Of cabinet ministers who went to universities, nearly all went to one or the other of these two, and to Oxford in particular.
   A student who receive further full-time education after the age of eighteen, either at a university or at a teachers’ training college or at some other college giving training of a special type, can usually receive a grant from the public authorities to cover his expenses, or almost all of them, unless his parents have a large income. But the number of young people who can enter universities is limited by the capacity of the universities, which is less than enough to take all the young people who have the basic qualifications for university admission. In practice, therefore, entry to the universities is competitive. But university degree courses are also available at polytechnics, and entry to the Open University is less restricted.

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答案    英国的教育制度
   在全世界,人们只要一提到英国的教育,就会想起一幅“私立的贵族学校”的图景,尤其是能使人想到一些著名的学校——伊顿公学、牛津大学和剑桥大学;但一般人其实并不了解这些学校在整个英国的教育体制中究竟占有什么样的地位。全英国的大学生人数大约有25万多,但牛津大学和剑桥大学才各有一万两千左右的学生。伊顿公学是一所贵族化的私立学校,也是最好的一所“公学”。尽管其名称是“公学”,却根本不是“公立学校”,而是一所独立的私立中学,只招收13一18岁的男生。实际上,“公学”只占整个中学教育体系中很小的一部分。大约40个男生中,只有一个能进“公学”学习,1500个男生中,只有一个能上伊顿公学。
   除了所谓的“公学”之外,还有一种完整的公立中小学教育体系;一般来说,这种公立中小学的教育体系,在形式上与其他国家基本相同。法律规定,所有5—16岁的孩子必须接受全日制教育。任何孩子都可到政府资助的公立学校学习,学费全免。大多数孩子都上公立学校读书。他们可以免费上学一直到18岁。在全面介绍英国的教育状况时,主要应该着重介绍公立体制,关于私立的“公学”只需作简单的介绍就可以了。然而,尽管私立的“公学”在数量上大大少于公立学校,但对英国的教育方法却作出了特殊的、具有英国特色的贡献,并且对英国的教育实践和社会结构产生了巨大的影响。一个世纪以来,在银行业、保险业、重要的财政部门、一些工业部门、军队、教会和保守派政治家中,占据领导地位的人,大多出自私立的“公学”。尽管现在情况有所改变,但要发生根本的改变,尚需时日。在大学中,当首推牛津大学和剑桥大学。受过大学教育的内阁大臣,不是上过牛津大学,就是上过剑桥大学;其中,更多的大臣上的是牛津大学。
   18岁之后的青年,如果想上大学、师范学院或其它专门的职业培训学院继续接受全日制教育,而他们的父母收入又不高,便可获得政府的奖学金,用以支付全部费用或大部分费用。但大学数量和规模有限,不可能招收所有想进大学的年轻人,尽管他们具有入学所需的基本条件。所以,实际上入学的竞争是非常激烈的。不过,学生也可上理工学院获得大学的学位,此外上开放性大学会更容易些。

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