Norway and England Education Structure from a Social Perspective - Term Paper Example

A comparison of Norway and England education structure from a social perspective Introduction The education structure of countries in Europe and other parts of the world differs when analysed from a social perspective. This is more so for the social education structure of Norway and England whose social philosophies differs which further affects the educational policies adopted in the countries. While Norway, just like other Scandinavian countries, has adopted a Nordic social system, England has remained with a capitalistic system similar to that of the United States and western countries. Other enactments followed to strengthen the system and adopt a structure that reflects the social organization of the country including the deviation act of 1902 and 1918. Norway, a limited monarchy with a parliamentary democracy has adopted an education system that is reflective on its social ideals and the nature of administration in the country. In this paper, the education structures of England and Norway will discussed from a social perspective, providing the significance of each, the similarities and the differences (Aldrich, Dean & Gordon, 2013). Schools as social organisations Schools provide an exemplary example of a social setting made up of the teachers, the students and the school administrators together with the parents whose roles are to shape the educational experience of students. As a result, the structure of schools in England and wales attempt to understand the social dynamics of the learning environment and the roles of the key stakeholders. The informal organisations of schools in these countries are influenced by the size of the students’ population and its homogeneity. The social structure of schools is therefore influenced by a number of factors which are dependent on the social arrangement within the countries. Factors such as age, the grade levels taught and the training program for educational and the roles of the parents influence the nature of the structure (Kehm, Michelsen & Vabo, 2010). Kindergarten education in England and Norway England and Norway have different school structures with both beginning from early childhood education all the way to universities with different years in between. In England, the education structure is divided into five with early years, primary, secondary, further education and finally higher education, taking at least 15 years to complete. Since 2010, England introduced a compulsory early childhood education for kids aged three and four years, a program that is coordinated and funded by the government. As a result, the kids are entitled to at least 15 hours free nursery education for 38 weeks in every year until they are ready and able to advance to the next level (Aldrich, Dean & Gordon, 2013). This education structure was developed following the enactment of the education act of 2002 which led to the extension of the national curriculum of the country to include foundational education programs like kindergarten. The development of the early year’s foundation stage highlighted the government’s commitment to funding and managing early education in the country as the body acts as a regulatory body that monitors quality issues within this level of education (Fyhn, Eira & Sriraman, 2011). ` In Norway, kindergarten education has remained the role of the government as it ensures quality development, management and financing. However, the country governor has a critical role to play in the management of daily to daily operations of kindergarten education within their counties. The municipalities are, however, responsible for the daily running of these institutions and providing registration to both public and private service providers. Once approved, the municipalities are tasked with the role of ensuring that the operation of the kindergartens remains within their approval frameworks at all times (Aldrich, Dean & Gordon, 2013). The educational content of the institutions are determined by their owners and management through a collaborative approach with the parent council. The private kindergartens are responsible for the recruitment of qualified tutors to work in their stations and to ensure quality assurance protocols are followed. Though the English kindergarten system is organized, the Norwegian system is not organized and is an informal or barnehage system that comprises mostly of child play and recreational activities. The system focuses more on outdoor plays, a thing that is less emphasised within the British system including sleets, sun and rain plays (Fyhn, Eira & Sriraman, 2011). Before admission to these schools, the children must possess the best outdoor play gear to enhance their safety and personal development. Within the system, there exist an expression that aptly mean that the country kindergarten system does not have any seasons of bad weather meaning that the kindergarten kids can play all through as long as they have the best clothing for every season. This system is influenced by the Sami curriculum and the Nordic social structure which encourages early childhood development, interaction and making friends through play and socialization. As a result, the kindergarten system has no educational content delivered as the kids are allowed to play within the open fields and interact with the environment as a way of discovering themselves. Comparison of primary schools ` English primary schools began at an early age of 5 and are divided into different levels that reflect the age and educational abilities of the students. The system have two stages apart from the nursery and infant levels which include key stage one for 8 year olds and key stage 2 for 11 year olds. As a result, the primary education structure in England covers for children within the ages of 4-11 resulting into the presence of in-managed nursery schools. In public schools, the primary set up is mixed with both boys and girls admitted into the same classes with uniforms to identify them. This has been attributed to the advanced social development of teenagers as they interact at an early age devoid of the seclusion witnessed in gender secluded schools. Primary education assists in the development of basic literacy and numeracy skills in students, focusing mainly on the foundation courses of science, mathematics among other key subjects (Husebo, 2012). The primary schools in Norway are public day schools build in different parts of the country and supported by the central government, the municipalities and the county governments. Children join primary at the age of 6 and walk on a daily basis to class in schools that are found within their neighbourhood. Children are not allowed to ride their bicycles to school unless they have been subjected to safety training and testing by the schools which is offered at grade 5 and 6. As established in the kindergarten system in the country, primary schools concentrate on outdoor plays and pupils are allowed one day a week to play outside the whole day or go for an excursion (Husebo, 2012). Barneskole extend to grade 7 with after school programs offered by the schools after grade 1-4 called SFO in Norwegian. This program is however private and parents are required to make payment for them before their kids can be adopted into the program. While English primary students wear an identical uniform, this rule is absent in Norway, a fundamental difference associated with the social disparities in the two countries. In England, the law of uniformed primary school children is supported by the fact that there is need for identity to reduce the likelihood of concealed behaviours among the children. As day scholars who walk or ride every day to and from school, there is need for identification to eliminate mistaken identities which can lead to injury or even death of the pupils. The social stature of the kids is also eliminated as the class struggles cannot arise due to the complexity of expense of the uniforms due to the similarity in cost and design. The sense of pride and respect developed by students due to the uniforms have encouraged England to stick to the tradition, a practice that has been ignored in Norway and other Scandinavian countries in Europe (Kyvik & Stensaker, 2013). According to Norway, the Nordic social system grants every citizen freedom to enjoy their social liberties and the right of expression. By confining them to a similar uniform for every single day they are in schools, the liberty of self-expression is denied and the kids are confined to an identity which is not theirs (Husebo, 2012). Primary schools in England are also divided into different categories based on the ownership type, the nature of management and the levels taught. As a result, there are community schools, voluntary schools and the foundation schools, all which are focused on the development of the primary curriculum and the promotion of the children’s educational needs. Based on this legal division, the community schools are established, managed and funded by the local authorities within their locations. Voluntary schools are those that are established by voluntary organisations or religious leaders who retain the power to manage and finance these schools though the local authorities also avail essential financial support (Marsh, 2013). Comparison of secondary school structures The policy formulations in England have influenced the structure of its secondary education system and this has led to the emergence of different school types under different jurisdictions. Comprehensive secondary schools in England make admission without conducting aptitude tests to the students but tend to admit more students from the neighbouring estates in the region. Comprehensive secondary schools are allowed to liaise with special schools like the grammar schools to increase the depth of their curriculum. Academies in the country also offer advanced secondary education and are funded publicly but operate independently (Meek, Goedegebuure & Santiago, 2010). As a result, they are at liberty to develop independent curriculum that enables students to be more innovative and pursue higher education areas guided by their skills and talents. Academies in England are not controlled by local authorities nor are their fees placed under local authority regulation as seen in comprehensive public schools. The development of the academies in the country was motivated by the poor performing schools which were overpopulated and their education system lacking. Public secondary schools were given the chance to apply and become independent academies or to retain their comprehensive secondary school structures (McPherson & Moncrief, 2011). Children aged 11-16 years old attend secondary schools with comprehensive abilities where all subjects and curricula are handled. The state secondary schools follow the guidelines laid down by the national curriculum, the body responsible for periodical assessment of the students. Assessment takes place at different stages in secondary education in England including stage 3 which is done at age 14 and stage 4 at age 16. However, the completion of the secondary education is marked by passing GCSE which is considered as the major assessment given to students as they finalise their secondary education aged 16 (Marsh, 2013). Others include social studies, information and computer technology, religious studies among other art studies and personal social and health education. At the end of this stage, however, students are allowed to pick subjects based on the combination of choice and drop subjects they do not wish to pursue. However, subjects such as mathematics, English and sciences remain compulsory and are selected by all students in secondary schools (Stornes, Bru & Idsoe, 2008). At the end of stage four, the students are given the final general certificate of secondary of education that makes the end of their 11 years in mainstream schooling apart from the years spent within the kindergartens. The subjects done within the GCSE are all two subject courses that are done within the 10th and 11th year of study in mainstream secondary schools in England (Meek, Goedegebuure & Santiago, 2010). Norway on the other hand has a two stage high school that students proceed to after the completion of their primary education. High schools known as videregaende skole in Norwegian are made of the middle schools and the mainstream high schools. The middle school comprises of grade 8, 9 and 10 with the enrolment of students into these levels influenced by their individual performances and the region the school is based. Students within the 8th grade are allowed to choose one elective, a practice that is only available within the 4th grade within the British system (Lenton, 2008). Students within this level are offered major European languages including English, German, French and Spanish together with Norwegian studies especially to non-Norwegian students in the country. Before the country adopted and instituted educational reforms, students were allowed to choose electives other than the languages but this approach was abolished in 2006. Based on a survey conducted by OECD program for international student assessment, the educational program of Norway has been considered the most effective when compared to other Scandinavian countries in Europe (Marsh, 2013). The upper secondary school which is similar to the high school system in England is done for three years, though changes have been made due to the rising job insecurity in the country. High schools in Norway are publicly managed and the curriculum is uniformly adopted by all schools in the country. This differs with the English system that has independent academies, comprehensive schools and special schools that offer specific areas such as grammar schools. Private secondary schools in England are legal, a difference with the Norway system which considers private secondary schools illegal unless they offer special religious or pedagogical alternatives (Meek, Goedegebuure & Santiago, 2010). As a result, Norway only has the Christian private schools, the Steiner/Waldorf schools and those that offer Montessori syllabus in the country which are not offered in public schools. Before the educational reforms that were introduced in Norway in 1994, the country had a three tier secondary education system made of the general category which included languages and history, business category and special category made of artisan training. This tier was merged after the 1994 educational reforms that led to the development of the current education system within the country (McPherson & Moncrief, 2011). Advanced education structures in Norway and England In England, education after secondary is categorized into further education and higher education both of which are coordinated by the central government. Further education caters for the non-advanced courses which are done after the completion of the compulsory education program in the country. This is therefore post compulsory education as there is no compelling law that forces the students to advance beyond the GCSE level in the country. Further education can exist at different levels including the vocational training and courses offered by independent examiners like city and guilds or foundation degrees (Kyvik & Stensaker, 2013). Middle level colleges and tertiary institutions in the country are responsible for the provision of further education with others including sixth for colleges and specialist institutions (Lenton, 2008). The country has three levels of higher education which include postgraduate courses such as higher degrees and certificates and other professional courses. The undergraduate courses are the foundation degrees within higher education structure and include the honours and ordinary degrees offered for 3-4 years. Students assessment is an important tool in any educational setup and the learning process overall. Through student’s assessment, teachers develop individual opinion of their abilities to tackle the various mathematics problems discussed in the class. Assessment in mathematics has been done using mainstream methods and this has not helped in improving the performance and attitude of students (Kyvik & Stensaker, 2013). As teachers with professional development goals, the use of alternative assessment tools presents an opportunity to improve their interaction with the students and increase their understanding of the concepts. Alternative assessment is the use of approaches that deviate from the traditional approaches which have continuously been employed in mathematics. With mainstream assessment approach, machine graded and multiple-choice examinations are used to determine the abilities of the students. The faults of using the traditional assessment approaches have proved to be ineffective in mathematics and this explains the rise in alternative assessment methods (Lenton, 2008). Alternative assessment approaches are performance-based and give weight to the actual challenges in real life while assessing the abilities of students. Students are, therefore, tested by using actual challenges that they meet in life which can be effectively solved through mathematical concepts. For example, in elementary mathematics class, students may be assessed based on their abilities to identify geometric shapes by using actual objects used in real life. This is developed using a testing rubric that guides the assessment process and helps in the generation of the marks scored. With this approach, the communication challenge that may prevent students from expressing an idea in traditional assessment approach is eliminated (Schwarz & Westerheijden, 2004). Alternative assessment approach is also essential in the monitoring of progressive performance of a student in mathematics in tabulating his final grade. This employs qualitative assessment tools over a given duration of time during which the student learns the subject in question. This approach is beneficial in the professional and pedagogical development of teachers as it tests more than empirical performance in students. During the assessment time, the student’s ability in other mathematical applications, in real life is evaluated and this is used to tabulate the final grade (OECD, 2010). Portfolio process which is used in alternative assessment approach is thus more holistic and equitable as compared to the traditional assessment criteria. It also improves the self-esteem of students who are needed in motivating students to engage actively in mathematics as a subject. With alternative assessment, students are actively involved in the process and this enables them to identify their weaknesses and device methods of addressing them. This is completely absent in traditional assessment methods where students ability is based on the manner in which they answer the structured questions in exams. This can also enhance the teaching ability to develop student based teaching approaches after the results of the alternative assessment are released (Schwarz & Westerheijden, 2004). In Norway, university education is single phased and takes a minimum of three years after the successful completion of secondary education. Like in England, university education in Norway is not compulsory and is thus considered as a non-compulsory educational phase. Universities in the country are however divided into different categories depending on the subjects they offer which lead to categories such as general universities and technical universities. The general category universities in the country offer courses such as arts, human sciences among other non-technical degree courses. Other professional courses offered within these universities include law, medicine and pharmaceutical sciences which explains their significant roles in the economy. The second category offers bachelor degrees in technical courses such as engineering, proficiency courses for teachers and nurses among others. Though private secondary schools are not allowed in Norway, private universities exist but are only allowed to offer specialized courses such as business management and marketing (OCED, 2010). Comparison of foreign qualification determination in Norway and England With increased globalization and internationalization of education systems across the globe, students from different parts of the world are migrating into England and Norway in pursuit of advanced education. Masters level is especially attractive in these two countries and have contributed to the highest number of immigrant students in both England and Norway. Most of these students especially from the united states, Asia and Africa have different academic level and have been subjected to varying educational social structure from English and Norwegian structures (Schwarz & Westerheijden, 2004). To enable them join the universities directly for masters or even undergraduate training, the countries have established foreign qualification evaluation and determination programs that have similarities and differences. The Norwegian university education act laid the framework for the determination of the qualification of foreign students and to ascertain their ability to join the universities in the country for advanced degrees. The national regulation is mandated with the regulation of postgraduate degree courses, duration of course and the number of credits needed for an individual to proceed to the thesis level (OCED, 2010). In the united kingdom, the NARIC offices are responsible for the validation of degrees issued by foreign universities to students admitted in the united kingdom. While Norway has a system that is based solely on the credit of the students, the English system is non-credit based. Due to this kind of framework, the higher education framework of the united kingdom is more autonomous when compared to Norwegian approach. However, both countries have a similar structured cycle structure for their master’s degrees which follow the Bologna structure but differ in the nominal period of the master’s degree (Schwarz & Westerheijden, 2004). The 2003 university reforms in Norway led to the adoption of ECTS assessment system which has strengthened the country’s reliance on credit system. England has not officially adopted the ECTS assessment approach though some universities in the country have independent assessment approaches that can be equated to ECTS. Master’s degree takes two years full time in Norway while it takes only 12 months full time in England, a factor that has contributed to increased foreign students in the England. In England, the universities offer taught master’s degree, research masters and part time masters programs which are differentiated by the duration of each (OCED, 2010). Conclusion Britain and Norway educational structures have a number of differences and similarities which are influenced by the social structure of the economy. Norway has a Nordic structure and this influences the educational curriculum and structure of education in the country. The primary, secondary and tertiary education structure of the countries differs significantly and this is reflected on the number of years taken to complete educational program in the country (Spodek & Saracho, 2008). Despite the differences, the postgraduate and advanced learning in the two countries are similar and follow a common framework. References Fyhn, A, Sara Eira, E, & Sriraman, B 2011, Perspectives on Sámi Mathematics Education, Interchange, 42, 2, pp. 185-203. Husebo, D 2012, Bridging theory and practice in Norwegian teacher education through action research, Educational Action Research, 20, 3, pp. 455-471. Kehm, B, Michelsen, S, & Vabo, A 2010, Towards the Two-Cycle Degree Structure: Bologna, Reform and Path Dependency in German and Norwegian Universities, Higher Education Policy, 23, 2, pp. 227-245. Stornes, T, Bru, E, & Idsoe, T 2008, Classroom Social Structure and Motivational Climates: On the influence of teachers involvement, teachers autonomy support and regulation in relation to motivational climates in school classrooms, Scandinavian Journal Of Educational Research, 52, 3, pp. 315-329. Kyvik, S, & Stensaker, B 2013, Factors Affecting the Decision to Merge: The case of strategic mergers in Norwegian higher education, Tertiary Education & Management, 19, 4, pp. 323-337. McPherson, K, & Moncrief, K 2011, Performing Pedagogy In Early Modern England: Gender, Instruction And Performance, Farnham, And Surrey: Ash gate. Lenton, P 2008, The Cost Structure of Higher Education in Further Education Colleges in England, Economics Of Education Review, 27, 4, pp. 471-482. 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