Childhood Life in Swizterland - Research Paper Example

Education Education in Switzerland is controlled by the cantons. This has resulted to Switzerland having 26 diverse arrangements of education based on different cultures and laws. Cantons make decisions on everything concerning the education system (Colombo, 2006). They decide on the teaching resources, type of schools, how long people are supposed to study, and the salaries for the teachers. Majority of the cantons have made education obligatory for 9 years while others have made it compulsory for at least eight years. There are school churches supported by the tax paid by citizens. When students complete their primary school they are assumed to have completed their first portion of their education in different types of grade one school. These schools emphasize on occupational or academic subjects to different degrees. There are then the grade two schools which are not obligatory for students to attend. They include trade and gymnasium schools, which act as opening doors for students to the university. Despite the challenges faced by Swiss government, it has tried to provide standard life for its citizens. Private schools in Switzerland are mostly found in the French speaking cantons. These schools provide quality education, and they offer various academic opportunities. Most of the children in Switzerland complete their primary education and this account for about 98%. There are about 10 universities that are managed by the cantons in Switzerland (Colombo, 2006). Four of the universities are located in areas speaking French, and four are located in the area speaking German. The universities in Switzerland are funded by the cantons as the confederation contributing about 53%. One- third of the contribution in higher education is directed to research and some to development. Research has shown that 49% of adult have tertiary education where the enrollment of men is about 53% while that of women is about 44%. The literacy rate of men and women is approximately 99%. Swiss is well known for the high standard of education that it offers, and it is funded by the public. Switzerland concentrates on improving its education system because it has few natural resources for improving their economy and a country as a whole (Hug). It is because of this reason that makes many people continue studying even after they have completed their compulsory education. People prefer to take more that one course after finishing their compulsory education as this make them become diverse. It is very unfortunate for the education system because it has to work on the challenges that come with changes in society. Labor The people who work in Switzerland are estimated to be about 3.2 million. In 2003, Switzerland employed approximately 72% of workers in the service sector. 23.9% of these workers were absorbed in the industrial department while 4.1% of these workers engaged in the agriculture department (Hug). There are many foreigners who work in Swiss, and they contribute to approximately 30% of the work force. Unemployment rate in Swiss is very low as only 3.8% of people are unemployed. Most of the labor force in Swiss has formed unions where the law ensures that the union organizations are regulated and provide collective bargaining for these unions. The labor force settles disputes through a peace agreement where the dispute in settled by the head of organization, employers and employees. There are few strikes in Swiss as they have recorded the lowest number of days lost through strikes. Minimum working hours for people in white collar jobs is 45 hours per week. Young people of about 13 years are allowed to work for approximately nine hours a week when they are in school and 15 hours when they have closed school. There are strict restrictions on the hours and conditions of working of a person who is under the age of 20 years. The government has not stipulated the minimum wage for workers. Swiss people are very hard working since they do not have many natural resources to raise their economy. They have a late retirement age of 65 and 63 for men and women correspondingly. After retirement, a person is entitled to pension for sustaining him when he is not working. A person is allowed to retire early if he has medical problems and he is still pensionable. Women in Swiss There is a law that was established in the year 1981 that establishes fairness for all people in Switzerland. There is a federal office set for ensuring there is equality for all people at work places and other sectors. This office enforces laws that discourage any form of discrimination at the work places and other departments. Although Swiss has come up with laws for dealing with equality cases, the country is behind in matters pertaining to sex equality. Further, while men and women have equal chances to education, women are likely to stop school after they have attended their nine years of compulsory education. It is quite fortunate that this trend has reduced from the past two decades. Women have gained a lot in expansion of training opportunities. Women in Swiss prefer taking short courses than men. Only few women pursue tertiary courses till they complete their education. The number of women who complete the university courses is much less than that of men. This is because in early days women were threatened that if they attend universities they will not find men to marry them or get a family. Work There is quite a large difference of men and women who are in the labor market (Miller, 2010). There is an augment of the women working in the labor market since the year 1990. In 2002 the number of working women over the age of 15 years was approximately 74.6% as compared to the number of men working which was 87.5%. This number is well above the average age of women working in Europe. The amounts of money workers receive monthly depend on professional experience or the training they have received in vocation schools (Miller, 2010). Many women in Swiss do not have high professional status; hence they work in low paying jobs. In 2002, 11% of these women received 3000 francs as compared to 2% of men who received less than 3000 francs. The number of women who work part time is far much higher as compared to the number of men who work part time. In 2002, approximately 58% of women were working part time as compared to 11% of women. From 1998, the gap of wages paid to males and women has remained constant. The gap in the private sector is approximately 23% while that in the public sector is approximately 10%. The differences in wages are consistent despite the management and qualification of women. Research has shown that women who have university degrees earn approximately 28.9 percent less than men who are having the same degree. Nevertheless, people may suggest that men take of time to cater for their children; thus they have less experience than their male counterparts, research shows that most of the difference is brought about by men being treated unequally. It has been a trend since the year 1920 where men were able to take specialist jobs, and this made them be permanent workers. Many women worked in the packing area and their work was to wrap chocolates in silver papers and put them in cartoons (Miles & Stephenson, 2000). The difference in jobs of men and women was not only based on wages and qualifications but to the fact that women were temporarily employed to cover for autumn and spring season demand. Family life People in Swiss marry when they are a little old because they prefer putting more effort in their career and training. Their career is their first priority as family comes second. Women in Switzerland are ranked the oldest in delivering their first child in Europe (Miles & Stephenson, 2000). Many couples in Swiss prefer having 1 or 2 children because they find it very expensive to cater for children. Swiss women had the lowest number of children in Europe in the year 2002 which was 1.42. Home and Work Many women have a difficulty of combining work and caring of their children, thus they prefer living work. Women are obligated to deal with the house work and children while the husband is the bread winner. Research illustrates that husbands are the bread winners in most of the families, and this makes them take a full time job while women take a part time job (Schumacher &Vilpert, 2011). It is only one percent of the families in Swiss share bread winning, and responsibilities such as baby caring and house hold work. Many women continued to work after delivering children in the year 1990 even though most of them preferred part time jobs. The number of women having children below the age of 15 continued to perform their professional duties even if they did it part time. This number rose consistently to 74% in 2002 as compared to 61% in the year 1991. In early years, women did not receive their salary while they were on maternity leave. This changed during the year 2005 after they were entitled to receive 80% of their salary at their 14th week. Working women are faced with the problem of child care facilities. Public facilities that are reasonably priced to working women are exceedingly scarce (Trampusch & Mach, 2011). The private facilities that are available to these women are very much expensive, and it is intricate for them to afford. Many employees are nowadays family friendly because they have realized they have to attract women in their work places. Day schools do not consider working mothers because the school hours are not the same. Many children in the same family have dissimilar times in starting and ending school. These schools have precisely 2 hours for children to go home for lunch even though nowadays they are making arrangements for meals at midday. References Colombo, F. (2006). Switzerland. New York: OECD Publishing. Hug, G. Child Poverty In Switzerland. Retrieved On 9thApril 2012 From, Hephaestus Books. (2011). Education in Switzerland, Including: TechnischeHochschule, Licentiate, Vss-Unes-Usu, Master Of Advanced Studies, Diplom, Dual Education System, Aists, Swiss University Conference, SchweizerischeStudienstiftung, SBS Swiss Business School. New York: Hephaestus Books. Miller, F. (2010). Education in Switzerland. New York: VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller E.K. Miles, G. & Stephenson, P. (2000). Children And Family Breakdown. Retrieved On 9thApril 2012 From, Schumacher, R. & Vilpert, S. (2011). GenderDifferences in Social Mortality Differentials In Switzerland. Retrieved On 9thApril2012 From, Trampusch, C & Mach, A. (2011).Switzerland InEurope. New York: Taylor & Francis. Read More