Education in
Brazil by Barbara Boavista
Education in my country, is the best way to get a good job and earn a good salary. For this reason, each year more and more students go to universities in Brazil.
However, money is not the only reason a student decides to go to college, which is also the best place to learn new things and get the maturity you need to be a good professional. It’s a place where you are going to have a lot of new and interesting experiences.
I decided to study economics at university. I was not worried about money, I just wanted to learn what I would need to do something about poverty in my country. During the four years I was there, I made a lot of friends, met my boyfriend, and learnt a lot about the economy. Nevertheless, that was not enough to make a difference, so I decided to do a Master’s.
It really doesn’t matter what the main reason that motivates students to go to university is, as long as they enjoy it and do their best while they are there, because that will determine their future and maybe the future of the whole country.
Education in
Britain by Maria Eugenia Ferrao
Based on a
chapter from the book Britain, James O´Driscoll
The scope of the
text is wide enough to give a clear
scenario of education in Britain. The main idea, in my opinion, is that the
British educational system is moving towards higher standards in quality. Since
Local Education Authorities (LEA) have autonomy to decide, together with schools
under their supervision, about
educational projects, curriculum, etc. they can attend to the specific
characteristics of the pupils and promote effective learning. Of course,
decentralizing power and decision making, and increasing the autonomy of schools
are the ingredients for diversity and not uniformity. This is the reason for
general exams. Independent boards apply exams for knowledge assessment. The
results of the exams are very important both to the individuals who submit to
the assessment and to society, seeing that the education of a country is part
of its collective patrimony.
Until the end of compulsory schooling, the knowledge taught at school is based on academic subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science, History,etc. (ten subjects on the whole). Beyond compulsory schooling the focus and methods (more academic or more practical) depend on the college students go to. For instance, vocational training courses for specific jobs and careers are much more practical than traditional courses at Oxbridge.