Eucation system

Education in Lithuania

All children in Lithuania must between ages of 5 – 18 attend school. 10-year education is compulsory. The school year begins in 1st September and ends in the middle of June or 1st July. The school year is divided into 3 term or into 2 semestres. School usually begins at 8am and ends at 2.15pm. In Lithuania children go to school five days a week. There is no schools on Saturdays and Sundays.

At first the most of children ggo to nursey-school. At five all children go to primary schooll. About 11 years old they go to elementry school. In the end, that is in the tenth form they must take 2 exams (lithuania and math). After that they can go to vocational schools or stay at secondary/gymnasium school. In both case after two years they must take 2 course credit tests in foreign and native language and at least 4 examinations for the school-leaving certificate. The only diference iis that in vocational school you also get and secondary education and the qualification. When you have school-leaving sertificate, you may try to enter to universcity or college. In the universcities are 3 level education: after 4-5 yaers bachelor’s degree, llater master’s degree and last is doctorate.

Education in the USA

In the United States school is compulsory from the age of six to the age of sixteen, but education is free until the age of eighteen. Each state administers its education and there is no national curriculum. This means that the schools in richer states are better than those of poorer areas. No religious education is taught in schools as, traditionally, church and state are separate entities. The majority (about 90%) of all American children attend public (state) schools.

Some children go to Nursey School from the age of three and to Kindergarten from five to six years of age.

Education in the USA comprises three levels: elementary, secondary and higher education. Parents mmay to choose whether to seng their chilcren to their local public scool, or to a private school where fees are charged. The shool year is usually nine months, from early September to mid-June.

The main purpose of the elementary school is the general intellectual and social development of the child from 6 to 12 years of age.

At the secondary school all pupils are required to take basic subjects which include English, social studies, and physical education. During the seventh, eeighth, and ninth grades te pupils begin to plan their careers and need to select other subjects that will be useful in their chosen work. At this period guidance is very important. It continues thoughout the senior high school years and into college, particularly in the junior college or first two years of the four- year college.

In addition to the basic subjects, high schools usually offer three programs – academic,vocational and general – which the pupils choose according to their abilities and their future career.

The academic program is designed to prepare students for college. It includes such subjects as mathematics, sience and foreign languages.

The vocational program may give training in four fields: agricultural education, distributive education, home economic education and trade and industrial education. Such training prepares students either for employment or for further training in the various fields.

The fird program, a general program, combines features of the academic and vocational types. Its introductory courses give a general understanding of the various trades and industrial arts but do not train students for immediate employment or for furthe vocational education. Those who do not plan to go to college or to enter a trade immediately, but who just want a high sschool diploma, often take the general program. An American univercity is usually composed of two parts – an undergraduate or profesional schools.

The undergraduate college is a four-year institution of higher education which admits students from secondary scools and leads to a bachelor’s degree. Thus young men and women, generally 18 to 22 years ald attend classes at undergraduate college for four years. The four-year college is called an undergraduate college because its students, who are also referred to as udergraduates, have not taken their first degree yet. In four years, if the students successfully complete the requirements, they receive a bachelor’s degree in arts or sciences. Then they may leave the university, or go to the advaced professional schools such as the school of medicine, law, business, engineering, etc. and now they are referred to as graduate students. Professional schools lead to a master’s degree. Usually in two or three years, and then, to a doctor’s degree.

Admission to a university is based mainly on academic achievement in the high school graduation class. But the entrance requirements depend on the prestige of the university, the quality of education and research and the qauality of the teachers and researchers. The variation among AAmerican college is even greater than among high schools. Those who want to enter the first-class state universities like the University of California and the University of Wisconsin are faced with a hard competition.

Higher education in the United States has also evoled a unique institution, the two- year junior college. Junior colleges are locally controlled and do not belong to a university. They have a dual role. They offer studies leading to technical and semi-profesional occupations, or they offer studies which will prepare students to enter a four-year college at a university where the entransce requirements are ...