miércoles, 31 de octubre de 2012

English v/s Chilean Education



   



The Education System in England



Supervised by

Department for Education.

Department for Business, Innovations and skills.

Local Education Authority.
Education stages
Ages
Nursery
3-4 years old
Primary education
-         Infant school
-         Junior school
5-11 years old
5-7 years old
7-11 years old
Secondary education
11-18 years old
Tertiary education
18+ years old

The Education System in Chile



Regulated and monitored by

General Education Law (LGE)since 2009.
Organic Law for Education (LOCE) before LGE.

Ministry of Education (MINEDUC).
Education stages
Ages
Kindergarten (“Kinder”)
5-6 years old
Primary education (“Básica”)
6-13 years old
Secondary education (“Media”)
13-18 years old
Higher education (“Superior”)
17-18+ years old




        English people are demanded by law to have an education until they are 16 years old¹. Full-time education is compulsory for all children, but school is not because they are not required to attend it.
          
         It is also demanded by law to have an education for all Chilean people until they are 18 years old. The pre-primary level is not necessary to be studied the first two or three years, but primary and secondary are compulsory.

This will be raised, in 2013, to the year in which they turn 17 and, in 2015, to their 18th birthday.

The School Year

The England school year runs from September 1st to July (39 weeks long). Some counties in England still follow the traditional three terms a year, which is divided in:
  • Autumn Term: 1st week of September to 3rd week in December
  • Spring Term: 1st or 2nd week of January to Easter (April)
  • Summer Term: 2 weeks after Easter to the end of July
There are many other areas in which the year is divided into six terms: September to October,  October to December, January to February, February to March, April to May and June to July.

These are the main standard holidays during the school year:
  • Christmas: Two weeks
  • Easter (Spring): Two weeks
  • Summer: Five - Six weeks
          There are also one week holidays at the end of October, mid February and the last week of May. In general, the dates for school terms and holidays are given by the local authorithy or the governing body of a school, or by the school itself (independent schools).

In Chile, the year runs from the first week of March to the second week of December. The year is divided in two terms. The first term is from March to the second week of July, then pupils have two weeks of holidays and they enter school on August for the second term. There are two months and a half for summer holidays after they finish the academic year.

School Categories

In England, education can be provided by state or independent schools, as well as homeschooling system:


Free education from public funds



94% of pupils

Independent fee paying schools or homeschooling



6% of pupils


There are three kinds of schools in Chile:


State-subsidized or “municipal”



64% of pupils

Private with a government subsidy or “particular subvencionado”



29% of pupils

Private



7% of pupils

        In England, state-run schools are financed through national taxation and take pupils free of charge between the ages 3 to 18, as well as Chilean state-subsidized schools. Both Education systems are beneficiated with extra activities such as sports, theatre visits, cultural trips and swimming (only england) for free.


        A significant minority of state-funded schools are faith schools, which are attached to religious groups, most often the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church. But most of religious schools in Chile belong to the Private with a government subsidy and Private categories.


Pupils normally take GCSE exams in the last two years of Key Stage 4, but may also choose to work towards the attainment of alternative qualifications, such as the GNVQ. This way, they can get their academic certification.


Higher education often begins with a three-year bachelor's degree. Postgraduate degrees include master's degrees, either taught or by research. Also the doctorate, a research degree that usually takes at least three years. Universities require a Royal Charter in order to issue degrees, and all but one are financed by the state via tuition fees.

       In Chile, after graduation from high school, students must take the national exam “Prueba Selección Universitaria” (P.S.U), so they may enter college. Some students opt to enter a pre-university program to prepare for this exam during the last two years of high school. 



There are some others who choose to study in private universities or at a professional institute or technical center (may have additional entrance examinations).
In higher education, students are divided by faculty and then by year. University students study for four to seven years; those studying for four or five years usually get a bachelor’s degree.

Curriculum structure             
                                                             
            All schools in England are required to follow the National Curriculum, which is made up of twelve subjects. English, Mathematics and Science are compulsory for all students aged 5 to 16. A range of other subjects, known as foundation subjects are compulsory at one or more Key Stages or levels: art, design and technology, citizenship, geography, history, foreign languages, music and physical education. Additionally, other subjects with a non-statutory programme of study in the National Curriculum are also taught, including religious education in all levels, sex education from key stage 2, and Career education and Work-related learning in Key stages 3 and 4.
    

     In Chile, the academic structure is made up of nine subjects that are studied  compulsorily during primary level (Mathematics, Spanish, History, Natural sciences, English, music, arts,religion (specific or general depending on the school believes)and physical education. In secondary or high school, there are three subjects added to the academic program (Physics, Biology and chemistry).

Scholarships

As the education in England is free (primary and secondary), the scholarships are not very necessary. But those who aim for a private education at independent schools  can get some form of financial assistance with fees. Scholarships are generally awarded to pupils for academic, musical or artistic merit. It can also be awarded to all students who show exceptional talent and/or intelligence in a particular subject or field of Education, and regardless of background, class or financial stability. In order to do this, private independent schools will hold examinations and interviews to quantify the pupil’s interest and indeed willingness to pursue the obtaining of a scholarship. There are other scholarships  that are given to the pupils of parents who are members of the clergy, members of the Armed Forces (both serving and non serving) and teachers.
          
The costs of a college education are high, but many scholarship opportunities are available for english students who choose to go into universities. For example:
·        The student loan for maintenance helps students pay living costs during term times and holidays. This is available for students studying away from their parents' home.
·        The maintenance grants (non-repayable) are at the disposal of students from families with low incomes.
·        The special support grant: It replaces the maintenance grant for some students who during the course of the academic year, meet the conditions for being a 'prescribed person' under the income support or housing benefit regulations. Students who are likely to qualify include: single parents and students with certain disabilities.




                In Chile, there are many scholarships schemes and a “solidarity fund” loan program based on merit or for all those who cannot afford the annual paying fees at schools or universities offered by the government to students of:
·        State-subsidized schools : we can find scholarships that give direct economical assistance and free availability for the students and their families. For example: “Beca Presidente de la República” (BPR), “Beca Liceo para Todos” (BLPT), “Beca Indígena” (BI). There are others related to food allowance, such as “Beca Pensión de Alimentación” (BPA) and “Beca Primera Dama de la Nación” (BPD).
·        Higher Education: There are many scholarships. Some of them cover the anual value of the major, and sometimes the enrollment as well (tuition scholarships), others cover food allowance and maitenance (public transport and study expenses).

At present, “Mineduc” count with the following tuition scholarships for the higher education: Beca Vocación de Profesor Pedagogías (BVP Pedagogías), Beca Vocación de Profesor Licenciaturas (BVP Licenciaturas), Beca Puntaje PSU (BPSU), Beca Excelencia Académica (BEA), Beca Bicentenario (BBIC), Beca para Hijos de Profesionales de la Educación (BHPE), Beca Juan Gómez Millas (BJGM), Beca de Nivelación Académica (BNA), Beca Juan Gómez Millas para Estudiantes Extranjeros (BJGME).


Here you can watch some videos about Chilean and English education
with extra information:





















Anthropology


Anthropology is a social science that studies human beings in a holistic manner. It uses tools and knowledge produced by the natural sciences and other social sciences. The aspiration of the discipline of anthropology is to produce knowledge about humans in various areas, but always as part of a society. Thus, attempts to cover both the biological evolution of our species, the development and the livelihoods of people who have disappeared, the current social structures and diversity of cultural and linguistic expressions that characterize humanity.

Anthropology is an integrative science that studies man in the context of society and culture to which it belongs, and at the same time, as a result of them. It can be defined as the science that deals with the study of the origin and development of the full range of human variability and modes of social behavior over time and space.

The famous anthropologists in England
     
      E.E. EvansPritchard (1902 - 1973)

He is one of the important social anthropologists in England; he is known for his investigations of African cultures, for his exploration of segmentary systems, and for his explanations of witchcraft and magic.

Evans-Pritchard did postgraduate work in anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. After that, he did fieldwork among the Zande and Nuer of what is now South Sudan. 

During his life, Evans-Pritchard was a prolific writer, especially on kinship, religion, and the history of anthropology, his later writings were eclipsed by his earlier work. His later writings were theoretical essays and lectures on the relations between anthropology and other social sciences and revealed a great depth of scholarship but were often controversial and divergent from the trends of the time. 

However, his influence as a teacher in the latter part of his life was considerable, for under his guidance the Oxford school of social anthropology attracted students from many parts of the world; and he sponsored fieldwork in Africa and elsewhere as a member of the Colonial Social Science Research Council. Evans-Pritchard received numerous academic honors. He was a professor of social anthropology at Oxford and a fellow of All Souls College from 1946 to 1970, and he was subwarden from 1963 to 1965.
  
         A.R. Radcliffe-Brown (1881-1955)

He is a English social anthropologist of the 20th century who developed a systematic framework of concepts and generalizations relating to the social structures of preindustrial societies and their functions. He is known for his theory of functionalism and his role in the founding of British social anthropology.

From 1906 to 1908, Radcliffe-Brown went to the Andaman Islands where his fieldwork won him a fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge. On an expedition to Western Australia, he concentrated on kinship and family organization. In 1916, he became director of education for the kingdom of Tonga and served as professor of social anthropology at the University of Cape Town between 1920 to 1925, where he founded the School of African Life and Languages. His study called "The Andaman Islanders" contained the essential formulation of his ideas and methods.

He developed a vigorous teaching program involving research in theoretical and applied anthropology in 1925 to 1931. His theory had its classic formulation and application in the social organisation of australian tribes. He attempted to explain social phenomena as enduring systems of adaptation, fusion, and integration of elements. 
His later works include "Structure and Function in Primitive Societ", "Method  in Social Anthropology", and an edited collection of essays entitled "African Systems of Kinship and Marriage", which remains a landmark in African studies.
 
      Jane Goodall 

 She is a british anthropologist and primatologist and she is the world's leading authority on chimpanzees. Goodall is famous for her work among the chimpanzees of Gombe and for her efforts to raise awareness about the plight of both wild and captive chimpanzees. 

One of the great influences on Goodall was anthropologist Louis Leakey. Among Goodall's more significant discoveries were the close-knit social ties and complex relationships within chimpanzee groups, maintained by networks of grooming and food sharing. The most stunning discovery of all was her observation of "tool" use among chimpanzees. Prior to her work it had been asserted that humans were the only creatures that used tools. Goodall repeatedly observed chimps searching for "the perfect twig", then stripping it of leaves, and patiently dipping and withdrawing it into mounds to consume termites. Since then, other animals including birds have been observed using tools.

Since 1986, when it became clear that poaching and habitat destruction were increasing at an alarming rate, Goodall has spent less and less time at Gombe. She has become a tireless lecturer within the United States and elsewhere, advocating not only for habitat preservation and tougher poaching laws, but also for more human treatment of chimpanzees in captivity, within both the medical and entertainment settings. 

There is a video about the Goodall´s Work with the chimpanzees: