Public school
| Schools |
|---|
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| Education |
| History of education |
| Pedagogy |
| Teaching |
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| Preschool education |
| Child care center |
| Kindergarten |
| Primary education |
| Elementary school |
| Secondary education |
| Middle school |
| Comprehensive school |
| Grammar school |
| Gymnasium |
| High school |
| Preparatory school |
| Public school |
| Tertiary education |
| College |
| Community college |
| Liberal arts college |
| University |
The term public school mostly commonly refers to any school funded from tax revenue and most commonly administered to some degree by government or local government agencies. These types of schools, which often compromise primary schools and secondary schools, and occasionally post-secondary educational institutions are the most common type of educational institutions in many nations. Because many nations have compulsory education, these schools often are not allowed to discriminate which students it allows admission to.
Purpose
Public schools exist primarily because of compulsory education laws. Most nations require students to attend school for a certain time period; while the exact requirements differ from one country to the next, often attendance is required from primary school age (between 5-6 years old) until completion of secondary school (anywhere between 16-18). Public schools exist so as to give the majority of children a place to meet this required attendance and so as to provide an equal educational oppurtunity to the population of children in each school's jurisdiction.
Public colleges and universities often are established to provide students access to higher education, although often these schools are not free but are significantly cheaper than other schools.
Origin
While public schools did not start to appear on a global scale until the 19th century, the idea of public education has sporadically been implemented throughout history. In Ancient Israel, around 63-64 C.E. when the Kohen Gadol (high priest) Yehoshua ben Gamla not only insisted that a unified system of teaching be established, but dictated that every Jewish community, regardless of size, must establish a school to educate every child, male or female, over the age of 5.[1] These schools were were primarily religious in nature.
The Church of Scotland was established in 1560, during the Protestant Reformation period as the official state religion in Scotland, and in the following year it set out to provide a school in every parish controlled by the local kirk-session, with education to be provided free to the poor, and the expectation that church pressure would ensure that all children took part. In 1633 the Parliament of Scotland introduced local taxation to fund this provision. Schooling was not free, but the tax support kept fees low, and the church and charity funded poorer students. This had considerable success, but by the late 18th century the physical extent of some parishes and population growth in others led to an increasing role for "adventure schools" funded from fees and for schools funded by religious charities, initially Protestant and later Roman Catholic.[2]
A part from these isolated incidents, it was not until compulsory education laws were passed, first in Europe and the United States, and then later in Asia, South America and Africa, that public schools became established. Before compuslory education laws, most countries had private educational institutions that charged a fee for admission and were only attainable based upon academic achievement, demonstrated potential or sometimes race, religion and other discriminatory factors, which often left a larger population of children without access to educational opportunities. Compulsory educational laws were designed to give all children equal opportunity for an education, but since most families could not afford tuition at private schools, governments were forced to set up schools on a wide scale. At first a lot of these schools were found in urban areas, where the population was denser and infastructure was easier to come by. In the rural areas, children sometimes had to travel long distances to attend single roomed schools.
Cultural Variants
North America
America
Public-school education is the standard form of education in the United States and is provided mainly by local governments, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies are set through locally elected school boards by jurisdiction over school districts. The school districts are special-purpose districts authorized by provisions of state law. Generally, state governments can and do set minimum standards relating to almost all activities of primary and secondary schools, as well as funding and authorization to enact local school taxes to support the schools—primarily through real property taxes. The federal government funds aid to states and school districts that meet minimum federal standards. School accreditation decisions are made by voluntary regional associations. Public school is normally split up into three stages: primary (elementary) school (kindergarten to 4th or 5th or 6th grade), junior high (also "intermediate," or "middle") school (5th or 6th or 7th to 8th or 9th) and high school (9th or 10th to 12th, somewhat archaically also called "secondary school"), with some less populated communities incorporating high school as 7th to 12th. Some Junior High Schools (Intermediate Schools) contain 7th to 9th grades or 7th and 8th, in which case the High School is 10th to 12th or 9th to 12th respectively.
In the United States, institutions of higher education that are operated and subsidized by U.S. states are also referred to as "public." However, unlike public secondary schools, public universities charge tuition, though these fees are usually much lower than those charged by private universities, particularly for "in-state" students. Community colleges, state colleges, and state universities are examples of public institutions of higher education. In particular, many state universities are regarded as among the best institutions of higher education in the U.S., though usually they are surpassed in ranking by certain private universities and colleges, such as those of the Ivy League, which are often very expensive and extremely selective in the students they accept. In several states, the administrations of public universities are elected via the general electoral ballot.
Canada
Public-school education in Canada is a provincial responsibility and, as such, there are many variations between the provinces. Junior Kindergarten (or equivalent) exists as an official program in some, but not most, places. Kindergarten (or equivalent) is available in every province, but provincial funding and the level of hours provided varies widely. Starting at grade one, at about age five, there is universal publicly-funded access up to grade twelve (or equivalent). Schools are generally divided into Elementary or Primary school (Kindergarten to Grade 7), and Secondary, or High School (Grade 8 to 12). In some schools, particularly in rural areas, the elementary and middle levels can be combined into one school. Commencing in 2003, Grade 13, or OAC, was eliminated in Ontario. It had previously been required only for students who intended to go on to university. Children are required to attend school until the age of sixteen.
Some Canadian provinces offer segregated-by-religious-choice, but nonetheless publicly-funded and publicly-regulated, religiously-based education. In Ontario, for example, Roman Catholic schools are known as "Catholic School," not "Public School," although these are, by definition, no less 'public' than their secular counterparts.
Europe
Denmark
The Danish School system is supported today by tax-based governmental and municipal funding from day care through primary and secondary education to higher education and there are no tuition fees for regular students in public schools and universities. The Danish public primary schools, covering the entire period of compulsory education, are called folkeskoler (literally 'people's schools' or 'public schools').[3] The Folkeskole consists of a voluntary pre-school class, the 9-year obligatory course and a voluntary 10th year. It thus caters for pupils aged 6 to 17. It is also possible for parents to send their children to various kinds of private schools. These schools also receive government funding, although they are not public. In addition to this funding, these schools may charge a fee from the parents.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
The term public school is generally used now in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and sometimes Scotland to refer to any school that is a member of one of the public school assoictaions, such as the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.[4] These schools are public in the sense of being open to all students in principle, though at the time of their foundation most older schools were run by the established Church and were only open to boys of the same denomination. In practice however many such schools are highly academically selective and pupils usually need to pass the Common Entrance Examination before being admitted at all, and all but the best scholars must be able to afford the considerable fees for tuition and (for boarders) room and board. What distinguishes them from other private schools is that they are usually considered to be non-profit insitutions.[5]
In these countries, the terms state school and county school are used for schools provided at public expense. The term private school means the same as in other English-speaking countries, or formerly and more specifically a privately-owned primary Preparatory ('Prep') School.
France
In France, academic councils called académies (English : academies) are responsible for supervising all aspects of public education in a given region. Schools are answerable to their académie, and the académies are answerable to the Ministry of Education. French territory is divided into 35 académies, 26 of which are located in mainland France and 9 in French overseas territories. One académie often spans a few départements, the most commonly used administrative unit in France. Académies also cover French schools located abroad so that the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in London, for example, falls under the jurisdiction of the Lille académie.
The académie headquarters (termed rectorat) is usually located in the largest city in the concerned territory. It is headed by a recteur. The main responsibility of the académie is to manage personnel and state budgets pertaining to the education system. It serves as a link between regional specificities and the centralised governing body in Paris. It ensures the implementation of the official educational programmes produced by the Ministry. At one level down in the national education hierarchy, each département also has its own 'inspection académique' (academic inspection), headed by an inspecteur d'académie (academy inspector).
The French educational system is highly centralized, organized, and ramified. It is divided into three stages:
- primary education (enseignement primaire);
- secondary education (enseignement secondaire);
- tertiary or college education (enseignement supérieur)
Only the first two are compulsory, and even then academic progress and ability are determining factors of which type of education a student receives.
Germany
Education in Germany is provided to a large extent by the government, with control coming from state level, (Länder) and funding coming from two levels: federal and state. Curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies are set through the respective states ministry of education. Decisions about the acknowledgment of private schools (the German equivalent to accreditation in the US) are also made by these ministries. However, public schools are automatically recognised, since these schools are supervised directly by the ministry of education bureaucracy.
[[Image:PIR Goethe-Schule (01) 2005-09.JPG|thumb|200px|School named after Goethe]
A German public school does not charge tuition fees. The first stage of the German public school system is the Grundschule. (Primary School - 1st to 4th grade or, in Berlin and Brandenburg, 1st to 6th grade) After Grundschule (at 10 or 12 years of age), there are four secondary schooling options:
- Hauptschule (the least academic, much like a modernized Volksschule) until 9th or, in Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia until 10th Grade.
- Realschule (formerly Mittelschule) until 10th grade.
- Gymnasium (high school) until 12th grade or 13th grade (with Abitur as exit exam, qualifying for admission to university).
- Gesamtschule (comprehensive school) with all the options of the three "tracks" above.
In Germany, most institutions of higher education are subsidized by German states and are therefore also referred to as staatliche Hochschulen. (public universities) Most German public universities and polytechnics do not charge for tuition, though fees for guest or graduate students are charged by many universities. However, many German states plan to introduce general tuition fees for all students at public institutions of higher education in the near future.
Australia
Primary and secondary education may be provided by:
- Government schools (also known as State schools, or public schools)
- Independent schools (the older of these institutions are sometimes called Public School)
There has been a strong drift of students to independent schools during the past decade.[citation needed]
Government schools educate the majority of students and do not charge large tuition fees (most do charge a fee as a contribution to costs). The major part of their costs is met by the relevant State or Territory government. Independent schools, both religious or secular (the latter often with specialisations), may charge much higher fees.
Whilst independent schools are sometimes considered 'public' schools like their English counterparts (as in the Associated Public Schools of Victoria), in some states of Australia, the term 'public school' is usually synonymous with a government school.
Government schools can be divided into two types: open and selective. The open schools accept all students from their government defined catchment areas, while selective schools have high entrance requirements and cater to a much larger area. Entrance to selective schools is often highly competitive. In Victoria, for example, more than 3000 applicants sit the entrance exam each year competing for the 600 available places at Mac.Robertson Girls' High School and Melbourne High School.
Asia
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong the term government schools is used for free schools funded by the government.
There are also subsidized schools (which are the majority in Hong Kong and many of which are run by Religious organizations), "Direct Subsidy Scheme" schools, private schools and international schools in Hong Kong.
India and Sri Lanka
In India and Sri Lanka, due to the British influence, the term "public schools" implied non-governmental, historically elite educational institutions, often modeled on British public schools. The terms 'private' and 'government' school are commonly used to denote the type of funding. In consideration of government control /ownership, the central government administered Kendriya Vidyalayas (or Central Schools), Navodaya Vidyalaya system of schools qualify as per the American definition of "public" school. They are usually not completely privately run, being 'aided' by the government. The standard and the quality of education is quite high.Technically these would be categorized as private schools, but many of them have the name Public School appended to them, e.g., the Delhi "Public" Schools and Birla Vidya Mandir . Most of the middle class families send their children to such schools, which might be in their own city or far off (like Boarding schools). The medium of education is English, but as a compulsory subject, Hindi and/or the state's official language is also taught. Preschool education is mostly limited to organized neighbourhood nursery schools with some organized chains.
The most well known public school in Sri Lanka is Royal College. Although it is a governmental school it has much autonomy.
Pakistan
In Pakistan, the term "public school" has historically been used for British-styled boarding schools such as Abbottabad Public School and Sadiq Public School Bahawalpur. This has established a strong branding for the term "public school," and most of these schools are private, non-governmental boarding schools.
Africa
South Africa
In South Africa, the South African Schools Act of 1996 recognised two categories of schools: public and independent. Independent schools include all private schools and schools that are privately governed. Independent schools with low tuition fees are state-aided and receive a subsidy on a sliding-scale. Traditional private schools that charge high fees receive no state subsidy.
Public schools are all state-owned schools, including section 21 schools (formerly referred to as Model C or semi-private schools) that have a governing body and a degree of budget autonomy, as these are still fully-owned and accountable to the state.
Notes
- ↑ (2002) Jewish Encyclopedia. "JOSHUA (Jesus) BEN GAMLA" Retrieved September 13, 2008
- ↑ (2004) National Dossier on Education and Training in Scotland. "CHAPTER 2 - General Organisation of the Education System and Administration of Education" Retrieved September 14, 2008
- ↑ (2008) Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. "Education" Retrieved September 13, 2008
- ↑ (2007) UK Student Life "Boarding School Retrieved September 13, 2008
- ↑ (2007) UK Student Life "Boarding School Retrieved September 13, 2008
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