Comparative Education in Developed Countries
BY The Knowledge home
- Elements of comparative education between USA and
Pakistan
1.
Educational
objectives
2.
Curriculum
3.
Administrative
and financial setup
4.
Educational
structure
5.
Assessment
and examination system
6.
Facilities
7.
Teacher
education
- Factors of comparative education between USA and
Pakistan
1.
Economic
factor
2.
Religious
and racial factor
3.
Philosophical
factor
4.
Geographic
factor
5.
Linguistic
factor
6.
Nationalism
factor
7.
Democracy
factor
INTRODUCTION TO UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA
The U.S. is a country of 52 states covering a
vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the extreme Northwest and Hawaii
extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major cities include
New York, a global finance and culture center, and Washington, DC, the capital,
both on the Atlantic Coast; Los Angeles, famed for filmmaking, on the Pacific
Coast; and the Midwestern metropolis Chicago.
Capital:
Washington, D.C.
Dialing code: +1
ISO code: USA
Population: 318.9
million
President: Barack
Obama
States: California,
Hawaii, Florida, Texas, Alaska, Massachusetts etc.
|
|
|
|
Independence Day:
|
July
4, 1776
|
|
Motto:
|
In
God We Trust
|
|
National Bird:
|
Bald
Eagle
|
|
National Flower:
|
Rose
|
|
Currency:
|
dollar
(USD)
|
|
Government Type:
|
Constitution-based
federal republic; strong democratic tradition
|
|
USA
|
PAKISTAN
|
|
|
Educational Objectives comparison
|
||
|
Ø Build a solid
foundation for learning for all children.
|
Ø To eliminate
illiteracy within the shorter possible time through universalizing of
quality.
|
|
|
Ø Reform the
U.S. education system to help make it the best in the world.
|
Ø To revive the
existing education system with a view to cater social, political and spiritual
needs of individuals and society.
|
|
|
Ø Ensure access
for all to a high-quality postsecondary education and lifelong learning.
|
Ø To promote
social and cultural harmony through the conscious use of educational process.
|
|
|
Ø Make the
Education Department a high-performance organization.
|
Ø To encourage
research in higher education institutions that will contribute to economic
growth of the country.
|
|
Other objectives of U.S.A education:
·
All children enter
school ready to learn through receiving high-quality educational and
developmentally appropriate preschool experiences.
·
Every State has
challenging standards and aligned assessments for all students in the core
academic subjects, with meaningful accountability for results.
·
A talented and
dedicated teacher is in every classroom in America.
·
All schools are
safe, drug-free, in good repair, and free of overcrowding.
·
The Education
Department will make information resource investments to improve mission
effectiveness, efficiency, and information security.
·
The Education
Department will recruit and retain a work force that is skilled, diverse, and
committed to excellence.
CURRICULUM:
USA:
"All states
and schools will have challenging and clear standards of achievement and
accountability for all children, and effective strategies for reaching those
standards."
(U.S. Dept. of Education)
"The Common
Core State Standards Initiative is a
state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for
Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers
(CCSSO)....These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have
within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able
to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in
workforce training programs. The standards:
• Are aligned
with college and work expectations.
• Are clear,
understandable and consistent.
• Include
rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills;
• Build upon
strengths and lessons of current state standard
• Informed by
other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in
our global economy and society.
Curriculum Development in Pakistan at Elementary and
secondary Level
Education plays a vital role in nation
building. Federal Ministry of Education is responsible for the national
cohesion, integration and preservation of the ideological foundation of the
states.
Responsibilities
Federal Ministry of Education is responsible in making of:
1.
Curriculum.
2.
Syllabus
3.
Planning
4.
Policy
5.
Education
standards.
Objectives are derived from
•
Recommendation
of the National Education Policy
•
National
Level Seminars
•
Forums
of research studies
•
Inter
Board Committee of Chairmen
Facilities
The report
Condition of America's Public School Facilities provides information about the
condition of public school facilities in the 2012–13 school year. In the
2012–13 school year:
• Almost all (99
percent) of the schools had permanent buildings, and 31 percent had portable
(temporary) buildings. Among schools with permanent buildings, the overall
condition of about three-quarters of the permanent buildings was described as
excellent (20 percent) or good (56 percent); 21 percent were in fair condition,
and 3 percent were in poor condition. Among schools with portable buildings,
overall condition was excellent in 6 percent, good in 49 percent, fair in 36
percent, and poor in 9 percent.
• The condition
of the following outdoor features was rated as fair or poor in public schools
that had that feature: school parking lots and roadways (36 percent); fencing
(32 percent); bus lanes and drop-off areas (31 percent); outdoor athletic
facilities (31 percent); covered walkways (28 percent); school sidewalks and
walkways (27 percent); and outdoor play areas/playgrounds (27 percent).
• Based on
survey responses, 53 percent of public schools needed to spend money on
repairs, renovations, and modernizations to put the school's onsite buildings
in good overall condition. The total amount needed was estimated to be
approximately $197 billion, and the average dollar amount for schools needing
to spend money was about $4.5 million per school.
Administrative and
Financial Setup
a) Administration of Education in America
Education in
America is decentralized. Therefore, it is the responsibility of each estate as
well as the private individuals to take care of their schools. In 1867, the
National Officer of Education was set up and it is being headed by the
Education Commissioner who is an appointee of the president of America. The
federal government always assists the state governments in the funding of
technical and vocational education. The state universities are financially
aided by the Federal Government.
At the State level,
there is a state department of education under the headship of Education
Director who is elected by the people within the state for a period of two to
four years.
Locally, each
local government has a local board of education, usually headed by a Superintendent
of schools in the district. His duties include: appointing teachers and other
personnel who will be working with him. He also works on the finance of schools
founded by the local government.
b) Finance of Education in America
In the whole of America,
less than 60 per cent of the total cost of both public primary and secondary
schools comes from the taxes levied by the local schools boards. Also, the
state government always sets aside about 40 per cent of its annual budget for
the running of the public schools. The bulk of this money is generated from the
state taxes as well as the taxes paid by the state workers.
In the private
schools, starting from the primary school up to the university, the students
pay school fees in addition to the taxes being paid by the parents. Also, some
well to-do individuals in America always assist the private schools
financially.
Administrative system 0f education in Pakistan:
· Each province is
divided into administrative divisions.
·
Each
divisions into districts
·
Each
districts into tehsil and
· Each tehsil into
sub-divisions.
Finance of education in Pakistan:
Pakistan spends
2.3% on education. Its EDI ranking is 113/120. Pakistan education system is
decentralized and its literacy rate is 57%.Federal government provide funds to
provinces to meet the development expenditures.
USA
educational structure
Formal education in the
US is generally mandatory from age 5/6 to 16, varying slightly by state.
School-level education is divided into "grades". US grades K
(Kindergarten) - 12 in the US correspond to Years 1 - 13 in the UK, as
summarized in the chart below. Schooling usually begins with elementary/primary
school (Kindergarten - US grade 5), followed by middle/junior high school (US
grades 6 - 8) and finishing with high school (US grades 9 to 12). Some US
children begin their education at privately-run pre-schools.
Kindergarten is the first year of primary/elementary school. Elementary schools provide instruction
in the fundamental skills of reading, writing and arithmetic, as well as
history, geography, civics, crafts, music, science, health and physical
education. Foreign languages are often introduced in middle school. Under the
"No Child Left Behind’" policy, students also complete state exams in
reading/language arts, maths and science in Grades 3 – 8 and once at the high
school level.
As students advance to middle/junior high school the
curriculum will likely become a bit more flexible, including both required and
elective classes. In required subjects such as maths, English and science,
students may be grouped in class sections based upon achievement. They may also
begin having a bit more flexibility in selecting elective classes in subjects,
such as foreign languages, band, home economics, chorus and art.
Although there is no
national curriculum, the general content of the high school curriculum across
the country has many consistencies. The state will likely set a list of basic
required courses for high school graduation. However, students continue to have
flexibility in choosing the level of their classes and elective subjects with
the assistance of their parents and a school guidance counsellor.
|
General
level (or category)
|
Level
|
Student
age range
(at the beginning of academic year) |
|||
|
Preschool
|
Pre-kindergarten
|
3–5
|
|||
|
Kindergarten
|
5–6
|
||||
|
1st grade
|
6–7
|
||||
|
2nd grade
|
7–8
|
||||
|
3rd grade
|
8–9
|
||||
|
4th grade
|
9–10
|
||||
|
5th grade
|
10–11
|
||||
|
6th grade
|
11–12
|
||||
|
7th grade
|
12–13
|
||||
|
8th grade
|
13–14
|
||||
|
High
school |
Freshman/9th
Grade
|
14–15
|
|||
|
Senior high
school |
Sophomore/10th
Grade
|
15–16
|
|||
|
Junior/11th
Grade
|
16–17
|
||||
|
Senior/12th
Grade
|
17–18
|
||||
|
Higher education
|
|||||
|
College
(University) |
Undergraduate
school |
First year:
"Freshman year"
|
18–19
|
||
|
Second year:
"Sophomore year"
|
19–20
|
||||
|
Third year:
"Junior year"
|
20–21
|
||||
|
Fourth year:
"Senior year"
|
21–22
|
||||
|
Graduate school
(with various degrees and curricular partitions thereof) |
Ages vary
|
||||
|
Continuing education
|
|||||
|
Vocational
school
|
Ages vary
|
||||
|
Adult education
|
|||||
Pakistan educational structure
Primary
Education:
In
Pakistan, the education system adopted from colonial authorities has been
described as one of the most underdeveloped in the world. Barely 60% of
children complete grades 1 to 5 at primary school, despite three years of play
group, nursery and kindergarten pre-school to prepare them.
Middle
Education:
Middle
school follows with grades 6 to 8. Single-sex education is still preferred in
rural areas. Subjects include Urdu, English, arts, Islamic studies, maths,
science, social studies, and computer science where equipment is available.
Secondary
Education:
Senior
school covers grades 9 to 12 with annual examinations. On completion of grade
10, pupils may qualify for a secondary school certificate. If they wish to,
they may proceed further to grade 12, following which they sit a final
examination for their higher secondary school certificate. During this time,
they opt for one of several streams that include pre-medical, pre-engineering,
humanities / social sciences and commerce.
Vocational
Education:
Vocational
education is controlled by the Pakistani Technical Education and Vocational
Training Authority. This body strives to re-engineer the process in line with
national priorities, while raising tutoring and examination standards too.
Tertiary
Education:
Around
8% of Pakistanis have tertiary qualifications although the government would
like to increase this to 20% by 2020. Entry is via a higher secondary
school certificate that provides access to bachelor degrees in disciplines such
as architecture, engineering, dentistry, medicine, pharmacy and nursing.
A
pass requires just 2 years of study, and an honors degree 4. For the initial
period the curriculum is a mixture of compulsory subjects and specializations.
After that, students specialize completely. Thereafter, they may continue with
more advanced study as they wish. Some institutions like Lahore Pakistan
University are ancient. Others are modern.
Assessment
and examination system in USA:
Unlike in the UK, there is no national
curriculum, and therefore US schools do not prepare students
for national examinations such as the GCSEs, Highers, AS or
A-levels. Rather students work toward completing a high school
diploma (the requirements for which are set by each state), and are
assessed for university entry based on GPA, class rank within the year group,
rigour of classes taken (AP, honours, regular) and admissions
tests. Students are generally assessed continually throughout the semester
via a combination of tests, mid-term/final exams, essays, quizzes, homework
assignments, classroom participation, group work, projects and attendance. This
assessment culminates with a final "grade" for each course awarded at
the end of the semester.
Marks can be given as
letters (A+, A, B+, B, etc), or as numbers out of 100%. These grades are
averaged over the student’s high school career, resulting in a Grade Point
Average (GPA). Students may also receive a class rank, ranking his/her GPA
amongst other members of his/her grade (year in school).Generally the student's
parents are sent a "report card" indicating the grades earned in each
subject at the end of a quarter, semester or year. The student's overall
academic history is recorded in a transcript which is later requested
by universities seeking to evaluate the student. A "transcript"
is an official document produced by the school listing the classes completed by
the student, his/her marks (grades), GPA (grade point average), class rank
and/or academic honors.
Examinations:
During high schools,
students may take one or more standerized tests depending on their
post-secondary education preferences and their local graduation requirements.
In theory these tests are evaluate the overall knowledge and learning aptitude
of students. The SAT is the most standerized test for most college admissions
in the United States. The SAT is owned, published and developed by the college
board, a non- profit organization in the United State. It was formerly
developed, published and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still
administers the exams. The tests is intended to assess a student readiness of
college. It was first introduced in 1926. It first named the scholastic
aptitude test and then scholastic assessment test. The ACT originally
abbreviation is American College Testing. The ACT consisted on four tests:
English, mathematics, social studies and natural sciences. In 1989, the social
studies test was changed into reading section and natural sciences test was
renamed science reasoning tests with more emphasis in problem solving skills.
In Pakistan:
Terminal and annual
examinations are held at the end of the middle and secondary education and is
totally external, at secondary and high secondary level students are also
examined at the end of two years course by boards of intermediate and secondary
education. The Medical
College Admission Test (MCAT), developed and administered by the AAMC, is a
standardized, multiple-choice examination created to help medical school
admissions offices assess your problem solving, critical thinking, and
knowledge of natural, behavioural, and social science concepts and principles
prerequisite to the study of medicine.
Public and private
schools in the USA:
There’s no federal
education system in the US, where education is the responsibility of individual
states and districts. Consequently, education standards and requirements vary
considerably from state to state and district to district. No fees are payable
in public (state) primary and secondary schools, which are attended by around
90 per cent of children (schoolchildren of all ages are usually referred to as
students). The other 10 per cent attend private fee-paying schools, most of
which are church-sponsored (often Roman Catholic) parochial schools. Most
public schools (pre-school, elementary and high) are co-educational (mixed) day
schools.
Private schools
include day and boarding schools and are mostly co-educational (often
abbreviated to ‘coed’, which confusingly also refers to female college
students), although some are single sex. There’s also a growing trend (an
increase of 15 per cent per year) for children to be educated at home and it’s
estimated that some 2 to 3 million Americans (3 per cent of the school-age
population) are taught by parents at home or in communal classes.
Private and public schools in Pakistan:Private schools are run and own by non-government entities. These schools are providing high quality of education after paying them huge amount of money in form of fees. They hire teachers who can serve their purposes accurately. There can be two types of purposes:
• Explicit purpose
• Implicit purpose
Their
“explicit purpose” is to provide people high quality of education which can
help them in making professional identity. They help individual to become
functional part of society especially in their social class. They develop
critical and analytical ability in them through different recreational
activities. They are also source of effective learning which can help latter in
development of nations-state.
Their
“implicit purpose” is most of the time earn profits by investing smaller amount
of money in schools. These schools are mostly run and own by business man or
politicians.
Example:
Mian Amer
Mahmood (politicians) is chairman of Punjab Colleges,
University of Central Punjab and Allied Schools
Public
schools are run and own by government. Governments maintain expenditures of
existing schools and develop new schools through citizens paid taxes. Private
and public schools explicit purposes are same. But their “implicit purposes”
are different such as: one is easy access to education for middle & lower
classes people. Second is it able individual after getting education so they
can become functional individual of society as well as bring changing in their
social class. However, in future these individuals also take part in the
development of country. According to report on Pakistan Education Statistics
(2010-2011) number of public schools are 72% and number of private schools are
28% in Pakistan.
IN PAKISTAN:
No system of education is above the level of its teachers. Teachers play
a crucial role in the system of education. It is important that these
teachers are equipped with proper knowledge, skills and attitudes in carrying
out the goals of education and fulfilling their obligations.
Teachers training have certain levels which correspond with the general
education ability of the teachers. There are three levels of teachers training.
Teachers for the primary schools are trained, and must have passed
Secondary School examination. They are provided one year training. After
completion of this training they are awarded a certificate called Primary
Teacher’s certificate (PTC). Those who possess FA/F.Sc certificate are given
one year training and awarded a certificate called Certificate in Education
(CT).
PTC and CT training is provided by the Government Colleges of Elementary
Education (GCEE). There are separate elementary Colleges of Education for girls
and boys who have been established at all the district headquarters within the
country.
Those who possess
BA/.Sc degrees are provided one year training called “Bachelor of Education”
(B.Ed) at the Government Colleges of Education. These colleges are at a few
selected places in each province of the country. Those who further want to
specialize in the subject of education undergo one year course called Master in
Education (M.Ed). This course is conducted by the Colleges of Education and in
the Institutes of Education in the Universities. Teachers also do M.Phil and
Ph.D in Education from the universities. Those whwho possess M.Ed or M.Phil teach in the Colleges of Education. At the
University level Ph.Ds are employed to train teachers.
Allama Iqbal Open University has started teacher training courses
through its distance education system for those students who cannot afford to
attend formal regular courses in the teacher training institutions. National
Education policy (1998-2011) provides for modernizing the courses in teachers
training. Accordingly, the duration and period of training at all levels of
training is being increased, including better salaries for the teachers.
There are few problems in the teacher-training programme which include
non -availability of qualified teaching faculty for the Colleges of Education,
quality training programmes, financial problems of the Training Institutions,
lack of quality material for training and lack of effective system of
management and supervision. But the most serious problem is that the teachers
do not use those teaching skills and methods in their classes which were taught
to them in the training institutions.
The U.S. Department of Education today announced proposed regulations
that help ensure teacher training programs are preparing educators who are
ready to succeed in the classroom.
The proposal builds
on the reforms and innovations already happening at the state and program level
across the country and by national organizations like the Council for the
Accreditation of Educator Preparation and the Council of Chief State School
Officers. The new rule shifts the focus for currently required state reporting
on teacher preparation programs from mostly inputs to outcomes - such as how
graduates are doing in the classroom - while giving states much flexibility to
determine how they will use the new measures and how program performance is measured
my conversations with teachers, principals and parents,” U.S. Education
Secretary Arne Duncan said. “New teachers want to do a great job for their
kids, but often, they struggle at the beginning of their careers and have to
figure out too much for themselves. Teachers deserve better, and our students
do too. This proposal, along with our other key initiatives in supporting
flexibility, equity and leadership, will help get us closer to President
Obama’s goal of putting a great teacher in every classroom, and especially in
our high-need schools.”
The proposal would create transparency and create a much-needed feedback
loop among aspiring teachers, preparation programs, principals, schools and
states. This information will help prospective educators choose effective
programs to train in high-demand teaching fields, assist schools in identifying
the most effective programs to recruit from, recognize excellence to build on
best practices, and help programs target their improvement efforts.
Specifically, the proposed regulations would refocus institutional data
reporting already required under federal law on meaningful data at the program
level, support states in developing systems that differentiate programs by
performance on outcomes, provide feedback to programs about graduates’ performance
and satisfaction, and hold programs accountable for how well they prepare
teachers to succeed in today’s classrooms and throughout their careers. In
addition, by requiring data on new teacher employment outcomes (placement and
retention), it will shine a light on high-need schools and fields and help
facilitate a better match of supply and demand.
Already,
numerous states, institutions and other organizations are demonstrating vital
leadership in improving teacher preparation. The proposed rule aims to ensure
that these innovative practices are taken to scale and can be replicated in
programs that are struggling.
Factors of comparative education between USA and
Pakistan
Economic
factor:
USA spends
around 5.5% of its GDP on Education and Pakistan spends 2.3% on education. Its
EDI ranking is 113/120. Pakistan education system is decentralized and its
literacy rate is 57%.Federal government provide funds to provinces to meet the
development expenditures.
In USA education
is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from
three levels: state, local, and federal. America spends over $500 billion a
year on public elementary and secondary education in the United States. On
average, school districts spend $10,314 for each individual student. All three
levels of government – federal, state, and local - contribute to education
funding. States typically provide a little less than half of all elementary and
secondary education funding. Local governments generally contribute about 44
percent of the total, and the federal government contributes about 13 percent
of all direct expenditures.
Philosophical
factor:
The Progressive
education movement was an integral part of the early twentieth-century reform
impulse directed toward the reconstruction of American democracy through
social, as well as cultural, uplift. When done correctly, these reformers
contended, education promised to ease the tensions created by the immense social,
economic, and political turmoil wrought by the forces of modernity
characteristic of fin-de-siècle America. In short, the altered landscape of
American life, Progressive reformers believed, provided the school with a new
opportunity–indeed, a new responsibility–to play a leading role in preparing
American citizens for active civic participation in a democratic society.
John Dewey
(1859–1952), who would later be remembered as the "father of Progressive
education," was the most eloquent and arguably most influential figure in
educational Progressivism. A noted philosopher, psychologist, and educational
reformer, Dewey graduated from the University of Vermont in 1879, taught high
school briefly, and then earned his doctorate in philosophy at the newly formed
Johns Hopkins University in 1884. Dewey taught at the University of Michigan
from 1884 to 1888, the University of Minnesota from 1888 to 1889, again at
Michigan from 1889 to 1894, then at the University of Chicago from 1894 to
1904, and, finally, at Columbia University from 1904 until his retirement in
1931.
During his long
and distinguished career, Dewey generated over 1,000 books and articles on
topics ranging from politics to art. For all his scholarly eclecticism,
however, none of his work ever strayed too far from his primary intellectual
interest: education. Through such works as The School and Society
(1899), The Child and the Curriculum (1902), and Democracy and
Education (1916), Dewey articulated a unique, indeed revolutionary,
reformulation of educational theory and practice based upon the core
relationship he believed existed between democratic life and education. Namely,
Dewey's vision for the school was inextricably tied to his larger vision of the
good society, wherein education–as a deliberately conducted practice of
investigation, of problem solving, and of both personal and community
growth–was the wellspring of democracy itself. Because each classroom
represented a microcosm of the human relationships that constituted the larger
community, Dewey believed that the school, as a "little democracy,"
could create a "more lovely society."
Dewey's emphasis
on the importance of democratic relationships in the classroom setting
necessarily shifted the focus of educational theory from the institution of the
school to the needs of the school's students. This dramatic change in American
pedagogy, however, was not alone the work of John Dewey. To be sure, Dewey's
attraction to child-centered educational practices was shared by other
Progressive educators and researchers–such as Ella Flagg Young (1845–1918),
Dewey's colleague and kindred spirit at the University of Chicago, and
Granville Stanley Hall (1844–1924), the iconoclastic Clark University
psychologist and avowed leader of the child study movement–who collectively
derived their understanding of child-centeredness from reading and studying a
diverse array of nineteenth and twentieth-century European and American
philosophical schools. In general, the received philosophical traditions
employed by Dewey and his fellow Progressives at once deified childhood and
advanced ideas of social and intellectual interdependence. First, in their
writings about childhood, Frenchman Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778)
emphasized its organic and natural dimensions; while English literary romantics
such as William Wordsworth (1770–1850) and William Blake (1757–1827) celebrated
its innate purity and piety, a characterization later shared by American
transcendentalist philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) and Henry David
Thoreau (1817–1862). For these thinkers, childhood was a period of innocence,
goodness, and piety that was in every way morally superior to the polluted
lives led by most adults. It was the very sanctity of childhood that convinced
the romantics and transcendentalists that the idea of childhood should be
preserved and cultivated through educational instruction.
Second, and more
important, Dewey and his fellow educational Progressives drew from the work of
the German philosopher Friedrich Froebel (1782–1852) and Swiss educator Johann
Pestalozzi (1746–1827). Froebel and Pestalozzi were among the first to
articulate the process of educating the "whole child," wherein learning
moved beyond the subject matter and ultimately rested upon the needs and
interests of the child. Tending to both the pupil's head and heart, they
believed, was the real business of schooling, and they searched for an
empirical and rational science of education that would incorporate these
foundational principles. Froebel drew upon the garden metaphor of cultivating
young children toward maturity, and he provided the European foundations for
the late-nineteenth-century kindergarten movement in the United States.
Similarly, Pestalozzi popularized the pedagogical method of object teaching,
wherein a teacher began with an object related to the child's world in order to
initiate the child into the world of the educator.
Finally, Dewey
drew inspiration from the ideas of philosopher and psychologist William James
(1842–1910). Dewey's interpretation of James's philosophical pragmatism, which
was similar to the ideas underpinning Pestalozzi's object teaching, joined thinking
and doing as two seamlessly connected halves of the learning process. By
focusing on the relationship between thinking and doing, Dewey believed his
educational philosophy could equip each child with the problem-solving skills
required to overcome obstacles between a given and desired set of circumstances.
According to Dewey, education was not simply a means to a future life, but
instead represented a full life unto itself.
Taken together,
then, these European and American philosophical traditions helped Progressives
connect childhood and democracy with education: Children, if taught to
understand the relationship between thinking and doing, would be fully equipped
for active participation in a democratic society. It was for these reasons that
the Progressive education movement broke from pedagogical traditionalists
organized around the seemingly outmoded and antidemocratic ideas of drill,
discipline, and didactic exercises.
Pakistan emerged as an Islamic Republic state on
August 14, 1947. Pakistan comprises of four provinces: Punjab, North West
Frontier Province, Balochistan and Sindh and some federating units which
include Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Federally Administered Tribal Areas
(FATA) and Northern Areas (FANA). Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan, which
was constructed in the beginning of 1960s. The national language is Urdu. The
constitution is Federal parliamentary.
Pakistan education policies After independence the country dealt with several issues along with education. Since 1947, many attempts have been made to relate the education system to the needs and inspirations of the country. The first Education Conference was held in 1947 as per directives of the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He provided the basic guidelines for the future development of education by emphasizing on such education system which should suit with our history, culture and instill the highest sense of honor, integrity, responsibility, and selfless service to the nation.
The 1959 Report of the Commission on
National Education focused on educational reforms. In 1973 the civilian
democratic government came up with a 1973 constitution which provided that the
state shall:
(a) promote unity and observance of the Islamic moral standards;
(b) promote with special care the
educational and economic interests of backward areas;
(c) remove illiteracy and provide free
and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period;
(d) make technical and professional
education generally available and higher education equally accessible to all on
the basis of merit;
(e) enable the people of different
areas, through education , training, agriculture and industrial development ,
and other methods to participate fully in all form of national activities
including employment in the services of Pakistan; and
(f) ensure full participation of women
in all the spheres of national life (Shah, 2003).
Each policy stressed on:
(a) Islamic ideology and character
building;
(b) The universalization of primary
education and promotion of literacy;
(c) Science education;
(d) Quality of education; and
(e)reduction in inequalities of
educational facilities (Shah, 2003)
When we look at the history of our education system we always feel that more improvement is required to bring positive change in education system, what we as a nation should feel proud of. According to Gelles and Levine (1995), the Americans claim to value education, believing it is the key to success in life and feels proud of their educational system, which provides universal elementary and secondary public education and the curriculum is considered comprehensive and the teachers are given high respect in the society.
Geographical
factor:
The total area
of USA is 3,794,079 square miles and 9,826,675 square kilometer. Its population
is 316,668,567.The U.S. borders both the North Atlantic and
North Pacific Oceans and is bordered by Canada and Mexico. It is the third largest
country in the world by area and has a varied topography. The eastern regions
consist of hills and low mountains while the central interior is a vast plain
(called the Great Plains region) and the west has high rugged mountain ranges
(some of which are volcanic in the Pacific Northwest) Alaska also features rugged mountains as well as river
valleys. Hawaii's landscape varies but is dominated by volcanic topography.
Like its topography, the climate of the U.S. also varies depending on location. It is considered mostly temperate but is tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the plains west of the Mississippi River and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest. It is an industrial country and pays special attention to technological and industrial subjects in the organization of its curriculum
Like its topography, the climate of the U.S. also varies depending on location. It is considered mostly temperate but is tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the plains west of the Mississippi River and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest. It is an industrial country and pays special attention to technological and industrial subjects in the organization of its curriculum
Pakistan lies along the collision point between the Indian and
Asian tectonic plates. As a result, much of the country consists of rugged
mountains.
The area of Pakistan is
880,940 square km (340,133 square miles).The country shares borders with Afghanistan to the
northwest, China to the north, India to the south and east,
and Iran to the west. The border with India is subject to dispute, with both
nations claiming the mountain regions of Kashmir and Jammu.
Pakistan's lowest point
is its Indian Ocean coast, at sea level. The highest point is K2, the
world's second-tallest mountain, at 8,611 meters (28,251 feet).
With the exception of the temperate coastal region, most of
Pakistan suffers from seasonal extremes of temperature.
From June to September,
Pakistan has its monsoon season, with warm weather and heavy rain in
some areas. The temperatures drop significantly in December through February,
while spring tends to be very warm and dry. Of course, the Karakoram and
Hindu Kush mountain ranges are snowbound for much of the year, due to their
high altitudes.
Temperatures even at lower elevations may drop below freezing
during the winter, while summer highs of 40°C (104°F) are not uncommon. The
record high is 55°C (131°F).
Linguistic factor:
Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. It is the first language of only a small percentage of
the population, but it cuts across linguistic and provincial boundaries as the
national language. More than 75 percent of Pakistanis can speak and understand
Urdu. In urban areas about 95 percent of the people communicate in Urdu. Urdu
replaced English as the official language in 1978.
Most Pakistanis speak
at least two languages. A large segment of the population is trilingual,
speaking English, Urdu, and an ethnic-based regional language. Punjabi, Pashto,
Sindhi, Baluchi, and Brahui are the major regional languages. These languages
have many regional dialects, including Saraiki, a widely spoken dialect of
Punjabi. Regional languages are recognized as a potent force because language
and ethnic identity are closely interrelated; even the national census
categorizes groups according to their language, rather than their ethnicity.
However, there is growing awareness among Pakistanis that for social mobility,
national cohesion, and individual success, it is imperative to be fluent in
Urdu and proficient in English.
Several factors
contributed to the establishment of Urdu as the lingua franca of Pakistan. It
was the language of the educated Muslims in northern India, who spearheaded the
Pakistan Movement. Urdu helped foster a linguistic identity among Muslims in
the region. Although similar to Hindi as a spoken language, Urdu uses a
Persian-derived script and incorporates many Arabic words. Choosing Urdu as the
national language provided a linguistic basis for the formation of a Muslim
national identity. It also provided the country with a “neutral” language
because Urdu does not have ethnic or tribal associations. Since the founding of
Pakistan in 1947, state-controlled electronic and print media have promoted
Urdu. In the public schools of the country, Urdu is the principal language of
instruction.
For all practical
purposes, however, English is the de facto official language. Pakistan's legal
system is based on British common law, and judicial and government documents
are mostly written in English. Pakistanis of all social strata strive to learn
English, which has a certain elite status. Although the quality of instruction
in English has declined, English continues to be the language of the educated
and those who want to move ahead in life.
Nationalism factor:
Refers to the political,
cultural, linguistic, historical, religious and geographical expression of
patriotism by the people of Pakistan, of pride in the history, and
identity of Pakistan, and visions for its future.
Unlike the secular
nationalism of most other countries, Pakistani nationalism and the religion
of Islam have often not been mutually exclusive and religion is often
a part of the Pakistani nationalist narrative.
From a political point of
view and in the years leading up to the independence of Pakistan, the particular
political and ideological foundations for the actions of the Muslim
League can be called a Pakistani nationalist ideology. It is a singular
combination of philosophical, nationalistic, cultural and religious elements.
Most of modern-day
Pakistani nationalism is centered on the common Indo-Iranian identity
and heritage of 99% of the population. Baloch, Kashmiris, Mohajir’s, Punjabis,
Pashtun’s and Sandhi’s and minorities are mainly of Indo-Iranian stock. It also
refers to the consciousness and expression of religious influences that help
mould the national consciousness. Nationalism describes the many underlying
forces that molded the Pakistan movement, and strongly continue to
influence the politics of Pakistan.
American nationalism is a form of nationalism
found in the United States, which asserts that Americans are a nation and that
promotes the cultural unity of Americans.
American scholars such as Hans Kohn have claimed
that the United States government institutionalized a civic nationalism based
on legal and rational concepts of citizenship, and based on a common language
and cultural traditions, rather than ethnic nationalism. The founders of the
United States founded the country upon classical liberal individualist
principles rather than ethnic nationalist principles. American nationalism
since World War I and particularly since the 1960s has largely been based upon
the civic nationalist culture of the country's founders. However prior to 1914,
American nationalism in practice had strong ethnic nationalist elements –
including nativism and efforts to exclude immigrants, African Americans, and others from receiving political power as
citizens. American nativist ethnic nationalism found a basis in early leaders
of the United States – such as George Washington who believed that immigration
could have a deleterious effect on the country's national character, as well as
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson who opposed immigration from absolute
monarchies because they believed that such immigrants would bring the
antidemocratic beliefs of their countries to the United States. Discriminatory
immigration policies by the U.S. government continued until 1965 with the
Immigration and Nationality Act that abolished the existing ethnic quota system
and replaced it with an
ethnic-blind system. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s resulted
in American civic nationalism prevailing over ethnic nationalism, as legal
barriers prpreventing African Americans from attaining full
citizenship were removed, officially enfranchising African Americans as equal
citizens as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
Democracy factor:
This explores the
potential for democratic change in educational practice in Pakistan. Using focus group discussions in urban and rural areas of
Sindh and Baluchistan, it builds up a picture of educational practices from
policy‐making to
implementation level and identifies the barriers to democratic approaches in
education. It suggests that educational practice in Pakistan is characterized
by authoritarian and bureaucratic inaction, and collaboration and reflection
play little part in decision‐making. A “transmission model” is delivered from
policy‐makers to implementers
who replicate it at pedagogical level, and little account is taken of
participatory and democratic approaches to education. International literature
on democratic approaches to education and on the potential of education to be
democratic and to develop democracy in society is explored as a background to
the study.
Many people think that democracy is majority rule, pure and
simple. Actually that is very wrong and simply leads to a fascist dictatorship
of the people. In order to understand fascism we need to first know what
democracy is so that we can see how fascism undermines true democracy by
creating a fascist false democracy.
Democracy has six fundamental aspects that can't be left out. In
any country, even the U.S.A., where there are only five or less of these
factors, then it is not a complete democracy, and it will be seen that the
missing factor shows the hole where fascists have inserted themselves like a
wedge to corrupt and misguide the democratic principles and undermine the
democracy for their own personal ends. These six essential factors can be
paired in three general polarities or axes of the dimensions that define the
three dimensional psycho-socio-political space of democracy.
- People as sovereign
- Rule of law.
- Majority rule
- Minority rights.
- Separation of powers
- Checks and balances.
Humanism factor:
The man who has had the
most influence on the course of education in America in the 20th century is the
educator, philosopher, social critic, and psychologist, John Dewey, who died in
1952. A humanist and an instrumentalist, he was considered the premier
philosopher of his time.
Dewey was critical of
the excessively rigid and formal approach to education that dominated the
practice of most American schools in the latter part of the 19th century. He
argued that that approach was based upon a faulty psychology in which the child
was thought of as a passive creature upon whom information and knowledge had to
be imposed. But Dewey was equally critical of the "new education,"
which was based on a sentimental idealization of the child. This child-oriented
approach advocated that the child himself should pick and choose what he wanted
to study. It also was based on mistaken psychology, which neglected the
immaturity of the child's experience. Education is, or ought to be, said Dewey,
a continuous reconstruction of experience in which there is a development of
immature experience toward experience funded with the skills and habits of
intelligence. The slogan "Learn by Doing" was not intended as a credo
for anti-intellectualism but, on the contrary, was meant to call attention to
the fact that the child is naturally an active, curious, and exploring
creature. A properly designed education must be sensitive to this active
dimension of life and must guide the child, so that through his participation
in different types of experience his creativity and autonomy will be cultivated
rather than stifled.
The child is not
completely malleable, nor is his natural endowment completely fixed and
determinate. Like Aristotle, Dewey believed that the function of education is
to encourage those habits and dispositions that constitute intelligence. Dewey
placed great stress on creating the proper type of environmental conditions for
eliciting and nurturing these habits. His conception of the educational process
is therefore closely tied to the prominent role that he assigned to habit in
human life. Education as the continuous reconstruction and growth of experience
also develops the moral character of the child. Virtue is taught not by
imposing values upon the child but by cultivating fair-mindedness, objectivity,
imagination, openness to new experiences, and the courage to change one's mind
in the light of further experience.
Dewey also thought of
the school as a miniature society; it should not simply mirror the larger
society but should be representative of the essential institutions of this
society. The school as an ideal society is the chief means for social reform.
In this controlled social environment of the school it is possible to encourage
the development of creative individuals, who will be able to work effectively
to eliminate existing evils and institute reasonable goods. The school,
therefore, is the medium for developing the set of habits required for
systematic and open inquiry and for reconstituting experience that is funded
with greater harmony and aesthetic quality.
Dewey perceived acutely the threat
posed by unplanned technological, economic, and political development to the
future of democracy. The natural direction of these forces is to increase human
alienation and to undermine the shared experience that is so vital for the
democratic community. For this reason, Dewey placed much importance on the
function of the school in the democratic community. The school is the most
important medium for strengthening and developing a genuine democratic
community, and the task of democracy is forever the creation of a freer and
more humane experience in which all share and participate.
RELIGION FACTOR:
The United
States federal government was the first national government to have no official
state-endorsed religion. However, some states had established religions in some
form until the 1830s.
Modeling the provisions concerning
religion within the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the framers of the
Constitution rejected any religious test for office, and the First Amendment
specifically denied the federal government any power to enact any law
respecting either an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free
exercise, thus protecting any religious organization, institution, or
denomination from government interference. The decision was mainly influenced
by European Rationalist and Protestant ideals, but was also a consequence of
the pragmatic concerns of minority religious groups and small states that did
not want to be under the power or influence of a national religion that did not
represent them.
Christianity in the United States:
The largest religion in the US is
Christianity, claimed by the majority of the population (71% in 2014). From
those queried, roughly 46.5% of Americans are Protestants, 25.4% are Catholics,
2% are Mormons (the name commonly used to refer to members of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and 1% have affiliations with various other
Christian denominations.] Christianity was introduced during the period of
European colonization
The Islamic Center of Washington in
the nation's capital is a leading American Islamic Center. Islam is the third
largest faith in the United States, after Christianity and Judaism,
representing 0.9% of the population. Islam in America effectively began with
the arrival of African slaves. It is estimated that about 10% of African slaves
transported to the United States were Muslim
RACIALISM factor:
“Minorities to whichever community
they may belong, will be safeguarded. Their religion of faith or belief will be
secure. There will be no interference of any kind with their freedom of
worship. They will have their protection with regard to their religion, faith,
their life, and their culture. They will be, in all respects, the equal
citizens of Pakistan without any distinction of caste or creed.” ~ M. A.
JINNAH, July 14, 1947, at a press conference in New Delhi
Racism is the belief that one’s race,
skin color, or more generally, one’s group, be it of religious, national or
ethnic identity, is superior to others in humanity. It has been part of the
American landscape primarily since the European colonization of North America
beginning in the 17th century. Various groups have bore the brunt of it,
manifested in discriminatory laws, social practices, and criminal behavior directed toward a target
group. The following are a list of just a few and their experiences.
Racism against Native Americans: With
the Europeans’ arrival on North America’s shores and their systematic plan to
subdue and conquer its land, came racism and bigotry against Native Americans.
Europeans believed the original inhabitants of America were heathens and
savages who needed to be civilized through Christianity and European culture.
This led to genocide, mass murder, stolen land, attempts to wipe out Native
American traditions, as well as forced assimilation through institutions like
residential schools and the establishment of “Indian reservations”. As well,
media portrayal of this continent’s first inhabitants as bloodthirsty savages
helped justify European abuses against Native Americans. The long-term effects,
among others, of this treatment include the fact that today, Native Americans
have the highest suicide rate of any group in the United States, according to
the National Institute of Mental Health.
Racism against African-Americans: Many of the Africans brought to America starting in
the 17th century arrived as slaves, kidnapped from their homelands in various
parts of Africa. A number of them were known to be royalty and literate.
African men, women, and children were stripped of their names and identities,
forced to “Christianize”, whipped, beaten, tortured, and in many cases, lynched
or hanged at the whims of their white masters, for whom slavery was key to
maintaining their vast properties and land. Families were separated through the
process of buying and selling slaves. While not all Africans in America were
slaves, a large number were, particularly in the southern states. For those
Africans in America who were free, discriminatory laws that barred them from
owning property and voting, for example, as well as the belief in the intrinsic
inferiority of dark-skinned peoples by the dominant white majority, held them
back from full equality in the United States.
Although slavery was ultimately
outlawed and laws prohibiting discrimination against African-Americans passed,
racism against this community remains and is manifested in more subtle ways
today. For example, the Washington, DC, Fair Employment Practices Commission
has found that blacks face discrimination in one out of every five job interviews.
The American Sociological Association notes that, “today employers use
different phases of the hiring process to discriminate against minorities
(e.g., recruiting from primarily white schools instead of through job training
programs) and offer higher status jobs and pay to white employees. Reports of
job discrimination against African Americans are correlated with darker
complexion, higher education, immigrant status, and young age.”.
Japanese-Americans: With Japan’s December 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, racism
against Japanese-Americans intensified. Like Muslims after the 9/11 attacks,
Japanese-Americans were targets of harassment, discrimination, and government
surveillance. Members of the community lost homes, jobs, and businesses. But the
worst blow was the February 1942 Executive Order signed by President Franklin
D. Roosevelt that authorized the internment of Japanese-Americans. They were
now deemed enemies of the state. Over half of the 120,000 Japanese-Americans
sent to the camps were born and raised in the U.S. and had never set foot in
Japan. Half of those sent to the camps were children.
The Executive Order allowed for the
forced exclusion of Japanese-Americans from certain areas to provide security
against sabotage and espionage and property. Some of those imprisoned died in
the camps due to a lack of proper medical care. Others were killed for not
obeying orders.
According to a 1943 report published
by the War Relocation Authority, which ran the camps, Japanese-Americans were
housed in "tarpaper-covered barracks of simple frame construction without
plumbing or cooking facilities of any kind." These overcrowded
accommodations were bleak and surrounded by barbed wire. President Roosevelt
himself called them "concentration camps."
Jewish -Americans: Although Jews
first arrived in America over 300 years ago and enjoyed a certain level of
religious freedom, anti-Semitism was acceptable and common socially, as well as
legally in some cases. For example, some states in the late 18th century barred
those who were not Christian from voting or holding public office. However,
these barriers were later removed, especially with the enactment of the Bill of
Rights.
As well, during the Holocaust in
Europe during the 1940s, a ship of over 900 primarily German Jewish refugees
was denied permission to land on U.S. soil, based on the exclusionary
Immigration Act of 1924. Only one-third of the passengers, who were forced to
return to Europe, survived the genocide of Jews on the continent at the time.
The Ku Klux Kan, one of the most
virulent and violent hate groups in America, did not just direct their rage at
African-Americans. Jews were also a target.
As well, discrimination against Jews
was practiced in some cases in the workforce, and they were not permitted entry
into a number of resort areas and social clubs. Colleges also practiced
discrimination by limiting their enrolment. In a number of cases, Jews were
forbidden from buying certain types of property.
Islamophobia is the term that has
been coined to describe the current hostility toward Islam and Muslims in the
United States, manifested in prejudice, harassment and discrimination. The Pew
Forum on Religion and Public life found last year that positive opinions of
Islam among Americans have declined since 2005. Islamophobia intensified after
the 9/11 terror attacks, as well as the subsequent wars on Iraq and
Afghanistan. Muslims in the United States over the last decade have been
subject to 700,000 interviews by the FBI, wiretapping, phone surveillance, and
racial profiling. Added to this is the rhetoric of hate and misinformation
fueled by so-called terrorism experts, right-wing authors, television and radio
talk show hosts and personalities, as well as countless blogs and websites that
demonize Islam and Muslims and automatically link them to terrorism.
Islamophobia today is the only
acceptable racism left. It remains to be seen how long its cycle will run
before there is zero cultural and legal tolerance for it, as is the case with
racism against other minority groups in the United States today.
References
·
http://www.fulbright.org.uk/study-in-the-usa/school-study/us-school-system retrieved on 11-oct-2015on 2.20pm
·
http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/reference-material/most-common-teaching-styles-used-with-elementary-school-students/
retrieved on 11-oct-2015 at 2.36
·
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=94 retrieved on 11-oct-2015 at 2.50pm
·
http://www.educationworld.com/standards/
retrieved on 11-oct-2015 at 2.57pm
·
http://www.improve-education.org/id68.html retrieved on 11-oct-2015 at 2.59pm
·
http://www.countriesquest.com/asia/pakistan/the_people_of_pakistan/languages.htm
·
http://www.educationworld.com/standards/
retrieved on 11-oct-2015 at 2.57pm
·
ttps://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/taking-mcat-exam/
·
http://www.soundvision.com/article/a-brief-history-of-racism-in-the-united-states
EmoticonEmoticon