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Higher education in Great Britain
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Module 2. Higher Education in Great Britain
Think about it:
What do you know about different approaches and systems of education in different countries?
Read the text.
HIGHER EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN
The basic features of the British educational system are the same as they are anywhere else in Europe and North America: full-time education is compulsory up to the middle teenage years; the academic year begins at the end of summer; compulsory education is free of charge, but parents may spend money on educating their child privately if they want to. There are three recognized stages, with children moving from the first stage (primary) to the second stage (secondary) at around the age of eleven or twelve, and later on – to the third stage (higher). However, there is quite a lot which distinguishes education in Britain from the way it works in other countries.
Having completed a compulsory education, at the age of 16, people take the school leaving General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams - in a range of subjects. Marks are given to each subject separately being graded from A to G.
With Britain’s modern enthusiasm for continuing education, far fewer 16-year-old go straight out and look for a job than did previously. About third of them still take this option, but even they take part in training schemes which involve on-the-job training, sometimes combined with part-time college courses. The rest remain in full-time education. About half of them leave their school and go to a College of Further Education. An increasing number do vocational training courses for particular jobs and careers. Other students prefer to pursue work-based training such as General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs), which provide skills and knowledge some in vocational areas such as business, engineering, etc.
Having completed GCSEs most students usually specialize in three to four subjects leading to General Certificate of Education (GCE) A Levels. Others can take higher grade GNVQs. Many students then move towards higher education training at universities, colleges and institutes offering studies at degree level and higher.
Pupils going on to higher education or professional training usually take "A" level examinations in two or three subjects. Typically, a pupil spends a whole two years studying just three or four subjects, usually related ones, in preparation for taking A-level exams. Universities accept students mainly on the basis of their "A" level results, although they may interview them as well. The independence of Britain’s educational institutions as most noticeable in universities. They make their own choices of who to accept to their courses. Students with better exams grades are more likely to be accepted. But in principle there is nothing to stop a university accepting a student who has no A-levels at all and conversely, a student with top grades in several A-levels is not guaranteed a place.
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In 1969 the Open University was started, where these formal qualifications are not necessary. It is a unique institution, presenting a development in education in which Britain can claim to have led the world. It allows people who do not have the opportunity to be students in the normal way by attending a university to study for a degree through distance education/ When in started, its courses were taught through television, radio and specially written coursebooks.
The most common degree courses usually take three years of full-time study to complete, although a number of subjects take longer, including medicine, architecture and foreign languages (where courses include a year abroad). A qualification from a university is called Degree. The general name for a first degree is a Bachelor - Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Education (BEd), Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB). Students studying for a first degree are called undergraduates. When they have been awarded a degree, they are known as graduates.
The second (postgraduate) degree is for those undertaking further study includes the Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MSc), Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Laws (LLM).
The next level includes research based postgraduate courses leading to the Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) which is the highest academic qualification. Degrees are awarded either by the institution itself, or by the Council for National Academic Awards, particularly in vocational areas. The time taken to complete a doctorate varies, but it is generally expected to involve three years of more-or-less full-time study.
Students of law, architecture and some other professions can take qualifications awarded by their own professional bodies instead of degrees. At present, students who have been accepted by universities or other institutions of higher education receive a grant from their local authority, which covers the cost of the course, and may cover living expenses. Parents with higher incomes are expected to make a contribution. Until 1990 the grant did not have to be paid back, but now a system of loans has been introduced.
There are no important official or legal distinctions between the various universities in the country/ But it is possible to discern a few board categories:
1. Oxbridge: this name denotes the universities of Oxford and Cambridge famous for their academic excellence. They are federations of semi-independent colleges, each college having its own staff, known as ‘fellows’. The fellows teach the college students, either one-to-one or I very small groups (known as “tutorials” in Oxford or “supervisions” in Cambridge). Oxbridge has the lowest student/staff ratio in Britain.
2. The old Scottish universities: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and St. Andrews. St. Andrews resembles Oxbridge in many ways, while the other three universities are more like civic universities (see below) in that most of students live at home or rented flats in town. At all of them, the pattern of study is closer to the Continental tradition than to English one - there is less specialization than at Oxbridge.
3. The early nineteenth-century English universities:
- Durham University: its collegiate living arrangements are similar to Oxbridge, but academic matters are organized at university level.
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- The University of London: It includes a number of colleagues, scattered widely around the city, so that each college (most being non-residential)is almost a separate university. The central organization is responsible for little more than exams and the awarding of degree.
4. The older civic (“redbrick”) universities. During the nineteenth century they concentrated in industrial towns and cities to cater for local people but later they started to accept students from all over the country. Their buildings are of red brick in contrast to the stone of older universities.
5. The campus universities: purpose built institutions located in the countryside (East Anglia, Lancaster, Sussex, Warwick). They tend to place emphasis on relatively ‘new’ academic disciplines and to make greater use than other universities of teaching in small groups, often known as ‘seminars’.
6. The new civic universities (Aston, Selford, Strathclyde). They were originally technical colleges set up by local authorities in the first sixty years of twentieth century. But then they were upgraded to university status. Their most notable feature is flexibility with regard to studying arrangements, including ‘sandwich’ courses (studies interrupted by periods of time outside education).
2. Find the English equivalents for:
Отличительная черта; первоначально; закончить обязательное образование; быть основанным местными властями; сдавать выпускные экзамены; комбинированное обучение, экзамен на сертификат об общем среднем образовании; провести собеседование; колледж дальнейшего образования; осуществлять профессиональную подготовку; курс, ведущий к получению сертификата общей национальной профессиональной квалификации; стоимость проживания; обеспечить получение навыков и знаний в профессиональных областях; перейти к высшему образованию; покрывать расходы; выпускной экзамен продвинутого уровня; принимать студентов; на основе; открытый университет; формальные результаты; слушать курс, ведущий к получению степени; длиться три года; бакалавр искусств / наук / образования / инженерных наук / юриспруденции; специализироваться в ч-л; степень магистра; присуждать степень; область профессионального обучения; сдавать экзамены; получать стипендию; возместить расходы; ввести систему займов; быть известным; великолепное качество обучения.
3. Find the Russian equivalents for:
Sandwich’ courses; federations of semi-independent colleges; to be upgraded to university status; to be responsible for little more than exams and the awarding of degree; the pattern of study; ‘fellow’; student/staff ratio; to make a contribution; research based postgraduate course; on-the-job training; compulsory education; vocational training course; undergraduates; graduates; more-or-less full-time study; to do a degree; to do research; academic subjects;.
4. Answer the questions:
1. What types of higher educational establishments are there in the UK?
2. Name the academic exams and qualifications in the UK.
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3. What courses of study are offered by higher education establishments?
4. Comment on the types of universities in UK.
5. What are the Oxbridge universities famous for?
6. What is the Open University is famous for?
5. Translate into English:
1. Студенты, обычно, зачисляются в университеты на основании результатов экзаменов продвинутого уровня.
2. Независимость британских образовательных учреждений особенно ярко проявяется на уровне вузов.
3. Обучение на дневном отделении обычно длится три года и более.
4. Первый уровень вузовского образования, как правило, нацелен на получение степени бакалавра гуманитарных или естественных наук.
5. Степень магистра присуждается за исследования в области гуманитарных или естественных наук.
6. Второй уровень вузовского образования предполагает получение степени магистра философии.
7. Экзамены на присуждение степеней сдаются в вузе, Национальном совете по присуждению ученых степеней или в профессиональных органах.
8. Студенты получают стипендии от местных органов власти, которые покрывают стоимость обучения, а и иногда – и стоимость проживания.
9. Согласно сущности системы займов, студенты должны возвратить сумму гранта, выплачиваемую местными властями в период их обучения.
10. Университеты Оксбриджа известны высоким уровнем качества даваемым ими образования.
6. Listening-Comprehension task -Watching the video «Oxford vs. Cambridge» (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVyJDV6igLk)
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