Образование в Великобритании

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To the end of September 1992 there were introduced the GNVQ. They are mainly undertaken by young people in full-time education between the ages of 16 and 18 and focus on vocational skills such as business and finance, information and technology. There are three GNVQ levels – Advanced,
Intermediate and Foundation. An Advanced GNVQ requires a level of achievement broadly equal to two GCE A-levels. Most commonly the GNVQ’s courses are studied at CFE but more and more schools are also offering them.

|The following five levels of NVQs have been established: |
|Level 1 – Foundation; |
|Level 2 – Basic craft; |
|Level 3 – Technical, advanced craft, supervisor; |
|Level 4 – Higher technical, junior management; |
|Level 5 – Professional, middle management. |

There are also job-specific National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs).

These are the awards, which recognize work-related skills and knowledge and provide a path for lifelong learning. They are prepared by industry and commerce, including representatives from trade unions and professional bodies.

NVQs are based on national standards of competence and can be achieved levels from 1 to 5.

With Britain’s new enthusiasm for continuing education, far fewer 16 years-olds go straight out and look for a job than used to. About a third of them still take this option, however. The importance of creating a ‘gap’ in their education is ever appealing to young people in Britain today.
Experience outside classroom is also valued since it demonstrates maturity and a willingness to be independent.

The first step for young people entering the job market is their local
Jobcentre or careers office. Some school careers advisors teach such skills as filling out a curriculum vitae or writing letters applying for jobs, which is a problem for many young people. Youth workers of Youth Service organizations also can give advice and counseling. A large number 16 and 17 years-olds enter. Youth Training Programmes established by the government as a means of helping young people to gain vocational experience. The government guarantees a place on the scheme to everybody under 18 who is not in full-time education or in work. Such programmes cover a wide range of vocational skills from hairdressing to engineering.

To sum up, average pupils usually attempt six or seven subjects, and the basic subjects required for jobs and further education are English, mathematics, science and foreign language. Good GCSE results will qualify pupils for a range of jobs, and for entry to further education if desired.
GCE A-level examinations are normally associated with more academic children, who are aiming to entry higher education or to get professions.
The dispersion of all 16-17 years olds in Britain in 1990 was following:

> 36% were at schools or colleges;

> 49% were working (employment) or seeking work;

> 15% were in Youth Training placements.

§5. Higher education.

As has been mentioned above, there is a considerable enthusiasm for post-school education in Britain. The aim of the government is to increase the number of students who enter into higher education. The driving force for this has been mainly economic. It is assumed that the more people who study at degree level, the more likely the country is to succeed economically. A large proportion of young people – about a third in England and Wales and almost half in Scotland – continue in education at a more A- level beyond the age of 18. The higher education sector provides a variety of courses up to degree and postgraduate degree level, and careers out research. It increasingly caters for older students; over 50% of students in 1999 were aged 25 and over and many studied part-time. Nearly every university offers access and foundation courses before enrolment on a course of higher education of prospective students who do not have the standard entry qualifications.

Higher education in Britain is traditionally associated with universities, though education of University standard is also given in other institutions such as colleges and institutes of higher education, which have the power to award their own degrees.

The only exception to state universities is the small University of
Buckingham which concentrates on law, and which draws most of its students of overseas.

All universities in England and Wales are state universities (this includes Oxford and Cambridge).

English universities can be broadly classified into three types. First come the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge that date from the
12th century and that until 1828 were virtually the only English universities.

Oxford and Cambridge are composed of semi-independent colleges, each college having its own staff, know as ‘Fellows’. Most colleges have their own dining hall, library and chapel and contain enough accommodation for at least half of their students. The Fellows teach the students, either one-to- one or in very small groups (called ‘tutorials’ in Oxford and ‘supervision’ in Cambridge), the tutorial method brings the tutor into close and personal contact with the student. Before 1970 all Oxford colleges were single-sex
(mostly for men). Now, the majority admits both sexes.

Among other older universities there should be mentioned four Scottish universities, such as St. Andrews (1411), Glasgow (1450), Aberdeen (1494), and Edinburgh (1583). The first of these, being the oldest one, resembles
Oxbridge in many ways, while the other three follow the pattern of more modern universities in that the students live at home or find their own rooms in town. At all of them teaching is organized along the lines of the continental traditions – there is less specialization than at Oxford.

The second group of universities comprises various institutions of higher education, usually with technical study, that by 1900 had sprang up in new industrial towns and cities such as Birmingham, Manchester,
Sheffield and Leeds. They got to be know as civic or ‘redbrick’ universities. Their buildings were made of local material, often brick, in contrast to the stone of older universities, hence the name, ‘redbrick’.
These universities catered mostly for local people. At first they prepared students for London University degree, but later they were given the right to award their own degrees, and so became universities themselves. In the mid-20th century they started to accept students from all over the country.

The third group consists of new universities founded after the Second
World War and later in the 1960s, which saw considerable expansion in new universities. These are purpose-built institutions located in the countryside but close to towns. Examples are East Anglia, Sussex and
Warwick. From their beginning they attracted students from all over the country, and provided accommodation for most of their students in site
(hence their name, ‘campus’ universities). They tend to emphasise relatively ‘new’ academic disciplines such as social science and make greater use than other universities of teaching in small groups, often known as ‘seminars’.

Among this group there are also universities often called ‘never civic’ universities. These were originally technical colleges set up by local authorities in the first half of this century. Their upgrading to university status took place in two waves. The first wave occurred in the mid-1960s, when ten of them were promoted in this way.

Another thirty became ‘polytechnics’, in the early 1970s, which meant that along with their former courses they were allowed to teach degree courses (the degrees being awarded by a national body). Polytechnics were originally expected to offer a broader-based, more practical and vocational education than the universities. In the early 1990s most of the polytechnics became universities. So there are now 80 universities and a further 19 colleges and institutions of higher education in the UK. The country has moved rapidly from a rather elitist system to one which is much more open, if not yet a mass system of higher education.

Higher education in England and Wales is highly selective; i.e. entrance to British universities is via a strict selection process is based on an interview. Applications for first degree courses are usually made through the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS), in
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. After the interview a potential student is offered a place on the basis of GCE A-level exam results. If the student does not get the grades specified in the offer, a place can not be taken up. Some universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, have an entrance exam before the interview stage.

This kind of selection procedure means that not everyone in Britain with A-level qualifications will be offered the chance of a university education. Critics argue that this creates an elitist system with the academic minority in society whilst supporters of the system argue that this enables Britain to get high-quality graduates who have specialized skills. The current system will be modified by the late 90s and into the
21st century, since secondary system is moving towards a broader-based education to replace the specialized ‘A’ level approach. The reasons for this lie in Britain’s need to have a highly skilled and educated workforce, not just an elite few, to meet the needs of the technological era.