This document compares the educational systems of Germany, the United States, England, and Japan. It outlines the compulsory years of education in each country, the organization and structure of their school systems, curriculum focus, funding sources, higher education opportunities, and teacher education requirements. The educational systems vary in their number of required schooling years, types of schools, subject focus, funding models, university structures, and teacher training processes.

1. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF:
UNITED STATES, GERMANY,
JAPAN AND ENGLAND
CAMI LA LORCA
L I S E T T E LEAL

2. EDUCATION IN GERMANY
• Number of compulsory years of education:
• 3-6 kindergarten.
• Compulsory 9 or 10 Years old. 1°- 4 : Elementary
school (Grundschule), where the subjects taught are
the same for all.
• Then, after the 4th grade, they are separated
according to their academic ability and attend one of
three different kinds of
schools: Hauptschule, Realschule or Gymnasium.

3. EDUCATION IN UNITED STATES
• Number of compulsory years of education:
• In the United States, education is compulsory for all
students until ages sixteen to eighteen depending
on the individual state.

4. ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE OF
SCHOOLS
• The majority of German students attend public schools
• The school year consists of two semesters, it starts
around August.
• Breaks are 2 weeks at Christmas and 6 weeks in
summer. (Shorter breaks are around Easter and in
autumn.)

6. ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE OF
SCHOOLS
• Elementary schools (kindergarten and grades 1-5),
middle schools (6-8), and high schools (9-12)
• High school students are required to take a wide
variety of courses in English, mathematics, science,
and social science. They may also be required to
take foreign language or physical education, and
they may elect to take music, art, or theatre
courses.
• College: before applying to a four-year university.

7. CURRICULUM FOCUS
• There can be a lot of homework and heavy
emphasis on the "three Rs" - reading, writing and
aRithmatic. The curriculum expands as students
move up from Grundschule and depends on which
of the three secondary schools they attend.
• The curriculum usually focuses on mostly academic
subjects, even in vocational schools, with a limited
offering of physical education, sports, art, and
music.

8. CURRICULUM FOCUS
• No country-level education system or curriculum
exists in the United States.
• The federal government does not operate public
schools.
• Each of the fifty states has its own Department of
Education that sets guidelines for the schools of that
state.

9. EDUCATIONAL FUNDING
• Funding come from two levels: federal and state.
• Kindergartens are not part of the German public school
system.
• These municipal kindergartens are financed by taxes
and progressive income-based customer fees, but are
not considered part of the public school system.
• A German public school does not charge tuition fees.
• In Germany, most institutions of higher education are
subsidized by German states (public universities)
• Admission to public universities is still cheap,

10. EDUCATIONAL FUNDING
• Public schools also receive funding from the
individual state, and also from local property taxes.
Public colleges and universities receive funding from
the state in which they are located.
• College and university students pay tuition, but
many earn scholarships or receive loans.

11. HIGHER EDUCATION
• There are several varieties of university-level schools.
The classical universities provide a broad general
education and students usually attend them for up
to six years.
• However, in recent years there have been changes
to the curriculum allowing a university student to
acquire a Bachelor Degree after 4 years.
• Technical Universities are more aimed at training
students for specific careers and are usually
attended for four years.

12. HIGHER EDUCATION
• Optional final stage : collegues or universities
• Once admitted, students engage in undergraduate
study, which consists of satisfying university and class
requirements to achieve a bachelor's degree in a
field of concentration known as a major.
• The community college awards the associate's
degree, and the university awards the bachelor's
and master's degrees
• After additional years of study and sometimes in
conjunction with the completion of a master's
degree and/or Ed.S. degree, students may earn a
doctoral degree

13. TEACHER EDUCATION
• Teachers in Germany receive their training in two
stages: a first phase at a university (3-4 years) and a
second phase as a two year practical training at
teacher seminars and selected training schools.
• First stage: During their studies the students have to
complete three months of practical work at schools.
The first stage ends with the First State Examination
that includes a final tesis as well as written and oral
examinations of the studied subjects.
• Second Stage: The second phase of teacher
education is a two year practical training at
teacher seminars and schools. It ends with the
Second State Examination.

14. TEACHER EDUCATION
• The aim of the curriculum of teachers Colleges is to
impart all round comprehensive education for the
prospective teachers. Their function is to integrate
general and professional courses.
• Duration: three to five years.
• Every teacher training programme in America
includes following three basic constituents;
(i) General Education.
(ii) Professional Education, and
(iii) Specialization in a particular field.

15. EDUCATION IN ENGLAND AND JAPAN
• Number of compulsory years of education
• JAPAN: 6 years of primary or elementary school; 3
years of middle or junior high school; 3 years of high
school; and 4 years of university. But only 9 first
years are compulsory.
• UK: 9 years of compulsory education, from Junior
school 7 years to secondary school 12 to 16 years
old

16. ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE OF
SCHOOLS
• JAPAN : 6 years of primary or elementary school; 3
years of middle or junior high school; 3 years of high
school; and 4 years of university. A school year has
three terms: summer, winter and spring, which are
each followed by a vacation period. The school
year begins in April and ends in March of the
following year.
• UK: Infant school: Children from 5-7. Junior school: 7
to 11. Primary school: 12-16 years old. SIXTH FORM
COLLEGE: it is an institute which offers education
through high school, especially for students from
secondary schools without sixth form.

17. CURRICULUM FOCUS:
• Japan: The elementary school curriculum covers
Japanese, social studies, mathematics, science,
music, arts and handicrafts, homemaking and
physical education. At this stage, much time and
emphasis is given to music, fine arts and physical
education.
• UK: English, maths, ciences, informatics, history,
geography, art, music, civic education, physical
education.

18. EDUCATIONAL FUNDING :
• Japan and UK: have both public and private school
foundings.

19. HIGHER EDUCATION:
• The general degree may be followed by two-year Master's
degrees (generally a combination of lectures and guided
research) and then a three year Doctorate (largely based on
research) where these are offered. Public universities are
generally more prestigious than their private ones with only 25
percent of all university-bound students being admitted to
public universities
• UK higher education is split into two levels:
- Undergraduate programmes include bachelors degrees,
foundation degrees, higher national diplomas and more
- Postgraduate programmes include masters degrees, MBAs,
PhDs, doctorates and more. Usually you need an
undergraduate qualification to enter a postgraduate
programme.

20. TEACHER EDUCATION:
• JAPAN A prospective teacher meets the formal academic
requirements through successful completion of prescribed
courses of study in a postsecondary institution. However, no
matter how good one's academic record may have been,
graduation from a university is not sufficient for appointment to
a teaching position.
• UK: The training of primary and secondary school teachers is
the same: teachers must hold a first degree and a
Postgraduate Certificate of Education awarded by a
university or college of higher education. Alternatively, they
must hold a Bachelor of Education (BEd) Degree and have a
qualified teacher status (QTS) which can be obtained after
successful completion of an approved course of initial teacher
training
•