Difference Between Education In School And Higher Schools Or Universities

Primary and Secondary Education System

There is a difference between the education that is given in schools and the education that is given in higher schools or universities. I have gone through many books and institution where I found that the primary education usually consisted of people who were of the age 4 to 11. The reception class is also included, which was followed by years 1 to 6. It is commonly called the junior section. The children are taught the subjects by one particular class teacher and there are not more than 30 students in a class room. If the number of students is in increased number in a particular class the entire class is divided into two different sections. On the other hand the secondary education system consists of the children whose age is between 11 to 16 years.

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This is an important part of the secondary education as in this form of education the students will learn new things that will be taught to them by the specialized teachers. They will not be taught by only one individual teacher. At the age of 16, the students take exams that are called GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education). The further education include for the ones whose age is between 16 and 18. It is mandatory for the students to attend the education till the age of 18. Once a student attains the age of 18, they will be allowed to attend the higher education. The students either attend the college for the further education or they attend vocational training. The students during the higher education are exposed to different competitions and challenges.

  1. The distinction between learning in the School environment and Higher Education

            The main difference between the higher education and the secondary education is that while we study in the university we need to remain self-motivated. In the education that is provided in the school the children are taken care of by the teachers. However, in the system of higher education the children are not prompted by the teachers. The student is expected to do their work on their own. The other difference that I have found between school and university is that the nature of learning is different. The university follows the independent learning which the students find difficult to deal with once they come to the college after they pass out from the schools.

The most prominent difference is the size of the higher education and the secondary school. We can consider our high school as a separate community and in that case we can think of the university as a separate city. The other thing that forms the basic difference is the study that interests us. The university education is considered to be the initial step to have control over the learning of the individual. It is different from the secondary education. In secondary education system we are required to study the subjects as some of them were compulsory. This system of education is very different in the university education system. The subjects that are being taught in the university are not compulsory but it comes under specialization.

The GCSEs and Further Education

During the higher studies, it is not compulsory for the students to study all the subjects. The responsibility of the students changes when they are transferred from the secondary school to the higher education. The students while learning in the schools are not expected to undertake all the responsibilities on their own. The teachers are held responsible for the way a subject is being taught. The teacher is responsible for the way to studies a subject on the other hand the students in the higher education system are responsible for their own action. They are responsible for identifying the best way to study and complete your assignments on time.

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            The other thing that is different is the availability of the teachers in both the systems of education. The contact time is the time that we spend at the universities while attending the lectures and the tutorials. At the secondary levels we are expected to spend time about generally more than 30 hours a week at school the students does not get enough time to contact. This means that while reading in the universities we are expected to do our work on our own outside the classroom.

            Culture is the other important thing that is different. The rules are regulations inside the classrooms are extremely strict and they follow a particular pedagogy. On the other hand, the rules and regulations are not that strict in the universities. There is a particular dress code in the secondary level of education. In the higher education system it is not mandatory to attend all the classes. A high standard of behaviour is expected and no form of discrimination will be tolerated. The universities are not just about learning and teaching.

  1. Engagement with critical reading and thinking

As per Savery’s (2015) opinion, it can be stated that the schools and colleges represent the educational systems of the country. The schools include the primary and the secondary education. On the other hand college is generally referred to as an institution for the higher education. In order to understand the difference between the two forms of education we should keep in mind that we should always keep in account that the usage of these words might change from one country to the other country.

Simmons (2017) critically argues that in many countries like United Kingdom, the school generally refers to the pre-university institutions which are further segregated into pre-schools, primary schools and secondary schools. In North America, the term school might refer to any educational institution at any level like preschool, kindergarten, middle school, college, university etc. Therefore it is difficult to identify the differences between them, as the meanings are subjected to change depending upon the country for which the term is used for.

Differences in Learning and Responsibilities

            While studying the term, it can be mentioned that Bowen (2018) have made an extensive study where he extracted that the word school has been derived from the Greek word, “ schole”, whose original meaning was “leisure”. It later was found that schools were developed to group the students at a centralized location and then provide a learning environment. The schools are developed in order to group the students at a centralized location and then provide a learning environment.

The schools are developed with the goals of providing a separate learning environment for the students. This form of education is usually formal in nature, which is found in many places. The schools are being divided broadly into private and government schools, which are funded by government. In this the government takes the responsibility of the school. It is the opposite in case of the private schools. In this process, the fees are generally collected from students in private schools. The private organizations handle the school’s management.

            According to Al-Emran, Elsherif and Shaalan (2016), the colleges on the other hand include the institutions that are for higher education. This varies from country to country. In general it is used to specify an educational institution that is on a higher level than a school. The students usually specify on a particular subject. They are free from the strict guidance that they receive in schools. In colleges the lecture is being delivered by the professionals who are expert in some particular subjects. Moreover, it is important to lead, manage and organize the schools in order to use the necessary skills and abilities for prioritizing, establishing as well as achieving the goals. In addition to this, the organizations should also focus upon the legal structures, issues and concepts as they are related to the higher education of the students.

Some of the vital issues that surround the higher education also involve affirmative actions taken by the management, privatization, speech codes, sexual harassment, academic freedom and other factors. Furthermore, student learning as well as development is also a vital procedure for the organizational development. This involves an understanding of the post secondary education, which impacts upon the students’ learning process and their development. Moreover, they should be exposed towards various developmental theories that include cognitive structural, psychological, college impact and typology theories. This will ensure the enhancement of the roles as an administrator and also the study of recent trends on pedagogy.

  1. Conclusion

Therefore, it can be concluded that while considering these two different terms it is important to understand the difference between the two. In schools, the attendance policies are stricter as compared to the colleges. The schools keep a close track on studies and thus home work is provided to the students. In colleges, the group of students belong to the matured group and they can take their own decisions. The students in the colleges are given assignments and in the schools they are given homework. However, both the institutions aim at providing quality education to the students. They try to build good relation with their students and to create good individuals, so that they can influence others for the greater good.

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Merchant, Z., Goetz, E.T., Cifuentes, L., Keeney-Kennicutt, W. and Davis, T.J., 2014. Effectiveness of virtual reality-based instruction on students’ learning outcomes in K-12 and higher education: A meta-analysis. Computers & Education, 70, pp.29-40.

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Simmons, R.G., 2017. Moving into adolescence: The impact of pubertal change and school context. Routledge.

Wiliam, D. and Thompson, M., 2017. Integrating assessment with learning: What will it take to make it work?. In The future of assessment (pp. 53-82). Routledge.