The Student Room Group

Which country has the best education system in the world?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/sep/25/schoolsworldwide.schools

Finland?

60% of the population are graduates.

You need a masters to be a teacher.

Some kid in the article is reading Harry Potter after studying English for only three years.

+ their language is impossible to learn I've tried and failed in this respect.

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Reply 1
All Scandinavian countries have the best education system. Most of them speak better English than the English themselves too.
Mozambique
Reply 3
Having a Masters to be a teacher is a bit of overkill. I hardly think you need a Masters degree in art to teach a 6 yr old how to draw a dog. Also having 60% of people graduating from university doesn't mean Finland has a good education system it just means it's incredibly egalitarian. Which eliminates the whole point of University, which is meant to be differentiating the most intelligent.
Reply 4
I don't know about primary education in Scandinavia (Norway to be specific), I thought it was ridiculously easy when I was younger. But then again my parent's made me practically eat books at a super young age.
Tanzania, by a country mile.
I heard Hungary was quite good, Scandinavia also.
Reply 7
Traditional British education which now manifests itself in the independent sector of schools across the UK; and if you include universities too then the extension goes without saying.

Undoubtedly the best education system in the world by a phenomenal margin. It in fact perplexes me why the British are nowhere near as proud of this accomplishment as they are of other achievements which are harped on about so much by the tabloids amongst others.
Reply 8
Original post by Ahras
I don't know about primary education in Scandinavia (Norway to be specific), I thought it was ridiculously easy when I was younger. But then again my parent's made me practically eat books at a super young age.


Yes, I agree with it being ridiculously easy. I spent year 4 in Norway, and had to do maths with the students a year above me.

One thing they don't do in Norway is separate the students according to ability, which seems to leave the brighter children without challenging material and the less able children needing a bit of support.

They have compulsory college education, but free University education though.

I'm not going to comment on the rest of the scandinavian nations, as I have no experience or knowledge of them!
Reply 9
Original post by Mittalmar
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/sep/25/schoolsworldwide.schools

Finland?

60% of the population are graduates.

You need a masters to be a teacher.

Some kid in the article is reading Harry Potter after studying English for only three years.

+ their language is impossible to learn I've tried and failed in this respect.


This thread has already been done dozens of times. And yes we know it's apparently Finland, but what someone can define as best is subjective. The article is over 5 years old as well.

And reading Harry Potter doesn't mean he is fluent in English or can understand it properly, he is only reading that version because the Finnish one isn't out yet.

A teacher who has a masters is not necessarily better than a teacher who only has a Bachelor's degree.

And whether you think learning their language is impossible is your own opinion.
(edited 13 years ago)
São Tomé and Príncipe's system is pretty damn good, i found this the other day:~

Education in São Tomé and Príncipe is compulsory for four years. Primary school enrollment and attendance rates were unavailable for São Tomé and Principe as of 2001. The educational system has a shortage of classrooms, insufficiently trained and underpaid teachers, inadequate textbooks and materials, high rates of repetition, poor educational planning and management, and a lack of community involvement in school management. Domestic financing of the school system is lacking, leaving the system highly dependent on foreign financing.
For higher education I would say the US.
Reply 12
'Merica.
Reply 13
Original post by DreadfullyFun
Yes, I agree with it being ridiculously easy. I spent year 4 in Norway, and had to do maths with the students a year above me.

One thing they don't do in Norway is separate the students according to ability, which seems to leave the brighter children without challenging material and the less able children needing a bit of support.

They have compulsory college education, but free University education though.

I'm not going to comment on the rest of the scandinavian nations, as I have no experience or knowledge of them!



I was born and raised there, but yes that's the problem! It really undermines the more capable students and restricts them a lot! Though things get better by the time one gets to Higher Education (or so I've been told)
Reply 14
Original post by Mittalmar

Some kid in the article is reading Harry Potter after studying English for only three years.


So what, a large part how I learned English was by reading books (such as Redwall, or Narnia). This really isn't that impressive. It might seem so because in England foreign languages are seen as a horror, but they have a totally different attitude, the atmosphere for learning it is totally different.
Reply 15
Original post by Mastermind`
Tanzania, by a country mile.


I see what you did there.
Reply 16
Original post by DJkG.1
Traditional British education which now manifests itself in the independent sector of schools across the UK; and if you include universities too then the extension goes without saying.

Undoubtedly the best education system in the world by a phenomenal margin. It in fact perplexes me why the British are nowhere near as proud of this accomplishment as they are of other achievements which are harped on about so much by the tabloids amongst others.


No.

And actually, English unis may be ranked higher than European ones, but I can assure you that the actual standard of teaching is higher at European universities.
Reply 17
From Article:
Nico Kalja, 14, sits in a corner of teacher Jorma Kuittinen's special needs class and says - in English - that it's all 'bull****' and he would rather be on his PlayStation or listening to Metallica.
Reply 18
Original post by danny111
And actually, English unis may be ranked higher than European ones, but I can assure you that the actual standard of teaching is higher at European universities.


How?
Reply 19
Original post by Mittalmar
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/sep/25/schoolsworldwide.schools

Finland?

60% of the population are graduates.

You need a masters to be a teacher.

Some kid in the article is reading Harry Potter after studying English for only three years.

+ their language is impossible to learn I've tried and failed in this respect.


I agree with most of those statements except the 60% graduates one. How do we know that that 59% of those graduates aren't from **** Universities with **** degrees?

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