US vs Swiss Education: 7 Reasons Why Switzerland Wins - Essay Sample

Introduction

Education is deemed one of the development indicators since the more educated the people of a country, the higher the chances of that country of having experts to work in various professions and fields. Hence, an evaluation of the differences and similarities of education standards in the United States and Switzerland reveals fundamental ramifications for development. Quora (2014), for instance, favors Switzerland over the USA by giving seven reasons that make him appreciate Switzerland over the USA. Among the seven is that education in Switzerland is almost free especially for undergraduates. In sharp contrast, education in the USA is quite expensive. It is no wonder that the Swiss are better educated than Americans, this is evident in the variety of languages spoken by the Swiss compared to the average American. Swiss people speak at least between 2 and 3 languages to varying degrees. Most United States of America citizens just speak English (Gewertz, 2019). Whereas it takes up to 14 years of schooling in the United States, in Switzerland learning takes a maximum of 13 years. From the onlook, it is apparent that the United States cannot match up to Switzerland in education as a development attribute.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Switzerland has an apprenticeship program for graduates that lasts between 2 - 4 years depending on the industry, in the USA internship can last only a couple of months (Swiss Education, 2019). Consequently, staff in the nation of Switzerland are far better equipped than their counterparts in the USA as beginners in any industry owing to on the job training and education that proves more effective. Even the management of the education sector in Switzerland turns out to be better suited for enhancing efficacy as opposed to the United States although there are few similarities. Education funding for both USA and Switzerland are done by their governments. In the USA local, state, and federal governments provide funds to various categories of learning institutions under their specific jurisdictions (Gewertz, 2019). The same is the case in Switzerland as the states fully fund the schools in their localities. The difference in the management of funds is such that individual schools are given the autonomy to spend the monies allocated to them by the government in the USA whereas in Switzerland only State governments can spend the monies on behalf of the schools ensuring that no pilferage of funds is realized.

Statistics indicate that the Swiss government spends about $14922 annually to educate one student. Consequently, that translates to about 5.2% of the GDP of Switzerland (Swiss Education, 2019). In contrast, the USA spends more on a student with an estimate of $15171 per student which is about 5.5% of the GDP annually (Gewertz, 2019). The comparison shows that government expenditure on education per student is relatively similar between the two countries, an indication that both countries value the education that is given to each student. An analysis of the enrollment rate indicates that Switzerland enrolls about 1.75 million people in its schools annually whereas the United States 49.8 million students enrolled in its schools (Gewertz, 2019). However, this comparison does not put into consideration the fact that the United States has a bigger population of residents than Switzerland and therefore, cannot be an accurate comparison of development between the two nations. A common feature on enrollment and literacy, however, is the fact that in both USA and Switzerland literacy levels are at 99% and enrollment rates virtually at 100% (Gewertz, 2019; Swiss Education, 2019). Consequently, both countries are dedicated to ensuring the success of their education systems by making certain that transition rates from one level of learning to the next are adequate and all-encompassing.

When comparing early childhood education between Switzerland and the USA, it is noted that pre-school is not mandatory in the USA as elementary school begins at the age of four and most children will enroll at the age of five. The elementary school takes about six years and until age 11 pupils enrolled in elementary classes learn basic math skills, sciences, and reading skills. In complete contrast, Switzerland nursery school lasts only two years and by the age of six, all children should have enrolled in primary school. Primary school depends on canton where the subjects are taken up will determine whether primary school ends at grades 4, 5 or 6. The education system in Switzerland begins specializing the child in a particular field of learning early on in life which ensures that the path they choose in education is consistent and leads them to a definite career in adulthood (Swiss Education, 2019). In comparison, the grading system in the United States does not allow students to specialize early on and are seemingly taught from a general perspective until they get into high school or middle school where specialization can take shape (Gewertz, 2019). As a result, debate is rife on whether Switzerland is forcing students to specialize too early in their development as opposed to the USA that allows the students to make informed choices when they are mature.

Secondary school education in Switzerland lasts about 12 to 13 years and is over when the child is about 18-19 years. Secondary education assists learners in gaining knowledge that will be crucial for their apprenticeship after high school. In contrast, secondary school in the United States is split into middle-school and high school. Middle-school is comprised of grades 6-8 whereas high school is comprised of grades 9-12. High school is the point where students are introduced to career options after which they can specialize when they select areas of study in colleges and universities. Higher education in the USA is neither mandatory nor is it funded by the government. For that reason, it is quite expensive and that means that only a minority of the population in the USA can afford college education let alone varsity education. Only 30% of Americans enroll in colleges and universities that are a little under 5000 college varsity campuses countrywide (Gewertz, 2019). Similarly, a college education is not a requirement in Switzerland although it is an added advantage. There are only 14 varsities that Swiss high school graduates can enroll or choose several available technical schools where they can gain physical skills in various fields (Swiss Education, 2019).

When all factors are considered, it is apparent that the education system in Switzerland is better than that of the United States despite the several similarities that present for both. Notably, the Switzerland education system proves to work better since it enables students to learn about various trades and prepare them with industry-specific skills that can empower them in the pursuit of their careers. In that esteem, when the curtains are pulled Switzerland compares favorably to the USA in the education aspect of development.

References

Gewertz, C. (2019, January 24). US high school grad rate reaches another all-time high. But what does it mean? Education Week. Retrieved from https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/high_school_and_beyond/2019/01/2017_high_school_graduation_rate.html

Quora, M. R. (2014, July 30). 7 reasons why life is better in Switzerland than America. Business Insider. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/switzerland-is-better-than-america-2014-7?IR=T

Swiss Education. (2019). Compulsory education. Retrieved 5 5, 2019, from swisseducation.educa.ch: https://swisseducation.educa.ch/en/compulsory-education-0