Different "Worlds" of Education
"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself."
John Dewey
John Dewey
Different "Worlds"
Education is one of the biggest parts of one's life. Almost eveyone goes to knidergartens, schools, colleges and universities. Level of literacy is growing and almost every country in the world tries to give at least some level of education to its citizens. Primary goal of education is to prepare students for success in adult life, to help them with their future jobs and activities. However, there is one thing to remember - education differs slightly in different parts of the world.
Today we will dive into the Educational system of western and eastern countries to see how they work, what is different and how does it positions itself in students lifes.
Today we will dive into the Educational system of western and eastern countries to see how they work, what is different and how does it positions itself in students lifes.
Education is a system that always changes and usually improves in some ways. It tends to have one simple goal - give knowledge to young people by the means of studying. Sitting in classroms, reading literature on the topics, doing some tasks, listening to your professor. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It might seem at first that having those universal things means that educational process is quite similar in different parts of the world, but it is not.
Usually, there is a strict classification between West and East. Western world considered to be: North and South America, Europe, Australia and New Zeland as well as some countries in Southern Africa. Eastern world considered to be Asia and Middle East.
Here you can see a map that will give a better undrstanding of the Educational systems in different parts of the world.
Blue countires are the countries of the Western world; Red - Eastern world; Grey countires are either mixed, or simply have some difficulties in education systems and can't really be considered as part of any of those.
Russia is slightly different color, since it is mostly half Western-half Eastern civilization, but mostly closer to Asian region.
Here you can see a map that will give a better undrstanding of the Educational systems in different parts of the world.
Blue countires are the countries of the Western world; Red - Eastern world; Grey countires are either mixed, or simply have some difficulties in education systems and can't really be considered as part of any of those.
Russia is slightly different color, since it is mostly half Western-half Eastern civilization, but mostly closer to Asian region.
Origins
First of all,the two educational systems have profoundly different origin, while Western Europe has its roots in Athens, Rome and Judeo Christianity, Eastern Europe has been influenced by Islam, Confucianism, Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism.
Consequently, Western Education follows the way Plato and ancient Greek thinks, as a result, they value independent learning and critical thinking while on the East passive learning is a more acceptable method.
That is why there is a first main difference: Western education emphasizes on understanding (meaningful learning), whilst Eastern education emphasizes on memorizing (rote learning).
Consequently, Western Education follows the way Plato and ancient Greek thinks, as a result, they value independent learning and critical thinking while on the East passive learning is a more acceptable method.
That is why there is a first main difference: Western education emphasizes on understanding (meaningful learning), whilst Eastern education emphasizes on memorizing (rote learning).
Creativity and efforts
Another big difference is an emphasis on creativity or efforts. Western educational system puts a spotlight on creativity as on one of the most important parts of studying process. Activities tend to make the most out of students individual talents.Tasks usually give some level of freedom of choice as well as an opportunity to do what students want to do. Teachers and professors are trying to make every student interested so they would be more involved.
Eastern education on the other hand is all about effort and struggle. Nothing is hard if you work enough is the main motto of eastern educational system. Children are given enormous amounts of homework and are taught to work hard – that’s why Asian students are often much more productive than their peers when they get into more relaxed Western educational institutions.
That is why western system more student oriented, whereas eastern system is teacher oriented. In the Eastern education system, the teacher is the authority and their words are not to be questioned.
All of this leads to the next important point.
Eastern education on the other hand is all about effort and struggle. Nothing is hard if you work enough is the main motto of eastern educational system. Children are given enormous amounts of homework and are taught to work hard – that’s why Asian students are often much more productive than their peers when they get into more relaxed Western educational institutions.
That is why western system more student oriented, whereas eastern system is teacher oriented. In the Eastern education system, the teacher is the authority and their words are not to be questioned.
All of this leads to the next important point.
Participation in studying
Western educational system keeps moving forward towards making every student into full-fledged participant of studying process . They are encouraged to participate, to ask questions and to debate with their teachers. Critical thinking is one of the top priorities when it comes to skills of the students.
In the East, students are the recipients - which means they are expected to listen and gain knowledge not by participating, but by getting it from their teacher without a lot of participation. Which means they go along with teachers authority and become less active listeners.
In the East, students are the recipients - which means they are expected to listen and gain knowledge not by participating, but by getting it from their teacher without a lot of participation. Which means they go along with teachers authority and become less active listeners.
Types of learning
Because of the different emphasis in learning, and different variants of participation in learning process, types of learning itself differ slightly.
Eastern education is mainly based on book learning and memorization. They focus on classics and exams. Briefly studying textbooks and main information in order to meet a deadline and to be ready for the next exam is a pretty usual tactic. Students learn from memorizing facts, which are often forgotten after a short period of time, rather than understanding. They have to be prepared for the exam, that is why nobody is actually bothered to memorize information in a long term. Students usually tend to care about getting better scores for the tests.
This type of learning usually leads to exhaustion both physically and mentally.
Western education on the other hand has comparatively relaxed pace of learning. This allows better and deeper understanding of the topic they are working on. They spend more time on class and group discussion in order to know how to speak up logically and learn to accept other people’s opinions. They are often given assignments in the format of a report or project and will have to do their own research and gradually develop their independence. Presentations are also expected to be given properly with a clear voice and information, good time-control and stable eye contact. The skill of taking notes directly from the teacher’s lecture replaces following lifeless textbooks. This is the education of training students to be provided with skills they will need in their further studies and future careers.
Eastern education is mainly based on book learning and memorization. They focus on classics and exams. Briefly studying textbooks and main information in order to meet a deadline and to be ready for the next exam is a pretty usual tactic. Students learn from memorizing facts, which are often forgotten after a short period of time, rather than understanding. They have to be prepared for the exam, that is why nobody is actually bothered to memorize information in a long term. Students usually tend to care about getting better scores for the tests.
This type of learning usually leads to exhaustion both physically and mentally.
Western education on the other hand has comparatively relaxed pace of learning. This allows better and deeper understanding of the topic they are working on. They spend more time on class and group discussion in order to know how to speak up logically and learn to accept other people’s opinions. They are often given assignments in the format of a report or project and will have to do their own research and gradually develop their independence. Presentations are also expected to be given properly with a clear voice and information, good time-control and stable eye contact. The skill of taking notes directly from the teacher’s lecture replaces following lifeless textbooks. This is the education of training students to be provided with skills they will need in their further studies and future careers.
Goals of education
The last big difference and probably one of the most important ones is the goal of education as a whole. Obviously, the main idea is to give knowledge, but with a slightly different idea in mind.
Western educational system aims at providing graduates with important practical skills that could be used in their daily life. As well as students should find fulfillment in their studies - study what they like, what they personally need and how they like to, in order to find their place in life.
Eastern education, however, aims at making people more productive – both for themselves and the society in general. They practice, work hard and start moving towards their future since very early childhood. Eastern education doesn't aim at being fun, creative or skills oriented. It aims at being ready for hard work, having theroretical understanding of things and being a succesful part of society.
Western educational system aims at providing graduates with important practical skills that could be used in their daily life. As well as students should find fulfillment in their studies - study what they like, what they personally need and how they like to, in order to find their place in life.
Eastern education, however, aims at making people more productive – both for themselves and the society in general. They practice, work hard and start moving towards their future since very early childhood. Eastern education doesn't aim at being fun, creative or skills oriented. It aims at being ready for hard work, having theroretical understanding of things and being a succesful part of society.
Conclusion
It should be clear now that there are some definite differences between the two education systems. And it is not like western is better than eastern or eastern is better than western. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Western education encourages people to pursue their true interests, producing a broad range of skills and areas of expertise. Eastern education, on the other hand, discourages the pursuit of learning things that have no practical purpose. While western education is a great way to prepare a student for the ordinary life, eastern education is an efficient way of training people to perform tasks that require quick and precise thinking.
This two educational systems produce different values and that is what we should remember. Eastern education gives out the concept that working is the main purpose of life. While this creates some social stability, it also means that the spiritual life of each person is easy to impoverish. On the contrary, Westerners know better how to relish life and this world.
But in fact, if both systems were combined in one and some fine line would have been made - we would have get perfect educational system. This reform is a must and should be considred in the nearest future.
This two educational systems produce different values and that is what we should remember. Eastern education gives out the concept that working is the main purpose of life. While this creates some social stability, it also means that the spiritual life of each person is easy to impoverish. On the contrary, Westerners know better how to relish life and this world.
But in fact, if both systems were combined in one and some fine line would have been made - we would have get perfect educational system. This reform is a must and should be considred in the nearest future.
