Primary education

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Primary education is the first stage of compulsory education. It is preceded by pre-school or nursery education and is followed by secondary education. In North America this stage of education is usually known as elementary education.

In most countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education, though in many jurisdictions it is permissible for parents to provide it. The transition to secondary school or high school is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some educational systems have separate middle schools with the transition to the final stage of education taking place at around the age of fourteen.

The major goals of primary education are achieving basic literacy and numeracy amongst all pupils, as well as establishing foundations in science, geography, history and other social sciences. The relative priority of various areas, and the methods used to teach them, are an area of considerable political debate.

Typically, primary education is provided in schools, where the child will stay in steadily advancing classes until they complete it and move on to high school/secondary school. Children are usually placed in classes with one teacher who will be primarily responsible for their education and welfare for that year. This teacher may be assisted to varying degrees by specialist teachers in certain subject areas, often music or physical education. The continuity with a single teacher and the opportunity to build up a close relationship with the class is a notable feature of the primary education system.

Traditionally, various forms of corporal punishment have been an integral part of early education. Recently this practice has come under attack, and in many cases been outlawed, especially in Western countries.

Contents 1 Albania 2 Australia 2.1 Primary 3 Canada 4 Denmark 5 France 6 Germany 7 Iran 8 Israel 9 Republic of Ireland 10 Japan 11 Morocco 12 Myanmar 13 The Netherlands 14 New Zealand 15 Palestinian territories 16 Poland 17 United Kingdom 17.1 England 17.2 Northern Ireland 17.3 Wales 17.4 Scotland 18 United States 19 See also 20 References 21 External links

[edit] Albania

Main article Education in Albania

[edit] Australia

Main article Education in Australia

[edit] Primary

• Kindergarten: 4-5 year olds
• Preparatory / Reception / Kindergarten (QLD, NSW,VIC and ACT): 5-6 year olds
• Year 1: 6-7 year olds
• Year 2: 7-8 year olds
• Year 3: 8-9 year olds
• Year 4: 9-10 year olds
• Year 5: 10-11 year olds
• Year 6: 11-12 year olds
• Year 7: 12-13 year olds (WA, SA, QLD)

[edit] Canada

Main article Education in Canada

[edit] Denmark

In Denmark, 9 years of primary school (Folkeskole) are compulsory.

Kindergarten (optional): 6-7 years

• 1st grade: 7-8 years
• 2nd grade: 8-9 years
• 3rd grade: 9-10 years
• 4th grade: 10-11 years
• 5th grade: 11-12 years
• 6th grade: 12-13 years
• 7th grade: 13-14 years
• 8th grade: 14-15 years
• 9th grade: 15-16 years

10th grade (optional): 16-17 years

[edit] France

Main article Education in France

[edit] Germany

Main article Education in Germany

The first school for German students is called de:Grundschule.

[edit] Iran

Main article Education in Iran

[edit] Israel

Main article Education in Israel

[edit] Republic of Ireland

Main article Education in the Republic of Ireland

Primary school teaching in Republic of Ireland consists of 8 grades. These are:

• Junior infants
• Senior infants
• 1st class
• 2nd class
• 3rd class
• 4th class
• 5th class
• 6th class

Junior and Senior infants correspond to Kindergarten.

The subjects mainly taught in primary school are:

• English
• Maths
• Irish
• History
• Geography
• Science
• PE (Physical Education),
• Art
• SPHE (Social, Personal, Health Education),
• Religion
• CSPE (Civics, Social, Political Education)

The content of the Religion course taught depends on the management of the school. Many schools are managed and owned by the Catholic Church, with a lesser number belonging to the Church of Ireland and a handful belonging to other religions such as Muslims, or to a new group called "Educate Together" which advocates a neutral approach to religion. Each school body decides on the emphasis of its religious instruction. In Catholic schools 1st and 6th class prepares children for communion and confirmation. In the Church of Ireland this preparation is done when the pupil is aged about 14 years, and is in secondary school.

[edit] Japan

Main article Elementary schools in Japan

[edit] Morocco

Main article Education in Morocco

[edit] Myanmar

Main article Education in Myanmar

[edit] The Netherlands

Main article Education in the Netherlands

Children in the Netherlands must be at least four years old to enter primary education. Almost all 4-year-olds (99.3%) in the Netherlands indeed attend primary school, although this is not compulsory until children reach the age of 5. Primary school is free of charge. In most schools, children are grouped by age in mixed ability classes, with one teacher for all subjects. Primary school consists of 8 groups (thus 8 years of scholing). During the first two years (kindergarten), children receive an average of 22 hours of education, during the last 6 years children receive an average of 25 hours per week. Schools are open 5 days a week, but children are free on Wednesday afternoon. At the end of primary school, in group 8, schools advice on secondary school choice. Most schools use a national test to support this advice, for instance the 'Citotoets', a test developed by the Central Institute for Test development.

group 1: age 4-5 (kindergarten) group 2: age 5-6 (kindergarten) group 3: age 6-7 (school curriculum starts with writing, reading, etc) group 4: age 7-8 group 5: age 8-9 group 6: age 9-10 group 7: age 10-11 group 8: age 11-12 (last school year with advice on secondary school choice)

For more information: [1]

[edit] New Zealand

Main article Education in New Zealand

[edit] Palestinian territories

Main article Education in the Palestinian territories

[edit] Poland

Main article Education in Poland

[edit] United Kingdom

Main article Education in the United Kingdom

Primary education is provided by state schools run by the government and by independent fee-paying schools. In the state system children are either educated in separate infant and junior schools or in a combined primary school. Schools in the private sector providing primary education are generally known as preparatory schools or prep schools. In the private sector the transfer to the final stage of education often takes place at 14.

[edit] England

Main article Education in England

Children start school either in the year or the term in which they reach five depending upon the policy of the Local Education Authority. All state schools are obliged to follow a centralised National Curriculum. The primary school years are split into Key Stages:

• Foundation Stage 1 (in a pre-school/childcare environment)
  • Nursery, age 3 to 4

• Foundation Stage 2 (in an Infant or Primary school)
  • Reception, age 4 to 5

• Key Stage 1 (in an Infant or Primary school)
  • Year 1, age 5 to 6
  • Year 2, age 6 to 7

• Key Stage 2 (in Junior or Primary school)
  • Year 3, age 7 to 8
  • Year 4, age 8 to 9
  • Year 5, age 9 to 10
  • Year 6, age 10 to 11

At the end of Key Stage 2 in Year 6 all children in state primary schools are required to take National Curriculum tests in reading, writing, mathematics and science also called SATs. All state primary schools are under the jurisdiction of the Department for Children, Schools and Families and are required to receive regular inspections by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). Private schools are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

[edit] Northern Ireland

Main article Education in Northern Ireland

Children start school either in the year or the term in which they reach four. All state schools are obliged to follow a centralised National Curriculum. The primary school years are split into Key Stages:

• Primary education
  • Primary school
    • Foundation Stage
      • Primary 1, age 4 to 5
      • Primary 2, age 5 to 6
    • Key Stage 1
      • Primary 3, age 6 to 7
      • Primary 4, age 7 to 8
    • Key Stage 2
      • Primary 5, age 8 to 9
      • Primary 6, age 9 to 10
      • Primary 7, age 10 to 11 (Transfer procedure exams to determine secondary school placement.)

At the end of Key Stage 2 in P7, all children are offered the voluntary Eleven Plus (also called the transfer procedure) examinations, though the parents of thirty percent of children elect not to, and send their kids to secondary schools instead of grammar schools.^[1]

All state primary schools are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education.

[edit] Wales

Main article Primary Education in Wales

[edit] Scotland

Main article Education in Scotland

[edit] United States

Main article Education in the United States

In the US the first stage of compulsory education is generally known as elementary education. It takes place in elementary schools which incorporate the first six or eight grades and sometimes have a kindergarten. Elementary schools in the US are also known as grade schools or grammar schools. In some schools, teachers utilize a "looping system" where the same teacher teaches the same group of students for two years. For example, a third-grade class may have one teacher who would teach those students for an entire year, then that teacher would teach fourth-grade the next year, and thereby teach the same class again. The teacher would then revert back to the third grade the following year to start the process all over with a different group of students.

Over the past few decades, schools in the USA have been testing various arrangements which break from the one-teacher, one-class mould. Multi-age programmes, where children in different grades (e.g. Kindergarten through to second grade) share the same classroom and teachers, is one increasingly popular alternative to traditional elementary instruction. An alternative is that children might have a main class and go to another teacher's room for one subject, such as science, while the science teacher's main class will go to the other teacher's room for another subject, such as social studies. This could be called a two-teacher, two-class mould, or a rotation, similar to the concept of teams in junior high school. Another method is to have the children have one set of classroom teachers in the first half of the year, and a different set of classroom teachers in the second half of the year.

[edit] See also

• Educational stages
• Primary school
• Elementary school
• Category: List of primary and elementary schools by country
• List of education articles by country
• List of schools by country

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• BBC schools website 4-11
• Cognitive Learning in the Environment: Elementary Students
• National Association for Primary Education (UK)
• Online Resources for Primary Students
• Teachers TV Free Resources and Downloads for Primary School Teachers

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