Primary Education

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 and is generally followed by middle school.
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, mathematics, 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 area 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.
Education in Australia
Kindergarten/Pre-School (ACT, NSW): 4-5 year olds
Preparatory/Reception/Kindergarten (VIC, QLD, SA, NSW 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)
Education in Brazil
Year 1: 6 year olds (former pre-school)
Year 2: 7 year olds
Year 3: 8 year olds
Year 4: 9 year olds
Year 5: 10 year olds
Year 6: 11 year olds
Year 7: 12 year olds
Year 8: 13 year olds
Year 9: 14 year olds
Education in Canada
Primary (Kindergarten) (Ages 4–5) students in the Prairie Provinces are not required by statute to attend kindergarten.
Grade 1 (Ages 5–7)
Grade 2 (Ages 6–8)
Grade 3 (Ages 7–9)
Grade 4 (Ages 8–10)
Grade 5 (Ages 9–11)
Grade 6 (Ages 10–12)
DenmarkIn Denmark, 9 years of primary school (Folkeskole) are compulsory.
Kindergarten (optional): 6–7 years
1st grade: 7–9 years
2nd grade: 9–10 years
3rd grade: 10–11 years
4th grade: 11–12 years
5th grade: 12–13 years
6th grade: 13–14 years
7th grade: 14–15 years
8th grade: 15–16 years
9th grade: 16–17 years
10th grade (optional): 17–18 years
Education in Finland
9 years of primary school (Peruskoulu) 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
Education in France
Nursery:Petite Section (3 years old)
Reception:Moyenne Section (4 years old)
Year 1:Grande Section (5 years old)
Year 2:CP (cours préparatoire)(6 years old)
Year 3:CE1 (cours élémentaire 1)(7 years old)
Year 4:CE2 (cours élémentaire 2)(8 years old)
Year 5:CM1 (cours moyen 1)(9 years old)
Year 6:CM2 (cours moyen 2)(10 years old)
This section requires expansion.
Education in Germany
The first school for German children is called de:Grundschule. It takes usually four years, the pupils are between six and ten years old. The education consists of learning to read, write, basic math and general knowledge. In some schools, a first foreign language is introduced, usually English. In the final year of primary school, children receive a recommendation as to which further school they can attend.
Kindergarten: 3–5 years
Grade 1: 6–7 years
Grade 2: 7–8 years
Grade 3: 8–9 years
Grade 4: 9–10 years
Depending on the recommendation they received from their teacher, children proceed to their mandatory secondary education in either Hauptschule (Grades 5-10), Realschule (Grades 5-10), or Gymnasium (Grades 5-12). Upon the successful completion of Grades 11 and 12 in the Gymnasium, students receive the Abitur, a diploma with the permission to enter post-secondary education (similar to the A-level or High School Diploma). The Abitur will not be received at the end of Haupt- and Realschule, but graduating students are eligible to enter the 11th Grade of the Gymnasium if they wish to obtain the Abitur.
Education in Hungary
Primary School education for children in Hungary takes 8 years.
1st grade: 6–7 years
2nd grade: 7–8 years
3rd grade: 8–9 years
4th grade: 9–10 years
5th grade: 10–11 years
6th grade: 11–12 years
7th grade: 12–13 years
8th grade: 13–14 years
Education in Iceland
In Iceland, 10 years of primary school (Grunnskóli) are compulsory.
Primary school teaching in Iceland consists of 10 grade levels. These are:
1st grade: 6–7 years
2nd grade: 7–8 years
3rd grade: 8–9 years
4th grade: 9–10 years
5th grade: 10–11 years
6th grade: 11–12 years
7th grade: 12–13 years
8th grade: 13–14 years
9th grade: 14–15 years
10th grade: 15–16 years
Education in India
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is the apex body for school education in India. The NCERT provides support and technical assistance to a number of schools in India and oversees many aspects of enforcement of education policies. In India, the various bodies governing school education system are:
The state government boards, in which the majority of Indian children are enrolled.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board.
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board.
The National Institute of Open Schooling.
International schools affiliated to the International Baccalaureate Programme and/or the Cambridge International Examinations.
Islamic Madrasah schools, whose boards are controlled by local state governments, or autonomous, or affiliated with Darul Uloom Deoband.
Autonomous schools like Woodstock School, Auroville, Patha Bhavan and Ananda Marga Gurukula.
Primary school teaching in India consists of 12 grade (classes) levels. These are:
Kindergarten: nursery - 3 years, Lower Kindergarten (LKG) -4 years, Upper Kindergarten (UKG) - 5 years
1st class: 6 years
2nd class: 7 years
3rd class: 8 years
4th class: 9 years
5th class: 10 years
6th class: 11 years
7th class: 12 years
8th class: 13 years
9th class: 14 years
10th class: 15 years
11th class: 16 years
12th class: 17 years
This section requires expansion.  
Primary school teaching in Republic of Ireland consists of 8 class levels. These are:
Junior Infants (4–5 years)
Senior Infants (5–6 years)
1st class (6–7 years)
2nd class (7–8 years)
3rd class (8–9 years)
4th class (9–10 years)
5th class (10–11 years)
6th class (11–12 years)
Junior and Senior infants correspond to Kindergarten.
The subjects mainly taught in primary school are:
English
Maths
Gaelic
History
Geography
Science
PE (Physical Education),
Art
Drama
Music
SPHE (Social, Personal, Health Education),
Religion
The content of the Religion course taught depends on the management of the school. Many schools are managed and owned by the Roman Catholic Church, with a lesser number belonging to the Church of Ireland and a handful run by 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 2nd and 6th class prepare children for Holy Communion and Confirmation respectively. In the Church of Ireland this preparation is done when the pupil is aged about 14 years, and is in secondary school.
Children may start at primary school at any age between four and six years of age. Most children finish primary school at or around twelve years of age.
ItalyPrimary school teaching in Italy consists of 5 grades. Before the First Grade, there is the kindergarten (scuola materna in Italian), but it's not compulsory.
Elementary
First Grade (6–7 years)
Second Grade (7–8 years)
Third Grade (8–9 years)
Fourth Grade (9–10 years)
Fifth Grade (10–11 years)
Schools used to have a six day school week, Monday to Saturday. Lately, as of 2008, most elementary and middle schools have reduced the school week to five days, with high schools remaining with six.
Elementary schools in Japan
English will become a compulsory subject at primary schools in Japan. Japan plans to implement English into the curriculum April 2011 in order to compete with other Asian countries in English proficiency; Japanese students have among the lowest English TOEFL scores in Asia.
Education in Malaysia
Primary education is compulsory in Malaysia. Children usually spend 6 years in primary school. In Year 6, students sit for a standardized test, the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR, Primary School Assessment Examination).
Year 1 : age 6 - 7
Year 2 : age 7 - 8
Year 3 : age 8 - 9
Year 4 : age 9 - 10
Year 5 : age 10 - 11
Year 6 : age 11 - 12
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. The first two years children are also free on Friday 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:
year 1:5-6
year 2:6-7
year 3:7-8
year 4:8-9
year 5:9-10
year 6:10-11
year 7:11-12
year 8:12-13
year 9:13-14
year 10:14-15
year 11:15-16
year 12:16-17
year 13:17-18
Education in Poland
Primary School:
0th - 5-6 years old
1th - 6-7 years old
2th - 7-8 years old
3th - 8-9 years old
4th - 9-10 years old
5th - 10-11 yars old
6th - 11-12 years old
Secondary School:
1th 12-13 years old
2th 13-14 years old
3th 14-15 years old
Higher school To 18+ years old.
In Polish education children end school, when they are 18 years old.
Education in Portugal
In Portugal, the primary education (ensino primário) used to include the first four years of compulsory education (1ª classe, 2ª classe, 3ª classe and 4ª classe), their pupils being children between six and ten years old. After the education reform of 1986, the former primary education became the 1st cycle of the basic education (1º ciclo do ensino básico).
Basic education now includes:
1st cycle (1º ciclo) - former primary education
1st year
2nd year
3rd year
4th year
2nd cycle (2º ciclo) - former preparatory education
5th year
6th year
3rd cycle (3º ciclo) -former preparatory education (continuation)
7th year
8th year
9th year
10th year - former general course of the secondary education
11th year
12th year (around 17/18th years old)
University three years of studies Bachelor degree
University two years of studies Graduation
University post-graduation 1 year of studies
University two more years of studies master's degree
University two more years of studies doctor
Education in Singapore
Primary education in Singapore, normally starting at age six, is a four-year foundation stage (Primary 1 to 4) and a two-year orientation stage (Primary 5 to 6). Primary education is compulsory and free, though there is a fee of up to SGD 13 monthly per student to help cover miscellaneous costs.
During the foundation stage, all students are taught English Language as a first language, a mother tongue as a second language and Mathematics. Science is introduced from Primary 3 onwards. In addition to these examinable subjects, lessons in Civics and Moral Education, arts and crafts, music, health education, social studies and physical education are conducted at various levels. Students are also introduced to project work, receive pastoral care and career guidance, and are to participate in Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programmes.
In the orientation stage, weaker students are banded based on their abilities in the four examinable subjects. Known as "Subject-based Banding", they take individual subjects either at the standard or foundation level. Conversely, higher mother tongue is offered for higher ability students.
Education in Sweden
During the year before children start compulsory school, all children are offered a place in a pre-school class (förskoleklass), which combines the pedagogical methods of the pre-school with those of compulsory school. Between ages 7 and 15, children attend compulsory comprehensive school (grundskola), divided in three stages. The vast majority of schools in Sweden are municipally-run, but there are also independent schools. The education in independent schools has many objectives in common with the municipal school, but it can have an orientation that differs from that of the municipal schools.
Education in Syria
9 years of primary school are compulsory.
Kindergarten (optional): 5–6 years
1st grade: 6–7 years
2nd grade: 7–8 years
3rd grade: 8–9 years
4th grade: 9–10 years
5th grade: 10–11 years
6th grade: 11–12 years
7th grade: 12–13 years
8th grade: 13–14 years
9th grade: 14–15 years
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.
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.
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.
All state primary schools are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education.
Education in Scotland
In Scotland children typically spend seven years in a primary school, whose years are named P1 to P7. Children enter P1 at the age of four or five (according to a combination of birth date and parental choice).
Primary 1 (aged 4-6)
Primary 2 (aged 6-7)
Primary 3 (aged 7-8)
Primary 4 (aged 8-9)
Primary 5 (aged 9-10)
Primary 6 (aged 10-11)
Primary 7 (aged 11-12)

At the age of 11-12 children usually transfer to local State Secondary Schools or Public/Private (fee-paying) Schools,
Children in Wales spend 7 years at primary school between the ages of 4 and 11.
Education in the United States
In the United States the first stage of compulsory education is generally known as elementary education. It takes place in elementary schools which usually incorporate the first five or six grades and sometimes include 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 again 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 model. Multi-age programs, 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. Another 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.
English as a second languageMain article: English as a foreign or second language
Definition English as a second language (ESL) by definition refers to the specialized instruction designed for students who are either limited in English proficiency or have a primary language other than English. The government oftentimes refers to EL students as Limited English Proficient (LEP) students.
History of the English language in the United StatesDuring European settlement, early in the history of the United States of America a variety of languages were spoken, not to mention the language of the indigenous peoples who were the first to live in the continent. However, when the United States was forming as a country, it became clear that English would undoubtedly become the language of the country. As influential men such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay strived to establish a distinguished American society and culture, they created an American identity that reflected their own Anglo-Saxon cultural identity. English did not become the official language, but it was the language of schools, the government, and the laws.
Similarly, throughout the course of United States history, there have been massive immigration into the country that have created communities where the population speaks languages other than English.
Statistics 6% of all schools in the United States have English as a second language students, with certain states having large numbers of English as a second language students
87% of Arizona schools have ESL students
90% of California schools have ESL students
96% of Hawaii schools have ESL students
Only 18% of all schools offer bilingual education programs and 43% offer ESL programs. However, 27% of these schools find it difficult or impossible to fill these teaching positions with qualified instructors. Therefore, many English as a second language students are inadequately served.
California
60% of ESL students in California high schools have not achieved written proficiency in the language, even after six years of a U.S. education
1/4 of all public school attendees in California are English-learners — 1.6 million, "the largest bloc of English-learners in the nation"
Unequal access to trained teachersStudents that are learning English as a second language require teachers with specialized training. However, the demand for teachers with specialized training does not meet the amount of ESL students; there is a significantly low percentage of teachers well prepared to teach. Thus, English learners are more likely to be placed in classes that are taught by teachers who are not fully credentialed. According to the 2000 Class Size Reduction (CSR) teacher survey, 53% of English learners enrolled in grades 1-4, in California, during the 1999-2000 school year, were taught by a teacher with prior specialized training. EL students are less likely than their English-speaking peers to have a qualified teacher direct classroom instruction in their classes. This inevitably creates challenges for the EL students as their needs are not met.
Millennium Development Goals
Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
By the year 2015, the UN hopes to ensure that children everywhere regardless of race or gender, will be able to complete primary schooling.
Progress According to the United Nations, in 2008, overall enrollment in primary education in developing areas reached 89 percent. This was a major increase from the 83 percent in 2000. Due to the fact that the United Nations is specifically focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, as they are both home to the vast majority of children out of school, they hypothesize that they might not be able to reach their goal by 2015. According to the September 2010 fact sheet, this is because there are still about 69 million school-age children are not in school and almost half of them are in sub-Saharan Africa and more than a quarter are in Southern Asia.
To achieve the goalIn order to achieve the goal by 2015, the United Nations estimates that all children at the official entry age for primary school would have had to be attending classes by 2009. This would depend on the duration of the primary level as well as how well the school schools retain students until the end of the cycle. In half of the sub-Saharan African countries, however, "at least one in four children of primary-school age were out of school in 2008." Also, not only is it important for children to be enrolled but countries will need to ensure that there are a sufficient amount of teachers and classrooms to meet the demand. As of 2010 and 2015, the number of new teachers needed in sub-Saharan Africa alone equals the current teaching force in the region.
Close gender gapThe gender gap in the number of students not in school has also narrowed. Between 1999 and 2008, the number of girls not in school decreased from 57 percent to 53 percent globally. In some regions, however, there is a greater percentage; for example, in Northern Africa, 66 percent of "out-of-school children" are girls.
What has been doneAccording to the United Nations, there are many things in the regions that have been accomplished. Although enrollment in the sub-Saharan area of Africa continues to be the lowest of all regions, by 2010 "it still increased by 18 percentage points - from 58 per cent to 76 per cent-between 1999 and 2008." There was also progress in both Southern Asia and Northern Africa, where both countries witnessed an increase in enrollment. Southern Asia increased by 11 percentage points and Northern Africa by 8 percentage points over the last decade. Also, major advances have been made even in some of the poorest countries, again the majority of them in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. With the abolition of primary school fees in Burundi, there was an increase in primary-school enrollment since 1999; it reached 99 percent in 2008. The United Republic of Tanzania experienced a similar outcome. The country doubled its enrollment ratio over the same period. Other regions in Latin America such as Guatemala and Nicaragua as well as Zambia in Southern Africa "broke through the 90 percent towards greater access to primary education."

Preschool Education

Preschool education or Infant education is the provision of education for children before the commencement of statutory and obligatory education, usually between the ages of zero and three or five, depending on the jurisdiction.

In British English, nursery school or simply "nursery" or playgroup is the usual term for preschool education, although the term preschool is also commonly used. In the United States preschool and Pre-K are used, while "nursery school" is an older term.

Preschool work is organized within a framework that professional educators create. The framework includes structural (administration, class size, teacher-child ratio, services, etc.), process (quality of classroom environments, teacher-child interactions, etc.), and alignment (standards, curriculum, assessments) components that are associated with each individual unique child that has both social and academic outcomes. At each age band, appropriate curriculum should be applied. For example, it would be normal to teach a child how to count 10 after 4 years old. Arguably the first pre-school institution was opened in 1816 by Robert Owen in New Lanark, Scotland. The Hungarian countess Theresa Brunszvik followed in 1828. In 1837, Friedrich Fröbel opened one in Germany, coining the term "kindergarten".

The areas of development which preschool education covers varies from country to country. However, the following main themes are represented in the majority of systems.
Personal, social, economical, and emotional development
Communication, including sign language, talking and listening
Knowledge and understanding of the world
Creative and aesthetic development
Educational software
Mathematical awareness and development
Physical development
Physical health
Playing

Teamwork
Self-help skills
Social skills
Scientific thinking
Creative arts
Literacy

Allowing preschool aged children to discover and explore freely within each of these areas of development is the foundation for developmental learning. While the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association of Child Care Professionals (NACCP) have made tremendous strides in publicizing and promoting the idea of developmentally appropriate practice, there is still much work to be done. It is widely recognized that although many preschool educators are aware of the guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice, putting this practice to work effectively in the classroom is more challenging. The NAEYC published that although 80% of Kindergarten classrooms claim to be developmentally appropriate, only 20% actually are.

Age and ImportanceIt is well established that the most important years of learning are begun at birth. A child's brain at this age is making connections that will last the rest of their life. During these early years, a human being is capable of absorbing more information at a time than they will ever be able to again. The environment of the young child influences the development of cognitive skills and emotional skills due to the rapid brain growth that occurs in the early years. Studies have shown that high quality preschools have a short and long term effect in improving the outcomes of a child, especially a disadvantaged child.
However, some more recent studies dispute the accuracy of the earlier results which cited benefits to preschool education, and actually point at preschool being detrimental to a child's cognitive and social development. A study by UC Berkeley and Stanford University on 14,000 Kindergarteners revealed that while there is a temporary cognitive boost in pre-reading and math, preschool holds detrimental effects on social development and cooperation.

The Universal Preschool movement is an international effort to make access to preschool available to families in a similar way to compulsory primary education. Various jurisdictions and advocates have differing priorities for access, availability and funding sources. See kindergarten for details of pre-school education in various countries. There has been a shift from preschools that operated primarily as controlled play groups to educational settings in which children learn specific, if basic, skills. It examines several different perspectives on teaching in kindergarten, including those of the developmentally appropriate practice, the academic approach, the child-centered approach, and the Montessori approach to the curriculum.
GratuityThe gratuity of infant education has been established in some countries, as Spain, beginning in the second cycle (from three to six years), but extending to the first cycle (from birth to three years).

History of Preschool in the United StatesHead Start, the first publicly funded preschool program, was created in 1965 by President Johnson. The federal government helped create this half-day program for preschool children from low-income families. Head Start began as a summer pilot program that included an education component, nutrition and health screenings for children, and support services for families (CPE, 2007). In the 1960s only ten percent of the nations three and four year olds were enrolled in a classroom setting. Due to a large amount of people interested, and a lack of funding for Head Start, during the 1980s a handful of states started their own version of a program for students from low-income families. The positive success and effects of preschool meant many state leaders were showing interest in educational reform of these young students (CPE, 2007). By 2005 sixty-nine percent, or over 800,000, four year-old children nationwide participated in some type of state preschool program (CPE, 2007). The yearly increase in enrollment of preschool programs throughout the years is due to an increase of higher maternal employment rates, national anti-poverty initiatives, and research showing the link between early childhood experiences and the brain development of young children. These factors have caused the rate of attendance in preschool programs to grow each year (CPE, 2007).

In most states, there are multiple preschool or Pre-K options for young children. Parents have the choice of sending their child to a federally funded Head Start program, if their income is at the poverty level, state-funded preschool, government-funded special education programs, and for-profit and not-for-profit providers (Levin & Schartz, 2007), including those that accept government subsidies that help low income parents pay. Currently, in the United States, Georgia, Illinois, Florida, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and New York are the only states with legislation underway or which already have universal preschool for all four year olds in the state, and Preschool For All in Illinois is the only universal preschool program that serves three year olds as well.

International Preschool SystemsMain article: Kindergarten
Methods of preschool educationSome preschools have adopted specialized methods of teaching, such as Montessori, Waldorf, Head Start, HighReach Learning, High Scope, The Creative Curriculum, Reggio Emilia approach, Bank Street, Forest kindergartens, and various other pedagogies which contribute to the foundation of education.

Creative Curriculum has an interactive website where parents and teachers can work together in evaluating preschool age children. The website is very user friendly and prints off many reports that are helpful in evaluating children and the classroom itself. The web site has a variety of activities that are targeted to each of the fifty goals on the continuum.
The International Preschool Curriculum adopted a bilingual approach to teaching and offers a curriculum that embraces international standards and recognizes national requirements for preschool education.
In the United States most preschool advocates support the National Association for the Education of Young Children's Developmentally Appropriate Practices.
Family childcare can also be nationally accredited by the National Association of Family Childcare if the provider chooses to go through the process. National accreditation is only awarded to those programs who demonstrate the quality standards set forth by the NAFCC.

Two popular Australian curriculums are the Emergent curriculum or the Building Waterfalls program.
Funding for Preschool ProgramsWhile a majority of American preschool programs remain tuition-based, support for some public funding of early childhood education has grown over the years. As of 2008, 38 states and the District of Columbia invested in at least some pre-kindergarten programs, and many school districts were providing preschool services on their own, using local and federal funds.

The benefits and challenges of a public preschool are closely tied to the amount of funding provided. Funding for a public preschool can come in a variety of sources. According to Levin and Schwartz (2007) funding can range from federal, state, local public allocations, private sources, and parental fees (p. 4). The problem of funding a public preschool occurs not only from limited sources but from the cost per child. The average cost across the 48 states is $6,582 (Levin and Schwartz, 2007). There are four categories that determine the costs of public preschools: personnel ratios, personnel qualifications, facilities and transportation, and health and nutrition services. According to Levin and Schwartz (2007) these structural elements depend heavily on the cost and quality of services provided (p. 14). The main personnel factor related to cost is the qualifications each preschool require for a teacher. Another determinate of cost is the length of a preschool day. The longer the session, the more increase in cost. Therefore, the quality of program accounts presumably for a major component of cost (Levin and Schwartz, 2007).

Collaboration has been a solution for funding issues in several districts. Wilma Kaplan, principal, turned to collaborating with the area Head Start and other private preschool to fund a public preschool in her district. “We’re very pleased with the interaction. It’s really added a dimension to our program that’s been very positive” (Reeves, 2000). The National Head Start Bureau has been looking for more opportunities to partner with public schools. Torn Schultz of the National Head Start Bureau states, “We’re turning to partnership as much as possible, either in funds or facilities to make sure children get everything necessary to be ready for school” (Reeves, 2000, p. 6). The goal for funding is to develop a variety of sources that provide for all children to benefit from early learning within a public preschool.

Special Education in PreschoolIn the United States, students who may benefit from special education receive services in preschools. Since the inception of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Public Law 101-476 in 1975 and its amendments, PL 102-119 and PL 105-17 in 1997, the educational system has moved away from self-contained classrooms and progressed to inclusion. As a result, there has been a need for special education teachers to practice in various settings in order to assist children with special needs, particularly by working with regular classroom teachers when possible to strengthen the inclusion of children with special needs. As with other stages in the life of a child with special needs, the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) is an important way for special education teachers, regular classroom teachers, administrators and parents to set guidelines for a partnership to help the child succeed in preschool.

Adult education

Adult education has become common in many countries. It takes on many forms, ranging from formal class-based learning to self-directed learning and e-learning. A number of career specific courses such as veterinary assisting, medical billing and coding, real estate license, bookkeeping and many more are now available to students through the Internet.
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school (e.g. Harvard Extension) or 'school of continuing education' or 'school of general studies' (Columbia General Studies). Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers. The practice is also often referred to as 'Training and Development 'and is often associated with workforce or professional development. It has also been referred to as andragogy (to distinguish it from pedagogy). Adult education is different from vocational education, which is mostly workplace-based for skill improvement; and also from non-formal adult education, including learning skills or learning for personal development.
Programs provide one to one tutoring and small group sessions for adults at the 6th grade level or below. Public libraries, nonprofit organizations and school systems administer these programs across the country. Many adult education centers from community colleges receive grants from Welfare and Unemployment departments to offer training to welfare and unemployment recipients to help these individuals gain life and work skills to facilitate their return to the mainstream. They also provide programs for ex-offenders to reintegrate to society.
Educating adults differs from educating children in several ways. One of the most important differences is that adults have accumulated knowledge, work experience or military service that can add to the learning experience. Another difference is that most adult education is voluntary, therefore, the participants are generally better motivated.
Adults frequently apply their knowledge in a practical fashion to learn effectively. They must have a reasonable expectation that the knowledge recently gained will help them further their goals. One example, common in the 1990s, was the proliferation of computer training courses in which adults (not children or adolescents), most of whom were office workers, could enroll. These courses would teach basic use of the operating system or specific application software. Because the abstractions governing the user's interactions with a PC were so new, many people who had been working white-collar jobs for ten years or more eventually took such training courses, either at their own whim (to gain computer skills and thus earn higher pay) or at the behest of their managers.
In the United States, a more general example, and stereotypical,is that of the high-school dropout who returns to school to complete general education requirements. Most upwardly-mobile positions require at the very least a high school diploma or equivalent. A working adult is unlikely to have the freedom to simply quit his or her job and go "back to school" full time. Public school systems and community colleges usually offer evening or weekend classes for this reason. In Europe this is often referred to as "second-chance", and many schools offer tailor-made courses and learning programs for these returning learners.
In the U.S.A., the equivalent of the high school diploma earned by an adult through these programs is to pass the General Education Development (GED) test.
Another fast-growing sector of adult education is English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), also referred to as English as a Second Language (ESL) or English Language Learners (ELL). These courses are key in assisting immigrants with not only the acquisition of the English language, but the acclimation process to the culture of the United States.
A common problem in adult education in the U.S. is the lack of professional development opportunities for adult educators. Most adult educators come from other professions and are not well trained to deal with adult learning issues. Most of the positions available in this field are only part-time without any benefits or stability since they are usually funded by government grants that might last for only a couple of years. These educators face many difficulties at professional and personal levels and are rarely equipped to empower their adult learners.

Internationalization

materials becoming more influenced by the rich international environment, but exchanges among students at all levels are also playing an increasingly important role. In Europe, for example, the Socrates-Erasmus Programme stimulates exchanges across European universities. Also, the Soros Foundation  provides many opportunities for students from central Asia and eastern Europe. Programmes such as the International Baccalaureate have contributed to the internationalisation of education. Some scholars argue that, regardless of whether one system is considered better or worse than another, experiencing a different way of education can often be considered to be the most important, enriching element of an international learning experience.

The development of higher education in the Western countries involves ideas of internationalisation, included in curricular objectives. Policy-makers stipulate internationalisation ideologies, from a politico-economic perspective, where ideas about flows of various cultural elements are incorporated in visionary idealistic terms. Nevertheless teachers and students and others concerned with higher education, experience the nature and meaning of "internationalising higher education" and "an internationalised teaching and learning" as vague, ambiguous and difficult to transfer into educational practice. This thesis investigates the phenomenon of internationalisation through an empirical approach, focusing on the experiences of teachers and students. The aim was to describe teachers´ and students´ experiences of internationalisation related to their educational context, as well as their experiences of aspects of internationalisation in a wider sense. Precise predefinitions were avoided due to an explorative research approach. An empirical investigation comprising four studies was conducted, involving interviews with students (studies I and II) and teachers (study IV) and a survey study involving teachers (study III) all participating in the basic program in the Swedish nurse education within higher education. A phenomenographic approach was used in the data collections and analyses. The main results of the empirical study show that students hold qualitatively different understandings of internationalisation, also, the ways they structure their thinking about the phenomenon varies (studies I and II). The results show, that teachers understanding of internationalising higher education and their approach to an internationalised teaching and learning did not represent a shared culture and there was no shared curriculum including a distinct understanding of internationalisation (studies III and IV). Some students and teachers related personal growth to the learning of intercultural content. Internationalisation of higher education has primarily been related to a broader post-industrial worldwide policy development, and to processes of techno-structural political and economical worldwide forces, and forces of internationalisation ideologies in terms of intentions and objectives. The presence of a pedagogical and didactical perspective on the issue, "internationalisation of higher education", is clearly insufficient represented as a basis for understanding and concretising curricular objectives of internationalisation. Drawing from the thesis results, arguments are put forward emphasising a need to change/turn the focus towards how we deal with internationalisation of higher education. It is asserted that from a pedagogical and didactical stance there is a need for a development of a curriculum theory including internationalisation. The overall conclusion is that it will be a great challenge for policymakers as well as teachers, to address internationalisation of the Swedish nursing education within higher education from a pedagogical and didactical stance, when aiming at supporting students in their development of international competencies and capabilities.
Nomenclature

The support of multiple languages by computer systems can be considered a continuum between localization ("L10n"), through multilingualization (or "m17n"), to internationalization ("i18n").
•A localized system has been adapted or converted for use in a particular locale (other than the one it was originally developed for), including the language of the user interface (UI), input, and display, and features such as time/date display and currency. Each instance of the system only supports a single locale, and there is no explicit support for languages that are not part of that locale (although the character set may coincidentally be usable for other languages).
•Multilingualized software supports multiple languages for concurrent display and input, but has a single UI language which cannot be changed. Multi-locale support for other features like date, time, number, and currency formats varies as the system tends towards full internationalization. In general, a multilingualized system is intended for use in one specific locale, but is capable of handling multilingual content as data.
•An internationalized system is equipped for use in a range of "locales" (or by users of multiple languages), by allowing the co-existence of several languages and character sets for input, display, and UI. In particular, a system may not be considered internationalized in the fullest sense unless the UI language is selectable by the user at runtime. Full internationalization may extend beyond support for multiple languages and orthography to compliance with jurisdiction-specific legislation (in respect of copyright, for instance) and other non-linguistic conventions.
The distinction arises because it is significantly more difficult to create a multi-lingual UI than simply to support the character sets and keyboards needed to express multiple languages. To internationalize a UI, every text string employed in interaction must be translated into all supported languages; then all output of literal strings, and literal parsing of input in UI code must be replaced by hooks to i18n libraries.
It should be noted that "internationalized" does not necessarily mean that a system can be used absolutely anywhere, since simultaneous support for all possible locales is both practically almost impossible and commercially very hard to justify. In many cases an internationalized system includes full support only for the most spoken languages, plus any others of particular relevance to the application.
Scope
Focal points of internationalization and localization efforts include:
•Language
•Computer-encoded text
•Alphabets/scripts; most recent systems use the Unicode standard to solve many of the character encoding problems.

•Different systems of numerals
•Writing direction which is e.g. left to right in German, right to left in Persian, Hebrew and Arabic
•Spelling variants for different countries where the same language is spoken, e.g. localization (en-US, en-CA, en-GB-oed) vs. localisation (en-GB, en-AU)
•Text processing differences, such as the concept of capitalization which exists in some scripts and not in others, different text sorting rules, etc.
•Plural forms in text output, which differ depending upon language
•Input
•Enablement of keyboard shortcuts on any keyboard layout

•Graphical representations of text (printed materials, online images containing text)
•Spoken (Audio)
•Subtitling of film and video
•Culture
•Images and colors: issues of comprehensibility and cultural appropriateness
•Names and titles
•Government assigned numbers (such as the Social Security number in the US, National Insurance number in the UK, Isikukood in Estonia, and Resident registration number in South Korea.) and passports
•Telephone numbers, addresses and international postal codes

•Currency (symbols, positions of currency markers)
•Weights and measures
•Paper sizes
•Writing conventions
•Date/time format, including use of different calendars
•Time zones (UTC in internationalized environments)
•Formatting of numbers (decimal separator, digit grouping)

•Differences in symbols (e.g. quoting text using double-quotes (" "), as in English, or guillemets (« »), as in French).
•Any other aspect of the product or service that is subject to regulatory compliance
The distinction between internationalization and localization is subtle but important. Internationalization is the adaptation of products for potential use virtually everywhere, while localization is the addition of special features for use in a specific locale. Internationalization is done once per product, while localization is done once for each combination of product and locale. The processes are complementary, and must be combined to lead to the objective of a system that works globally. Subjects unique to localization include:



•Language translation
•National varieties of languages (see language localization)

•Special support for certain languages such as East Asian languages
•Local customs
•Local content
•Symbols
•Order of sorting (Collation)
•Aesthetics
•Cultural values and social context

Business process for internationalizing software
In order to internationalize a product, it is important to look at a variety of markets that your product will foreseeably enter. Details such as field length for addresses, ability to make the zip code field optional to address countries that do not have zip codes, plus the introduction of new registration flows that adhere to local laws are just some of the examples that make internationalization a complex project.

A broader approach takes into account cultural factors regarding for example the adaptation of the business process logic or the inclusion of individual cultural (behavioral) aspects.
Coding practice
The current prevailing practice is for applications to place text in resource strings which are loaded during program execution as needed. These strings, stored in resource files, are relatively easy to translate. Programs are often built to reference resource libraries depending on the selected locale data. One software library that aids this is gettext.
Thus to get an application to support multiple languages one would design the application to select the relevant language resource file at runtime. Resource files are translated to the required languages. This method tends to be application-specific and, at best, vendor-specific. The code required to manage date entry verification and many other locale-sensitive data types also must support differing locale requirements. Modern development systems and operating systems include sophisticated libraries for international support of these types.
Some tools help in detecting i18n issues and guiding software resolution of those issues, such as Lingoport's Globalyzer.
Difficulties

While translating existing text to other languages may seem easy, it is more difficult to maintain the parallel versions of texts throughout the life of the product. For instance, if a message displayed to the user is modified, all of the translated versions must be changed. This in turn results in a somewhat longer development cycle.
Many localization issues (e.g. writing direction, text sorting) require more profound changes in the software than text translation. For example, OpenOffice.Org achieves this with compilation switches.
To some degree (e.g. for Quality assurance), the development team needs someone who understands foreign languages and cultures and has a technical background. In large societies with one dominant language/culture, it may be difficult to find such a person.
Cost vs benefit tradeoff

In a commercial setting, the benefit from localization is access to more markets. Some[who?] argue that the commercial case to localize products into multiple languages is very obvious, and that all is needed is a budgetary commitment from the producer to finance the considerable costs. It costs more to produce products for international markets, but in an increasingly global economy, supporting only one language/market is scarcely an optionStill, proprietary software localization is impacted by economic viability and usually lacks the ability for end users and volunteers to self-localize, as is often the case in open-source environments.
Since open source software can generally be freely modified and redistributed, it is more amenable to localization. The KDE project, for example, has been translated into over 100 languages.

Education in the Developing World

Universal primary education is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals and great improvements have been achieved in the past decade, yet a great deal remains to be done. Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute indicate the main obstacles to greater funding from donors include: donor priorities, aid architecture, and the lack of evidence and advocacy. Additionally, Transparency International has identified corruption in the education sector as a major stumbling block to achieving Universal primary education in Africa. Furthermore, demand in the developing world for improved educational access is not as high as one would expect as governments avoid the recurrent costs involved and there is economic pressure on those parents who prefer their children making money in the short term over any long-term benefits of education. Recent studies on child labor and poverty have suggested that when poor families reach a certain economic threshold where families are able to provide for their basic needs, parents return their children to school. This has been found to be true, once the threshold has been breached, even if the potential economic value of the children's work has increased since their return to school.

But without capacity, there is no development. A study conducted by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning indicates that stronger capacities in educational planning and management may have an important spill-over effect on the system as a whole. Sustainable capacity development requires complex interventions at the institutional, organizational and individual levels that could be based on some foundational principles:
national leadership and ownership should be the touchstone of any intervention;
strategies must be context relevant and context specific;

they should embrace an integrated set of complementary interventions, though implementation may need to proceed in steps;
partners should commit to a long-term investment in capacity development, while working towards some short-term achievements;
outside intervention should be conditional on an impact assessment of national capacities at various levels.

Russia has more academic graduates than any other country in Europe.

A lack of good universities, and a low acceptance rate for good universities, is evident in countries with a high population density. In some countries, there are uniform, over structured, inflexible centralized programs from a central agency that regulates all aspects of education.
Due to globalization, increased pressure on students in curricular activities
Removal of a certain percentage of students for improvisation of academics (usually practised in schools, after 10th grade)

India is now developing technologies that will skip land based phone and internet lines. Instead, India launched EDUSAT, an education satellite that can reach more of the country at a greatly reduced cost. There is also an initiative started by the OLPC foundation, a group out of MIT Media Lab and supported by several major corporations to develop a $100 laptop to deliver educational software. The laptops are widely available as of 2008. The laptops are sold at cost or given away based on donations. These will enable developing countries to give their children a digital education, and help close the digital divide across the world.

In Africa, NEPAD has launched an "e-school programme" to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years. Private groups, like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are working to give more individuals opportunities to receive education in developing countries through such programs as the Perpetual Education Fund. An International Development Agency project called nabuur.com, started with the support of former American President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development.

In developing countries, the number and seriousness of the problems faced are naturally greater. People in more remote or agrarian areas are sometimes unaware of the importance of education. However, many countries have an active Ministry of Education, and in many subjects, such as foreign language learning, the degree of education is actually much higher than in industrialized countries; for example, it is not at all uncommon for students in many developing countries to be reasonably fluent in multiple foreign languages, whereas this is much more of a rarity in the supposedly "more educated" countries where much of the population is in fact monolingual.

Universal primary education is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals and great improvements have been achieved in the past decade, yet a great deal remains to be done. Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute indicate the main obstacles to greater funding from donors include: donor priorities, aid architecture, and the lack of evidence and advocacy. Additionally, Transparency International has identified corruption in the education sector as a major stumbling block to achieving Universal primary education in Africa. Furthermore, demand in the developing world for improved educational access is not as high as one would expect as governments avoid the recurrent costs involved and there is economic pressure on those parents who prefer their children making money in the short term over any long-term benefits of education. Recent studies on child labor and poverty have suggested that when poor families reach a certain economic threshold where families are able to provide for their basic needs, parents return their children to school. This has been found to be true, once the threshold has been breached, even if the potential economic value of the children's work has increased since their return to school.

Russia has more academic graduates than any other country in Europe.
A lack of good universities, and a low acceptance rate for good universities, is evident in countries with a high population density. In some countries, there are uniform, over structured, inflexible centralized programs from a central agency that regulates all aspects of education.
Due to globalization, increased pressure on students in curricular activities
Removal of a certain percentage of students for improvisation of academics (usually practised in schools, after 10th grade).

India is now developing technologies that will skip land based phone and internet lines. Instead, India launched EDUSAT, an education satellite that can reach more of the country at a greatly reduced cost. There is also an initiative started by the OLPC foundation, a group out of MIT Media Lab and supported by several major corporations to develop a $100 laptop to deliver educational software. The laptops are widely available as of 2008. The laptops are sold at cost or given away based on donations. These will enable developing countries to give their children a digital education, and help close the digital divide across the world.

In Africa, NEPAD has launched an "e-school programme" to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years. Private groups, like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are working to give more individuals opportunities to receive education in developing countries through such programs as the Perpetual Education Fund. An International Development Agency project called nabuur.com, started with the support of former American President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development.
Internationalization

Education is becoming increasingly international. Not only are the materials becoming more influenced by the rich international environment, but exchanges among students at all levels are also playing an increasingly important role. In Europe, for example, the Socrates-Erasmus Programme stimulates exchanges across European universities. Also, the Soros Foundation provides many opportunities for students from central Asia and eastern Europe. Programmes such as the International Baccalaureate have contributed to the internationalisation of education. Some scholars argue that, regardless of whether one system is considered better or worse than another, experiencing a different way of education can often be considered to be the most important, enriching element of an international learning experience