EDUCATION REPORT - New Book Compares Education Systems Aroun

EDUCATION REPORT - New Book Compares Education Systems Around the World
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, June 30, 2005

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Education Report.

A new book by two professors at Pennsylvania State University compares public education systems around the world. The book is called "National Differences, Global¹ Similarities²: World Culture and the Future of Schooling³."

David Baker⁴ and Gerald LeTendre led a group of researchers who gathered information on about fifty countries. Some findings⁵ came from the Third International Mathematics⁶ and Science Study. That study took place in nineteen ninety-four and again five years later.

The professors say education is increasingly⁷ shaped by what they call "transnational forces." Officials in many countries are concerned about how their students compare with students in other countries.

Each part of the book develops a different subject researched in schools around the world. One of the subjects is violence⁸ among students. The professors say countries with the most school violence include Hungary, Romania and the Philippines.

They say the United⁹ States is somewhere in the middle, above nations like New Zealand, Canada, South Korea¹⁰, Spain and Australia. The findings are based on reports from students.

Professor Baker says inequalities in educational systems act as an influence. He says schools that are sharply¹¹ divided between "winners and losers" in math have higher levels of violence. "This does not mean that nations should stop trying to raise scores," he says. "But they should be careful to raise the performance among all students."

Also, the researchers often found no connection between national performance and the average amount of homework given in a nation. Teachers generally give little homework in countries with the highest average test scores, such as Japan, the Czech Republic and Denmark. But the professors say teachers in countries with low average test scores like Thailand, Greece and Iran often give lots of homework.

Yet the authors say most teachers worldwide could learn to make better use of homework. Children are mostly given material to remember. But conditions at home, especially in poorer families, may not support the kind of environment needed to do such work.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.  I'm Gwen Outen.

1 global   

adj.全球的；球形的；世界的

参考例句：

• A global environmental meeting is going to be held here.一个全球环境会议将在这里举行。
• The report takes a global view of the company's problems.这份报告对公司的问题作了综合性的论述。

2 similarities   

[ similarity ]的复数形式； 类似( similarity的名词复数 )； 相像性； 相仿性； 类似性

参考例句：

• similarities between human and non-human animals 人和其他动物之间的相似之处
• The panel shows marked similarities with mosaics found elsewhere. 这块嵌板和在其他地方找到的镶嵌图案有明显的相似之处。

3 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

4 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

5 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

6 mathematics   

n.（用作单）数学；（用作单或复）计算(能力）

参考例句：

• He has come out in front in the study of mathematics.他在数学方面已名列前茅。
• She is working at a difficult problem in mathematics.她在做一道数学难题。

7 increasingly   

adv.逐渐地，日益地，逐渐增加地

参考例句：

• Rivers are being increasingly made use of by man. 河流正在日益为人类所利用。
• I find it increasingly difficult to live within my income.我发现靠收入过日子越来越难了。

8 violence   

n.暴力，暴虐，暴行，猛烈，强烈，强暴

参考例句：

• It was an absolutely senseless act of violence.这是毫无意义的暴力行为。
• They attacked with violence.他们猛烈攻击。

9 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

10 Korea   

n.朝鲜(亚洲)

参考例句：

• Korea lies to the east of China.韩国位于中国东面。
• Korea and China are separated by only the Yalu River.朝鲜和中国只隔一条鸭绿江。

11 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。