Country Level of Education Descriptions of each Level
- Most Australian students
1. Austria a. Primary school a. Primary school - Runs for seven
or eight years, starting at
b. Secondary school Kindergarten/Preparatory through
to Year 6 or 7.
c. Senior secondary b. Secondary school - Runs for
school three or four years, from Years 7
to 10 or 8 to 10.
d. Tertiary Education c. Senior secondary school - Runs
for two years, Years 11 and 12.
d. Tertiary education includes
both higher education (including
universities) and vocational
education and training (VET).
Special Features
decide what to do after high
school.
- Students who intend to go to
college continue year 11 and
year 12 to prepare for college
or university entrance
examinations.
- Other students may get a job
after year 10 or go to a
Technical and Further
Education (TAFE) College to
learn technical skills.
-Vocational education and
training (VET) qualifications focus
on specific occupational skills and
competencies
. VET course will broaden your
skills in a specialized area that
provides the practical experience
you'll need to design, plan and
implement your field's practical
and technical aspects in an
industry context. 
 Country Level of Education Descriptions of each Level
2. China a.Primary School a. Primary school- children
ages 6 to 11, covers the first six
b.Junior Middle School years of their compulsory
c. Senior middle school education.
d. Higher Education b. Junior middle school-
students will complete grades
School 7, 8, and 9, as well as their
  compulsory education
requirement.
c. Senior middle school, the
equivalent of high school in the
United States, and finish
grades 10, 11, and 12.
d. Higher education (usually
known as a college education)
usually starts when pupils are
over 18, and it’s composed of a
tertiary vocational school (two
or three years), a technological
academy (three years), and an
undergraduate school (four
years), but only undergraduate
school students will get their
Special Features
. It is the largest educational
system in the world (Wang,
1996; Nanjundiah, 1996). With
over 200 million students
attending public schools taught
by over 9 million teachers in
elementary, junior, and senior
high schools.
-The course syllabi are written
by scientists and professors
hired by the National
Educational Commission.
-The Chinese government made a
law for a free nine-year
compulsory education (six years of
primary education and three years
of secondary education) on July 1,
1986, which established the
requirements for attaining a
universal education and
guaranteed school-age children the
right to receive at least nine years
of education. It’s considered to be
a crime for parents to deprive their
children of this right in cities in
 Country Level of Education Descriptions of each Level
a. Elementary education (6
3. Japan a. Elementary years of elementary school)
Education b. Secondary education (3
years of lower secondary
b. Secondary school and 3 years of upper
Education secondary school).
c. Higher Education c. There are 5 types of higher
education institutions that
international students can be
admitted to, which are 1)
Colleges of technology, 2)
Professional training colleges
(post-secondary course of
specialized training colleges),
3) Junior colleges, 4)
Universities (undergraduate)
and 5) Graduate schools.
Depending on the founding
bodies, these higher education
institutions are categorized
into three types: national, local
public, and private.
 
Special Features
-Education in Japan is managed by
the 
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sp
orts, Science and Technology
 (MEXT) of Japan. Japanese
students consistently rank highly
among OECD students in terms of
quality and performance in 
reading literacy, mathematics, and 
sciences.
-Japan’s populace is well educated
and its society highly values
education as a platform for
socioeconomic mobility and for
gaining employment in the
country's high-tech economy.
-The country's large pool of highly
educated and skilled individuals is
largely responsible for ushering in
Japan's post-war economic growth.
Tertiary-educated adults in Japan,
particularly graduates in sciences
and engineering, benefit
 Country Level of Education
4. South Africa The education system in South
Africa has been divided into
three levels:  and intermediate stages, with a
a. primary education
b. secondary education
-Junior High School
-High School
c. higher education
Descriptions of each Level Special Features
a. Primary education in South -The eight learning areas that
Africa lasts for seven years (R-6 form the basis of all basic
grades) and is divided into basic
education up to the Further
primary focus on basic education. Education Training(FET)
Certificate are: * Language,
b. Secondary education lasts for Literacy, and Communication *
six years and is divided into two
stages: junior high school and high Mathematical Literacy,
school. mathematics and Mathematical
Science * Natural Science *
- Junior high school (7-9 grades) is Technology * Human and Social
also called the advanced stage and
is mandatory. Science * Economics and
Management Science * Arts and
- High school (10-12 grades) has Culture * Life Orientation
been known as further education
and training (FET), which is not - One school year consists of
mandatory. forty-one weeks (196 school
e. There are two types of higher days) which is divided into four
education in South Africa: terms. Other relevant sectors of
vocational and technical education the educational structure
and university education. include special education,
University education focuses on private education or
academic research, and public
universities dominate independent schools, adult and
 Country Level of Education
5. England 4 Hierarchy of Education in
England
a. Early Years Foundation
Stage
b. Primary Education
c. Secondary Education
d. Higher Education
Descriptions of each Level
a. Early years foundation stage (3-5
stages)- This is the most basic and starting
stage of education in England. At this stage,
the focus is more on basic subjects and
concepts like shapes, numbers, colors, birds,
animals, basic math, and others
b. Primary Education (age 5-11) At this
stage, children are exposed to new concepts,
more subjects, and complex activities, and
this helps them enhance their own skills and
learning.
c. Secondary Education
This is the stage of education in England
which starts from the age of 11 and goes on
to the age of 18. This is the most advanced
education stage in school and is one where
students need to choose specialization
subjects, participate in many complex
activities, learn higher-level subjects and also
develop their personalities.
d. Higher Education- Bachelor’s degree-
this is the stage of the graduate program
where students obtain bachelor’s degrees by
attending 3-5 years of education. This is the
Special Features
- The national curriculum’s core
subjects include English,
Mathematics, and Science.
Each key level has a definite
emphasis that gradually
becomes more advanced as the
level progresses
- England allows children to
specialize in their academic
learning fields earlier on than
other countries. This allows
stronger educational
engagement and more time for
children to spend in their most
respected subjects. School
children are provided with
school planners, which hold
learning resources, school
management, and timetables
 Country Level of Education Descriptions of each Level
6. United State a. Preschool a. Preschool- Preschool or pre-kindergarten
level education does not fall within the
of America b. Primary School compulsory education bracket, but it is a
c. Middle School common trend these days that children
between the age of 3 and 5 are sent to
d. High School preschools to gain basic knowledge such as
e. Tertiary Education counting, color identification, knowing
shapes, mingling with others etc.
b. Primary school education is the
compulsory part of elementary education
and starts from the age of 5 in America.  It
starts from kindergarten and goes on until
the age of 11.  It mostly includes 1st grade,
2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade and 5th grade
in most of the primary schools.
c. Middle School- The next level in
compulsory education is middle school.  over the standardization of
Middle school in America starts from
6th grade and goes on until 8th grade. Often,
middle school is also referred to as junior
high school and lasts from the age of 11 to
14.
Special Features
-Classes begin in September and
end in June of every year. The
language of instruction is English.
- Curricula in the United States can
vary widely from district to
district. Different schools offer
classes centering on different
topics, and vary in quality
- Some private schools even
include religious classes as
mandatory for attendance. This
raises the question of government
funding vouchers in states with
anti-Catholic Blaine Amendments
in their constitution. This in turn
has produced camps of argument
curricula and to what degree it
should exist. These same groups
often are advocates of standardized
testing, which is mandated by the 
No Child Left Behind Act.
d. High school in America begins when in - Some curricula of the United
the 9th grade which is also known as Stated focused on: Content
freshman year and goes on until 12th grade Knowledge, literacy, Emphasis
which is known as senior year.  By the time on English-Language
high school education is complete, most education, sex education,
students have turned 18.  This phase in textbook review and adoption,
school is often referred to as senior high Culturally-responsive
school. curriculum, gender-sensitive
e. Tertiary education is not a compulsion curriculum, LGBTQ-inclusive
but a matter of choice for students in curriculum, and ability-
America. Higher education usually starts inclusive curriculum.
with undergraduate school and then goes on
to doctorate-level education. The following
are some of the subdivisions within this
category:
Bachelor’s degree-
Freshman year
Sophomore year
Junior year
Senior year
Master’s degree
Doctorate education
Besides this, students can also take up
diploma courses, vocational courses, and
other types of adult education ranging from
Based on your matrix of the various educational systems of other countries, how would you
compare our Philippine Educational System? Is our educational system globally
competitive?

It is undeniable that the educational system in every country is globally competitive.

Implementing the K-12 program which adds 2 more years in high school which we called Junior
and Senior High school provides sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop
lifelong learners, and prepares graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development,
employment, and entrepreneurship, I can say that educational system here in the Philippines is
globally competitive.
We have some schools such as San Rafael National High School and others that focus
on one of the academic strands which is STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics). There are also many students who come to other countries to collaborate and
participate in academics such as science, mathematics, art, and others that recognize the
Philippines in the world.
If given an opportunity to experience teaching in another country listed above,
where would you like to teach? Why?

You can teach in a variety of places if opportunities come. Of course, I would love to
experience teaching in Japan. Japan is one of the most successful countries in Asia and there are
very advanced when it comes to technology. There is a lot to learn from the new technology in
Japan.
The educational system is fully supported by the Government that’s why their students
consistently rank highly among students in other countries in terms of quality and performance in 
reading literacy, mathematics, and sciences. Language and culture can be learned but it's also
better to engage in a new way of teaching even if there are barriers to becoming an effective
teacher.