Identify three key Educational issues in Britain today. What are the Essay

Identify three key Educational issues in Britain today. What are the main causes of disagreement regarding these issues - Essay Example Additionally, it is about conscious formation of the discipline of the mind and thought processes. Education serves as one of the key elements needed to sustain and attain growth in a certain country. It is important for an individual, particularly adults, to have an education as it is the basic requirement for one to enter the labour market. Without education, an individual is likely to be inferior compared to those who have obtained a formal education (Moore, 2004). To some extent, educational systems of countries like the United Kingdom are considered complicated, taking into accounts its advantages and disadvantages. Education is a most basic yet important element of the society; thus countries are constantly implementing substantial changes in their educational systems to improve the quality of education to the utmost extent possible. Education in the United Kingdom According to Machin and Vignoles (2005), attempts have been made to change the educational system in the UK. Polic y reforms are being pushed with the intention of making UK education more productive and market-oriented (Bartlett & Burton, 2007). Other reforms include parents being given more choice as to the school which they want their children to attend while compelling schools to be more accountable over learning and achievement student outcomes. Notable reforms are the inclusion of the national prescribed curriculum attempting to raise active involvement in post-compulsory schooling and the introduction of tuition fees for higher education (Ward, 2004). Ninety (90) percent of the student population in the United Kingdom are enrolled at the state schools. Accordingly, around 8.5 million children are attending one of the 30,000 available schools in the country. Around 830,000 children attend to the 5,000 schools offering pre-school and special educations schools. It is notable that primary schools are usually composed of male and female students, while secondary schools may be composed of eit her single sex or co-educational depending on the schools. As mandated by law, children between age five and 16 years must undergo a full-time education, except for Northern Ireland where children must begin at the age of four. Consequently, a child who is under the age of five must attend state schools offering nursery and pre-school education but on a limited hours while children who are above 16 years of age may attend the sixth form colleges and other educational institutions that provide general education courses in addition to more specific vocational or applied subjects (Referencing the Qualifications Frameworks of the United Kingdom to the European Qualifications Framework, 2009). In the joint report made by Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership, Welsh Assembly Government, council for the curriculum examinations and assessment and Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (2009) the United Kingdom in 1992 introduced the National Curriculum requiring state sc hools to adhere to the policy until such time that students reach the age of 16. The Education and Skills Act of 2008 raised the minimum age requirement to 18, while coming 2013 it will be implemented for 17 years of age and in 2015 for 18 years old. Independent schools, those who are not government funded, are not required to comply and implement the National Curriculum. Issues in Educational System Apparently, amongst the various issues and