How long are foreign kids in school each day?

Question

I am researching how long foreign kids are in school each day and how much smarter they are than us Americans. Do they have to spend the whole day and night there, like a boarding school? What are the average hours for that country? How many of those kids graduate and get a college degree?

Answer 1

In South Korea, most middle and high school students go to school for about 6 hours a day....BUT!!!! there are often mandatory test preparation classes before and after school which may start as early as 7 am and finish as late as 11pm or 12 midnight. A lot of students stay in the school dormitory as there is no way for them to get home at night. Students also often study at least 1/2 a day on Saturday...and sometime ALL day!!

As to the "are they smarter" question: Yes and no. They are MUCH better at subjects that require memorization, but don't do very well at subjects that require critical or analytical thinking.

Answer 2

I can tell you from my own personal experience, schools in the Caribbean have the same daily time frame as schools in the U.S.. However the curriculum is different, i did calculus in Trinidad and Tobago, when I moved back to the states they put me in pre-algebra because the class numbers didn't match, they also made me do an extra year because too many of my class numbers didn't match the American guide lines. When I attended college my first year, I was taking classes that I had my freshman year of high school overseas. As far as boarding schools go, they are all over the place, there are a couple in Texas, they work like any other school, except the children that attend them do not go home to their families at the end of the day, they stay at the school. I believe it depends on the country whether they schools produce more efficient students, but I would have to say the U.S. is definitely lacking.

Answer 3

In the Philippines, almost all middle-class to upper-class kids are expected to finish college. It has something to do with our Roman-Catholic roots. A considerable percentage of lower-class kids also go to college.

It must also be understood that the public school system in the Philippines is only used by families who are extremely poor and cannot afford to send their children to a better school. Almost every middle-class and upper-class family will end-up sending their children to a private school. It is also common that private schools in the Philippines are Catholic schools founded by Spanish priests or holy orders back in the day.

It is also rare that middle-class and upper-class students would have to pay for their college education. Parents of these students are usually expected to support their children throughout their entire schooling.

Filipino children usually start school at age 5 but it has become more common in recent years for parents to enroll their children in primary school (ex. Montessori which begins at 2 1/2).

From preschool to kindergarten, children are usually expected to stay in school for an average of about 4 -5 hours a day.

Once children reach elementary (grade school which is usually grade 1 - 7 [sometimes only until grade 6]), they stay in school the entire day. Classes usually begin as early as 7 in the morning and could end as late as 4 in the afternoon.

High school in the Philippines is 4 years and also lasts the entire day. On average, most schools would expect students to be in school for 7-8 hours a day. High school students in the Philippines usually graduate at by the time they are 17-18 yrs of age.

Once a child reaches college, the duration of the course and the hours per day would be dependent on the course that the student wishes to enroll in.

On average, I would say that most Filipino families expect their children to finish college by the age of 21-22 yrs. Although there are still quite a few cases of children who do not graduate on time for one reason or another, these children almost always eventually graduate rather than be ostracized by their families or their peers.

Answer 4

I think "foreign" is a bit too abstract. You should narrow it down to at least one continent. I have relatives in France and they always came home for lunch for about an hour. I think they were in school less than we are here in America, but I can't say if they were smarter than me, since I was an over achiever. I've heard that Americans are lacking in science and math, though.

Answer 5

My daughter of 11 y.o. goes from 8.45 till 12.00 and then from 13.00 to 15.15. On Wednesdays from 8.45 till 12.30 (afternoon off).
My daughter of 13 goes from 8.30 till 15.00 on average.

I live in the Netherlands