Difference Between The Two States Of The Community Surrounding Education

Facilitating and increasing possibilities in education remains to be a focal concern among states as it serves as an instrument for development and growth. This is why many states spend a large amount of income and resources for enhancing education to meet the demands of the population in general and the current trends in today’s society. Though there may be similarities in the overall objective, governments apply different e and varied strategies to make such effort a possibility.

This can be seen if the educational system of the United States and Saudi Arabia be compared accordingly. Upon close observation, one can see there are striking similarities and differences between the two. They are similar “in terms of government spending on education, freedom to choose the school where they will attend to, and education for people with special needs, while differ in terms of attitude towards education, literacy rate, religion in school, gender roles, grading scales, and stages of education” (Stevenson, 2008, p. 1).

One major difference between the two states revolves around the attitudes and views of the community surrounding education. Compared to the United States wherein students are expected to attend class in a mandatory manner, Saudi Arabia does not impose such standards on students and remains to be open on individuals who seek to learn (Stalinsky, 2008). This in turn makes the system in United States strict and accountable towards creating educational policies. Another major difference is the statistics and numbers present as far as literacy rate is concerned.

The United States educational system boasts of a 99% literacy rate for both men and women and continuously seeks new methods and mechanisms to solidify growth. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia fairs relatively lower than its counterpart and only provide 84. 7% for men and 70. 8% for women (Stevenson, 2008, p. 1). This is why the country is resolved towards establishing numerous frameworks to help alleviate the increasing number of illiterate in the region. Curriculum content and facilitation is another difference between Saudi Arabia and American education.

America offers its curriculum in a diversified manner and caters to different areas such as Physical and Social Sciences. Contrary to this, teaching Islam has been the focal point of Saudi Arabia’s educational system. It derives from the Sharia (Islamic Law) and the Quran as the basis for teaching (Ministry of Education, 2004). Equally men who have been trained under this can provide “religious secondary education with focus primarily on Islamic and Arabic Studies” (Stevenson, 2008, p. 3).

Lastly, the scope of education is also another component that differentiates between the two states. In the United States, the curriculum is equally administered and facilitated both males and females. On the other hand, for Saudi Arabia, “education is divided into three separately administered systems: general education for boys, education for girls and traditional Islamic education for boys” (Stevenson, 2008, p. 3). Though there has been a move within the government to expand the scope of instruction for women, this practice continues to be prevalent in Saudi Arabia’s society.

To conclude, though both the United States and Saudi Arabia are committed towards creating available education for everyone, they have different ways of applying such principle. These differences can be rooted to various cultural beliefs and practices that continue to shape how people think in two states. In the end, despite these differences, it can be argued that each one is committed in providing the necessary avenues to increase proficiency and develop schemes to make its citizens competent and ready to address the challenges of the 21st century.