Compare and Contrast Essay

The differences in higher education between Slovakia and the US

While education all over the world reflects the basic principles of academia such as pursuit of knowledge and desire to learn, educational systems in various countries also differ. Analysis of the American and Slovakian collegiate educational systems will display three main differences in higher education between the two countries: temporal organization of the semester, preferred methodology, and academic relationships between professors and students.

The most obvious difference lies in the temporal organization of the semester. While American Universities tend to differ in the number of semesters they offer, Slovak Universities strictly offer two semester academic years. Unlike the American students who can start the college in the spring, summer or the fall, students in Slovakia always start their program in the fall. Once the semester is over and the American students are free to enjoy their winter vacation, the Slovak students study hard to pass exams, which can typically not be done during the semester. They have until February to pass the exams so that they can start in the following spring semester. The same procedure is repeated in the summer. Because of the obvious rigidness of the Slovakian system, all the students must take five years to finish their degree. On the other hand, American students can take anywhere between 3-10 years to finish college.

Just like the two systems differ in semester organization, they also differ in preferred methodology. While the main objective of American universities is to prepare students for jobs by helping them acquire necessary skills, the Slovak universities put emphasis on factual knowledge acquisition. This tendency can be seen in actual classes as well as in the assessment procedures. So, while American students work on group projects or research papers, Slovak students spend countless hours memorizing class notes and information from myriad of book chapters. What is a final product of such different approaches to class content? While an Economics major in the US is ready to set up his/her own company once he/she graduates, a Slovak University graduate can spend hours discussing the economic nuances of Marxist approach. This fact causes the Slovak students to feel somewhat paralyzed when it comes to finding a job. Most companies in Slovakia now reflect modern, western-oriented values such as independent thinking and creativity. However, the University graduates are used to following instructions since they have never learned to be responsible for their own learning or professional development. This inability to perform up to the western standards then causes a lot of friction at the work place and often leads to contract termination.

The final difference between the two educational systems lies in the nature of professor-student relationships. Students in America tend to feel very close to their teachers; they like to stay after the class and chat, e-mail and call their professors, even call them by their first names! However, students in Slovakia are not viewed as colleagues by their professors. This is because Slovak professors have a very high social status and because everyone in Slovakia learns to follow the unwritten communication rules, which do not allow people with “lower” status to talk equally to people with “higher” status.

To conclude, semester set up, content emphasis, and nature of professor-student relationships are the main areas of differences between the educational systems in the US and Slovakia. While both systems might offer some advantages, majority of people would probably benefit from a more flexible, practically-based, and communication-oriented system offered by American Universities.