Living In Switzerland - The Swiss Education System - Part I, with Margaret Oertig

Описание: At first glance, the Swiss school system looks similar to the education systems in other countries: children start with kindergarten at age four or five and progress through primary and secondary school. However, there are many differences, from the strong focus on independence to ability streaming, which usually starts at age 11-12.

Topics Covered
Types of tertiary education in Switzerland
The pathways to university
How parents can best communicate with Swiss teachers
Support for special educational needs children
Support for gifted children

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:03 About our guest
01:53 What's different about the Swiss school system?
07:05 Entering primary school
09:10 Choosing a secondary school
11:16 Issues for newcomers
14:09 Apprenticeships
17:09 School selection criteria
19:09 Tracks
20:20 Upper secondary schools
22:20 Bridge years
23:26 Gymnasium selection
24:45 Language training
25:45 The Probesemester

Next Steps
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Who We’re Talking To
Margaret Oertig is the author of the brilliant book 'Going Local, Your Guide to Swiss Schooling'.

Originally from Scotland, today Margaret lives with her Swiss husband near Basel. She has lived and worked in Switzerland since 1987. Her two daughters, who are now adults, went through the Swiss school system.

Margaret has worked for many years delivering intercultural training programmes to international companies. She worked for 20 years for the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz, lecturing, writing and working on projects related to intercultural collaboration.

About the Episode
Things to remember when communicating with your child’s Swiss teachers:
Make an appointment:
Since your child is expected to come to school independently, you won’t run into their teachers naturally. If you’d like to check on your child’s progress, the best thing to do is to book a short appointment. Email or call the teacher directly, and take advantage of any parent-teacher meetings the school sets up.
Focus on independence:
It’s often better if you encourage your child to speak up for themselves since most Swiss schools value independence. This is especially true once your child is in upper elementary or secondary school.
The teachers are the experts:
When communicating with teachers, treat them as the experts. Don’t be shy to voice your opinion, but also listen to what they have to say. Try not to become too emotional when speaking about your child because this could make it seem as if you can’t think straight.
Talk about the present situation:
When decisions are made about ability streaming and other parts of your child’s education, their current performance is analysed. It’s not so much about their potential as it is about the evidence of their performance, based on their school work. So, always talk about the concrete situation, and ask what your child can do to improve.
You can appeal decisions:
If you disagree with a decision made about your child, ask the head teacher about the appeals process. Just remember that decisions are based on various factors such as your child’s grades, maturity level, and performance in class. You’ll need a lot of evidence to successfully change or reverse a decision.

Resources
Margaret’s book, Going Local - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Going-Local-...

Margaret on LinkedIn -   / margaret-oertig-davidson-3bb49026b  

Federal Professional Examinations (Eidgenössische Berufsprüfungen) - https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/sbfi/de/hom... (German)

Federal Diploma of Higher Education - https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/...

Tertiary level professional education - https://www.edk.ch/en/education-syste...

Swiss Universities Website - https://www.swissuniversities.ch/en/?r=1

DeepL - https://www.deepl.com/en/translator

Integrative Förderung - https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/d... (German)

Special Needs Education - https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society/...

Talenta (Zurich school for gifted children) - https://talenta.ch/ (German)

#switzerland #education #school