Questionnaire on schools
Aim: Think about the situation of schools in your country, and how it compares to the situation around the world You will need: A copy of the questions Duration: 30 minutes
Answer the following questions about schools in your country and your experience at school. If you are working in a group, discuss your answers as they may be different.
When you have finished you could write about your answers for the Global Village website, so other young people can find out about school life in your country. Remember to add any interesting facts or funny stories about your school.
1) Do most children in your country attend primary school? The Millennium Development Goal 2 is to achieve universal primary education by 2015. In many countries around the world there are still lots of children who are not able to go to primary school.
2) In your country, do more boys or girls attend school, or roughly equal numbers? In some countries more boys are sent to school than girls. The MDG 3 aims to promote gender equality, which means ensuring the number of girls attending school is the same as the number of boys.
3) At what age did you start primary school? The age at which children start primary school can very between different countries. In some places it may be as young as 4 or 5, in other countries as late as 8 or 9. Sometimes there are no places in school, or families cannot afford to send them earlier.
4) For how many years did/will you attend primary school? The Millennium Development Goal aim is for children all around the world to be provided with a minimum of five years at Primary school.
5) Do you have your lunch at school, or return home for lunch, or not eat lunch? In some poorer countries, many children cannot afford to bring any food with them to school. Incentive schemes that provide free lunches are one way of encouraging more parents to send their children to school.
6) Approximately how many students were/are there in your classes at primary school? In some places class sizes are very large, because there are not enough teachers. Children of different ages may all be taught in one classroom. This can make life very difficult for the teacher, and it can be hard for the students to learn if they are cramped up in a noisy classroom.
7) Did/Do you have one teacher to teach all the subjects, or several different teachers? A primary school teacher often has to teach the whole curriculum, so they have to be familiar with many different subjects. If they have not been provided with good training, and do not have good resources (e.g. textbooks) this can make teaching very difficult.
8) Did/Do you have to wear a school uniform at primary school? In most schools students have to wear a uniform, but these can be expensive to buy. If wearing a uniform is a requirement, this can mean children from poor families are not able to go to school.
9) Did/Will you move directly from primary school to secondary school? Many people around the world do not get a chance to go to Secondary School. This can be for many reasons - maybe the school is too far away, it may cost too much money, the young person may be needed to help at home, or they could be getting married.