In the modern world, education plays a significant role in both individualsâ life quality and the development of society. Therefore, countries spend profound resources on maintaining and upgrading their educational systems. Two of the leading countries in the area of education are Canada and Germany. They both tend to attract a substantial number of international students with the quality of their education. Comparing their educational achievements and challenges can provide an interesting perspective on the differences between the two developed countries. Canadaâs education system focuses on affordability of education, while Germany prioritizes the quality.
Firstly, there are significant differences between Canada and Germany in the attainability and monetary utility of education. Germany has a relatively low proportion of the population with higher education degrees compared to Canada. For example, around 60% of Canadian people had tertiary education degrees, while only 34.9% of Germans achieved this level of education (OECD, 2021). These statistics imply that education is more affordable in Canada than in Germany. However, the educational level in Germany affects an individualâs salary more positively compared to Canada and increases the chances of acquiring a new job. Therefore, the premises of acquiring education in Germany are much higher than in Canada. While Canada provides more affordable education to the population, Germanyâs social structure values educational achievements more.
Secondly, Canada spends more capital, but Germany delivers higher financial compensation to teachers. The data shows that Canada invests 5.9% of the GDP, compared to Germany investing 4.3% (OECD, 2021). Even though the variation is relatively insignificant, it becomes more profound when considering investments per student. However, Germany tends to financially engage teachers better than Canada. The variations profoundly increase when considering the starting earnings of teachers. For instance, in Germany, the starting salary for teachers of lower secondary education is around 72500 dollars, while Canadian educational institutions offer almost twice as little, 37760 dollars (OECD, 2021). This data can indicate that Germany prioritizes the financial engagement of teachers more than Canada, considering that teachersâ salaries generally constitute most of the educational spending.
Lastly, Canada and Germany experienced educational losses from COVID-19 and attempted to adapt their education systems to the changing environment. At the start of 2020, Canada experienced full school closure for six months. The researchers predicted the negative effect of such a learning gap on the study achievements (Aurini & Davies, 2021). On the other hand, Germany did not apply the same whole closure strategy, which potentially mitigated the negative consequences of the study gap. Additionally, both countries adopted digital technologies in their educational processes (ZawackiâRichter, 2021). Moreover, experts agree that digital education can become widespread in Canada and Germany (Kerres, 2020). The similar digital tendencies of the two leading countries to the changing educational environment suggest that the digitalization of education can become a common practice.
In conclusion, the education system of Germany tends to focus on quality, while Canadian education relies on affordability. German social structure highly values its education, which is represented through the profound rise in earnings with the increasing level of education and substantial financial benefits to teachers. On the other hand, Canada prioritizes affordability, having much higher educational attainment and investments rates in the education sector. Finally, both countriesâ education systems are affected by the coronavirus, which propels them to use more digital technologies in education.
References
Aurini, J., & Davies, S. (2021). COVIDâ19 school closures and educational achievement gaps in Canada: Lessons from Ontario summer learning research. Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie, vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 165-185.
Kerres, M. (2020). Against all odds: Education in Germany coping with Covid-19. Postdigit Sci Educ vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 690-694. Web.
OECD (2021). Education at a glance 2021: OECD indicators. OECD.
ZawackiâRichter, O. (2021). The current state and impact of Covidâ19 on digital higher education in Germany. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 218-226.