This is a worthwhile question with many possible answers. In addition to @Amir W. Al-Khafaji's very interesting answer, there is a bit more to add.
In North America, science, mathematics and technology are mixed together. When that mix becomes dominated by technology, there is a tendency for students to become too dependent on what the technology tells them.
In Europe, the situation varies from country to country. In Italy, for example, classical education in science and mathematics is more important than technology. In that case, the potential for the birth of great scientists and mathematicians is greater than it is in North America.
The prevalence of classical education is also very high in universities in the Middle East. The situation is very mixed as we move towards Asia. For example, students in Mathematics in Pakistan receive very high level training. Perhaps the followers of this thread can comment on the situation in Taiwan, China and India or in Korea and Japan.
This is a very general question. The USA has 50 States. Each State is larger than many countries.
This is a worthwhile question with many possible answers. In addition to @Amir W. Al-Khafaji's very interesting answer, there is a bit more to add.
In North America, science, mathematics and technology are mixed together. When that mix becomes dominated by technology, there is a tendency for students to become too dependent on what the technology tells them.
In Europe, the situation varies from country to country. In Italy, for example, classical education in science and mathematics is more important than technology. In that case, the potential for the birth of great scientists and mathematicians is greater than it is in North America.
The prevalence of classical education is also very high in universities in the Middle East. The situation is very mixed as we move towards Asia. For example, students in Mathematics in Pakistan receive very high level training. Perhaps the followers of this thread can comment on the situation in Taiwan, China and India or in Korea and Japan.
I agree with Prof. Peters. However, it is really difficult to generalize any proper response for the USA. For example, Connecticut educational attainments and access to technology is far better than Mississippi
because of resources and higher standards of living.
Interesting questions and answers... I think we have to consider first the related factors such as funding, policies/laws, etc.
Also, we may need to study the case in Singapore, in addition to Japan and Korea.
John makes a good point. There is a definite relationship between educational attainment and poverty. The poorer the school system, the Lower the achievements. Clearly, you will always have a few exceptions! But the exception isn’t the rule In this case!
Also, I mentioned Singapore because compared with Korea and Japan, Singapore is a relatively small country (in land area and population)... how they educate, do research, promote S&T, manage and use technology, could be very different from Japan and Korea, moreso compared with USA, Germany and UK.
Another thing is the Tech Start-Up scene which can be seen in these industrialized and HighTech countries.
@ John Ryan Cortez Dizon : Also, we may need to study the case in Singapore, in addition to Japan and Korea.
The study of Mathematics in Singapore is intensive, following a classical rather a technological approach. For an overview of Singapore Mathematics Education, see
Chapter Mathematics Education in Singapore
At every level, the syllabuses comprise a few content
strands (e.g. number and algebra, geometry and measurement, statistics and probability), facilitating connections and inter-relationships across strands. The content in each strand is revisited and taught with increasing depth across levels.
(24) Mathematics Education in Singapore. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299821909_Mathematics_Education_in_Singapore [accessed Jan 06 2018].
Viewing Mathematics training in terms of strands is helpful. In Singapore, a strand stretches from the Elementary level to the pre-University level. The beauty of this approach is its built-in continuity, rising from elementary concepts in algebra and geometry to the more advanced concepts up to the threshold of advanced work at the University level. With this approach, technology is a servant in the study of Mathematics, and not the main event.
It would be helpful if followers of this thread would compare Mathematics education in Singapore with Mathematics educations in Japan and Korea.
Hi Raquel,
I do not have a direct answer, but will say something of related. I teach a course related to data modelling and processing in an international MS which is similar to MBI. I have students from about 20 countries and 5 continents each year, they have all possible backgrounds - from philosophy to pure maths and physics, crossing humanities, engineering, economy, and medicine. I am supposed to divide the students into groups following their skills in contemporary technologies. These last years I do not do any entry-level-test. I just ask them how many hours of maths did they have in the secondary school and what were their marks. The distribution following these criteria is perfect. It seems also that the marks are not so important...
Concerning the mentioned classical approach in teaching Maths, Russian stidents, even having a BSc in humanities, even after declaring to have hated their math course in the secondary, are usually good for the group of students with engineering backround. As far as I know, their Math course is full of theorems and proofs...
Just sharing,
Velina
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