Teaching Cartographical Skills in Different Educational Systems of EU - Maps for the Future Children Education and Internet - page 45

resource is to show the educational systems and teaching of geographical and
cartographical knowledge in a few member states of the EU.
4.2 Educational Systems in European Union
One of the most important tasks of public education is knowledge transfer based on
educational systems with several different layers of learning and training. The
educational systems of a given country include all the schools of the country and
show an organization where schools (of different type, level, function, maintenance)
are connected horizontally and vertically (Mezei and Szebenyi 1998 ). Its main aim is
to import growing and basic knowledge in a socially institutionalized way.
Every single school system has evolved and developed differently in the influence
of different factors (e.g. traditions, historical, social and economic development)
shaping them. Therefore there are similarities and differences between them.
Differences may not only be in maintaining schools but also in education—such as
the length of compulsory education, the age of school beginning, different school
types, school system and interoperability between schools, the level of state influence.
To examine every single different method we need a homogeneous scheme.
UNESCO, OECD, EU have formed international standard classification of education
( ISCED ) in order to interpret educational training forms and programs homogeneously
(UNESCO 1997 ). With its help the different educational systems can be compared
easily. There are seven levels determined within educational systems (Fig. 4.1 ).
The Eurydice Network contains information and analysis of educational systems
and policies in 31 of the members of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme in
Europe: the 27 EU countries, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland (as member of the
European Economic Area, EEA) and Turkey. The publications and the databases of
the member states' education and its comparison are organised by the EU Educa-
tion, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency in Brussels (Eurydice 2011 ) which
formed the basis for this comparison.
The compulsory education lasts 9-10 years in most EU states (in Luxembourg,
Malta and UK 11 years, in the Netherlands and North Ireland 12 years and in
Fig. 4.1 ISCED levels