Switzerland

By: Katie Roughan, Sarah McCormick, Megan

Houlihan, Alex Altier, and Christina Rombousek
Objectives
★ The students will be able to identify basic facts about the education
system in Switzerland.
★ The students will be able to compare the American education system
to the education system of Switzerland.
Kahoot
Switzerland
Location and Geography
★ Covers 15,950 square miles
★ A transition point between northern and southern Europe and between
Germanic and Latin cultures
★ A country of central Europe
★ Capital: Bern
★ Landlocked country surrounded by
○ Austria to the East
○ France to the West
○ Italy to the South
○ Germany to the North
★ Country of towering mountains and grassy
valleys
Demographics
★ Small in size but densely populated
○ Population: 8,613,925
★ The country is made up of many small cities
★ Switzerland’s numerous borders with other countries mean that there is a
wide range of exterior influences
○ The country has four official languages:
Swiss German, French, Italian,
Romansch
Culture of Switzerland
★ The most popular themes of swiss folk music is about love and the homeland

★ Yodeling was used back in the stone age and was initially used as a means of

communicating between Alpine villages

○ Now yodeling is used on special occasions

★ Swiss people marry later in life

★ Rosti is one of Switzerland’s iconic national dishes

★ Witches Downhill Race

Video on Swiss Education
Questions
★ In Switzerland, what are school systems regulated by?

★ What is the grading scale in Switzerland?

★ In Switzerland, how do schools assist students that don’t speak the Swiss

Language?
Background Knowledge on Swiss Education
★ Switzerland is composed of 26 individual cantons
★ Each canton has its own
○ education department
○ school calendar
○ methods of teaching
○ curricula
★ This can make a child moving from one school in one canton to
another very difficult
The School System
★ All children living in Switzerland are required to go to school, even if they do
not legally live there.
★ Compulsory education lasts for around 9-11 years (elementary school). Most
students have completed compulsory education by the age of 15.
★ Only 5% of Swiss children go to private school.
★ School System Order:
○ Kindergarten
○ Elementary School
○ Apprenticeship
○ Secondary School
○ University
The Education System in Switzerland
★ Primary Education
○ Lasts for between 4 to 6 years most likely following 2-3 years in
kindergarten
★ Secondary education
○ There is no clearly defined middle school phase
○ Age 16
○ Students that want to pursue tertiary school enter gymnasiums for 6
years
○ Students that want to pursue a practical career spend 3 years at
secondary school before splitting away and going to vocational training.
The Education System in Switzerland
★ Vocational Education
○ Regulated by federal law
○ Based on partnership between businesses and public schools
○ When successfully completed, students can move onto a third level of
practical education (fachhochschulen)
★ Tertiary Education
○ 12 public and generic universities. 10 provide non-technical training while
the other 2 are institutes of technology.
○ The original tertiary institution is the University of Basel
■ Founded in 1460
Forest Kindergartens
★ Forest schools are exclusively held outdoors everyday, in woodland areas.
★ Adult supervision is used to assist rather than lead.
★ Meant to fulfill the same basic purpose as other Kindergartens such as to care
for, stimulate, and education young children.
★ The flexibility and lack of pressure in an unstructured playgroup can suit all
types of children.
★ Being outdoors gives children the chance to experience nature and explore
the world around them.
Forest Kindergartens (cont.)
★ Has shown to have a positive impact on children’s balance, agility, and physical
coordination.
★ Activities may include climbing trees, playing imaginative games, building shelters, or
counting objects in nature.
★ It is an extremely hands on environment.
★ Students and teachers go out in all weather conditions.
★ Downside is that it is not “real” kindergarten and never will be.
Fun Facts
★ As of 2018, Switzerland was ranked the fifth happiest country
in the world, according to the World Happiness Report.
★ Switzerland is famous for its chocolate, cheese, banking
system, watches, and mountain areas
★ Sundays in Switzerland are protected by social laws
○ Illegal to mow, hang out laundry, wash your car, and
recycle
★ Most popular sports include skiing, snowboarding, and
mountaineering
★ Swiss men have the longest life expectancy in the world
Venn Diagram Group Work
Kahoot
Learning Styles Addressed
★ Visual learning

★ Social Learning

★ Independent Learning

★ Auditory Learning
References
https://www.expatica.com/ch/education/children-education/education-in-switzerlan
d-100021/

https://www.about.ch/education/index.html

https://geology.com/world/switzerland-satellite-image.shtml

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/switzerland.html

https://www.expatica.com/ch/about/basics/35-facts-about-switzerland-100041/

https://www.scholaro.com/pro/Countries/Switzerland/Education-System

https://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Switzerland.html
References
http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/switzerland-population/

http://www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs/the-customs-and-culture-of-switzerland-the-
living-tradition-a-survived-past/

https://www.expatica.com/ch/education/children-education/education-in-switzerlan
d-100021/

https://www.swissvistas.com/facts-about-switzerland.html

https://www.swissvistas.com/fairs-and-festivals-in-switzerland.html