educational system

{{Short description|Structure of all facilities and opportunities to acquire education within a country}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}

The educational system{{cite news|author = Wallace, Dorothy|year = 2009|pages = |title = Parts of the Whole: Approaching Education as a System|volume = 2|journal = |doi = 10.5038/1936-4660.2.2.9}} generally refers to the structure of all institutions and the opportunities for obtaining education within a country. It includes all pre-school institutions, starting from family education, and/or early childhood education, through kindergarten, primary, secondary, and tertiary schools, then lyceums, colleges, and faculties also known as Higher education (University education). This framework also includes institutions of continuous (further) professional and personal education, as well as private educational institutions.

While the education system is usually regulated and organized according to the relevant laws of a country, a country's education system may have unregulated aspects or dimensions. Typically, an education system is designed to provide education for all sections of a country's society and its members. It comprises everything that goes into educating the population.

Educational systems may be structured in either centralized or decentralized formats.Bray, Mark (1991). "Centralization Versus Decentralization in Educational Administration: Regional Issues", Educational Policy, 5(4): 371-385. DOI:10.1177/0895904891005004003 Comparative case studies indicate that centralized educational systems, such as that of South Korea, provide more favorable educational outcomes than decentralized systems, such as those in Brazil and South Africa.Do Vale, Helder Ferreira (2016). "Educational Reforms and Decentralization in Brazil, South Africa, South Korea and Spain".Lex localis - Journal of Local Self Government, 14(3):593-614. DOI:10.4335/14.3.591-612(2016)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognises nine levels of education in its International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) system (from Level 0 (pre-primary education) through Level 8 (doctoral)). UNESCO's International Bureau of Education maintains a database of country-specific education systems and their stages.[https://web.archive.org/web/20130124032233/http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/isced-2011-en.pdf Revision of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED)], Retrieved 5 April 2012.