Last year, the World Economic Forum released the 2017 Global Human Capital Report, in which countries were ranked on the basis of their investment in their own population.
A component of the report was centered on the education and skills training that each nation provided for its human capital. In this field, Switzerland ranked 3rd in the world, owing to its high quality educational system, as well as extensive vocational training. Switzerland has maintained similarly high rankings in previous editions of the Human Capital Report.
Another institution, Universitas 21 (U21), rated the Swiss higher education system as second best in the world in 2018.
These reports are just a few of the many indicators for the performance of the Swiss education system.
What elements of the Swiss education system make it so effective?
The Swiss model is characterized by three major aspects: Apprenticeship, multilingualism, and flexibility.
The multilingual heritage of the Swiss educational system, whether back in the home country or in an international school like SISD, comes from the many languages that are spoken in it. German, French, Italian, and Romansh are the national languages of Switzerland.
As a result, the Swiss education system is naturally suited to multilingual and foreign language instruction, even from a young age. And as we’ve shown in many of our previous articles, bilingual education has a wide variety of benefits for students.
The apprenticeship is a highly unique element of the Swiss system. University isn’t necessarily for everyone, and certain vocations require specialized training in ways that undergraduate degree programs can provide. That’s why it’s so crucial that students can choose their path even after elementary school.
Finally, the flexibility of the curriculum allows for students to choose their middle school futures after elementary, or pursue tertiary education after an apprenticeship. Students being given agency at such a young age acknowledges that everyone has unique aptitudes, and cultivating these at an early age will be a great boon to development.
Choose a school with the Swiss education system at its core
Swiss International School in Dubai is so-named for a very important reason – its founding and core structures were advised and informed by the Swiss educational system. Our founder, Mr. Omar Danial, consulted with top contacts in the Swiss educational field to create SISD and all its implementations of one of the very best education systems in the world.
