 Primary
or elementary education consists of the first years of formal,
structured education that occur during childhood. In most countries, it
is compulsory for children to receive primary education (though in many
jurisdictions it is permissible for parents to provide it). Primary
education generally begins when children are four to eight years of age.
The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat
arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of
age (adolescence); some educational systems have separate middle schools
with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking
place at around the age of fourteen. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New
Zealand, Australia, South Africa, etc., schools which provide primary
education are referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these
countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior schools.
Technology is an increasingly influential
factor in education. Computers and mobile phones are being widely used
in developed countries both to complement established |
