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The French State: Language, Culture and Education

Section 4: Education

Part A: Public Education: Pre-School-University

 

 

 

Overview

This section provides an outline of the French public educational system. You will learn about the different stages (école maternelle (pre-school), école primaire (primary school), etc. and the philosophy behind training French children to become citizens.

Key terms and concepts: Uniformity in education, egalitarianism and elitism, the baccalauréat exam, authority of teachers, les grandes écoles, and the concours.

 

Table of Contents:

· Chapter 13: élite Education (Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong, pp. 177-190)

· French Education: An Overview

· École  maternelle (pre-school): 3 or 4-year cycle (ages 2-5or 6)

· École primaire (primary schools): 5-year cycle; ages 6-10)

· Collège (middle or junior high school): 4-year cycle; ages 11-14)

· Lycée (high school):  2-, 3- or 4-year cycle; ages 15-17+

· Notes

· Sources

Objectives for this section:

After completing the following readings, see if you are able to do these things:

· What positive role has the highly centralized French education system traditionally played in stabilizing and creating a healthy society? · List three challenges faced by the French State today in upholding the ideal of a meritocracy in education. · Compare and/or contrast two aspects of pre-school education in France and the US. · Why has the middle school/junior high school become the weak link in the French system? · What happens to a French pupil once he/she leaves middle school at age 14-15? · What choices are available for further education once a high school student  passes the baccalaureat exam (le bac)?

Chapter 13: élite Education (Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong, pp. 177-190)

Study Questions:

· Explain why the French education system is both selective and egalitarian?

· What is the primary role of the French Ministry of Education? How are its policies carried out?

· Compare teacher training in France to teacher training in the US.  What differences are there?

· How does the French university provide equal opportunity to students?  What is the major difference between being admitted to a French university and the selection process for being admitted to an American university?

· What are the challenges faced by the French university today?

· What are the grandes écoles and how have they created a meritocracy out of the French education system? Is the "meritocracy" based on merit alone or are there other factors that influence a person's being accepted into the pool to compete for the grandes écoles?

In Chapter 13, N-B provide insights into the French education system and how it compares to those of Canada and the US.  Emphasis is on the central role played by the State in directing and managing what is really "a curious mix of egalitarianism and elitism. A good education is available to all, but those who don't make it to the top are stuck on the same rung of the ladder for the rest of their lives." (p. 179) They review the stages through which a child passes, highlighting practices in nursery school, primary, and secondary education in France that are of special interest such as toilet training by age two and the emphasis on philosophy and math in the lycées. Historical background is provided to elucidate the establishment of the State's authority through the Ministry of Education and its ongoing role in setting national standards. Next, N-B discuss the importance of national standards in deciding the curriculum, which is uniform throughout France, and in training the teachers, who are assigned to one of 25 académies (school boards)  and are theoretically interchangeable. Teachers are not prepared in pedagogy; they are transmitters of knowledge and expected to be authoritative in the classroom. Government-appointed administrators or inspecteurs  have oversight and authority over the carrying out of State mandates. The last part of the chapter focuses on post-graduate education in France, the university system versus les grandes écoles.The historical sketch of the university in France helps in understanding why the universities are facing many challenges today (decrepit facilities, overcrowding, limited curricula) even though they still provide an extremely rigorous, inexpensive, equal educational opportunity to those who pass the bac (high school exit exam). However, as N-B explain, the best jobs go to those students who are selected to prepare for the concours (competitive exams) that lead to the grandes écoles, from which many will be eliminated. Even within this rareified group there is intense competition to get into the "best of the best" top schools, most of which are in Paris. Of these, the École nationale de l'Administration ( ENA)*,  sits at the top. *Since N-B published this book, The école nationale de l'Administration (ENA)  relocated to Strasbourg in March 2005 to attract a more international clientele.

French Education: An Overview

The French value education and are proud of their national tradition. In recent times, however, one of the pillars of the Republican concept of uniformity and equality of opportunity for all in a non-sectarian (lay) environment has come under serious challenge, most notably the separation of Church and State as manifested in the wearing of symbolic religious dress, such as the headscarf worn by Muslim girls (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (from 2004).

Traditionally the school has served as a place of social integration, which allows the child to become formed as a citizen -- in fact the French word for education or training is la formation. It is also a place where one acquires the knowledge necessary to rise up within the society, since success in life is linked to educational achievement. Even the French system of civil service requires that those who wish to enter pass exams demonstrating  literacy. Once accepted into the system, these  fonctionnaires can only better their lot by passing more exams required (written and oral) to be promoted.

As in America, France today is faced with problems of assimilating its most recent immigrants, many of whom are not successful in school, are truant, feel marginalized, and face social problems at home due to poverty and hopelessness in the job sector. Although the French government is highly interventionist, they grapple with these issues as well as crime and the threat of terrorism in their midst. So education is a fundamental area in which the government exerts its "long arm" for the general good.

Ministry of Education website (in French): http://www.education.gouv.fr/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

École  maternelle (pre-school): 3 or 4-year cycle (ages 2-5 or 6)

· In existence since last quarter of the 19th century

· Not compulsory but enrollment is very high

· Ministry of Education hires the teachers; building and upkeep of the schools is the responsibility of the cities and towns

· Children are expected to be toilet-trained (propres)

The School Year

· 10 months : September- December, January-June plus a few days in July. 

· La Rentrée (Back-to-School Day) takes place between August 31 and September 5  while the end of the school year takes place during the first week of July.

Daily Schedule:

· 8:30-11:30, 1:30-4:30 Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri. Wednesdays 8:30 - 11:30 - usually Wednesday afternoons are free.

· Some schools substitute the Wednesday morning session with a Saturday morning session.

· Thursday afternoons are reserved for recreational activities organized by special instructors from 2:00-4:00 PM.

École primaire (primary schools): 5-year cycle (ages 6-10)

· Most children enter at age 6; are expected to be literate

· Compulsory

· 27 contact hours per week, 6 hours per day Mon-Sat. Wednesdays free

· Years 1-3: Cours préparatoire (basic skills); Years 4-5 (perfecting basic skills)

· Reading program with homework and class work after 6 hours of lessons

· 25 students per class

· State exams test competency in French and math at end of 5 years

· Organized sports and other extra-curricular activities are scheduled outside of school, usually on Thursday afternoons

· Grading is published throughout the year, so that a child knows his/her class rank as well as that of classmates

Collège (middle or junior high school): 4-year cycle (ages 11-14)

· Compulsory

· Operated by the département (district)

· State hires, trains and pays the teachers and provides all materials (books, computers, etc.); this includes private collèges

· Teachers are responsible for several subjects but not all subjects, so students have a variety of teachers to work with

· Weakest link in system since 1975, when pupils were allowed to enter collége  regardless of their level of achievement. Now there are many children inadequately prepared to make an informed choice of a lycée (high school)

· Amounts of homework are set, grades based on homework assessment and tests

· Behind-the-scenes orientation between parents and teachers

· First foreign language is started in Year 1; usually start a second foreign language in Year 3. German is considered the hardest (most prestigious), English (most popular), Latin or Greek (optional extras)

· Group assigned to take German plus ancient languages will often become a class that will remain together throughout collège and to which the best teachers will be assigned

Lycée (high school):  2-, 3- or 4-year cycle; ages 15-17+

After leaving the collège, pupils will be streamed into different kinds of lycées. The exam required to complete secondary education and to go on to university is called le baccalauréat or as students call it  le bac.  (Note 1)

· Lycée professionnel ( vocational high school):  Pupils are oriented towards either le bac général or le bac professionnel. About 50% leave after 2 years with a certificat or brevet (certification document) that leads directly to the job market. The rest continue on to prepare for and take the bac pro, the bac général, or sometimes le bac technologique. They study foreign language, history and philosophy in order to have a general knowledge of culture, as mandated by the State.

· Lycée (regular high school): Pupils in the regular lycée prepare for le bac général, choosing one of three main options open to them: le bac S (scientific), le bac L (literary), or le bac ES (economic studies). Since the most prestigious jobs come to those who achieve in science and math,  le bac S (scientific) remains the most popular.

· approximately 75% pass

· passing le bac guarantees entry to the university and the Instituts universitaires de technologie (IUTs)

· passing le bac DOES NOT guarantee entry to les grandes écoles.  Admission to the grandes écoles requires passing a competitive, elimination exam called a concours.

Notes:

1The bac is given around the world on the same days in June every year.  It includes both a written and oral part and is administered by a committee. Students often have to travel to sit for their exam.  As with other State examinations, teachers never correct their own students' work.

 

Sources:

Kidd, William and Siân Reynolds, eds. Contemporary French Cultural Studies. Oxford University Press, 2000. Article by Lucy Mitchell: French Education: Equal or Elitist?, pp. 51-65

Mermier,Guy R. France: Past and Present. New York: Peter Lang, 2000.