This essay examines the formation, operation, and social effects of adult education classes in France during the nineteenth century. These classes were created and operated prior to the formation of France's national education system and were part of the expansion of primary schooling for the working class, or more generally for "the…

In this article, the author attempts to show how French disciplinary "didactiques" were created and have developed. At the beginning, nobody could forecast the future and whether the "didactiques" would one day be recognised by the academic and instructional systems. The French "didactiques" are strongly based on…

This article explores, in the French context, an aspect of what Terence McLaughlin (1991) has described in an unpublished paper as the "dilemma of substantiality" faced by any school system endeavouring to promote neutrality. In France, in order that the public or common school be genuinely open to all students, not only is the wearing…

This paper, based on 14 case studies of schools situated in six local urban spaces (within the urban agglomerations of Budapest, Charleroi, Lille, Lisbon, London and the Creteil/Paris region), will analyse the internal logics of action of these schools and show that they are conditioned by the interaction between internal (school narrative…

This book focuses on the recent debates surrounding headscarves in public schools in France, where the wearing of an article of clothing became the focus of intense national debate. The book is divided into two parts. Part One, Framing the Discussion, includes the following essays: (1) Essay: Immigration and Integration in Europe (2) France; (3)…

This paper starts with the founding of UNESCO and the fundamental belief that humanitarian, social and political deficits in given societies can be corrected by means of education. The history of the UNESCO International Conferences on Adult Education (Elsinore, Montreal, Tokyo, Paris and Hamburg, 1949-1997) demonstrates the changes in perceptions…

Only since the 1990s has the impact of globalisation on education drawn scholarly attention, primarily due to the impact of international school achievement surveys. This study argues that the globalisation of education began much earlier, with the establishment of intergovernmental agencies, such as UNESCO and the OECD, and the adoption of…

With an aim to investigate inclusion across borders, quantitative and qualitative data were examined that came from 18 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Finland, France, Iceland, India, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the USA. Four themes emerged in this study: (1) concerns…

It is argued that the social control function of education and training is becoming increasingly explicit in England and France. Education and training can be viewed as a form of custody for young people, with enforced participation post 16 planned in the near future in England. Compulsory education for this age group is not currently planned in…

This article explores some of the legal and law-related challenges educators face in designing, implementing, and sustaining globally networked learning environments (GNLEs) in the context of conflicting international laws on intellectual property and censorship/free speech. By discussing cases and areas involving such legal issues, the article…

In this era of global competition, human resources will play a decisive role in the battle for efficiency and competitive advantage, where nations and organisations with superior and quality-oriented human capital will soon outperform those with inefficient and quantity-oriented labour force. Rate of human capital formation will be more important…

Relying upon recent research, this article puts into perspective the evolution of inequalities concerning both education and life chances in France since the 1960s. While a dramatic expansion of education has taken place, what consequences can one observe as far as social mobility and more broadly social reproduction are concerned? In fact, French…

Earlier studies of France, Germany and the UK suggest that a common framework exists to explain the relationship between public expenditure on education and economic growth in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This article shows that while a similar relationship exists in the USA, US policies were particularly committed to the educational…

This article considers multicultural education policies in relation to recent political and social events in England, France and Canada. The authors start from the assumption that the promotion of multiculturalism is thought to be a beneficial aim in schools. In light of this, they contrast this aim with the large civil unrest witnessed in 2005 in…

The objective of this report is to improve Canadians' understanding of e-learning--particularly of the challenges, limitations and benefits--so that Canada may move forward in appropriate and relevant ways. Levels of adoption of e-learning have been significantly slower than predicted. This report also identifies areas related to e-learning where…