Traces the history of the "francais fondamental," concentrating on the period following its launching in 1951. (AM)

Argues that, with a reform ratified in July 1987, apprenticeship ceased being a dead end in France and became a genuine vocational education option. Discusses development in vocational training courses in several industries. Concludes that it has not been determined yet whether apprenticeship is an institution that can keep up with current work…

In 1959, France passed the Debre Act, inaugurating massive subsidies for private education by contracting secular instruction to private schools signing contracts. The policy has successfully provided parents with school choice without increasing social stratification but has led to some financial and political accountability problems. Choice…

Discusses France's 1989 New Policy for Education (NPE), which identifies three ways of preventing academic failure: school policies stressing family involvement and instructional continuity; reorganization of primary education into three training cycles; and assessment of student competencies. Considers NPE's position on knowledge development.…

Explores educational inequalities in France, employing data collected for cohorts born between 1919 and 1973, a period of educational expansion. Findings show a shift in social inequalities, from entry into lower secondary school to entry into "lycee" (upper secondary school leading to the baccalaureate). Policy implications are…

In many countries around the world there is a current focus on the restructuring of education systems in a bid to increase the "quality" of the educational experience for pupils in order to raise their academic achievement. However, the definition of quality as expressed through policy may not always accord with the aims and aspirations…

This document discusses research and thinking about several countries' experiences in providing early childhood education and services, and additionally, describes current early childhood education in the Australian states and territories. Following the first chapter's brief provision of background information about preschool education in…

The normalization of instruction, previously clandestine, rests on the dynamism of the culturalist movement, and the resolution of organizational and economic problems. (Text is in French.) (MSE)

On 8 November 1968 the French Ministry of Education issued a ministerial decree, the purpose of which was to set up a workable and durable system of parental participation in the day-to-day life of schools. The machinery proposed was complex, and a sequence of ministerial orders and circulars clarifying and modifying the original decree soon made…

Examines the evolution in England, France, and the United States of organizations concerned with the wishes of parents in regard to secondary schooling. Concludes that despite significantly different educational systems there is similarity regarding parent involvement: the wishes of the vast majority of parents remain unexpressed, unsolicited, or…

Results from a comparative investigation of French and German industry are presented, and the close relationship between the national employment structures and respective educational and training systems is demonstrated. Conclusions are drawn about current debate in Germany about vocational training policies. (Author/MSE)

Examines recent attempts to restructure French secondary schooling in order to provide equal opportunity and more relevant curriculum. Discusses some impediments to these reforms, particularly the opposition of teachers and their unions. (SJL)

Discusses the practice of grade repetition in French schools, indicating that repetition is not beneficial to the pupil concerned. Notes that countries that have abandoned grade repetition have not suffered a lowering of educational standards, nor have they incurred extra costs, and describes ways to achieve this end. Contains 11 references. (EMH)

The French education system appears to reflect worldwide trends (decentralization, school autonomy, and marketization), but actually has proved strongly resistant to external pressures. Schools today are subjected to conflicting moral pressures and increased parent demands. "Putting the pupil at the center" sloganizing has not reduced…

Examines the political dynamics of planning and implementing educational reforms in Greece, with comparisons to France. Argues that, as in France, the state's concern for "compensatory legitimation" provides a better tool than those advanced by sociologists or historians for explaining Greece's many failed educational reforms. Compares…