The theme of a conference in honor of the centennial of a famous French teaching institution was the 25-year French policy of spreading the French language internationally. Discussions focused on the cultural politics involved and their institutionalization, and the evolution of methods to carry out this policy through the medium of linguistic…

Examines the impact of teacher unions in two centralized educational systems--France and Israel--on school reforms. Document analysis and interview data suggest that, since 1970, teacher unions in both countries have been demanding and receiving more say in educational policy reforms. Despite similarities in tactics, French unions are more…

France's three major trade union federations, which do not encompass all organized French workers, espouse quite different styles of relations with political parties. The author relates these to the three main traditions of French trade-unionism: the communist-leninist, the social democratic, and the syndicalist models, but finds them changing.…

National patterns of power and control in higher education are key determinants of the conceptions of academic excellence and equality that prevail in particular systems. This paper examines five countries with predominantly state-controlled systems of higher education--West Germany, Italy, France, Sweden, and Japan--and two with mixed control…

Maintains that the effects of the French Revolution continue today. Presents scholarly views on the significance of the revolution. Challenges the view that the French Revolution led to the violent totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century. Traces the history of the revolution and outlines its legacy. (RW)

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…

Illuminated with previously unpublished personal letters, this article describes the role played by these men in the American Revolution. (DB)

The nature and significance of the changes introduced in the French university system since the passage of the Orientation Act of Higher Education in 1968 are examined. Political impacts on education are discussed in terms of governance, vocationalism and professionalism, and curriculum issues. Sluggish adaptations are noted. (Author/LBH)

Young people from the suburbs of the major cities of France rioted for several days in November 2005, damaging vehicles, companies and local infrastructure. This violence is a manifestation of the exasperation of young people from these suburbs against the discrimination they experience in terms of access to employment, to housing, due to the…

The report examines the development and implementation of performance indicators at institutions of higher education, through presentation of position statements on 11 countries: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and United Kingdom. General conclusions are summarized in an introductory…

The two principal approaches of the historian and sociologist, one focusing on change and the other focusing on recurrence or continuity, are reconciled for the teacher of French culture to foreign language students. This is accomplished through an examination of the differential time structures of different social levels, an illustration that the…

Four separate but overlapping power centers in French universities are described and discussed: the state authority (minister), faculty, political and trade unions, and students. Confrontations between these powers have characterized French higher education in the last 15 years, and they have been at the root of the concept of autonomy. (MSE)

The relative calm among students in France in the 1970s is explained in terms of the institutionalization of politics within the university, increased diversity on campus, and the relatively increasing returns of higher education. Conflicts of the 1970s are characterized as corporalistic-particularistic-materialistic. (JMF)

Discusses the role of the school in a changing society. Although France is the model, the discussion has international implications. Topics discussed include the former elitist system, the difficulty of equalizing opportunity, teacher roles, employment, permissiveness, values, the politicization of school and university, and administrative…

The French situation, in which the proprietary and upper-level secondary schools may contain a large number of "high-risk" or marginally qualified students, and proposed solutions to the problem, are described and discussed. (MSE)