The French education system was created as a means to uphold the republican principles emanating from the Revolution. The first Article of the 1958 French Constitution says the Republic assures equality before the law of all citizens without distinction of origin or race. Theoretically at least, it is not only forbidden to discriminate, but to…

The provision, in most industrialized democracies, of public funding for schools that differ from the state system in religion or pedagogy has the effect of encouraging philosophical diversity and school-level decision making alongside a substantial degree of curriculum alignment and with various forms of government protection for the interests of…

This collection of 24 articles explores how educational research, programs and policies in several countries are related to the issue of children's rights. Several of the collected articles focus on aspects of children's experience and development. Group membership, children's right to happiness, the development of an optimistic outlook among…

To make European higher education systems compatible, several systems of certification are being considered, including the German model of final certification, the English model of accumulative certification, the American "add-on" model, and the French model, which extends the "add-on" model. The influence of business and…

France's Minister of Education and Culture favors a governmental language policy to provide the French with genuine communicative competence in other languages. His plan relies on four "D's": diversification, development, decentralization, and dynamic policy. A chart summarizes the 20 essential measures to be undertaken. (CNP)

The methodologies employed in comparative higher education and comparative education are briefly summarized and analyzed. Weaknesses of the following approaches used by scholars/researchers in the field are identified: (1) locating decision-making structures and relations in broadly differentiated aggregations of systems; (2) case study; (3)…

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.…

It is demonstrated that although governments in France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom failed to foresee the scale of expansion of demand for higher education in the 1960s, as well as the slackening of private demand in the early 1970s, they succeeded in meeting short-term private demand. (KC)

This chapter briefly describes the kinds of educational research centers active in France and the types of research they are conducting, then focuses on developments in the field of educational research from 1930 to the present and on the impact research has had on policy and innovations in recent years. In the section on history it is noted that…

The recent Savary Law is regressive and political in a time when the French university system is already overburdened by economic crisis, declining enrollments, recent government mandates favoring research over higher education, poor manpower and curriculum planning, and inappropriate facilities. (MSE)

Examines French higher education in terms of Michel Crozier's theory that views the French as torn between two conflicting desires: to maximize personal autonomy and to assure an ordered and orderly environment. Participation on all levels in the university system is described. (AMH)

Efforts to reform education in France include proposed changes in teacher education and the teaching profession that are met with a range of responses from skepticism to hostility. The reactions leave the government little room for movement. (MSE)

Traces the history of the advances and setbacks experienced by proponents of sign language in France and in the United States from the 18th century to the present. (AM)

Discusses the role of government language and education policies toward immigrant and minority groups, using the situations in Britain, France, and The Netherlands to illustrate the effects of assimilationist and pluralistic solutions. Argues that government policies to achieve social cohesiveness and cultural pluralism often conflict each other.…

France's cultural policy since the 1950s is criticized as having more of a leisure and recreational focus than being truly encouraging of French culture and intellect. Politics and economics are seen as inappropriate policy motivators. (MSE)