Technical, economical, and social changes place great demands on the qualification of professional forces in all areas of the national economy. The decisive foundations for these qualifications are built in vocational education. Vocational education is an investment in the future and one of the decisive pillars of the prosperity of every state in…

In a flexible language learning system, developed at a French university and gradually improved through Action Research, different elements are combined: individual work on a virtual learning environment (VLE), pair-work and counselling appointments. One of the objectives of the system is to help the students involved progress towards…

This paper analyzes the ways in which national cultural traditions influence the processes of curriculum and pedagogic renewal in three contrasting European countries: England, France, and Germany. The paper is concerned with the ways national school traditions permeate through to systemic features, to the curriculum, and to teachers' pedagogies…

This paper is a presentation of a 10-year experiment in multimedia distance learning in English for specific purposes within the general framework of a 3-year management diploma in the French higher education system. It defines, analyzes, and rationalizes key elements in the technical evolution against a background of epistemological and present…

Recent changes in educational assessment in France reflect pressures to modernize the French educational system to align it with prevailing democratic and egalitarian values and to respond to the economy's vocational training needs. After providing background on the French educational system, this paper discusses two areas of secondary school…

The educational assessment quality assurance and control practices of Germany, Sweden, France, New Zealand, and Australia are compared to illustrate the considerable variety of approaches and some of the social factors that contribute to this variety. In Germany there is considerable variation from one province to another, and quality assurance…

In France, intermediate professions are jobs for holders of the professional baccalaureate plus 2-4 years of additional study. Intermediate technological education supplies a qualification that comes between secondary education and the qualified engineer. These people have a practical background that combines knowledge with skills and an ability…