Educational System In France

Topics in French Business and Environment-1

The Reforms in the French Education System

DALY Peter

Dealing with the topic : "The French education System is elitist and in serious need of reform"

Thinking about learning as a repeated task along our lives does not necessarily means that it is an easy one. As well as with any another cultural construction, it is frequent to be imbued with the common sense and to think about education as a static and crystallized method among the passing years. It is a trend to consider teaching as if it has always been there and even, as if it has been sustaining certain continuity through the passing decades. Maybe this is the main reason that leads us to notice the most recognizable symptoms of its decay and to believe that "it was better before ". Therefore, it is a labor of the specialists and of the intellectual ones to build a thought that places education as a phenomenon in space and in time.

As well as education, elitism has also been seen through the years as a word meaning a privileged minority from the society. But there are also some close words that may describe it, such as inequality.

What is really important is to recognize that an educational system goes hand to hand with pedagogical and economical matters, both the means needed in order to improve or weaken it.

Summary of the Reforms needed in order to improve the Educational System in France.

The French Educational System has been regarded as elitist throughout the years since it has marked strong differences between the types of schooling there are. Although those having a Baccalaureat Pro are able to have a well paid job because of their specialized training, students finishing the Baccalaureat General and leading to the best Universities are pretty sure (and those going to the Grandes Ð"?coles more) of entering the competitive employment market and to earn a better living. While students finishing a Baccalaureat Technologique deal with a shrinked market (even though they also had a special preparation) due to a higher demand of those kind of jobs.

Although there is a wide range of opportunities to decide what to do in life, students finishing the Bac and willing to go to University might still have problems while choosing the adequate career that fits their ambitions. In my opinion, this is because the extensive offer of specialized careers and the lack of selection at the universities make it more difficult for students to choose. Consequently, many students decide without really contemplating the importance of carefully selecting a career and begin to study anything and after a year, they would drop-out. This is not likely to happen at the Grandes Ð"?coles, since a very strict selection has place in order to receive students that really want to study there.

I think it is really urgent to attend the drop-out problem at universities with a selection before entering them, and in the case of the Grandes Ð"?coles, it would be also necessary to change the view of students who fear not being able to enter them.

The most commonly heard sentence: "Les Grandes Ð"Ёcoles? Ce n'est pas pour moi!"1 expresses a clear necessity to change the way of thinking of the students. Most of all from those students attending schools of "la banlieue" since it is from here that the feeling of elitism and disregard begins. I think it is required to promote equality between children and therefore, the new reform must hurry in "making schools more human, giving them a little more autonomy within the harsh centralized system"2 Then it will be easier for schools to control their needs since not all deal with the same problems. Therefore, this kind of schools must emphasize educating "full individuals" instead of just promoting intellectuality as the only technique of achieving a good job.

It is also very important to support the ZEP schools in order to motivate children and to show them that every kind of higher education is also accessible to them. Therefore, specialized teachers might be needed and the government must give them the necessary tools to achieve this goal in order to reduce elitism.

Another important point discussed in terms of educational reforms is the content and the way education has been given through the years. In my opinion, French education has been ruled by "progressive education"3 and although the modern life and way of working really emphasizes a rapid adaptation into different work-teams and the right combination of skills, it is very important to remember that working in teams has more to do with cooperation than competition. In my opinion, the way teaching should be imparted is as a mixture of progressive and reconstructionist4 schooling. Since children not only must be prepared to perform an excellent role in team-works, but also have the ability to propose better solutions to his or her surrounding environment. Then education now a day must surpass the classroom and attend social needs in order to finish with the idea that those who are really privileged can continue ascending.

It is also important to consider a solution to overcapacity. Since universities lack of an enough infrastructure in order to attend the growing number of students willing to enter, while the Grandes Ð"?coles enjoy of an adequate ambience for selected students. Therefore, I consider that giving more autonomy to the universities should help diminish this constant problem allowing them to control their capacity and to balance the offer of courses with the number of students attending them. For that reason, the reform should also aim to approve a selection before students enter the public universities. I agree with the French educational system where vocational branches are offered to different kinds of students. However, for those studying the Bac General, a strong selection must be made before they enter the university because the demand of certain careers could surpass the offer of teachers and then the problems of overcrowding occur. If there is not a good selection before students enter University; many might just be there and wait until they decide what they really want to study and distract those students who already know.

Also, for those careers like Arts, Cinema, Philosophy, and so on, the number of places should be reduced and given just to students that are really aiming to dedicate their lives to those branches of study and also to them who certainly will get a job. The ones who want to study it just to learn more about it, should