Inclusion
and
education
in



European
countries


INTMEAS
Report
for
contract
–2007‐2094/001
TRA‐TRSPO


Final report: 4. France

Danielle Zay
Lepelstraat
August 2009
This is an independent report commissioned by the European Commission's Directorate-
General for Education and Culture. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do
not necessarily represent the official position of the European Commission.

Drafts of this report benefited from comments and advice from the consortium’s reference
group members and from other experts in this field.

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

The electronic version of this report is available at:

http://www.docabureaus.nl/INTMEAS.html

Available INTMEAS-reports:

1. Summary/sommaire/Zusamenfassung
2. Comparative conclusions
3. Discussion and recommendations
4. France 


5. Germany
6. Hungary
7. Italy
8. The Netherlands
9. Poland
10. Slovenia
11. Spain
12. Sweden
13. UK
14. Experts and PLA

INTMEAS Reference Group

George Muskens, project leader

Jaap Dronkers, expert adviser
José Ramón Flecha, expert adviser
Jill Bourne, expert adviser
Danielle Zay, leader French research team
Ingrid Gogolin, leader German research team
Pál Tamás, leader Hungarian research team
Francesca Gobbo, leader Italian research team
Michał Federowicz, leader Polish research team
Albina Neçak Lük, Sonja Novak Lukanovic, leaders Slovenian research team
Mariano Fernándes Enguita, leader Spanish research team
Elena Dingu Kyrklund, leader Swedish research team
Rae Condie, leader UK research team

 Contract -2007-2094/001 TRA-TRSPO

STRATEGIES FOR SUPPORTING SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS IN

ORDER TO FOSTER SOCIAL INCLUSION

Name of the leading partner organisation

DOCA Bureaus, Dr. George Muskens

ATTACHED FINAL REPORT: FRANCE

Danielle Zay
Emeritus Professor, PROFEOR-CIREL
University of Charles de Gaulle Lille 3

Name of the leading partner organisation

PRISME : Jean Roucou, president

- July 2009 -
 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction p. 9
Research orientations p. 10
1- A study focusing on Strategies for supporting schools and teachers p. 10
2- French students’ results compared to those of other European countries p. 13
2-1 – Rate and level of diplomas and early leavers without diploma
or qualifications p. 15
2-2 – Students’ results during their schooling p. 15
3- Methodology p. 17
3-1 – Selection of thematic content p. 17
3-2 – Criteria for selecting references p. 18
3-3 – Terms and terminology (ToR: Theme of Research)
List of abbreviations p. 19
3-3-1 – Diplomas, competitive examinations, specific schemes, schools,
institutions and staff p. 20
3-3-2 - State ministries, departments, public services and education sectors p. 25
References p.27

ToR 1 - Support measures for schools with high drop-out rates p. 29

1- Terms and terminology: defining school drop in and out p. 29
1-1 Dropping out, failure to comply with legal obligations, truancy,
absenteeism, breaking off from school, early leaving studies p. 30
1-2 Early leavers without diplomas or qualifications p. 32
1-3 Dropping in p. 34
2 – The latest cutting edge research p. 34
2-1 – The statistics p. 35
2-2 – Analysis of the problem p. 37
2-3 –Measures and experiences in the combat against dropping out p. 41
2-3-1 – Alternative pedagogies : preventative solutions rather than remedies p. 42
2-3-2 – Corrective strategies p. 43
References p. 53

ToR 2 - Support measures for schools with high scores on other

possible indicators of social exclusion p. 59
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ToR 3 - Support measures for schools in socio-economically deprived areas p. 59

1 – Definition and map of ZEP/REP in the national territory p. 60
2 –Towards a connection between education and urban policies p. 63
3 – Assessment of the ZEP p. 66
4 – ZEP : “Pedagogical excellence zones” p. 67
References p. 69

ToR 4 - Support measures for schools with large populations

of pupils from immigrant backgrounds p. 71
1 –Major issues regarding young people from immigrant backgrounds p. 72
2 - Several specific measures introduced for young people from
immigrant backgrounds p. 74
3 – Impact of the French education system on young people from
immigrant backgrounds p. 76
References p. 79

ToR 5 - Support measures for teachers working in such schools p. 81

1 The leading part of Local Education Authority in teacher education
for socio-economically deprived areas p. 81
2 - An example of teacher training in socio-economically
deprived areas p. 82
3 – The needs of the teaching teams p. 83
4 – Research results p. 87
References p. 88

ToR 6 - Support measures for schools and teachers to deal with

the problem of harassment and bullying p. 90
1 – Bullying in French schools p. 91
2 – Anti-bullying strategies : preventing, remedying or repressing ? p. 94
2-1 –Measures to help schools and teachers to fight bullying p. 94
2-2 –Problems for teacher education relative to bullying p. 100
References p.104

ToR 7 - Support measures addressing pupils likely to become

early school leavers p. 107
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ToR 8 - Support measures for pupils with a physical or mental handicap,

and pupils in care p. 107
1 – Schooling for young people suffering from a disability p. 107
2 - The positive turn initiated by the law of 2005 p. 109
3 – Doubts about the impact of the law of 2005 p. 110
References p. 112

ToR 9 - Support measures to facilitate the educational success of pupils

from minority backgrounds: ethnic, linguistic, religious,
regional, etc. p. 113
1 – The Republican school model p. 113
2 – Towards an intercultural education in France p. 116
2-1 –What is an intercultural education ? p. 116
2-2 – Intercultural teacher training p. 119
References p. 121

ToR 10 – The assessment of success and failure regarding these points and
the internal and external factors that influence it p. 122
1 – Technical and vocational programmes, selective programmes,
school success factors and social integration p. 123
1-1 – The results of professional and technical programmes p. 123
1-2 – Inadequacies in school programmes impede the integration
of young people p. 125
1-3 – Support strategies for vocational and technical institutions and teachers p. 126
1-3-1 – Do not blame the schools or ask them to manage
what is beyond their control p. 126
1-3-2 – Enhancing the role of vocational and technical programmes
and teachers p. 127
1-3-3 – Ensure that the specialities offered square with the job market
and the pupils’ wishes p. 128
2 – The weaknesses in educational guidance orientation p. 129
2-1 - Weaknesses in guidance and orientation procedures p.129
2-2 – Support strategies for schools and teachers involved
in careers guidance p. 130
3 - The incapacity of the French school system to take differences
 5

into consideration p. 131

3-1 – What strategies do the new decrees offer schools and teachers? p. 133
3-2 – How will the decrees be applied by the social actors concerned? p. 134
3-2-1 – In the education system p. 134
3-2-2 - In teacher training programmes p. 137
4 - The lack of memory in the system and of continuity in its policies p. 140
5 - Alternative solutions p. 141
References p. 143

ToR 11 – Selected innovative and successful projects or case-studies

that have proved successful at school, local, regional or national level p. 146
Introduction p. 146

1 - “Démission impossible” (impossible resignation) : a scheme designed

for pupils in difficulty to support the work conducted by professionals
Maryan Lemoine, PhD student,
coordinator in “Démission impossible” scheme;
Michèle Guigue, Professor; Bernadette Tillard, Senior Lecturer,
PROFÉOR- CIREL, Educational Sciences,
University Charles de Gaulle Lille 3
p. 148

1-1 – “Démission impossible” (impossible resignation) : an initiative

designed to support pupils in a precarious situation p. 149
1-1-1 - The origins of “Démission Impossible” (Impossible resignation) p. 149
1-1-2 - How does “Démission Impossible” work ? p. 151

1-2 - The place and scope of “Démission impossible” p. 153

1-3 – A scheme that accompanies and supports professionals p. 154

1-3- 1 - Teacher and project coordinator p. 155

1-3-2 - The responsibility of a sector with several schools p. 155

1-3- 3 - The coordinator as mediator p. 156

1-3-4 - A pivotal position both within and outside the school system p. 157

1-3– 5 - Coordinators who regularly consult one another p. 157

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1-3- 6 - An initiative that informs and trains p. 158

1-4 – Conclusion p. 158

References p. 159

2- The fight against school failure in Education Action Networks (REP)

Yves Reuter, Professor, THEODILE-CIREL, Educational Sciences,
University Charles de Gaulle Lille 3
p. 161
2-1 - The principles of the “Freinet” school p. 163
2-1-1 – The school as an institution p. 163
2-1-2 – Pupils and learning p. 166
2-1-3 – The Teacher’s role p. 171
2-2 – Aspects to take into account for a provisional assessment p. 173
2-2-1 –The interest of the experiment p. 174
2-2-2 - Some problems p. 177
2-2-3 – The difficult issue of transferability p. 178
2-3 – Conclusion p. 181
References p. 182

3- The democratisation of access to selective education in French higher

education : PSE (Projet soutien à l’excellence/ Excellence support project)
Graciela Padoani David, Doctor, Educational Sciences,
PROFÉOR-CIREL,Educational Sciences, University Charles de
Gaulle Lille 3 & ESCIP - School of International Business p. 184
3-1. Background to the democratisation of access to selective higher education
schemes p. 185
3-1-1 The two models p. 187
3-2 – The PSE (Projet Soutien à l’Excellence/Excellence support project) p. 189

3-3 – Results p. 190

3-3-1 – Academic success p. 191
3-3-2 – The development of new ambitions and enhanced career plans p. 192

3-3-3 – The advantages, added value to the whole institution. p. 194

3-4 - Conclusion p. 196

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References p. 198

4 - Responses to violence : disparities in professional practice and

differentiated effects. The case of French primary schools
Cécile Carra, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, IUFM of
Nord/Pas de Calais, CESDIP-CNRS research team,
Head of the Research Centre RECIFES, University of Artois p. 199
4-1. The frequency and disparity of punishment p. 201
4-1-1. Frequent punishments p. 201
4-1-2. Pernicious effects ? p. 204
4-2. Dealing with violence : questioning professional attitudes p. 208
4-2-1. “Demonstrating authority” p. 208
4-2-2. An ambiguous use of the rules p. 210
4-2-3. Ambiguous recourse to the group p. 213
4-2-4. Responses to different systems og logic and to differentiates effects p. 215
Conclusion p. 218
References p. 219

5– Conclusion p. 221
5-1 – Incorporation of differences, differentiated pedagogy and tutoring p. 222
5-2 – Internal and external partnership p.222
5-3 – The importance of local versus national p. 222

Conclusion : what are the issues raised by the French report

for a European comparative study ? p. 223

1 - What are the principles to follow and the questions to raise with respect to

support strategies for schools and teachers in order to foster social inclusion ? p. 225

1-1 - The European choice of educating citizens-to-be for a democracy p. 225

1-2- The shared issue of social exclusion p. 226

2 – Differing concepts of social exclusion and citizenship p. 227

2-1–The two most conflicting paradigms of exclusion in European countries p. 227

2-2– Competing models of school linked to two opposite views

of society : liberalism and solidarity p. 229

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3 - Competing models of school in one country and convergences

with those of another country p. 231

4 - Strenghs and weakenesses of the French mainstream model p. 235

5 - Strategies for supporting teachers and pupils who all have differences p. 237

6 - “Community development” as a means of respecting differences

in the whole “Community of free and equal citizens” p. 238

7 - Learning about otherness as a conceptual link between

learning programmes and ways of working p. 242

8 - The do-it-yoursef as a support strategy for teachers p. 244
9 - From unexpected events to strength in numbers p. 246

References p. 248

List of researchers participating in drawing up the report p. 254

Appendix p. 258
1 - Legal framework, references and documentation
relative to ToR 1, 3, 5, 10 p. 259
2 - Legal framework relative to ToR 4, 6, 8, 9 p. 272
3 - Regional and local framework p. 275

List of abbreviations p. 282

INTRODUCTION

The national DOCA project report for France is as comprehensive as possible given the time
and the budget available. Unable to cover every aspect of every issue, we have had to make
choices which we have explained in the research orientations section. However, the report
remains relatively voluminous as it is the outcome of a concerted joint effort by researchers
 9

and other members of the PRISME association (Promotion des Initiatives Sociales en
Milieux Educatifs/Fostering Social Initiatives in Education circles) association.

The reader with little time may prefer to turn directly to :

- the ToR 10, which summarises the strengths and weaknesses of the French educational
system set out in the preceding chapters, puts forward solutions and introduces the four
case studies described in ToR 11, which provide a concrete illustration of the latter,

- the ToR 11 introduction, which sets the case studies in relation to the context of the
national policies and the decentralised policies in the regions, the “départements” and the
towns ;

- the ToR 11 conclusion, which summarises the assessments of the strategies chosen by
the schools and teachers to set out the educational policies,

and,

- the conclusion, which sets out the lessons to be drawn from French strategies in the form
of proposals that can be studied in comparison with those developed by other national
teams.

The French specific terms and abbreviations are defined in detail in the research orientations
section (3-3-1 & 2, p. 19 sq.). Thus, they describe the French educational system distinctive
features. It is why, it is necessary to consult it in order to understand our topics and findings.
For instance, the French conservative society and school cannot be understood by somebody
who does’nt know a key factor of conservatism, i.e. the difference between university and
“grande école”. Indeed, this plays the same part as mandarin culture in China of old, but
China has changed. It is why, in ToR 11, a case study (3) is devoted to an initiative aiming to
moderate the system by improving its recruitment mostly based on upper social classes
nowadays. It aims to improve it, not to abolish it, this is likely to be impossible in France.
 10

RESEARCH ORIENTATIONS

As the title of our research programme indicates, our focus is on “Strategies for
supporting schools and teachers in order to foster social inclusion.” We first describe
the evolutions that led to this position in France with respect to the social integration of
young people, together with a brief mention of how French schools have also been
given responsibility for the problem. Pupils’ results provide a good indicator for
evaluating these strategies and we therefore examine those of French pupils compared
to other countries with the same level of development. Lastly, we set out our
methodology integrating the terms and terminology used in the academic work to which
we refer.

1 – A STUDY FOCUSING ON STRATEGIES FOR SUPPORTING SCHOOLS

AND TEACHERS

The title of lot 3 in tender n° EAC/10/2007 is: “ Strategies for supporting schools and
teachers in order to foster social inclusion.” It directs the focus of our research towards
an exploration of the role of schools and teachers with respect to improved social
integration. A number of recent studies in France and Europe have focused on this issue
regarding the problems encountered by young people, whether in terms of educational
failure, social exclusion or violence.
The change in status of secondary schools is linked to research findings on social
exclusion that highlight school and school staff strategies as key factors in prevention
and remediation with respect to social exclusion
In line with the decentralisation laws of 1982, which transferred central government
responsibility to regions and local authorities,the secondary schools, collèges and
lycées, acquired a more important role in dealing with problems when, in 1985, they
were given the status of EPLE (Etablissement Public Local d’Enseignement / Local
public teaching institution). This gave them greater autonomy and a stronger position
with respect to local partnerships, elected representatives, businesses, public services,
and associations. The responsibility given to school institutions is currently under
debate. As we will see in ToR 3, the setting up of Education Action Zones (ZEP : Zones
d’Education Prioritaire) in 1982, which came into force following the Decree of 1981,
 11

highlights the schools’ local role and pooled competencies, contrary to the initial model
of the centralised French republican school, protected from outside influences.
According to Martine Kherroubi et al. (2004, p. 128-129), the extensive use of the term
“exclusion” by State entities at the end of the 1980s shifted the original sense of
“excluded” within school circles (pupils excluded from school following the decision of
a disciplinary board) to designate pupils who fail at school. The subject of “school
exclusion, social exclusion” then became linked to that of the reproduction of
inequality. In addition to defining the family and social profiles of young people likely
to be affected, studies attempted to identify the mechanisms that generated “the problem
of educational down-grading of children from the most underprivileged backgrounds.”
Defining the new challenges that have emerged since the beginning of the 21st century,
these authors note that “the shift from a problem of inequality to a problem of exclusion involves
analyzing the place of school in a social structure that develops the exclusion processes,” as suggested
by François Dubet. Furthermore, an increasing amount of work (reports, studies,
research) is being conducted on the links between school exclusion and social exclusion
and the place of the school in the exclusion processes.
School exclusion and educational failure are firstly defined using the same criteria
which is internal to the school, in other words, “the level of so-called ‘basic’ acquisition of
knowledge, how far pupils have fallen behind, whether schooling fits within the normal programme or
not, the length of studies and leaving without qualifications.”
During the same period, however, the field of school exclusion has been extended to
include two new categories, “pupils in great difficulty” and “difficult” pupils, i.e. those
who make it difficult for the school to operate and for whom “difficulties at school are
replaced by behavioural problems that appear to be linked to the educational methods of working-class
families or to the characteristic habitus of contemporary forms of street culture.”
Our research fits into the framework suggested by Kherroubi et al. (2004, p. 129) that
combines research topics with the legislative, institutional, economic and social context
of the period concerned, i.e.:
- the way young people join the job market after leaving the school system
depending on the state of the labour market. Two thirds of the age group now sit
the final French secondary school leavers exam, the baccalauréat, thanks to the
creation and development of technological and professional baccalauréat
exams. Young people with no qualifications tend to find themselves in an
extremely marginal position. With most young people entering the world of
work, a fraction of them are considered as `unemployable' (Ropé and Brucy,
2000);
 12

- the reorganization of the education system in response to the longer amount of

time spent studying and the aim of getting young people to join the job market,
- the shift in social inequalities, which focuses researchers’ attention on the
quality of the education offer, notably with respect to the policies pursued by the
institutions.
Gabriel Langouët (2001) clearly described this evolution in the education system in
which the development of democratisation is merely quantitative and demographic,
with a higher number of young people obtaining qualifications. However, this
democratisation – or rather “massification” – goes hand in hand with socio-professional
erosion. A diploma no longer gives access to the same level of opportunities as it gave
preceding generation, and young people no longer have the same opportunities to join
the job market as in the past.
This issue has been studied by many researchers in recent years. Marie Gaussel (2007)
analysed the effects of this down-grading on equal opportunities, concluding that it is
more marked for women, pupils from rural backgrounds and young people from more
modest social origins. She cites :
Philippe Lemistre ( 2007) who explores the issue of down-grading and the growing gap
between the level of training and the level of qualifications required for a job, and
between the competencies acquired and the competences required;
Marie Duru-Bellat (2006) and François Dubet (2004) who consider that the least
qualified are the most affected by the mechanisms of down-grading. At the same time, a
reduction in the value of school qualifications on the labour market has also been
observed.
G. Langouët (2008) identified the need to reorganize the French school system based on
an analysis of the results of French pupils compared to those of pupils from other
European countries. We will also explore this key issue in our research.
The French focus on the role of school and teachers in tackling the problems of young
people and how to improve their situation is also found in Europe, as in the work and
publications by the Council of Europe concerning violence, for example. Reporting for
the Council of Europe in 2004, Eric Debarbieux concludes his description of the
evolutions of the European debate on this question by shifting the concept of violence
as a behavioural problem to that of a real challenge to democracy based on a global
policy. He agrees with other researchers like Cécile Carra (2006), that the institution’s
strategy is decisive, and that certain schools are in a better position than others as they
tackle the problem in collaboration with all the stakeholders (teachers, pupils, parents
 13

and other social partners). He also identifies the closely interwoven macro-social and
micro-social factors, and how local initiatives require the support of the State and the
regional authorities. This aspect also appears in connection with the other issues
covered in this study on improving social integration.
Before introducing them, we will begin by examining the results of the French school
system compared to those of other European countries.

2 – FRENCH STUDENTS’ RESULTS COMPARED TO THOSE OF OTHER

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The aims of the democratisation of education, or mass education, fit in with the
education orientation law promulgated in July 1989, drawn up with the aim of ensuring
that the whole of an age group reach the level of a recognised qualification CAP
(Certificat d’Aptitude Professionnelle/ Vocational training certificate) or BEP (Brevet
d’études professionnelles/Professional studies certificate) and the end of the 1st cycle of
secondary education (15 years old), with compulsory schooling fixed until 16 years old,
and 80% of young people reaching the level of baccalauréat (end of secondary
education). Today’s objective is for 50% of young people to reach tertiary level, in
other words higher education (Lemistre, 2007).
We have seen this democratisation effectively taking place, even if the exact figure of
80% of children in an age group leaving school with a baccalauréat diploma has not yet
been reached. In 2007, the percentage of pupils with the “bac” in a generation was
63.6% and the percentage of those passing compared to those sitting the exam was
83.3%. This proportion has in fact changed little since 1995, when it was 62.7%
(Cédelle, 2008).
In addition, even though a growing number of pupils can study for school diplomas, as
the researchers we mentioned appear to confirm (Langouët, 2001, 2008; Kherroubi et
al., 2004; Duru-Bellat, 2006; Gaussel, 2007; Lemistre, 2007), this has not led to
improved social inclusion which is mainly reflected in the potential to enter the job
market.
Statistics confirm that “the difficulties encountered by young people to integrate the
system are worsening in France. “One of 70 studies devoted to “young people’s access
to the job market” in Données sociales (Social data), published by the INSEE (Institut
National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques/ National Institute for economic
and statistical information) in May 2006, declared that they “end their education
 14

increasingly qualified but, more often, than not, only find temporary or less qualified
work.” This down-grading affects one young person in four. Another study shows the
considerable impact of socio-cultural origins in accessing employment. Integration is
“slower and more difficult” for children from working classes, young people from non-
European immigration and “individuals with diverse social or family difficulties during
their childhood,” including unemployed parents, health problems, etc. (Barroux, 2006).
We will explore these specific points in research topics (ToR) 1, 3 and 4.

The link between school results and social integration, mainly based on the
integration of young people in the world of work, appears to be confirmed by the 2006
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) report. Holders of
an end-of-secondary-school-studies diploma (CAP, BEP, Baccalaureat) comprise 80%
of the population in the age groups eligible to obtain this diploma in France, just
reaching the OECD average, while Germany, Finland and South Korea reach or exceed
90%. The proportion of higher education graduates at university or the ‘Grandes
Ecoles’ (26%) is even lower in comparison with the OECD average (nearly 35%).
This poor performance may be explained by the high rate of short undergraduate
programmes like the BTS (Brevet de technicien supérieur/ Vocational training
certificate) or IUT (Institut Universitaire de Technologie /Technological higher
education institute), which also belong to the higher education system but are not taken
into account in the statistics, (19%) against 9% on average for the OECD countries.
These statistics may be contested, because the vocational studies give diplomas to
young people who would not have elsewhere, in particular, pupils from socio-
economically disadvantaged families.
Nevertheless, France has an unemployment rate of 23.7% among unqualified 20-24
years old, the highest proportion in the OECD after Poland and the Czech Republic
(Laronche, 2006). Even if the figures are different in the last report by the Conseil
économique et social (Economic and Social Council) (2008) quoting Eurostat 2007,
France is mentioned as having an unemployment rate above the European Union
average : it is 19,4 % vs 15,4 %.
The French education system’s performance with respect to social inclusion can be
assessed from the results of young people, pupils and students compared to other
OECD countries, via two aspects:
- their level of diplomas or qualifications when they finish their studies and are ready to
join the job market,
 15

- the knowledge acquired during their education.

2-1 –Rate and level of diploma and early leavers without diplomas or
qualifications

Pupils who, even if they are no longer obliged by law to go to school, stop studying by
choice or lack of motivation, in other words the "drop outs," pose a serious problem
because "school qualifications remain, in an imperfect world, the privileged medium for greater justice"
(Duru-Bellat, 2006) and for better social and professional integration.
We address this issue in TOR 1 of our study : Support measures for schools with high
drop-out rates (including early leavers without diplomas or qualifications).

2-2 – Students’ results during their schooling

According to G. Langouët (2008), international assessment comparisons from 2000

onwards indicate that pupil and student scores are only just average compared to other
OECD countries. Langouët considers two studies to be of particular interest.
The first is the evaluation of the learning acquisition of young people at the end of
compulsory education (PISA : Programme for International Student Assessment). For
reasons of uniformity, the OECD measured the learning input of 15-year-olds,
equivalent to the end of the 1st secondary education cycle in France, and the average end
of compulsory education in many countries.
The studies and assessments were carried out in 2000, 2003 and 2006 respectively in
three areas (writing comprehension, mathematics and science, covering one area in
depth each time), with a representative sample of around 4500 young people in each
country.
With respect to the skills assessed in 2000 and 2003, the average performance of young
French pupils appears all the lower in that “ the skills are outside the strict field of school, and do
not measure simple knowledge as much as the ability to re-use acquired knowledge in more complex
situations, whether in writing comprehension or the field of mathematics. These performances are also
average when compared to the national wealth (PIB : Produit intérieur brut/GDP) and expenditure on
education for 15-year-olds and under. In addition, social success inequalities remain high, and higher
than in countries with higher success rates. Lastly, the PISA figures indicate the impact of ‘streaming’ or
‘repeating classes’ in France, which have been well-documented for many years. The gaps are
considerable compared to the countries which head the ranking (Finland, South Korea, Japan), all of
 16

which feature the same education for all up to the age of 15, with virtually no repeating of classes. In
comparison with 38% of repeats in France, Finland has less than 3%, for example and, except in primary
education, Finland spends less money per pupil than France." (Langouët, 2008, p. 135).
The poor results of French pupils are confirmed by the 2006 OECD study. Average
scores in France lag way behind those of Finland, South Korea and the Netherlands
(Laronche, 2006).
They are even worse in the 2006 PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy
Study) study with regard to writing comprehension where France ranks 17th out of 22
European countries. (Cédelle, 2007).
The second series of studies cited by G. Langouët relates to international comparisons
of higher education. We will not be developing this area which is outside our field of
research, but we would like to highlight the author’s comments about the OECD studies
on the programmes and degrees delivered by the various countries. Based on the OECD
(2006) statistics, he concludes, “Although it has made progress, France remains very poorly placed
with regard to the leaving levels of its students, even worse than it was in the PISA studies on 15-year-
olds.” (p. 138).
Langouët concludes that the French education system needs to be reformed and
mentions several researchers who, like him and particularly in the last few years, have
highlighted its weaknesses (Dubet 2001, Duru-Bellat 2002, Felouzis et al. 2005,
Gauthier et al. 2005).
Through the various topics envisaged in this project, our aim is to pinpoint the
weaknesses at various levels, whether local, regional or national, and to examine the
alternatives put forward.

3– METHODOLOGY

3-1 - Selection of thematic content

Our first reference is the social exclusion indicator set out by EUROSTAT from various
international “early school leaver” figures: i.e. pupils who did not reach the educational
level considered as appropriate for European citizenship (ToR 1). Our interpretation of
this indicator includes “Leaving school without a diploma”, which has been extensively
 17

researched in France, whether the end of compulsory education is set at the age of 16 or
later.
We will develop this topic 1 in more depth as it ties in with several of the following
topics, and several references used to address it may also be included in other areas. For
this reason, the following topics will be covered in less depth or will be left out of this
intermediary report. We believe that this will enable readers to understand the links
between the various issues that arise from the different topics and the most relevant
support strategies, rather than confuse the issue with processes that might interfere with
understanding. For the same reasons, we decided to develop one support measure in
depth per topic, simply mentioning any similarities with others. As it is impossible to
cover everything, it appears more useful to develop well thought through choices rather
than to try to cover everything with a few brief comments, both in terms of the
initiatives developed as in terms of the research studies.
The majority of legislative and regulatory measures in France relating to the first two
topics (ToR 1 - Support measures for schools with high drop-out rates, ToR 2 - Support
measures for schools with high scores on other possible indicators of social exclusion
and ToR 7 –Support measures addressed to pupils likely to become early school
leavers) focus on schools in socio-economically deprived areas (ToR 3), where many
other negative factors tend to accumulate such as harassment and bullying (ToR 6), and
pupils from immigrant backgrounds (ToR 4). We try to avoid repeating findings in
more than one topic. Aspects of ToR 2 and ToR 7, for example, are dealt with in ToR 1
as are some of the measures pertaining to ToR 3. We examine ToR 4 in relation to ToR
9 - Support measures to facilitate the educational success of pupils from minority
backgrounds: ethnic, linguistic, religious, regional, etc., because the problems arising
from the education of young people from immigrant backgrounds are specifically
French in nature, bringing into play the values of republican universalism and secularity
that are specific to this national context. We have not developed ToR 8 - Support
measures for pupils with a physical or mental handicap. As France is relatively behind
in this area compared to other European countries, it seems of little value to devote too
much time to the French situation compared to other countries when we are looking to
develop a comparative study which highlights best practice.
Issues specific to France have thus led us to explore in greater depth:
1° – The present evolutions and changes in French inclusion-related policies since the
last presidential elections in 2007. We will pay special attention to three policy areas,
namely:
 18

- Prevention versus remediation in relation to youth at risk,

- Prevention versus repression in relation to youth at risk,
- Centralisation versus decentralisation of educational authority and policy,
linked to the emergence and development of the regions as relatively recent
new political powers in France (laws of 1982).
2° – The gap between recommendations and practice, with selected case studies as
relevant samples of the key factors that influence success or failure at school.

3-2 - Criteria for selecting the references

We omitted the measures and studies that only related to the analysis of the problems
under the guise, for example, of psychological typologies, simply retaining the texts and
analyses of issues or practice which also gave rise to solutions, in other words the
subtitles to our different support measure topics.
In collecting and selecting the reference texts, we made particular use of the Internet
sites indicated in the references mentioned at the end of each topic, notably those of the
INRP (Institut National de Recherche Pédagogique / National Education Research
Institute), including the CAS (Centre Alain Savary) and the VST (Veille Scientifique et
Technologique / Monitor Scientific ans technological development), the French
Documentation Centre which publishes official reports, in particular those by the
General Inspectorates (IGAEN – IGAEN/IGEN (Inspection/ Inspecteur Général(e) de
l’Administration de l’Education nationale – Inspection/ Inspecteur Général(e) de
l’Administration de l’Education nationale et de la Recherche / Chief school monitoring
inspectorate / Chief inspector of schools), invaluable sources of information with
respect to the assessment of the French education system, and the well known CNDP
(Centre National de Documentation Pédagogique / National centre of teaching
documentation) a teacher’s ressource centre whose new name is now SCEREN (Service
Culture Editions Ressources pour l’Education Nationale / Cultural Editions and
Resources Service for national education), notably the VEI (Ville, Ecole Intégration/
City-School-Integration), and the publications, VEI Enjeux (VEI Stakes) and VEI
Diversité (VEI Diversity).
We also contacted French researchers specialising in the research topics covered, cited
at the end of our report (List of researchers). One problem we come up against is that
the majority of studies are devoted to examining the problems of young people or those
who work with them and the prevention and remediation measures designed to support
 19

pupils in difficulty. There is rather less emphasis on support strategies for schools and
teachers and an assessment of their impact.

3-3 - Terms and terminology. List of abbreviations

We will not repeat those defined in the report initially drawn up to launch the project.
As in the DOCA draft inception report that introduced the research about the ten
participating countries, the term “measure” is used less in the official or legal sense than
in terms of strategies and practices, whether they follow the official guidelines or
regulations or not, as indicated in the general title of the programme that frames our
research.
In the French report, we also distinguish the term “dispositif” (scheme) that we use in a
concrete sense, i.e. time management, spatial management, the division of pupils
(groups streamed by level in a particular subject, for extra support, tutoring, etc.), in the
sense of the implementation of a specific measure.
“Some measures target specific problems such as truancy, refusal to work, unacceptable conduct,
violence, etc. (SAS (screen) measures, rebound programmes), in an attempt to ensure that the national
requirement to prolong education does not lead to an increase in early leaving and drop-out.” (Kherroubi,
2004, p. 22).
In our national study, this “working framework” is better adapted to pupil diversity. It
provides a concrete alternative to offset the homogeneity of classes by introducing
special spaces for managing difficult pupils rather than special classes that tend to
become places of segregation, bringing together pupils who, in the eyes of the teachers,
are not at the same level as other “average” pupils.
This allows us to distinguish the work done by teachers in the classroom, outside the
classroom or special schemes and initiatives, such as the “dispositifs relais” (rebound
programmes). These distinctions are detailed in the study by Kherroubi et al. (2005).
The precise terms used for each theme will be defined within the framework of each
topic.
We firstly defined some expressions and terms specific to France and its education
system, which have already appeared or which will appear later on. At the same time,
we clarified some of the particularities of the French education system in order to help
understand our topics and findings.
 20

3-3-1 – Diplomas, competitive examinations, specific schemes, schools, institutions

and staff

Agrégation : National high level competitive examination for recruiting teachers in secondary school.
The highest qualification available for teachers at secondary level. Most successful students prepare
it in a “Grande Ecole”, the “Ecole Normale Supérieure”. See “Grande école”.
AVS : Auxiliaire de vie scolaire. Teaching assistant for disabled pupils.
Baccalauréat (bac.) : Secondary school leaving examination certificate taken at the end of secondary
school, in the final year of “lycée” (terminale), by 17-18 year-olds, after 3 years of studies that
begin in the class known as seconde (2nde) and equivalent to the fifth and sixth forms in the
British education system. It is not delivered by the school but via a national examination.
Baccalauréat professionnel : created in 1986, this exam is prepared over a 2-year period after the CAP or
a BEP. Since 2001, it is possible to prepare the exam in 3 years after the class known as
troisième (3ème) around the age of 15, but only in some speciality subject areas. It is a level IV
diploma which mainly gives immediate access to the job market, but may also allow a student to
continue higher education studies, particularly in technical programmes that prepare students to
be technicians with a BTS degree. At the beginning of the academic year 2007, the Ministry of
Education announced the generalisation of the 3-year professional baccalauréat like the other
baccalauréats, instead of 4 (2 years to obtain a CAP or a BEP) after the 3ème class, followed by a
1ère class and a professional teminale (Auduc, 2008, p. 81-82).
Baccalauréat technologique : validates a general education programme and gives a professional
qualification (not for a specific career but for a career sector), is the first stage in higher
education technical programmes, mainly followed in IUT or in STS, and sometimes in the
university in an IUP (Auduc, 2008, p. 100).
Brevet des colleges : a diploma that validates the end of the 1st secondary school cycle, a similar level to
the British GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams.
BEP : Brevet d’études professionnelles : “Professional studies certificate;” a technical school certificate
acquired through a national exam taken at the end of the first level of secondary school
(collège), but in a LP, at the age of 15 in the event of regular schooling, or 16, which is the end
of compulsory schooling, or over for pupils at risk. It gives access to a level V qualification, at
the level of blue collar worker or skilled worker (Auduc, 2008, p. 81).
BO or BOEN/JO : Bulletin officiel de l’Education Nationale, Journal officiel (de la République
française). Official Bulletins giving details of laws and official announcement (the Gazette in
UK).
BT : Brevet de technician : gives access to the same opportunities as the baccalauréat technologique in
some industrial or artistic specialities (Auduc, 2008, p. 100).
BTS : Brevet de technicien supérieur. Vocational training certificate, at the end of secondary school
(lycée) at the age of 18.
CAP : Certificat d’aptitude professionnelle. Vocational training certificate. Same characteristics as the
BEP. However, there are about fifty different types of BEP, which provide more general training
than the 200 CAP programmes that train students for a more specific career. Thus, it is possible
 21

to do a BEP covering the food sector, while pupils can join a CAP programme to train as a
baker, fish-monger, cold meat preparer, etc. The holder of a CAP generally joins the job market
more quickly than the holder of a BEP who may well continue studying to gain a professional or
technological baccalauréat (Auduc, 2008, p. 82).
CAPEPS : Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de l’éducation physique et sportive. National competitive
examination for recruiting teachers in physical education and sports.
CAPES : Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de l’enseignement du second degré. National competitive
examination for recruiting teachers in secondary schools : collèges and lycées.
CAPET : Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de l’enseignement technique. National competitive
examination for recruiting teachers in a lycée technique.,
CAPLP : Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de lycée professionnel 2ème grade. National competitive
examination for recruiting teachers in a vocational secondary school.
CE2 : Cours élémentaire 2ème année. Third year of “elementary” (primary) school (at age of 8-9). A
stage selected by the DEPP (Ministry of Education, statistics department) to assess the results of
pupils and compare them with those of 6e, the first year of secondary schooling. See primary school.
CEL : Contrat éducatif local. Local education contract.
CIPPA : Cycle d'Insertion Professionnelle par Alternance. Vocational/education sandwich programmes.
CLAS : Contrat local d’accompagnement scolaire. Local schoolwork support contract.
CLIPA : Classe d’initiation professionnelle en alternance. Sandwich vocational induction courses (with
in-company work placements), introduced by the 5-year labour and professional training law of
1995. The equal opportunities law of 31 March 2006 abolished and replaced these courses by
junior apprenticeship programmes. The système appears to have failed due to the reticence of
French firms (Auduc, 2008, p. 79).
CLIS : Classe d’intégration scolaire. Inclusion class for disabled pupils in primary school.
Collège: State secondary school for pupils aged between 11 and 15-16, just after primary school and
before lycée. It covers the classes known as 6e (sixième), 5e (cinquième), 4e (quatrième) and 3e
(troisième).
Collège unique : The “collège” became “Collège unique”, i.e. comprehensive school in 1975. The law
has done away with the “filières”, the courses selecting pupils. Many critics said - and say now -
that the educational standards were falling, because more students have access to a “lycée” and
to the bac. But “options” may play a similar part as “filières.”
Contrat de réussite : Success contract.
CPGE : Classe Préparatoire aux Grandes Ecoles (“prépa.”) : Programme which prepares students for
the competitive entrance exam (concours) for the Grandes Ecoles. Generally located in a good
lycée, after the terminale (last class of lycée) and after passing the bac. Like the Grandes Ecoles,
the classes préparatoires recruit high-flying students through a competitive selection with a
predetermined quota of successful candidates, but based on school results rather than a
competitive examination. The programme lasts two years and the schools foster a
competitive and elitist approach to learning.
DEUG : Diplôme d’études universitaires générales. Diploma taken after two years at university.
DIMA: Dispositif d’initiation aux métiers en alternance. Sandwich vocational induction schemes
introduced at the beginning of the academic year 2008 (BO of 10 April 2008) in the vocational
 22

lycées (LP) for pupils who choose this option at around 15 years old, as a complement to the
schemes offered in collège to pupils in the quatrième class aged at least 14 years old (Auduc,
2008, p. 79).
Dispositif relais : Rebound programme.
DUT : Diplôme universitaire de technologie. Two-year higher education diploma.
Ecole élémentaire : See Primaire.
E2C : Ecole de la seconde chance. Second chance schools.
Ecole maternelle : See Primaire.
EN : Ecole Normale : College of education for primary teachers. They have been included in IUFM.
ENA : Ecole Nationale d’Administration. National civil servant school training top civil servants. See
Grande Ecole
ENS : Ecole Normale Supérieure. College of education training top teachers who prepare an
“agrégation”. See Grande Ecole
EPLE : Etablissement public local d’enseignement. Local state education institution, a new status of
collèges and lycées since 1985 to give them more autonomy. There were 7915 EPLE and 3495
private secondary schools in 2007-08 (Auduc, 2008, p. 151).
ESEN : École supérieure de l'éducation nationale. National Education College.
ESSEC : École Supérieure de Sciences Économiques et Commerciales. College of economic and social
sciences. ESSEC Business School training top managers. See Grande Ecole.
FI : Formation Intégrée. Integrated training.
GAIN : Groupe d'Aide à l'Insertion. Support group integration programmes.
Grande Ecole : A higher education institution where engineering (Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole Centrale,
Ecole des Mines), business (HEC, ESSEC, “Sup. de Co.”), civil servant students (ENA, mostly
after IEP-“Sciences Po”.), future teachers (ENS) are taught to a very high standard after passing
a competitive entrance exam, unlike universities which are obliged to accept all students who
have passed the bac. at the end of secondary school (bacheliers). The cultural importance of
competitive exams (concours) is considerable in France. Other examples of it include the
competitive recruitment procedures for public sector teaching posts (CAPES and agrégation),
civil service appointments in ministries, and even jobs in the Post Office. This traditional
cultural French trait can be compared to the Mandarin culture in China. Critics about tradition have
led to new positive affirmative action measures being developed for socio-economically
deprived areas, with legal frameworks such as the Charte pour l'égalité des chances dans l'accès
aux formations d'excellence (Charter for equal opportunities to access top quality education) being
introduced in 2005. Two “Grandes écoles” in Paris, the IEP in 2001 and the ESSEC in 2002,
took the initiative before the legal framework was introduced, inspired by the latter. (see ToR 3,
4, and Case study 3 in ToR 11). In France, higher education and good qualifications are
particularly important both in terms of access to employment and salary levels, because there are
the main criterias, far more than work experience, for top jobs. It is why there is less social
mobility in France than in other European or economically developed countries.
HEC : Ecole des Hautes Etude commerciales. Business school training top managers. See Grande Ecole.
IEP : Institut d’Études Politiques. Institute of Political Studies, a “grande école” often called “Sciences
Po” (Political Studies), its previous name when it was not a State school. It continues to
 23

train high flying students (in 2008, only 4 % candidates were accepted) for ENA, but also
diplomats and business men. As ENA, it has often been criticized because so many ministers and
high- ranking decision makers are “énarques” and “Sciences po.” See Grande Ecole.
IME : Institut médico-éducatifs. Medico-educational institutes for disabled pupils who cannot go to a
school in the ordinary environment.
ITAQ : Itinéraire personnalisé d'Accès à la Qualification. Tailored qualification programmes.
ITEP : Institut thérapeutique éducatif et pédagogique. Therapeutic educational institutions for multi-
disability pupils.
IUFM : Institut universitaire de formation des maîtres. Colleges of education created by the law of 1989
and extended to the whole French territory in 1991. In 2008, the President of the French Republic
and the Education minister have announced that teachers will be recruited with a Master granted by
University in 2010.The IUFM should disappear. See ToR 10, 3-2-2.
IUP : Institut Universitaire Professionnel. Vocational higher education institute
IUT : Institut Universitaire de Technologie. Technological higher education institute. Mainly prepares
secondary school pupils (16-17/18 year olds), following on from the collège as a general and
technological lycée or vocational lycée.
Licence professionnelle : Vocational degree : created at the beginning of the academic year 2000 to
prepare students with a BTS or a DUT to earn an undergraduate degree in 3 years. Of the 195
degrees introduced in 2000, 90 are taught in an IUT, 70 in universities and 35 in lycées as a
prolongation of present BTS. By 2004-05, there were 1000 of them, with 45% of students
holding a BTS and 32% with a DUT. 26,900 students were registered, in other words 12% of all
students preparing for a degree (Auduc, 2008, p. 100).
Lycée : State secondary school for pupils between 16-17/18, after the collège. The lycées cover the school
years known as seconde (15-16 years old), première (16-17 years old) and terminale (17-18
years old).
LP : Lycée professionnel. Refers to a lycée which provides vocational training as well as more traditional
core subjects.
MEN : Ministre/Ministère de l’Education Nationale : Education Minister/Ministry. Department for
Education and Employment in UK..
MGI : Mission générale d’insertion : General Integration Mission
MOREA : Module de Repréparation aux Examens par Alternance. Basic schooling and exam preparation
work/education sandwich programmes.
MODAL : Module d'Accueil en lycée. Special secondary school reintegration programmes.
Primaire (premier degré) : Primary. In France, the state primary school includes the école maternelle
(nursery school) which school children attend between 2 and 5-6 years old and the école
élémentaire, which children enter at 6 years old, the age of compulsory schooling, until 10-11
years old. A third of children aged 2 years old attend the PS (Petite section), the first year of the
école maternelle, nearly 100% attend the MS (Moyenne section) and all children attend the GS
(Grande section) before compulsory school age. The école élémentaire covers CP (cours
préparatoire), CE1 (cours élémentaire 1ère année), CE2 (2ème année), CM1 (Cours moyen 1ère
année), and CM2 (Cours moyen 2ème année). The teachers have the same diploma and
qualifications for all the classes, including maternelle and élémentaire.
 24

Principal : The Head of a collège.

PE : Professeurs des écoles : Primary school teachers, ex instituteurs.
Proviseur : The Head of a lycée.
Réseau relais : Rebound network.
Réseau de réussite scolaire : Academic success network.
Secondaire (second degré) : This includes a first stage performed in a college between 11 and 15-16
years old (age of the end of compulsory schooling), and a second stage in a lycée, validated by
the baccalauréat
SEGPA : Section d’enseignement général et professionnel adapté. Adapted general and vocational
education programme, for pupils from quatrième or troisième in college, designed for children
in difficulty who may also benefit from extra support in 4ème or social integration schemes in 3ème
(Auduc, 2008, p. 78).
SESSAD : Service d’éducation spéciale et de soins à domicile. Special education service and home care
facilities for disabled pupils.
STS : Section de techniciens supérieurs. Undergraduate level technicians preparing a BTS in 2 years at a
vocational lycée.
Sup. de Co. : Ecole Supérieure de Commerce. Business school training top managers. See Grande Ecole
UPI : Unités pédagogiques d’intégration. Education inclusion units for disabled pupils in primary school.

3-3-2 - State ministries, departments, public services and education sectors

Académie : State education district for which a Recteur, Chief Education Officer, is responsible and
appointed by the MEN (ministry). It is managed by the Rectorat (LEA : Local education
authority in the UK). 27 “académies” above 30 correspond to the region, but Ile de France
region, with 3 “académies”, Paris, Créteil, Versailles, Rhône-Alpes with 2, Lyon and Grenoble,
and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) with 2 also : Aix-Marseille and Nice. See recteur,
rectorat.
AIS : Adaptation et intégration scolaire. Education district for children considered as maladjusted or so-
called “special needs” in the UK, which aims for improved inclusion in the school system.
CAS : Centre Alain Savary (INRP)
CASNAV : Centre académique pour la scolarisation des élèves nouvellement arrivés et des enfants du n
voyage. Regional (académique) centre for new immigrant pupils and children of travellers
(Roma pupils). They were first called CEFISEM.
CDPAPH : Commission départementale des droits et de l’autonomie de la personne handicapée/
Departmental Committee for the rights and autonomy of the disabled. It decides on the
orientation of pupils via a tailored education plan.
CEFISEM : Centre de formation et d’information sur la scolarisation des enfants de migrants : Centre of
training and information about immigrant children’s schooling. See CASNAV.
CEMEA : Centres d’entraînement aux méthodes d’éducation actives. Training centres for active
education methods (pedagogical movement).
 25

CEREQ : Centre d’études et de recherches sur les qualifications. Centre for studies and research into
qualifications.
CFA : Centre de formation d’apprentis. Vocational training centre for apprentices.
CIO : Centre d’information et d’orientation. Information and orientation centre, one per district (a district
usually includes a dozen or so collèges and 5 or 6 lycées. Orientation counsellors and
psychologists are attached to this. A public service attached to the Ministry of Education, it is in
relation with other services and organisations involved in training and social integration of
young people: i.e. the local job centre, the ANPE (Agence nationale pour l’emploi/ National
Employment Office (job centre in the UK), which deals with the unemployed) and social
services dealing with employment issues (Auduc, p. 107).
CMP : Centre médicopsychologique. Medico-psychological centre dealing mainly with prisoners,
juvenile offenders, people who have attempted suicide and drug addicts.
CMPP : Centre médico-psycho-pédagogique. Medico-psycho-pedagogic centre for physically or mentally
disabled children.
Both CMP and CMPP are in the infant-juvenile psychiatry sectors.
CNDP : Centre national de documentation pédagogique. National teachers’ resource centre, now known
as the SCEREN, which includes the CRDP, CDDP and local services, libraries and multimedia
libraries.
CNED : Centre national d’enseignement à distance. National distance learning centre.
COP : Conseiller d’orientation-psychologique. Orientation counsellor and psychologist attached to a
CIO.
CRDP : Centre régional de documentation pédagogique. Regional teachers’ resource centre. There is one
in each “académie.”
CDDP : Centre départenmental de documentation pédagogique Departmental centre of teaching
documentation. There is one per “département”
DARES : Direction de l’Animation de la Recherche, des Etudes et des Statistiques. Ministerial research
activities, studies and statistics.
DEP : Direction de l’Evaluation et de la Prospective. Ministerial assessment and forecasting department,
now called
DEPP: Direction de l’évaluation, de la prospective et de la performance. Ministerial assessment,
forecasting and performance department.
Département : an administrative division of the area included in a region, could be translate by county in
the UK.
DESCO : Direction de l’Enseignement scolaire. Ministerial education department, now called the
DGESCO.
DGESCO : Direction générale de l’Enseignement scolaire. Top ministerial education department.
DIV : Délégation interministérielle à la ville et au développement social urbain. State inter-departmental
organisation for town and social urban development.
DSDEN : Direction des services départementaux de l’éducation nationale County-based national
education services (at IA).
 26

DSU, DSQ : Développement social urbain/Développement social des quartiers. Social urban
development/social district development : projects mainly designed for parts of cities located in
socio-economically deprived areas.
FRANCA : FRANcs et Franches CAmarades. Frank fellows (pedagogical movement).
GAPP : Groupe d’aide psycho-pédagogique. Psycho-pedagogic support groups
IA : Inspection académique/Inspecteur d’académie. School inspectorate/chief education officer
responsible for one of the “départements” that makes up an “académie” = LEA : Local
Education authority in the UK. But we use LEA for rectorat in this report, as there are not two
different words as in French.
IA-DSDEN : Inspecteur d’académie Directeur des Services Départementaux de l’Education Nationale.
Chief education officer, Head of the national education services in a “département.”
ICEM : Institut Coopératif de l’École Moderne/ Cooperative Institute of the Modern School), a
pedagogical movement based on the ideas set up in the works by Célestin Freinet
IEN : Inspection/Inspecteur de l’Education nationale. Primary school inspectorate/inspector. Responsible
for a “circonscription” (a group of primary schools in several districts in one or several towns,
like a catchment area) in a “département.” They, or more often their “conseillers pédagogiques,”
(educational advisers) inspect the primary teachers.
IGAEN : Inspection/ Inspecteur général/e de l’Administration de l’Education nationale. Chief school
management inspectorate/Chief inspector of schools responsible for appraising the education
system’s administration or management (at the MEN). Now called the IGAENR.
IGAENR : Inspection/Inspecteur général/e de l’administration de l’éducation nationale et de la
recherché. Chief schools inspectorate/Chief inspector of schools, responsible for appraising
management and research.
IGEN : Inspection/Inspecteur général/e de l’Education nationale. Chief inspector of schools responsible
for assessing teaching.
The IGEN and IGAENR are responsible for delivering reports to the Ministry of Education both
separately, and (often) together.
INRP : Institut National de Recherche Pédagogique. National Institute for pedagogical research.
INSEE : Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques. National Institute for economic
and statistical information.
IPR : Inspection/Inspecteur pédagogique régional/e. Inspector of secondary teachers in an “académie” =
inspector of schools in the UK and accreditation officer in the USA.
MDPH : Maison départementale des personnes handicapées/ Departmental centre for the disabled.
MEN : Ministère de l’Education Nationale. Ministry of Education.
MGI : Mission Générale d'Insertion. General insertion mission.
PJJ : Protection judicaire de la jeunesse. Youth department, special young offenders service at the
Ministry of Justice.
RASED : Réseau d’aides spécialisées aux élèves en difficulté. Network for specific needs of children at
risk : a public service including different specialists for special needs : educational psychology,
psychomotility, language. It serves a school complex consisting of primary and secondary
schools in a catchment area (UK) or school district (USA).
Recteur : Chief Education Officer appointed by the MEN to be responsible for an “académie”.
 27

Rectorat : Regional Education authority which manages an “académie” = LEA : Local education
authority in the UK.
REP : Réseau d’éducation prioritaire : Education Priority Network. An extended ZEP.
SCEREN : Service Culture Editions Ressources pour l’Education Nationale/ Cultural Editions and
Resources Service for national education, previously named CNDP.
VEI : Ville, Ecole, Intégration. City, school, inclusion : a CNDP/SCEREN department.
VST : Veille scientifique et technologique. Monitor scientific and technological development : an INRP
database.
ZEP : Zone d’éducation prioritaire. Education Priority Zone or area targeted for special help in education
= EAZ: Education Action Zones in the UK.
ZU : Zone urbaine sensible. Urban problem area

REFERENCES : QUOTED TEXTS AND AUTHORS

Auduc, J-L (2008). Le système éducatif. Un état des lieux. Paris, Hachette éducation.
Barroux, R. (2006). Les difficultés d’insertion des jeunes s’aggravent en France, selon l’INSEE. Le
Monde du 12/5/2006, p. 10.
Carra C. (Dir.) (2006), Violences à l'école élémentaire, approche quantitative et comparative, le cas du
département du Nord, Rapport de recherche IUFM du Nord / Pas de Calais – CESDIP-CNRS,
173 p., en ligne sur le site de l'IUFM à l'adresse : http://www.lille.iufm.fr/spip.php?article3774
Cédelle, L. (2007). Monsieur Darcos veut « diviser par trois l’échec scolaire lourd ». Le Monde des 11-
12/11/2007, p. 7.
Cédelle, L. (2008). La proportion de bacheliers dans une génération est de 63.6%, deux cents ans après
la création du bac. Le Monde du 18/3/2008, p. 15.
CEREQ (2005). L'enquête “ Génération 2001 ”. Marseille : Centre d'études et de recherches sur les
qualifications (CEREQ).
Dubet, F. (2000). L’école et l’exclusion. Education et sociétés, n° 5, p. 43-57.
Dubet, F. (2004). L’école des chances : qu’est-ce qu’une école juste ? Paris, La république des idées,
Seuil.
Duru-Bellat, Marie (2002). « Genèse des inégalités scolaires et portée des politiques éducatives »,
Document 1, in Gaini, Mathilde ; Scotton, Claire ; Blanchard, Marianne ; Favier, Irène ;
Bouagga, Yasmine (2006). Mixité sociale dans l’enseignement supérieur : doit-on faire de la
discrimination positive ?, Dossier élaboré à partir des réunions du séminaire d’élèves
réfléchissant sur les inégalités scolaires et l’évaluation des politiques dites de ‘discrimination
positive’ dans l’enseignement supérieur, 18 janvier 2006. http://eleves.ens.fr/
pollens/seminaires/seances.
Duru-Bellat, Marie (2006). L’inflation scolaire. Les désillusions de la méritocratie, Paris, La république
des idées, Seuil.
Duru-Bellat, M. (2006). L'inflation scolaire : Les désillusions de la méritocratie. Paris : Seuil.
Felouzis, G., Liot, F., Perroton, J. (2005). L’apartheid scolaire. Paris, Seuil.
Gaussel Marie (2007). Sorties sans diplôme et inadéquation scolaire. La lettre d'information n° 28 -
June 2007: Service de Veille scientifique et technologique : http://www.inrp.fr/vst.
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Gaussel Marie (2007). Leaving school without diplomas. Lettre de la VST, n° 28 - June.2007:
http://www.inrp.fr/vst.
Gauthier, R.-F., Robert, A. D.. (2005). L’école et l’argent. Paris, Retz.
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Travaux de l’Observatoire national de la pauvreté et de l’exclusion sociale, 2003-2004, La
Documentation française, p. 127-165, réédité en 2005 et téléchargeable sur le site:
www.social.gouv.fr/htm/pointsur/onpes/trav_03_04.htm.
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Revue française de pédagogie, n° 137, p. 47-58.
Langouët, G. (2008). 50 ans d’école. Et demain ? Paris, Fabert.
Laronche, M. (2006). L’école selon l’OCDE. France : 9/20. Le Monde du 22/9/2006, p. 22.
Lemistre P. (2007). Diplômes et emplois occupés par les jeunes. Une correspondance à revoir.
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(LIRHE).
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Ropé, F. et Brucy, G. (2000). Suffit-il de scolariser ? Paris, Les Editions de l’Atelier.
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Dubet, F. (2001). Les inégalités multipliées. La Tour d’Aigues, éditions de l’Aube.
Hamon, H. (2004). Tant qu’il y aura des élèves. Paris, Seuil.
Kherroubi M., Chanteau, Jean-P. et Largueze, B., (2003). Exclusion sociale et exclusion scolaire,
rapport rendu à l’Observatoire de la pauvreté et de l’exclusion sociale, July 2003, 216 p.
Kherroubi M., Rochex, J.-Y. (2002). La recherche en éducation et les ZEP en France. 2. Apprentissages
et exercice professionnel en ZEP : résultats, analyses, interprétations, Revue française
depédagogie, n° 146, p. 115-190.
Langouët, G., Thelot, C. (dir.) (2003). Les oubliés de l’école. Paris, Hachette.
Lelièvre, C. (2002). Les politiques scolaires mises en examen. Issy-les-Moulineaux, ESF.
Toulemonde, B. (2006). Le système éducatif en France. Paris, La Documentation française.

TOR 1 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS WITH HIGH

DROP-OUT RATES

We will firstly attempt to define what the concept of disaffection from school means
through recent publications, and we will then explore the progress made. Finally we
will examine the support measures available to schools and teachers.

1 - TERMS AND TERMINOLOGY : DEFINING SCHOOL DROP IN AND OUT

 29

What do we mean by disaffection exactly ? How is it defined in France ?

The term is polysemous, both in France and abroad. It is important to define it clearly in
order to understand which support strategies need to be explored for schools and
teachers.
Generally speaking, disaffection from school is defined by the notion of leaving school
before the end of compulsory schooling or during the course of schooling. Disaffection
can imply complete absence (dropping out) or only partial absence with little
participation in class and an extremely passive attitude (dropping in).
Disaffection from school is most commonly used in the sense of dropping-out as an
international indicator of exclusion from education. However, for a comparative study
of European countries or those in the OECD, we need to take two factors into account.
On the one hand, the age of compulsory schooling is set at different ages. In France, it
is 16, but it can be lower, (14 in Italy in 2005 according to the report by Dubreuil et al.)
and up to 18 (the UK and the USA). In addition, as we saw earlier, the objectives of
national education decision-makers is to raise the level of education, leading a number
of researchers (cf. those already mentioned and below) to focus their attention on drop
outs in higher education.
We will start by defining the semantic field of disaffection with school, which ties in
with several other areas covering very different situations and leading to various
support schemes being introduced for schools and teachers. Based on recent
publications on the topic, we have identified three main senses with regard to this
expression, all of which link up with one another.

1-1 - Dropping out, failure to comply with legal obligations, truancy,

absenteeism, breaking off from school, early leaving

These terms are found in several reports written by researchers: all of them refer to the
idea of not being at school : “déscolarisation” (truancy) (MEN, 2003; Glasman,
Oeuvrard, 2004; La Nouvelle revue de l'AIS/ AIS New Journal 10/2003, n° 024) means
to be out of school, reflecting the failure to comply with legal obligations (Machard,
2003), and expresses itself in absenteeism (Toulemonde, 1996) via a complex process
of breaking away from the educational system (Broccolicchi, 2000; Millet, Thin, 2003,
2005; Tanon, 2001). Abandoning education and the school system can lead to
 30

extremely serious consequences (Les dossiers de la DEPP (Reports from the DEP),
n°135, October 2002). Under the title, “Le décrochage scolaire: une fatalité ?”
(disaffection from school : an inevitability ?), the VEI enjeux report (09/2000, n° 122)
describes one aspect in particular that disaffection from school is likely to lead to,
namely a radical form of dropping out of the social system (such as drug-addiction or
suicide), and it establishes a link between disaffection from school and the difficulty, or
even the impossibility, of integrating society and the workplace.
Several researchers highlight the fact that disaffection from school does not happen
overnight but takes place gradually with increasingly frequent absences. Several
different kinds of scission occur before school is completely abandoned. “Disaffected
pupils are not drop outs in essence : confronted with difficulties built up over the course of schooling,
difficulties which they cannot manage, they develop a strategy of disaffection to protect or defend
themselves” (Lettre Réseau Relais, (Rebound Network Letter) April 2008).
The study conducted by Carole Dolignon (2005, 2008) based on interviews with
disaffected schoolchildren throws interesting light on the phenomenon, identifying it as
a long-term process which develops in the wake of accumulated educational failure and
disappointments that generate boredom, withdrawal of interest in learning, and short
absences which gradually increase until the final drop out. The distinction between
“passive disaffection” (dropping in), physically present in class but without interest in
what happens there, and “active disaffection” (dropping out) is not clear-cut but spreads
inexorably, by stages, in “processes which lead the pupils from a difficulty in a particular field to an
initial disaffection, and from there, according to the pupils, either to a form of ‘survival’ in the system
through internal disaffection, or to a phase of external disaffection and hence to dropping out." (Bautier,
Terrail, 2003, p. 25).
We can deduce from this that the earlier measures are taken at school, the more likely
they are to be successful.
However, an analysis of the situation involving disaffection highlights the fact that the
school institution helps intensify the discontinuity and rupture. The school records keep
the pupils in a situation of relegation (Millet, Thin, 2005), preventing them from
reintegrating the programme. Agnès Henriot Van Zanten (2001, in Kherroubi et al,
2004, p.142) even puts forward the hypothesis that while teenagers from economically
underprivileged backgrounds come to school with an attitude to the school culture
already structured in other living environments, deviant and partially delinquent
behaviour generally develops inside the institution via interaction with the school
processes.
 31

Jacqueline Costa-Lascoux and Olivier Hoibian (2003) consider that the key moments in
the dropping out process are often poorly discerned. They may occur during the move
to CP, the first year of primary school, the first year of college (“6ème”), the end of
“4ème” or the passage to the “3ème” classes (in “college”). The pupil has made a vain
attempt to attract attention, either by trying to be better behaved or to produce work that
better complies with teachers’ or parents’ expectations, or by disturbing the courses.
These pupils also often suffer from a lack of continuity in the educational help they get
from the various social interlocutors who continually change over the course of their
chaotic schooling.
This brings us back to the question already raised : isn't it the way the education system
itself operates which needs changing if we are to stop producing “misfits” ? (cf.
Glasman; Geay, Ropé in MEN et al, 2003; Glasman, Oeuvrard, 2004; Kherroubi et al.,
2004; Langouët, 2008).

1-2 - Early leavers without diplomas or qualifications

We studied this second sense to analyse the results of French pupils compared to those
of pupils from other equally developed countries from the OECD studies.
Leaving without qualifications can occur at any qualifying level of the education
system, in both secondary and higher education.
For Marie Gaussel (2007), leaving the education system “without qualifications”
conventionally indicates dropping out of education before the final year of preparation
for a vocational training certificate (CAP) or a professional studies certificate (BEP),
just after the “collège.”
As we said in the introduction to this first topic, we need to extend our comparative
study until at least the end of secondary education, which is validated by the
“baccalaureat ” diploma in France, given that we do not deal with higher education at
all.
This is also, and for the same reasons, what the joint report by the two Chief schools
inspectorates at the ministry, IGEN and IGAEN, recommended in 2005 with respect to
school leavers without qualifications, namely, to go beyond the first generally accepted
definition in France, in order to establish reliable comparisons at European level. Given
that the notion of leaving school without qualifications is defined with respect to
employment and employability, we believe this criterion should be retained as it leaves
aside the specificities of each national education system, the age of compulsory
 32

schooling and its related diplomas, and only takes into account what is required to join
the job market.
Thus, the European indicators in Lisbon, Laeken, and the guidelines concerning
“human capital development” contained in the Stratégie européenne pour l'emploi
(European Strategy for Employment) drawn up by the European Council of
Luxembourg in 1997, refers to European education classifications and to populations
without secondary education diplomas, in other words without the CAP, the BEP or the
“baccalauréat” in France. Even the European classification of education concerns
“successful” education, sanctioned by a certificate of success (or better, by a diploma).
This is the interpretation which France is now adopting. In L'état de l'École (School
state), the IG speaks about the level of education of school drop-outs, backed up by
national indicators collected since 2003 by the DEP (Department of Assessment and
Prospects) at the Ministry of National Education. These are “explicitly in accordance
with international classifications of types of education (CITE : classification
internationale des types de l’éducation), according to which pupils are considered
qualified if they have successfully completed “the education cycle.”
“The DEP study considers unqualified school leavers as young people who interrupted their initial
education for the first time and for at least one year after levels VI and V bis, i.e. after a class in the first
cycle of secondary education, a corresponding class in special education, before the final year of a CAP,
a BEP or below (on this basis, school leavers without qualifications average around 7% of pupils, but this
may double in certain catchment areas).” (p. 6)
The main statistics-producing organizations in France have now opted for a wider
definition: “According to the definition adopted for the presentation of the Bilan emploi-formation
(Training and employment assessment) supervised by INSEE and drawn up by the DEP, the DARES and
the CEREQ, a young person is considered to have left basic education once they stop their initial, general
or vocational training, either at school or as an apprentice, at whatever the level and for a period
exceeding twelve months (other than in exceptional cases like illness, maternity, etc)” (p. 6).
We position ourselves with respect to the idea of “minimal qualifications”, in other
words, the qualifications required in a specific country to continue studying or to have a
real chance of joining the job market. This concept provides us with the most revealing
comparisons between different national systems.
Recent publications on the subject all have similar interpretations. "Les oubliés de
l'école” (Those who have been forgotten by school) (Langouët, Thelot, dir., 2003)
refers to unqualified school leavers who find it difficult to join both society and the
world of work due to their lack of diplomas.
 33

“School drop outs” or “teenagers who crack” are the 60,000 young people who leave
the school system without diplomas or qualifications (Longhi, Guibert, 2003).
N° 57 of Éducation et formation (Education and training, September 2000) defines,
estimates and characterises unqualified school leavers. It also links the absence of
diplomas with the outcomes of these young people in terms of social and professional
integration.

1-3 - Dropping in

A 3rd sense of disaffection from school, which may well be linked to the first, refers to
pupils who, while at school, display an internal disaffection (“dropping in”), i.e. those
who do not follow the courses and are not interested in them, even if they do not miss
them physically, or only intermittently.
It is mainly in connection with this 3rd sense that we find texts which highlight
motivation, de-motivation, and the re-motivation to learn. We will not go into great
depth regarding the aspects that focus on analysing the processes and causes as our
specific methodological choice deals with support strategies.
However, several publications that focus on prevention and remediation measures for
disaffection from school, take up this concept of motivation and, in terms of learning,
the issue of teaching and the teachers’ didactic methods. We will look at this aspect in
our third part and again in ToR 5 - Support measures for teachers working in such
schools.

2 - THE LATEST CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH

One of the most serious effects of disaffection from school is its impact on social
integration, insofar as abandoning school early generally results in leaving without
diplomas or, even worse, without any qualifications at all. As we have seen, even if
diplomas have lost much of their value nowadays and even if they no longer guarantee
a job as good as for preceding generations, they nonetheless remain the most widely
accepted means of finding work.
 34

Moreover, young people who drop out of the education system are more likely to find
themselves in situations of social exclusion, drug addiction and crime, which are more
difficult to deal with outside school than inside, and may even lead to the final ‘exit’, in
other words, suicide (VEI enjeux, 09/2000). In a report by Dominique Glasman (2003,
p. 2), President of the Scientific Committee of the inter-ministerial research programme
regarding school disaffection processes, the causes of growing “institutional concern
regarding so-called ‘disaffected’ pupils since 1999” were presented in an article
published earlier the same year. At the top of the list is “the concern for law and order and the
supposed threats to it by errant pupils.” In second place, the report mentions the main thrust of
our project, “the acute problem of the social and professional integration of unqualified young people
who form the ‘hard core’ of difficult-to-reduce juvenile unemployment, even in periods of economic
upturn.” The third factor mentioned is “the demands and problems school is confronted with : on
the one hand, by law, (no one shall leave school without qualifications); in addition, the conditions under
which the “massification” and the removal of stages of orientation have undermined the assistance
available to pupils in difficulty, whose educational background (and move to the subsequent class level)
are determined more by issues of flow management (limiting the number of repeats) than assessment of
level of knowledge or interest in learning.”

2-1 – The statistics

We set out the remarks made by Marie Gaussel below (2007).

According to the “Generation 2001” investigation carried out by the CEREQ (Centre
for study and research into qualifications) in 2005 on a sample of 10,000 young people
who left the education system in 2001, 18% left without any diplomas and 45% with
only one diploma from secondary education. Of the latter, 12% reached a level
corresponding to one or two years of study after the “baccalauréat”, but without
obtaining the diploma they had studied for. Only 37% of the sample left with a higher
education diploma.
Figures for school leavers without diplomas can be calculated in various ways.
Although, in the final DOCA report, we make an international comparison using the
OECD or Eurydice data, in the French reports, we need to examine the variables used in
France.
The indicators used in Les chiffres de l'école (School figures) (2006) analyze two main
sets of data: school-leavers without qualifications and school-leavers without a diploma.
Leaving the education system “without qualifications” conventionally indicates
dropping out of studies before the final year of preparation for the vocational training
 35

certificate (CAP) or the professional studies certificate (BEP), or just after “college”.
School-leavers without qualifications stabilized in the first half of the nineties, after
dropping radically during the previous decades. In 2005 this figure concerned only 6%
of young people (50,000), as against 12.5% in 1985, 20% in 1975 and 33% in 1965.
According to the Lisbon strategy reference criteria, 17% of young people aged between
20 and 24 are insufficiently trained in France. This proportion is decreasing, however.
In 1996 it was 23%, and over 30% at the end of the seventies.
The concept of leaving the education system “without a diploma” is easier to define. It
concerns young people who leave school without obtaining the CAP, the BEP or the
“baccalauréat.” In 2005, these “early leavers” accounted for 13% of the 18-24 age
group. “No diploma” does not, however, mean “no qualifications” since more than half
the school-leavers with no diploma have a qualification. A school-leaver from the final
year of the CAP, for example, may not have obtained the diploma but nonetheless has a
qualification, whereas a young person who gives up in the first year of the BEP after
passing the “Brevet des colleges” has no qualifications but does have a diploma.
In 2005, only 4% of young people left school with no diploma or qualifications.

The analysis of these figures for secondary schools in France, performed by the DEP
(Direction de l’évaluation et de la prospective/ Assessment and Forecasting
Department) in 2005 and 2006, confirms that the majority of these young “dropouts”
who had difficulties at school came from underprivileged environments and were often
of foreign origin. The 2006 analysis offers a raft of data on the correlations between
diplomas and unemployment, and between diplomas and the time taken to find
employment.
The DEP recommends, firstly, prior action with the pupils’ families during the second
cycle or “collège”, and secondly, a good orientation policy at the end of “troisième”
(the last class of “collège”). Other assessment and remediation tools may be brought
into play at later stages and these will be presented in the third section.
The rate of access to “baccalauréat” level depends on several factors such as the choice
between a general /technological or vocational education programme at the end of the
fourth year in “collège”, or pupils continuing towards a vocational “baccalauréat” after
a BEP (60% of young people are advised to join a general or technological programme
in the first year of “lycée,” while 40% are advised to join a vocational study programme
in this same year). After passing a BEP or CAP exam, around 50% of young people
continue their education in a technological or vocational second year; and of these, 14%
of pupils in the vocational cycle drop out.
 36

We have not given the drop out figures from higher education as our research does not
cover this level of education, but as we have seen (cf. 1-2), the results of French
students also leave much to be desired. Social inequality regarding access to degree
programmes is also confirmed.

2-2 – Analysis of the problem

In France, dropping out of the educational system without qualifications affects

between 110,000 and 170,000 young people every year, depending on how the figures
are calculated (Dubreuil et al., 2005). For these authors, one of the major dropout
factors is the programme chosen at the end of the final year of “collège”, which, for
weaker pupils, usually means opting for vocational training, either at “lycée” or via an
apprenticeship. In addition, systematic guidance into a general programme at “lycée”
also leads to a large number of pupils who do not wish to undertake long secondary
studies with little professional benefit, dropping out (see Endrizzi, 2007).
In secondary education, Dubois-Dunilac & Macaire (2006) give us further insights into
the effects of changing the educational path that leads out of the education system and
into the job market: “It is when changing the educational path that certain baccalauréat-holders leave
the education system. While almost all of them expressed the wish to continue into higher education
prior to obtaining the “baccalauréat,” almost one in ten enter the job market after they pass it.”
An analysis of why baccalauréat-holders change their educational path sheds further
light on the complexity of the project. Of the 8000 general and technological
baccalauréat-holders questioned from the “Centre” region of France, a quarter had been
refused their initial option. 71% changed project, 54% changed both project and region,
and 18% changed region. Technological baccalauréat-holders had their project refused
proportionally more often, and more than a third of them joined the job market (as
against 13% for the general baccalauréat-holders).
Gaussel uses foreign research to draw the conclusion that the tendency to drop out is
the product of three learning-related factors : lack of academic success (as measured
by tests and marks), instability in the school environment (both internal and external)
and failure to acquire knowledge and skills (validated by successfully completed six-
month periods and the diplomas obtained).
 37

This analysis confirms the validity of our project’s focus on strategies to help schools
and teachers.
The level of parental education, their income, composition of the family, size of the
school and number of pupils in the class are just some of the factors that can influence a
pupil's academic perseverance. How the establishment is run, its culture and climate
also contribute to the progressive withdrawal of a pupil if the decision-makers fail to
apply a policy of dropout risk measurement and prevention.
The dropping out process results from several years of instability combined with a loss
of motivation and failure to validate skills. The process can be reversed, however, not
only through remedying measures, but also by more effective prevention measures.
As Marc Romainville (2000), in Canada, Mylène Lambert, Klarka Zeman, Mary Allen
and Patrick Bussière (2004) observe that young people who have a strong feeling of
belonging to their school and who obtain good results at secondary school are more
likely to continue their studies. Their study involved a sample of students who began a
cycle in 2001. 15% of the young people aged between 20 and 22 who continued
studying after secondary level gave up before the end of their programme. In addition,
young people who drop out of secondary studies before finishing appear to have more
in common with those who did not enter higher education in the first place than with
the other average students.
Romainville (2000) drew up a list of factors leading to failure at university that could
also be valid for schools.
He believes that predictive studies of failure-producing factors are unreliable because
they are based on characteristics which cannot be applied in all contexts. He therefore
suggests measuring the modifiable characteristics : i.e. those for which training could be
effective and transposable to different establishments.
The first step is to identify the causes of failure and their origin:
• the student’s personal characteristics : their background, their learning abilities,
their age, etc.
• the phases involved in moving from one status to another: “unfamiliarity time”,
“learning time”, “affiliation time”. The transition from secondary to higher
education is a difficult one to make when the process of institutional affiliation
involves an inability to understand new game rules. Romainville cites the Tinto
model (Tinto, 1993) who also believes that this is the most decisive phase : if
students are not socially integrated into their group, then they can get lost and
may drop out of the programme.
 38

The joint report drawn up by the two Chief Inspectors of Schools at the Ministry (IGEN
and IGAEN) in 2005 regarding school leavers without qualifications indicates that the
same is true for the passage from primary to secondary education.
Other French studies, such as that by Anne Barrère (1997), identified the difficulties of
the “profession of pupil” for a certain number of high-school pupils, who do not
understand the demands that are made on them. They spend a great deal of time doing
their work, but as they fail to organize their tasks effectively and are uncertain as
regards the validation processes and the underlying meaning of what they are doing,
their results are poor and their report cards deplore their “lack of work.”
The study led by Carole Dolignon (2005, 2008) through interviews with “passive”
school droppers-in (who are present in class) and “active” droppers-out (outside the
school), highlights the difficulty these teenagers have in making sense of what they do
at school or understanding the norms that govern their programmes and academic
success. These pupils are dominated by emotional representations which block them at
cognitive level. They do not understand that they are judged on academic performance
that is based on assimilating content. They like or do not like the school subjects and
those who deliver them. They develop a discourse marked by hatred towards the latter.
This typology links up with the analyses of other researchers: “Some pupils have developed
a relationship that has broken away from learning; they are discouraged and say they do not get involved
in any school activities. Some affirm that the situation is due to the lack of support from the teachers,
while others bitterly highlight what they see as racism in the school institution “ (Bautier, Terrail, 2003,
p. 28).
For Stéphane Bonnéry (2004), the learning difficulties already exist in primary school
and precede the disaffection from school that occurs in the secondary system. On the
one hand, the pupils firmly believe they are doing what the teacher has asked of them
and fail to grasp the invisible underlying task of making the link with the general
explanations given by the teacher. At the same time, the teachers believe that if pupils
are obviously working, then they are engaged in mental activity. However the pupils’
involvement in an activity is not enough to really develop knowledge. These are basic
socio-cognitive misunderstandings.
Thus the “droppers-out” from secondary education retain a good image of primary
education because the way secondary school operates inevitably highlights their
difficulties. The drama is therefore triggered when they enter secondary school.
“Some pupils, those who try to be ‘good pupils’ and to conform to the learning norms, thinking that ‘all
work deserves reward,’ find themselves at a disadvantage as the same misunderstandings are at work as
at primary school, but here they become aware that something is not working: they try to do what they
 39

believe is expected of them in a contextualized way, but their marks do not improve because specific
cognitive activities are implicitly expected of them, such as decontextualization/recontextualization, or
because of certain uses of educational language or the obviousness of understanding school tasks within
the context of their final learning purpose. Finally, the more effort they make, the less it seems to ‘pay;’
and consequently, in their search for an explanation, there is a feeling of humiliation, injustice, and the
risk of appearing ‘stupid’ which results in them giving up making an effort (it’s better to be lazy than
stupid) and/or blaming the problem on the teacher (the one who gives impossible tasks and deliberately
tries to put the pupils down), and who is increasingly considered in an oppressive register of otherness
(‘them,’ the ‘whites’). Several of these pupils had ‘dropped-in’ by the end of their first year in the sense
that they had given up on learning.
Other pupils, who express similar feelings, find sympathetic adults who encourage them to get involved
again, as in primary education, and to adopt a more acceptable learning attitude, which at the same time
tends to prolong the misunderstandings and ambiguities. We may assume that the same trap will close in
on them later in their schooling if the misunderstandings are not erased, and also that the more time
passes, the more these misunderstandings and ambiguities are likely to accumulate and become difficult
to erase” (Bautier, Terrail, 2003, p. 26).
We then find high-school pupils disgusted with their “profession of pupil” as described
by Anne Barrère. As Maryse Esterle Hédibel suggests (2007), perhaps we should
change our perspective and reverse the problem, so that rather than analyse the
disaffection processes, ask ourselves instead how come so few pupils give up when so
many of them are in difficulty ?
It would appear that, if the transition periods in the education process are the weakest
links in the system and require targeted monitoring, they simply highlight the
permanent defects even more.
Finally, Romainville identifies the aspects that lead to failure in higher education which
can also be applied to school : i.e. programme design, teaching practices, assessment
methods, lecturing and all the aspects involved in university education can also be
factors of failure. Other researchers we mentioned warn of the same problems.
According to Romainville, the most important element is motivation. We have seen that
this is a leitmoitiv for researchers working on other levels of school education. Students
who choose their study path for questionable reasons, (i.e. lack of choice or family
pressure) are more likely to give up at the first difficulty encountered. We saw that this
often occurred with students on vocational courses in technical or vocational
institutions. Their choices are less likely to be satisfied than those of pupils attending
general education schools, which could explain why few of them go beyond the
baccalauréat.
 40

There is, however, an exception, namely the brightest students who aim to join the most
prestigious courses, for whom difficulties equal challenges. Everything depends on the
guidance provided at the end of secondary education.
In his conclusion, Romainville traces the broad outline of an effective combat against
failure, which also appears to correspond with the needs of the school system and
confirms the main avenues of our research project, insofar as the author holds teaching
practices and educational programmes to some extent responsible for learning
difficulties, which represent additional obstacles for students. We examine the support
that can be given to teachers to help them deal with these problems in ToR 5 - Support
measures for teachers working in such schools, especially during their initial training
and via staff development courses.

2-3 - Measures and experiences to combat dropping out

The measures recommended by Romainville are of a general nature. After introducing

them, we will present those explored by researchers that focus on the school system.
They address young people of school age but who are not involved in the classes
(dropping in) or who leave (dropping out). For pupils who lose interest in the course of
schooling, these measures either involve the introduction of teaching methods that
reinterpret the programmes, adapting them to the difficulties of the pupils “as they are”,
or measures like the “rebound” programmes which develop a space and time for
transition with institutions that operate in line with official norms. Other measures
address young people over the age of compulsory schooling who have left the
secondary school system with no diplomas or qualifications.
The official texts and legislation that covers this type of scheme are taken from the first
report on France, delivered in February 2008, and included in the appendix 1.
In his conclusion, Romainville sketches the broad outline for effectively combating
failure, which includes:
• drawing up an inventory of expected skills;
• introducing information and guidance systems;
• encouraging debate based on the concepts of the different people involved;
• countering sudden dropout by assisting students with individual work
(assistance may be provided via continuous assessment, supplementary
instruction (US), student tutoring, etc.);
• ensuring preventive measures are in place;
 41

• developing methodology that the students can use;

• encouraging transparency in objectives and assessments : favouring methods
that support in-depth learning (see above);
• opting for open assessment;
• fighting against fragmentation and inflation of curricula and examinations
• organizing more flexible courses;
• diversifying courses;
• reasserting the value of the teaching mission;
• providing initial and in-service training for teachers
These recommendations are also intended to serve as a framework for reviewing
teaching practices and university programmes, which Romainville holds to be
responsible to some extent for the learning difficulties that make the student's progress
even more difficult.

2-3-1 – Alternative pedagogies : preventative solutions rather than remedies

Regarding school curricula, the evaluation of ‘alternative’ teaching methods and

practices based on the strict application of the programmes and schedules is relatively
positive.
The ESEN report (École supérieure de l'éducation nationale : National Education
College) (2005) cites an article written by Paul Quénet and Guy Soudjian (2002)
describing a teaching experiment conducted in 2001 in the vocational “lycée”, Dumézil
de Vernon, located in a medium-sized city on the banks of the Seine, not far from the
greater Paris area, that develops pedagogic alternatives to suspension from school. The
“PASS” classroom is a structure designed specifically for disaffected pupils. It was
designed to prevent the breaking of school rules and social rules. The first results
indicate that most of the benchmark indicators are relatively positive.
The case study 2 described in ToR 11 - Sample of innovative and successful projects or
case studies successfully conducted at either school, local, regional or national level -, a
longitudinal study conducted over several years by the THEODILE-CIREL research
team from Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 University, analyzes the administration of an
experimental school that is part of the Freinet movement within a “REP”, a Priority
Education network (ie. an extended ZEP like an Education Action Zone in the UK), and
examines the results. This case study is based on extensive documentation that includes
summaries, reports, statements, conferences and publications.
 42

Notwithstanding the numerous publications on educational movements that seek to

transform the education system, notably through the classroom, and especially teaching
practices in schools, such experiments remain few and far between and are generally
unlikely to have much impact on the school system overall. In fact, the reluctance of
teachers and decision-makers in the education system that has tended to curb the
generalisation of such practices, has recently been strengthened by recommendations
from the French Ministry of Education since the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy.
There is a move away from the framework education law, introduced by a socialist
government in 1989, which put the pupil at the heart of the education system. The new
directives and the renewed focus on curricula content mean that teachers are no longer
encouraged to focus on the way children learn. Researchers’ findings, especially in the
reports drawn up for the 2003 inter-ministerial call for tenders on school drop-out,
indicate that the way the education system allows disaffection to take root means
schools are forced to resort to increasing the range of corrective measures rather than
improve their preventive measures.

2-3-2 – Corrective strategies

The ESEN report (2005) notes that the “dispositifs-relais” (rebound programmes) are
the main resource used to help disaffected school pupils.
Decree n° 2006-129 of August 21, 2006, which replaced the decree drawn up in 1998,
begins by declaring: “the rebound programmes (classes and workshops) are one of the principal tools
used to combat disaffection from school and the social exclusion of young people subject to compulsory
education.”
In accordance with our methodological choices, we will focus on this important
measure in ToR 1.
The decree of 2006 remains in line with that of 1998, considered as the “charter”
(Dusseau, Isambert, 2003), and retaining the main provisions, but what it leaves out
reflects current ministerial policy as well as certain contradictions.
It does not include the declaration contained in the 1998 circular concerning the origin
of a field initiative validated at institutional level by the hierarchy rather than arising as
a top down reform, a somewhat rare occurrence in France : “By creating, under various
names, the rebound classes in collège, motivated and dynamic field teams, who cannot be praised too
highly, have proved that solutions are possible.” On the basis of such successful experiments,
the circular invites education managers (school inspectors at every level and head
 43

teachers) “to take the initiative to create new rebound programmes in collège, when there is clearly a
need.”
The rebound programmes, classes and workshops have 3 main characteristics:
- They are a school institution.
They are designed for pupils in secondary education, primarily under the official school
leaving age, who have rejected the institution via absenteeism or “extreme passivity”,
and for whom the institution has exhausted all its resources to bring them back into the
fold. The pupil remains subject to compulsory schooling and is registered with his or
her specific school if it is for a short period of time. If it is for a longer period, which
cannot exceed one school year, the pupil is registered with the school attached to the
rebound class (the workshops are always of short duration and cannot exceed 4
months).
The mixed teaching teams include youth workers and other outside collaborators who
work as closely as possibly with the timetables, curriculum and activities enjoyed by
other pupils of the same age.
Integration in the school system and in its hierarchy is strengthened by the decree of
2006 which reflects a concern by the present Ministry to re-establish authority in the
whole system. This role of the school inspectors at all regional and departmental levels
is very clear as well as the role of the Chiel Inspectors of Schools in the national
assessment and management structures.
However, while it is the “recteur”, the Chief Education Officer for an “académie”
(region) who sets up the steering group and appoints the coordinator, the
interdepartmental, regional and departmental steering committees include external
partners. This is the second characteristic of the rebound programmes.
- A privileged partnership (Dusseau, Isambert, 2003) within and outside national
education.
The rebound programmes, classes and workshops, recognise the need for schools to
collaborate with other entities within and outside the national education system to help
young people who are failing at school to find solutions to their problems.
“These measures are based on cooperation with the Ministry of Justice (PJJ department : Special young
offenders service), the local authorities (county councils, municipalities...) and associations. The rebound
classes (…) mainly develop partnerships with entities linked to the legal youth protection department.
The rebound workshops call on approved associations that work in close liaison with state education at
national and regional level, as well as with foundations recognised as serving the public interest.”
 44

“Annual agreements are signed by the Local Education Authorities, the head of the institution and the
partners, defining the rebound centre’s learning project, the forms of collaboration, and the
responsibilities of the different contributors, and include a budget appendix.”
Rebound programmes are funded by the regional education authority (“rectorat”),
which launches a call for projects every year. The 2006 circular is based on the one
drawn up in 1998, which made provision for European funding from the ESF
(European Social Fund).
In particular it emphasised partnerships with business organisations, and activities and
work placements that the pupils could perform.
The principle of this contractual arrangement was extended to pupils and their family,
although the expression “pédagogie du contrat” (contract pedagogy), which featured in
the previous decree of 1998 and was not used in that of 2006. However, the principle of
these “strengthened partnerships” made it one of the alternative teaching methods
recommended under the title “Pedagogic action” and this is a third characteristic of the
outreach programmes.
- Alternative teaching methods
The first one mentioned is a “differentiated pedagogical approach, individual learning programmes
that can be based on sandwich courses, without excluding support developed within a collective
framework.”
The second reiterates the need for partnerships, not only in terms of the support staff
but also of the families.
“A reinforced educational, school and schoolwork support framework is provided by the teachers, staff
working in associations and other youth workers, in liaison with social sector and health professionals.
We have to systematically involve the families by engaging them in serious dialogue.”
“A log book that mentions the programme delivered, the progress observed, the teachers’ comments and
also observations by the young people and their families on the learning achieved through the outreach
programmes, including the work completed, will help boost the pupil’s sense of worth.”
“Continuity is needed between school time, schoolwork support time and family time, requiring coherent
initiatives to foster the pupils’ success and well-being. In particular, the local authorities, associations and
foundations can help ensure that the measure takes root in the region.”
Tutoring is institutionalised
“Collaboration between the teaching team in the rebound programmes and the staff in the pupils’ local
schools and institutions, with the appointment of a teaching tutor, should be explicitly included to
promote a successful return to a standard educational structure. Pupils will be provided with support and
tutoring when they first join the rebound programme and during their reintegration into the normal
system.”
In both classes and rebound programmes, the hours and methods are adapted to the
pupils in order to give them back a taste for learning and to reintegrate them into the
 45

normal school system by reinforcing their motivation, encouraging them to make the
effort needed.
The preventative value of these teaching measures, both in terms of the pupils’ learning
and teacher training has been widely recognised and considered preferable to
remediation measures.
“Different rebound measures could be adopted for pupils outside school times, i.e. social cohesion
educational success measures, educational monitoring, local schoolwork support contract, local
educational contracts...). This collaboration between the staff working in the rebound programmes and
the teaching staff from local schools should also lead to early recognition of problems, and the
introduction of relays via specific support modules being set up for pupils within the school.”
“Partnerships with staff in medico-psycho-pedagogic centres (CMPP) and medico-psychological centres
(CMP) in the infant-juvenile psychiatry sectors will be developed as needed. Joint analysis of situations
could be introduced to support teaching and educational support teams or to envisage, with the family’s
or the legal representative’s agreement, different forms of therapeutic and educational support (decree n°
2000-141 of 4 September 2000 and the inter-ministerial decree of 18 October 2005 relative to helping
children and adolescents who show signs of psychic disturbance).”
There is a concern to “train teams.”
“Teaching tools and methods can be found on the website: http://eduscol.education.fr/, rubrique Collège”.
One page is dedicated to this training. It states that:
“In liaison with the regional steering group, training of teaching staff in national education includes
specific staff development courses for those working in the national education system and partners
involved in the rebound programmes (didactics, knowledge of adolescents, conflict management, etc.).
At the same time, the experience of teachers in rebound programmes could be usefully
re-incorporated into training programmes for teachers in “college” to help train them in
preventing academic failure and drop out.
This last sentence indicates the value of prevention and also advocates a pedagogic
approach set out in the education orientation law of 1989 that the present Minister of
Education felt necessary to revoke : i.e. to develop an across-the-board learner-centred
approach and adopt the pedagogic methods advocated by the policies of the socialist
ministers, Savary in 1981 and Jospin in 1989, which, in effect, are reflected in this law
of 1989. In addition, the decree advocates teacher recruitment based on the principle of
voluntary service, a specific feature of participants in pedagogic movements, and
teamwork, including teams with partners from outside the National Education system,
in line with the law of 1989.
There seems to be a contradiction here which fails to address the basic problem of
disaffection from school, since, if the solutions advocated are different to, or even
 46

the opposite of what is developed in the system as a whole, how can we hope to
eradicate the aforementioned process of academic and social exclusion ?
If the results of the rebound programmes prove to be positive, why not draw models
from these transitional structures that could be used to inspire reform in the education
system as a whole ?
We will not develop the issue of teacher training here as this will be dealt with in more
detail, together with other examples, in ToR 5 - Support measures for teachers working
in such schools.
One section of the decree of 2006 is dedicated to the “Assessment of the measure” :
“Appraisal of the way the measures are created and implemented is essential both academically and in
national terms.
To this end, the DEPP, in collaboration with the DGESCO (two departments of the ministry of
Education) and the PJJ (Special young offenders service at the Ministry of Justice), conduct an annual
study of the data collected via the national computer application: http://cisad.adc.education.fr/crel which
gives rise to the publication of an assessment report. The regional and departmental steering groups,
together with the head of the school affiliated to the rebound programme, ensure that the rebound
programme coordinator fills in the pupil monitoring report available online as soon as the pupils join the
scheme and includes information regarding the pupils’ orientation when they leave the scheme as well as
six months later.
The regional pilot groups also ensure that the pupils are monitored for one year after leaving the rebound
programme and joining the affiliated institution.”
The most recent assessment results are not available on the website. On the other hand,
we have the extremely comprehensive report drawn up by the two Chief Inspectors of
Schools at the MEN (Ministry of Education), the IGEN and IGAENR (Dusseau,
Isambert, 2003), which are entirely given over to the rebound programmes and Open
Schools that were set up along similar lines.
What are the conclusions?
The title of the following section sets the tone: “A positive assessment of diverse
situations” (p. 32).
The first conclusion suggests a very mixed, largely masculine public, aged from 11 to
17 years old, who have repeated a number of years, and come from socially deprived
backgrounds with a number of problems arising from “chaotic” lifestyle conditions
which have nothing to do with the school. “The extremely difficult personal situations impact on
the behaviour of the young people concerned, usually leading to deviant behaviour regarding the rules of
their academic institution or the law. This leads to a number of legal or administrative measures being
taken. Around 50% of the young people already have criminal records or are subject to probation orders
(…). On several occasions, during visits to the sites, the absence of a pupil was explained by a summons
from a judge or the police.” (p. 85-86).
 47

The rebound class situation explains the special inter-ministerial partnership it has with
the Minister of Justice via la PJJ (Protection judiciaire de la jeunesse : Special young
offenders service), whose supervisory staff is trained to deal with such problems.
However, the mixed nature of the public and the presence of potentially aggressive
pupils is not unique to rebound classes and such phenomena are becoming increasingly
commonplace, even outside economically disadvantaged areas. The report by the two
Chief Inspectorates of the Ministry gives examples of effective strategies that schools
can use to manage such problems internally (repeating classes, specific reception facilities
for new arrivals) so that the rebound classes can focus on really ‘extreme cases’. Extending these
measures more widely would help avoid the ‘scrapheap’ image of some rebound classes, an image which
is experienced by both teachers and pupils alike.” (p. 98). The report considers that “some Regional
Education Authorities, like Créteil for instance, may appear somewhat behind in developing rebpund
programmes for target publics (…) but it is because they have developed a type of internal solution.” It
also believes that “It would be useful to develop measures that deal with the pupils as soon as
any deviant behaviour begins within the school itself, before the rebound programmes are needed.”
(p. 99)
The report cites “the exemplary case of the Regional Education Authority of Lille and the Pas-de-
Calais that the commission visited. Here, the rebound scheme is designed as the last educational resort
once it has been proved that the pupil’s original school has taken every pedagogic, educational and social
support measure possible without result.”
We will not detail here the additional measures that are developed in the schools and
mentioned by the report for this Regional Education Authority, as this is dealt with in
ToR 11 concerning innovative projects (case study 1), based on in-depth assessments
by researchers studying the “Démission impossible” (“Impossible resignation”)
schemes developed for 14/16 year olds, subject to “extreme truancy, highly disruptive
and/or violent behaviour” at school (Guigue, Lemoine, 2007), and set out in more
recent studies than that of the report (2003).
This last example, however, reminds us that the report considers a scheme based on a
tailored learning programme developed around choices made by the pupils themselves
as a positive factor with respect to one of the causes of failure mentioned by several
researchers. In addition, the conclusion repeats the notion that firstly, preventive
measures developed within the schools are the best way to re-educate and
secondly, they also make the rebound programmes more effective by integrating
them in the “range of well-thought through and well-coordinated measures managed in a coherent
manner, of which they are just one of the links in the chain.” (p. 92)
 48

The problems concerning the way the rebound classes work are put in perspective. In
effect, the dedicated and voluntary staff members manage to deal with the situations
and the positive results outweigh the negative aspects. The general conclusion regarding
this type of scheme like the Open Schools, whether class or workshop, is that “the
commitment of the heads and the teachers is often based on strong convictions and true political
militancy. This does not rule out deviations and does not mean that many of the actions taken are not also
relatively conventional. But the commitment and enthusiasm certainly explains the sometimes
exceptional success they can engender.” (p. 163-164)
On the other hand, the return to collège, the ultimate aim of the rebound programme,
can at times be a negative aspect of the results. This is effectively considered as the
“programmes’ stumbling block” (p. 106). To avoid pupils being labelled by the teachers
and other pupils in their old school, they are often sent to another school. However, the
same problems arise following such a scheme. The pupil has changed but still has to
make an effort to integrate a system which remains uninteresting, even for those who
have not reached such an extreme state of affairs. In addition, the groups of local young
people often prevent integration in another area or another municipality. With this in
mind, the recommendation to strengthen partnerships with the local authorities and
youth structures appears to be the most pertinent.
Solutions put forward within the school system involve offering the young people
concerned support structures which may involve teachers from the rebound schemes or
the collège, personal tutoring with a teacher or, more rarely, with another pupil.
The second chapter of the Chief Inspector of Schools’ Report 2004 (Robert, 2004) also
concerns the rebound programmes and the Open School system, presented as two
schemes that both aim to reconcile the pupil with school. It confirms the previous report
which was wholly dedicated to these structures, in particular, the specialisation of such
schemes in order to avoid too great a mix, their optimisation through early intervention
(preventative or internal in liaison with primary schools, earlier in the year, or during
the course of early secondary education), and a network organisation with respect to
catchment areas.
Based on the report by Marie Gaussel (2007), we briefly mention the Mission Générale
d'Insertion (MGI : General insertion mission), set up in 1993, as few evaluations are
available regarding the effectiveness of these actions, while in ToR 11 we cover in a
detailed case study innovative projects that we have already mentioned, which work
along the same lines.
The MGI offers a number of specific programmes : Session d'Information et
d'Orientation (SIO : Information and career planning courses), Cycle d'Insertion
 49

Professionnelle par Alternance (CIPPA : Vocational/education sandwich programmes),

MOREA (Module de Repréparation aux Examens par Alternance : Basic schooling and
exam preparation work/education sandwich programmes), Module d'Accueil en lycée
(MODAL : Special secondary school reintegration programmes), Itinéraire
personnalisé d'Accès à la Qualification (ITAQ : Tailored qualification programmes),
Formation Intégrée (FI : Integrated training), and Groupe d'Aide à l'Insertion (GAIN :
Support group integration programmes).
Structured as an association, the second chance schools (Ecole de la seconde chance :
E2C) have been pursuing their goal to socially integrate young people aged between 18
and 25 years old without any qualifications for the last ten years, providing foundation
courses in basic academic skills and in-company training. They all offer tailored
learning programmes. Introduced by the European Commission in 1995, the E2C were
set up both in France (the first in Marseille) and in Europe. Their success rate
(placement rate) is high (60% between 1998 and 2005). These schools aim to provide
an alternative to the traditional education structure that leaves young people between 18
and 25 in a situation of academic failure and without professional experience. The aim
is to help them acquire or add to their basic skills in order to be able to join a training
programme or simply find a job. The foundation for innovation policy has drawn up a
comprehensive report on this European system (2005).
Céline Gasquet and Valérie Roux (CEREQ, 2005) analyse the results of the CEREQ
study (Génération 98) in greater depth in an article dedicated to public measures
designed to help young people join the job market without qualifications. Only 4 in 10
found a job quickly and of these, 1 in 4 had never been unemployed. Three years after
leaving their initial education programme, 20% of these young people were
unemployed, in other words twice as many as young people leaving school with a
secondary school diploma and 4 times as many as those with a higher education degree.
These drop-outs were the target for the employment-based schemes : 40% of students
without qualifications had access to support measures to help them find work during the
first 7 years on the job market, marked by precariousness.
Following our analysis of the research and studies in ToR 1, Support measures for
schools with high drop-out rates, we could raise the same questions as Dominique
Glasman, and Bertrand Geay and Françoise Ropé in the reports they drew up in
response to the call for inter-ministerial offers in 2003. The former noted that “the
programmes specifically designed (for young drop-outs) in order to help them gain qualifications are
costly and their effectiveness is questionable, both in terms of getting them back into learning mode,
 50

restoring their self image, their relationship with institutions, and… joining the job market; wouldn’t it be
better to deal with the problem beforehand for most of these young people, in other words before they
drop out of the school system ? ” (p. 2).
The latter authors note that : “The creation of educational monitoring units, the growing number of
rebound classes and the creation of classes for ‘precociously uneducated’ children appear to be symptoms
of a ‘massified’ school system which, unable to offer adapted learning conditions, cannot deal with its
own ‘failures’ or the inequalities that run through it other than by increasing the number of specific
measures and schemes developed under categories as vague as ‘uneducated’ or ‘disaffected’ ” (p. 15).
The whole purpose of our research is to focus on this determining factor, in other
words to focus on strategies that help schools and teachers to find solutions to the
issue within the school of the young people concerned. But which ones should we
concentrate on ?
In effect, as we have just seen, as soon as we began exploring this topic for our project,
several researchers evaluating the effects of the measures taken to combat
disaffection with school noted that the teachers, caught up in the work of the class
as a whole, tend to pass on the problem of disruptive pupils to others outside the
“normal” school system. This has given rise to a multitude of costly schemes that
aim to restore an educational space adapted to the “poorly adapted”. This
inevitably leads to the question : wouldn’t it be better to adapt the system itself to
its users ?
At this stage of our study, it would appear more judicious to introduce strategies
that are designed to help schools and teachers change the present flaws in the
school system in order to reduce the number of problems arising as a result.
Several researchers have analysed the spiral of failure in which some children find
themselves trapped from the time they enter the school system, accumulating
difficulties in following the school curriculum until the moment they can go no further.
Martine Kherroubi, Jean-Paul Chanteau and Brigitte Larguèze (2003) present this
phenomenon under the title Des difficultés scolaires précoces qui s’accumulent (School
difficulties that accumulate, p. 135). They first appear in the second year of nursery
school (Duru-Bellat, 2002). The two first years of primary school present an
insurmountable obstacle for a large number of pupils, mostly from disadvantaged
backgrounds (Troncin, 2001). The gaps widen as they enter secondary education
because “the elitism of collège” makes them ever wider (Duru-Bellat, 2002). We have
already seen that pupils in rebound programmes are often older than their peers in the
same classes at “college” because they have already repeated years, even though this
has not helped them to get back into the system. Studies have shown their lack of
 51

learning acquisitions (Millet, Thin, 2003). In similar vein, statistical studies have
indicated that school leavers without qualifications are largely children who have
repeated years.
The system of repeating years, which means making children learn the same content
using the same methods that they had failed to assimilate in the past, logically has little
chance of succeeding.
As we mentioned earlier, Maryse Esterlé-Hédibel (2007) suggested changing the
approach by reversing the problem. Instead of asking which processes lead to
dropping out, she poses a different question : how come so few pupils drop out
when there are so many in difficulty ?
This question allowed her to identify four aspects of disaffection that appear to be
determining factors in avoiding disaffection with school : a focus on the idea of the
mission of a school as a public service for all the pupils, including those who step
outside the norms; providing an atmosphere within the school which fosters encounters
between pupils and adults so that they enjoy coming and sharing forms of social
behaviour and exchange; the pedagogical choice of a benevolent, non stigmatising and
normative attitude towards marginal pupils; the search for pedagogic solutions on a case
by case basis, linked to structures outside the school institution, and that take into
consideration the individual’s pace and anticipate their future evolution.
She considered it necessary to take up the gauntlet of the educability of young people.
The process of “educational vigilance” should cover all those involved in education.
We also need to change the way we consider “difficult” pupils, seeing their disruptive
behaviour as a sign of young people “in difficulty”, or young people who are
“suffering”. Penalising such pupils should no longer be considered as the only
alternative, and an educational approach should be developed rather than one of
exclusion. (in Lettre réseau relais, Rebound network Letter, April 2008)
The studies carried out with young drop-outs (Dolignon, 2005 and 2008; Leclercq and
Dupont, 2005) indicates that the cost of the present weaknesses in the system is not
only economic and social (low quality-price ratio of the reforms and “repair” schemes,
failure for young people to get jobs, problematic out-of-school behaviour that leads to
urban insecurity), but also engenders a significant human cost. In effect, it leads to great
psychic suffering during adolescence, a key period in the construction of the adult and
citizen’s identity. It is also a political issue and a choice of our society.
The key question in our research could be : what should we do to ensure that the
teaching methods used in schemes targeting specific cases are not limited to simply
 52

patching up the damage when it’s already too late ? Could they be introduced as
preventative measures ? Are they transferable to the system as a whole ? How can the
French education system with its obvious weaknesses – if we only base our judgement
on the results of French pupils compared to those of other countries attached to the
OECD – produce fewer “poorly adapted” children? In evaluating the measures
developed to deal with specific cases, disaffection, academic failure and social
exclusion for diverse reasons such as economically disadvantaged or absent family
background (population of young people assisted in institution), ethnic, linguistic,
religious origin themselves, should we just limit them to the impacts of the schemes
designed for the populations concerned ? Shouldn’t we instead be trying to
understand how to make them, if not redundant, at least less necessary in their
present large numbers, as they would be used to inform the policies, strategies and
practices of schools and teachers in such a way that the number of misfits would
be significantly reduced ?

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 55

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 58

TOR 2 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS WITH HIGH

SCORES ON OTHER POSSIBLE INDICATORS OF SOCIAL
EXCLUSION

See ToR 1, 3, 6, 10, 11.

TOR 3 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS IN SOCIO-

ECONOMICALLY DEPRIVED AREAS

In ToR 1- “Support measures for schools with high drop-out rates” we looked at the
rebound measures geared towards socio-economically disadvantaged areas and
presented as “the main initiative addressing young people disaffected from the school
system” (ESEN, 2005), together with the Mission Generale d'Insertion (MGI : General
insertion mission). We will not spend time on assessing these initiatives by researchers.
Perhaps the question we should pose is that formulated by Eric Maurin (2007) : “What
would have happened without these public policies to correct social inequalities in the
ZEPs ? ”
The French report, drawn up in February 2008 and included in appendix 1, gives the list
of official texts governing them.
In ToR 5 - Support measures for teachers working in such schools, we present a case study
with more positive results with respect to the “contrats de réussite” (success contracts,
Loison, 2005). Their creation marked the passage of ZEPs to REPs, from 1999, and
their refocus on basic apprenticeships and citizenship education.
In ToR 11 – Selected innovative and successful projects or case-studies that have proved
successful at school institution, local, regional and national level, we present three
evaluations of researchers’ experiences, two in secondary schools (1 and 3) and one in
the primary sector (2), that are particularly significant in terms of the evolution of
strategies set up to help schools in socio-economically deprived areas.
In ToR 3, we look at the three-pronged evolutions:
- the policy of decentralisation, that takes the disparities between the different
components of the country into consideration and aims to deal with issues more
effectively through rebound schemes, thus facilitating the introduction of
initiatives by regional and local bodies, both educational and other, including
 59

“lycées” and “colleges” that had EPLE status (Etablissement public local
d’enseignement : Local state education institution) in 1985;
- the increase in social problems in disadvantaged areas, with unemployment,
urban insecurity with peaks in violence such as the 2005 riots, and the inability
of each institution to find solutions on their own, leading to a combined
approach to urban and education policies, which had previously been conducted
separately;
- the support strategies set up for schools in socio-economically deprived areas:
the transition from a policy introduced to compensate for educational inequality
arising from social inequality, along the lines of positive discrimination (giving
more to those who have less) to a policy focusing on success, and then a policy
of excellence, which involves giving the best, usually only enjoyed by the elite,
to the poorest in society.
We will start by defining ZEPs and REPs and give a brief outline of their environment
and the geographical location of ZEPs. We will then describe their evolution and give
an assessment of their results based on the latest report from the two Chief Inspectors of
Schools at the ministry, the IGEN and the IGAEN, dedicated to them (Armand, Gille,
2006). We will conclude with the most recent aim of national policy : the concept of
ZEPs as “areas of teaching excellence.” We will cover the effects of this new strategy in
greater detail in one of the three case studies in ToR 11 concerning ToR 3.

1 – DEFINITION AND MAP OF ZEP/REPs IN FRANCE

(Education Action Zones/Networks)

The compulsory and secular French republican school model was designed at the end of
the 19th century to ensure equality of education for all children within a given area,
based on the same national programmes. If a child did not succeed at school, it was
because he or she had failed to seize the opportunities presented by the state. The
democratisation of education by prolonging compulsory schooling to the age of 16
(1959) and, even more, the creation of a single “collège” (1977) for all children leaving
primary school, gave rise to research studies that highlighted the role of social
inequalities regarding the pupils’ school results. “Compensation programmes” began to
be developed in the United States in the 1960s and, in 1967, British “Education Action
Zones” were set up that inspired the development of the French “ZEP” policies.
Associations and trade unions took up the issue, leading to the creation of “zones
 60

prioritaires” (priority areas) in France in December 1981, which were later called
“Zones d’Education Prioritaire” (Priority education areas), known by the acronym,
ZEP (Armand, Gilles, 2006).
This form of positive discrimination corresponded to a policy of territorialisation that
the decentralisation laws gave rise to at the same period in France (1982). However, this
is in line with Anglo-Saxon principles of differentiated treatment of pupils nationwide,
which prefers to take the conditions of local community life into consideration and
partnerships with parents, associations, elected representatives, while the original
republican school was designed as a sanctuary and protection from the external and
negative influences of the street. We are currently experiencing a reversal of the French
model.
Thus, in the decrees of December 1981 that created the ZEPs (“Zones d’Education
Prioritaire”), their initial denomination was “zones prioritaires” (priority areas), clearly
reflecting the recognition of the primacy given to local areas. From the moment they
were created, there was a risk of seeing the gap widen between the marginalised schools
and those that fit in strictly with the official national programmes which continue to be
promulgated from on high by the Ministry.
The expression “Zones d’Education Prioritaire” (ZEPs), in which the noun in the
singular reflects the fact that it is education and not the area that is coming first, first
appeared in the ministerial letter of 8 July 1988, and the denomination “Education
Prioritaire” (EP) was first mentioned in the decree of 10 July 1988, which created the
REPs (“Réseaux d’Education Prioritaire”: Priority education network). This designates
an entity that includes both the ZEPs and the REPs (Armand, Gilles, 2006, p. 9-10).
The following definitions are given by Cécile Carra and Maryse Hédibel (2004).
“ZEPs are groups of schools located in areas with a number of social, economic and cultural problems.
The national education system and its partners conduct concerted educational schemes in these areas that
aim to help as many pupils as possible to get good educational results and better social and professional
integration opportunities.” (Letter from the Prime Minister to the regional prefects on 22/12/90 Enseigner
en éducation prioritaire (Teaching in priority education) - 28 ).
“
In 1999, the priority education zone incorporated a new structure : the REPs, in which the institutions
“pool their teaching and educational resources as well as their innovations to help pupils get good
educational results” (Carra, Hédibel, 2004, p. 27).
A network is a coherent socio-geographic group, usually made up of each ZEP
classified “collège”, together with the primary schools that are attached to it.
“The number of REPs is limited insofar as they each require considerable resources. Each Regional
Education Authority has a map of the REPs which is updated every three years.”
This regional map is drawn up in 3 stages:
 61

- after potential areas are located at local level (“départements”) by the IAs
(“inspecteurs d’académie”: Chief Education Officers responsible for
“départements”), based on social criteria (socio-professional categories of the
population, the number of scholarship holders) and the social urban development map;
- calls for tender to submit success contracts are addressed to schools by the Inspections
académiques (School inspectorates for “départements”);
- the projects are examined and validated and the list of REPs is drawn up by the
“recteurs” (Chief Education Officers responsible for “académies”, State education
districts corresponding more or less to regions; LEA in the UK).
The national map in 2006 “operates a distinction between three different levels of difficulty (EP 1, 2
et 3). The first level, called “réseaux ambition- réussite” (ambition-success networks), made up
of 249 networks that include a “collège” and its primary schools in the sector, is the one that
takes in the pupils with the greatest academic and social difficulties. The criteria retained at
national level were both academic and social : a social criterion of over 66% of disadvantaged
socio-professional categories and two academic criteria (the percentage of pupils at least two
years behind on entering “collège” and the assessment of their results when they enter the first
year of collège). These criteria are reinforced by an academic analysis that takes into account
the number of pupils whose parents receive the RMI (Revenu minimum d’insertion :
Minimum income for social integration) and the number of non French speaking pupils.
From the present academic year, these networks will be provided with 1000 more teachers and
3000 teaching assistants.
The second level will include primary and secondary schools, the latter with the status of EPLE
(Etablissement public local d’enseignement : Local public education institutions),
characterised by a greater social mix, and destined to remain within the framework of a so-
called “Réseau de réussite scolaire” (Academic success network). They will continue to
receive the same assistance as before.
The third level is made up of schools and institutions destined to progressively leave the priority
education system.
Five “académies” count more than 12 ambition-success networks : Créteil, Versailles, Aix-
Marseille, Lille and La Réunion. Seven “académies” have between 8 and 12 networks :
Orleans-Tours, Lyon, Nantes, Rouen, Amiens, Martinique and Guyana. The eighteen other
“académies” have fewer than 8” (p. 14).
“In 2001, 2868 structures (2357 schools and 511 secondary schools, 365 collèges, 81 lycées, 65 LP
(Lycées professionnels : vocational secondary schools), located in ten “académies” (Aix-Marseille,
Amiens, Créteil, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier, Rouen, Strasbourg, Toulouse et Versailles) were involved in a
scheme to combat violence, reflecting the officially defined areas of violence.” (p. 13).
 62

This geographical division of ZEP and the mixed nature of the “academies” or
Regional Education Authorities territories was highlighted in the report by the two IG
(Inspecteurs généraux : Chief schools inspectorate at the Department for education),
insisting on the issue of “the local effect.” (Chambon, 2000).
State initiatives, via the legislation they give rise to, and their application by its regional
representatives (similar to LEA in UK), the two Chief Education Officers, the
“recteurs” in “académies” (regions) and the “inspecteurs d’académie” in
“départements”, are backed up by initiatives developed by the local municipalities,
which play an increasingly important role in national education. Initiatives have
developed in particular in areas with difficult populations. Local municipality and
national education policies began developing in parallel, and then began to join forces.

2 – TOWARDS COLLABORATION BETWEEN EDUCATION AND URBAN

POLICIES

“A whole series of texts redefined the three hubs of young people’s education, namely the family, school
and out-of-school institutions, as well as the institutional contexts in which they operate.” (Zay, 2005, p.
24).
The decisive turning point came in the year 2000.
“The inter-ministerial decree entitled ‘National education and town policies : preparation and follow-up
of local contracts’, dated 3 December 1999, created zones of convergence which aimed to reduce the gap
between the affirmative action policies of the two public services. ‘In the directive of 25 October 2000
relative to local educational contracts, the State reaffirmed its conviction that education is a shared
mission, together with its desire to make the local educational contract the contract that federates
educational policies’ (Repères, 2001, p. 2)” (Zay, 2005, p. 25).
The orientation law of 1989 acted as the cornerstone of a policy to modernise the
national education system, enabling a model that prevailed in socio-economically
deprived areas to combat academic and social exclusion to be extended to the whole
school system. This partnership policy, encompassing all the educational and social
players, combined efforts to facilitate the integration of young generations, and was
effectively embodied in both ZEPs and urban social development policies.
Lionel Jospin, who drew up this law when he was Minister of Education, developed a
more wide-ranging policy when he became Prime Minister. In his speech to UNESCO
on 7 March 2001, he stated:
“We would like to develop cross-sector projects in which teachers, parents, elected representatives and
associations collaborate. Many measures have been introduced at local level with this in mind:
schoolwork support measures, local educational contracts, local town contracts and tutoring for the most
 63

disadvantaged, together with the setting up of ‘educational monitoring units’. These measures are still too
limited, inadequately managed, and sometimes give rise to local administrative conflicts. That is why I
asked the Urban Affairs Minister, Claude Bartolone, and the Minister of National Education, Jack Lang,
to draw up a real collective strategy to work with these children both inside and outside the school
confines within the framework of a stronger and extended partnership with all the local, institutional and
social players. The principal urban projects should provide the main experimental framework for this
strategy. Above all, we need to ensure better integration of the institutions in local areas by opening them
up to other activities and services for the population. This will lead to another, more global, education
policy with greater concern about everything that children and young people can experience outside the
school walls (Repères, 2001, p. 3)” (Zay, 2005, p. 26).
This partnership policy met with strong resistance, but the partisans were
supported at national level by legislation that they could refer to in the event of
reticence by their colleagues and/or different hierarchical levels, effectively
supported by pedagogical movements. They received official acknowledgement of
their right to intervene as such in national education and teacher training, and not only
by affiliated teachers from the Savary Ministry who founded the ZEPs in 2001. An
agreement was drawn up with some of them in 2002, FRancas (FRANcs and franches
CAmarades) and CEMEA, to facilitate their collaboration in the frame of rebound
schemes. In ToR 11, case study 2 is devoted to a primary school (including a nursery
school) managed by a pedagogical team belonging to the Freinet movement in a REP
still to-day.
For André Chambon (2000), the ZEP initiative, which was considered ahead of its time
when it was first introduced, is now seen as outmoded, incorporated in various
municipal initiatives by the emergence of “projet éducatif local” (PEL : local
educational project) which provide a closer fit with local situations. Urban educational
initiatives are characterised by the extension of the “territorial effect.” Municipalities
demonstrate greater local knowledge and a greater capacity for initiative than the
coordination teams in a ZEP. They can introduce “development spaces” and invent new
functions, setting up “educational geo-policies.” This means that we move from a
“school form” to a “multiple educational form,” which implies and leads to joint
responsibility, an educational co-production, and co-education.
Local national education and training policies and the promotion of social and
educational development procedures, the engagement of local authorities and
social or business partners has generated new education and training situations.
The team from the Education, Training, and Integration Research Centre in Toulouse
(CREFI-T), EA 799, University of Toulouse Le Mirail, led by Anne Jorro, professor in
Education, have been conducting a study in this area since 1999, looking into “these new
 64

forms of education and training by analyzing the decision-making processes that contribute to their
emergence as well as the socio-educational interventions that aim to optimise their implementation
(training, expertise, consulting, decision-making support). Analyses focus on the educational and training
decentralisation conditions, the individual and collective changes that they are responsible for, and the
underlying agenda, as well as how the partnerships with the ‘players’ in the training-employment-
development systems are defined (individuals, organisations, schemes socio-technical, contractual
documents, etc.) within a given period and context.”
The local educational project is analysed “as a form of socio-political regulation with an
exploratory design and a tool for mobilising partners in local education and training schemes. The
process of developing local educational contracts comprises one of the chosen experimental options.
- the types of organisation of training-employment relationships applied to different systems of
training-employment-development and their interrelations : teaching institutions, training
organisations, business organisations, associations and local authorities provide diverse contexts in
which recruitment practices and professionalization are studied in particular.”
(cf. Bart, 2002; Bart., Bedin, 2005; Bedin, 2004; Fournet et al., 2001, 2002).
Dominique Glasman (1999) analysed the principles and specificities of different types
of contracts drawn up at this time, in particular the CEL, “contrat éducatif local” (local
education contract), the CLAS, “contrat local d’accompagnement scolaire” (local
schoolwork support contract), the “contrat de réussite” (success contract) in
ZEP/REPs, their impact on public policies, stakeholders, democracy, public policy
funding and the effectiveness of public services. He analysed the stability and
sustainable nature of these contracts, the public service renovation objectives they give
rise to, and the difficulties inherent in reconciling interests and demands from users and
professionals.
Looking at the situation from the political analyst’s perspective, Françoise Lorcerie
(2006) considered that “priority education is an under-administered policy.”
Teacher training, a key element in getting teachers on board and giving them the tools
to interact appropriately with their pupils, focused on more sustainable changes in the
period that followed the law of 1989. Achievements appeared to take root at times, even
if they were difficult to attain and encountered numerous obstacles in the process.
Lessons were drawn to help teachers to better interact with the people they had to deal
with both inside and outside the national Education system (Zay, 1994, 1999). As it
takes more time to introduce changes in education than to change electoral mandates,
the system overall is slow to shake up.
The present government’s apparent retraction regarding this policy will almost certainly
curb such development, largely by accentuating the split between teaching programmes
 65

for well-adapted pupils and remediation – or relegation – schemes for those who we
nonetheless, in principle, wish to reintegrate.
In ToR 5 - Support measures for teachers working in such schools, we use a case study
(Loison, 2005) to analyse the conditions for success in a programme adapted to the
success contract strategy.

3 - ASSESSMENT OF THE ZEP

This is a controversial issue for researchers. We saw some examples of mixed reactions
in ToR 1. The two Chief Inspectors of Schools (Armand, Gilles, 2006) also failed to
provide decisive answers.
“From 1991, the national assessments from the CE2 and 6ème classes meant comparisons could be made
between the performances of pupils in ZEP schools and those of pupils registered in schools outside
ZEPs. The DEP studies showed that from 1991 to 1994 the results of pupils in ZEPs were below those of
other pupils on average. On the other hand, when they looked at equivalent social profiles, the gaps
decreased and became insignificant with respect to their progress. The 95-98 period had little impact on
ZEPs. At the same time, data input was in accordance with the rhythm of policies and players.” (p. 32)
In 2005, in indicator 5 of L’état de l’École (State of School) the assessment of priority
education by the DEP gave a relatively positive assessment:
“Pupils’ learning acquisition in priority education is considerably lower than that of their peers. At the
end of collège, it appears that a quarter of them (25.7%) have a poor grasp of the basic skills set out in the
curriculum objectives, while 15.2% of them have a good or very good grasp. The percentages are
practically the opposite in all the other sectors of state education.
Such gaps are largely due to the differences in recruitment and should not be blamed on the effects of the
priority education policy. Only an increase in this gap over time might allow a judgement to be made in
this regard. The results of assessments carried out in recent years effectively indicate that the gaps remain
the same between pupils from ZEPs and the others, while priority education institutions have been faced
with a growing concentration of social and academic difficulties. Therefore, in these areas, pupils’
learning has not got worse, even though social and academic conditions have worsened” (p. 33-34)
However, the officials who conducted the assessments reiterated the criticism made by
researchers on pupil orientation, the learning programmes proposed and the system of
repeating classes.
“In n°66 of Éducation & Formations, the DEP stresses that while social inequalities in education have
decreased, “great social disparities nonetheless remain, in particular with respect to orientation : the
impact of social disparities increases over the course of schooling and from the time they enter primary
school the gaps widen, drop outs without qualifications mainly concern children from disadvantaged
families, the choice of options and ambitions differs according to the social milieu, orientations at the end
of troisième are socially loaded, access to the baccalauréat is different depending on the pupil’s social
 66

milieu, and the choice of options in higher education are extremely hierarchical depending on social
origins, even when academic results are the same.”

These negative conclusions are confirmed by the Prime Minister’s Conseil d’analyse
économique (Council of economic analysis) and the annual report for 2002 from the
IGAENR. (p. 34)
They have certainly had an impact on the strategy of setting up more attractive
structures in the ZEP-REPs, which boast similar features to the most sought after
lycées: European classes, sports classes, bilingual classes, specific to the Regional
Education Authority of Strasbourg, two of which function as ZEPs. Nonetheless, the
report by the two Chief Inspectors of Schools states that “no serious assessment is
available as yet.”
Among these structures “an interesting qualitative policy, the parrainage scientifique
and the parrainage d’excellence” (academic tutoring and tutoring for excellence) (p.
23-24) is mentioned by the Regional Education Authority of Montpellier. We will now
turn our attention to this strategy.

4 – ZEP : “PEDAGOGICAL EXCELLENCE ZONES”

We should recall that the letter to the Chief Inspectors of Schools and Regional
Education Authority inspectors of 8 February 2000, entitled “Les pôles d’excellence
scolaire dans les ZEP et les réseaux d’éducation prioritaire,” (Centres of excellence in
education action zones and priority education networks) redefined their educational
objective as : “not just to give more but better and even the best.”
“This implies optimising formulas and schemes aiming for excellence that exist in the education system
but are insufficiently present in poorer districts (setting up of speciality discipline classes or schools,
sports classes and music classes at flexible times, European classes, bilingual or international classes and
even pre-business and engineering school classes…).”
This strategy is called a new “republican elitism.” “The centres of excellence will enable two
facets of academic excellence to be continually drawn together, in other words, joint progress and
remarkable success”… “While obviously focusing the greatest attention on all the pupils, we need to be
much firmer in pushing academically successful young pupils who emerge from disadvantaged districts
to go as far as possible, in other words sometimes well beyond the programmes that may otherwise seem
accessible to them.” (Armand., Gille, 2006, p. 10-11).
The charter for equal opportunities to access top quality education (January 2005) also
falls in line with this objective, reiterated by the decree of 30 March 2006. (cf .
Appendix 1, Report in February 2008, ToR 3).
 67

We will analyse the issues relating to this policy in the frame of the doctoral thesis by
Graciela Padoani David (2008), which has already given rise to a number of
international papers (2005, 2006, 2007) and will be used in ToR 11 for case study 3. In
spite of its somewhat partial and restricted character, this research presents the interest
of acting as a real life mini-laboratory over a two-year period, evaluating the effects of
greater opportunities to selective programmes for publics that would previously have
been excluded. In effect, she compares the results of two class groups of high school
pupils (lycées) of the same level. One group benefited from supportive tutoring by
students from a local business school while the other group did not.

REFERENCES : QUOTED TEXTS AND AUTHORS

Armand A., Gille B. IGEN, IGAEN (2006). La contribution de l'éducation prioritaire à l'égalité des
chances des élèves. Paris, Ministère de l'éducation nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la
recherche, 175 p. : http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/rapports/index.shtml
Bart, D. (2002). Réinterroger le contrat. Vers l’Éducation Nouvelle, Dossier : Réussir en ZEP, 507, pp.
20-21.
Bart, D., Bedin, V. (2005). Le rôle de « l’expertise » dans l’élaboration des Contrats Éducatifs Locaux.
Communication présentée aux Journées d’études du Groupement de Recherche Réseau d’Analyse
Pluridisciplinaire des Politiques Éducatives (RAPPE), Les territoires de l'éducation et de la
formation. Construire, coordonner, évaluer l'action publique locale, Aix-en-Provence, 26-27 mai
2005, LEST-IREMAM.
Bedin, V. (2004). Les dispositifs socio-techniques mobilisés dans les recherches localement
contextualisées. In J.-F. Marcel & P. Rayou (Eds.). Recherches contextualisées en éducation (pp.
171-186). Paris : L’Harmattan.
Carra C., Hedibel M. (2004). Enseigner en réseau d’éducation prioritaire. Livret du formateur, Equipe
thématique ESD (Enseigner en secteur difficile), IUFM Nord/Pas de Calais, juin 2004, 117 p.
Consultable sur le site de l'INRP à l'adresse suivante : http://centre-alain-
savary.inrp.fr/CAS/formation/livret-du-formateur-en-education-prioritaire
Chambon, A. (2000). L’éducation à l’épreuve des territoires. In Jacquemin Françoise (coord.).
Education et territoires. 2ème rencontres nationales de l’éducation. Rennes, mars 2000. Rennes,
Ligue de l’Enseignement-ville de Rennes, p. 15-32.
DEP (2005). L’état de l’École. MEN
Conseil d’analyse économique du Premier ministre. Rapport n° 45, janvier 2004, p. 189 et suivantes.
Éducation & Formations, n° 66, 2003, L’École réduit-elle les inégalités sociales, p. 177-185.
Fournet, M., Bedin, V., Guy, D., Poulin, C., Dayde, V. (2001). Diagnostic pour la mise en place d'un
contrat éducatif local à partir de l’analyse des demandes des jeunes, rapport commandé par un
regroupement de 5 communes du nord-ouest toulousain, Toulouse, rapport de recherche
U.T.M.- C.R.E.F.I., 2001, 250 p.
 68

Fournet, M., Bedin, V., Guy, D., Poulin, C., Dayde, V. (2002). Diagnostic pour la mise en place d'un
contrat éducatif local à partir de la consultation de représentants de structures impliquées
dans l’organisation d’activités péri ou extra-scolaires, rapport commandé par une mairie de la
périphérie toulousaine, Toulouse, rapport de recherche U.T.M.-C.R.E.F.I., 2002, 183 p.
Glasman, D. (1999). Réflexions sur les « contrats » en éducation. Ville-Ecole-Intégration, n° 117, juin
1999, p. 70-111.
IGAENR. Rapport annuel 2002. MEN
Loison, M. (2005). Formation des maîtres. Entre praxéologie et pratique réflexive. In Zay, D. (dir.).
Prévenir l'exclusion scolaire et sociale des jeunes. Une approche franco-britannique. Paris :
PUF, Coll. Éducation et formation/Aspects internationaux. Pédagogie comparée, p. 251-285.
Lorcerie, F. (2006). Education prioritaire, une politique sous-administrée. In Les ZEP en débat,
Diversité Ville- école- intégration, n° 144, mars 2006, , p. 61-72.
Maurin, E. (2007). La nouvelle question scolaire. Les bénéfices de la démocratisation. Paris, Seuil,
268 p.
Padoani David, G. (2008). La démocratisation de l'accès aux formations sélectives : qu'attendre des
conventions de partenariat entre lycées des ZEP et établissements d'Enseignement supérieur ?
Thèse sous la direction de D. Zay, Equipe PROFEOR EA 2261, Université Charles de Gaulle
Lille 3.
Padoani David G. (2007) What is excellence in Higher Education? 21th BUSINET Conference
(Network for the Development of Business Education Programmes).14- 17 November 2007,
Riga, Latvia.
Padoani David, G.; Palacios M.; Diallo A (2005). The intervention of the Elites in underprivileged
social classes : a trend in HE Establishements in the European Union and in Mercosur ? EERA
(European Educational Research Association), ECER 05 (European Conference on Educational
Research). Septembre 2005. Dublin.
Padoani David, G. ; Palacios M.; Diallo Alfa (2006). Equal chances to access to Higher education in
the European Union and Mercosur? EERA (European Educational Research Association),
ECER (European Conference on Educational Research). 09-2006, Geneva.
Padoani David, G. ; Palacios M. ; Diallo A (2006). CLADEA (Latin American Council of Management
Schools): Positive action: Equal chances to access to Higher Education in the European Union?
ESC (Ecole supérieure de commerce) Montpellier, 09-2006
Zay, D. (1994). La formation des enseignants au partenariat.Une réponse à la demande sociale ? Sous
la direction de D. Zay. Paris : PUF, 1994, Coll. Pédagogie d’aujourd’hui, 352 p.
Zay, D. (1999). EnseIGnants et partenaires de l'école. Démarches et instruments pour travailler
ensemble. Préface d'André de Peretti. Paris-Bruxelles: De Boeck, Coll. Pédagogies en
développement, 1999, 3ème éd., 190 p. 1ère éd.: 1994.
Zay, D. (2005). Les paradigmes européens de l’exclusion sociale et les modèles scolaires de sa
prévention en France et en Angleterre. In Zay, D. (dir .). Prévenir l'exclusion scolaire et
sociale des jeunes. Une approche franco-britannique. Coll. Éducation et formation/Aspects
internationaux. Pédagogie comparée. Paris : PUF, p.7-30.
 69

OTHER REFERENCES

Chauveau, G., Rogovas-Chauveau, E. (1998). Équipes et stratégies éducatives dans les ZEP, in Van
Zanten, A., coord., La scolarisation dans les milieux difficiles : politiques, processus et
pratiques. Paris, INRP, p. 177-189.
Chauveau, G. (1999). Les ZEP, Effets pervers de l’action positive, in Plein droit, n° 41-42, avril, p. 56-
59.
Chauveau, G. (2000). Comment réussir en ZEP : vers des zones d’excellence pédagogique :
comprendre les disparités de résultats, identifier les dynamiques de réussite, recentrer les ZEP
sur les apprentissages. Paris, Retz, 206 p.
Delhay, C. (2006). Promotion ZEP. Des quartiers à Sciences Po. Paris, Hachette littératures, 262 p.
ESEN (École supérieure de l'éducation nationale) (2005). Décrochage et déscolarisation :
www.esen.education.fr
Ferréol, G. (2005). Expérimentation “ Lycée de toutes les chances ”, Rapport d'évaluation, Lille, Rectorat
et Conseil régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais, avril 2005.
Ferréol, G. (2006). Décrochage scolaire et politiques éducatives. Évaluation d’une expérimentation : le
“ lycée de toutes les chances ”. Cortil-Wodon, InterCommunications et E.M.E.
Giband, D., Lacquement, G., dir. (2007). La ville et ses marges scolaires. Retour d’expériences sur
l’éducation prioritaire et la rénovation urbaine en France et à l’étranger. Perpignan, Presses
Universitaires “ Collection Études ”, 147 p.
Hugon, Marie-Anne / Pain, Jacques (2001). Classes relais : l'école interpellée, CDDP de l'Académie
d'Amiens, Repères pour agir, 192 p.
Kherroubi, M., Chanteau, J.-P., Larguèze, B., (INRP-Centre Alain Savary) (2003). Exclusion sociale et
exclusion scolaire, rapport rendu à l’Observatoire de la pauvreté et de l’exclusion sociale, July
2003, 216 p.
Kherroubi, M., Chanteau, J.-P., Larguèze, B., (INRP-Centre Alain Savary) (2004). Exclusion sociale,
exclusion scolaire, in Les Travaux de l’Observatoire 2003-2004, Observatoire national de la
prévention de l’exclusion sociale, p. 127-165. 2e étude (2005) :
http://www.social.gouv.fr/htm/pointsur/onpes/trav_03_04.htm.
Kherroubi M., Rochex, J.-Y. (2004). La recherche en éducation et les ZEP en France. 2. Apprentissages
et exercice professionnel en ZEP : résultats, analyses, interprétations. Revue française de
pédagogie, n° 146, p. 115-190.
Lorcerie, F., Zakhartchouk, J.-M. (2001). L’école et l’exclusion, in Cahiers pédagogiques, n° 391,
février 2001, p. 9-52.
Nafti-Malherbe, C. (2006). Les discriminations positives à l’école. Entre relégation et socialisation.
Paris, Cheminements, 360 p.
Réseaux et contrats de réussite. L'éducation prioritaire redéfinie. Paris, CNDP, Documents, actes et r
apports pour l'éducation.
Van Zanten, A., coord. (1998). La scolarisation en milieux difficiles : politiques, processus et
pratiques. Paris, INRP, Politiques, pratiques et acteurs de l’éducation, 207 p.
Van Zanten, A. (2001). L’école de la périphérie. Scolarité et ségrégation urbaine. Paris, PUF, 424 p.
 70

Vollkringer, C., Guillaume, F.-R. (OZP), Zakhartchouk, J.-M., coord. (2006). Dossier : Où en
sont les ZEP ?, Cahiers pédagogiques, n° 445, September.

TOR 4 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS WITH LARGE

POPULATION OF PUPILS FROM IMMIGRANT BACKGROUNDS

The educational issues that this study attempts to deal with were previously explored in
ToR 1- Support measures for school institutions with a high drop-out rate and in ToR 3
- Support measures for schools in socio-economically deprived areas which have the highest
number of young people from immigrant backgrounds. However, far more than in the
preceding topics, or those concerning ethnic, linguistic, religious, regional, etc.
minorities in ToR 9, the support strategies chosen cannot be understood in isolation
from their historical and French ideological context in which the national secular and
republican mythology developed and inspired its school system. In ToR 9, we explore
the reasons for these principles, which both refuse special treatment with regard to
pupils’ specific identifying characteristics at school, but have nonetheless given rise to a
policy of affirmative action following the lines of the Providence State model specific
to France. Here, we will simply outline a few of the characteristics and effects of
French national policies regarding young people from immigrant backgrounds. We
previously picked up on two questions raised with regard to events that, in France and
abroad, gave rise to huge media coverage that strongly called into question French
policies to date: “the revolt of the outer cities” and “the wearing of the veil.”
The official texts covering this issue are listed in appendix 2.

1 – MAJOR ISSUES REGARDING YOUNG PEOPLE FROM IMMIGRANT

BACKGROUNDS

Here, as in ToR 3 with regard to socio-economically deprived areas, a foreign reader of

the intermediary report for France of May 2008, raised the question of “what was the
state of education in the socially deprived suburbs in revolt.”
The riots that broke out in some neighbourhoods in 2005, were a one-off event that
made international headlines. In education, the response has been designed for the long
term and the changes that affect current mindsets are slow to take effect. As we saw
earlier, particularly with respect to the creation of ZEPs in 1981, town and education
 71

policies were drawn up in collaboration in the face of the inability of the public
authorities, each in their own corner, to manage the problems of urban insecurity,
school failure, unemployment and other social problems which were growing rapidly.
Before the poor neighbourhoods exploded, the “national urban renovation programme,”
launched by Jean-Louis Borloo, in 2003, at the time Minister of Town, aimed to contain
the problems in a context that many already considered to be explosive. Considerable
resources were allocated to renovating housing and urban living conditions in problem
areas. However, the impact was not immediate.
The editorial published in Le Monde on 13 November 2008, mentioned a still
unpublished report by the ANRU (Agence nationale pour la rénovation urbaine/
National Agency for urban renovation), which considered this programme to be in
jeopardy as funding was not keeping up the needs and a certain number of elected
representatives, reticent with respect to the rising costs of construction, began to curtail
the building of social housing in their districts. This failure of the State to keep its
promises and continue to play its role with regard to the general interest, to combat
urban splits instead of leaving them to worsen, was judged as risking “stirring up the
flames of the social revolts.”
As for the question of the “veil,” which gave rise to major debates on the intolerance of
the secular French systems, we would like to point out that :
- The act of ostensibly wearing religious signs at school only concerns, firstly,
pupils in state schools subject to the authority of their parents and not university
students, and secondly, the staff in charge of the pupils as they represent the
State, which, in France, is in principle, neutral with respect to religions, in other
words, religion is considered to be a private matter;
- The problem that parents who sent their children to school wearing conspicuous
religious signs relates in part to the contention by some teachers that all children
must do physical education, for example;
- Most incidents were resolved through discussion and there have been fewer of
them as time has passed as the law and practices have helped change mentalities
and the teaching teams have learnt to deal with the issues.
The report by Madame Hanifa Cherifi, Chief Inspector of Schools and School Affairs,
drawn up in July 2005, set out the following points regarding the policies in place (p. 32
sq.).
From a quantitative point of view, “the total number of religious signs noted during the school
year 2004-2005 was 639, in other words, two large crosses, eleven Sikh turbans, and all the other signs
 72

were Islamic veils. (…) Most of these signs - over 82% - were concentrated in six académies (Regional
Education Authorities) with large immigrant populations. Only six académies noted more than 12, with a
peak of 208 in Strasbourg. All the others were below the bar of 12.”
“The total number of 639 represents less than 50% of the signs noted the previous year.”
The drop is far greater than in 1994-1995 when, at the beginning of the school year 94,
a ministerial decree was brought into force which banned the wearing of “conspicuous
religious signs.” At the time, the national total at the beginning of the 2004 school year
was almost reached by the académie of Strasbourg alone which counted 550 islamic
veils. The Minister of National Education, in a Senate hearing of the same year,
announced 3000 veils for the whole of France.
In 2004-05, in 96 cases, the pupils opted for alternative solutions during disciplinary
hearings. These included joining the private education sector, either in France or
abroad, leaving school (for over 16-year olds) and, above all, 50 enrolments with the
CNED (Centre national d’enseignement à distance/ National distance learning centre).
Contrary to the widely branded threats of mass desertion from schools by pupils
concerned by the legislation, exclusions were limited to 47 : there were 44 expulsions
for wearing the Islamic veil and 3 for wearing the Sikh turban. The educational
situations of the expelled pupils were similar to the outcomes described above, in
particular the 21 expelled pupils who registered with the CNED.
“By the end of 1994-1995, the application of the ministerial decree had led to 139 expulsions!”
As for the qualitative outcome, the author of the report notes
“The law has had an impact as reflected in the overall number of the 639 signs recorded this year. This
impact began the preceding year with the preparation for the new school year 2004 in view of the coming
into force of the law. Many of the pupils wearing veils expressed their intention of removing their veils
when the new legislation came into force.”
Instead of a “hostage effect”, she notes the “amount of work conducted by the teaching teams towards the
pupils in the framework of the measures brought in from May onwards.”
“More generally, mentalities have changed. Nowadays secularity is accepted more easily because it is
better understood.
In addition, the new legal framework and staff training, together with training programmes for delegate
pupils, has led to more uniform management practices nationwide. Supported by this coherent approach,
school staff have escaped from the destabilisation that their predecessors experienced.
(…) the ambiguity of the legal framework that previously existed, led to interminable negotiations with
interlocutors who were not always clearly identified by the school institution (…). These included “in
addition to the institutional mediation, religious representatives (imams, priests), presidents of
associations in defence of the veil, and Human Rights associations, (…)
Parents have the right to submission for a legal settlement.
 73

(…) “comparison with the year 1994-1995 put the present year in a favourable light. Out of the 139
exclusions pronounced in 1994-1995, 99 appeals were made, of which the Ministry lost 55, while this
year, only 28 have been recorded.”

2 - SEVERAL SPECIFIC MEASURES INTRODUCED FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

FROM IMMIGRANT BACKGROUNDS

The French education system includes specific measures to facilitate the social
integration of young children from immigrant backgrounds. However, the principles
and values which inform the way it operates tend towards a policy of assimilation with
the French culture rather than integrating the differences into the system. We will look
at these two points in succession.
A recent report (Meunier, 2007) on “intercultural approaches in education,” provides us
with a basis for comparing the situation in France with that of other countries. The
author gives a historic overview and analyses the different measures taken in this area
in France: teaching the language and culture of origin, integration and adaptation
classes, integrated remedial classes, educational action schemes, intercultural activities,
opening up to diversity, the Education Action Zone model, raising awareness of
children’s situations in developing countries, the return to republican values, the local
educational contract model, schooling integration of allophone children, new
approaches via pluralism and “education to...” schemes. He analyses the educational
policies regarding intercultural issues (refusal to take diversity into account, integration
of immigrant children, marginalisation or acceptance of minority cultures, indifference
to differences and affirmative action, issues concerning immigration and citizenship
education) (INRP-VST, briefs).
In the Regional Education Authorities (academies), the CASNAV (Centres
académiques pour la scolarisation des élèves nouvellement arrivés et des enfants du
voyage/ Education centres for newly arrived pupils and travellers’ children), formerly
called the CEFISEM, offer a resource centre for teachers. There are also many
information and documentation centres on immigration and integration. The CNDP
website (Centre national de documentation pédagogique/ National centre for teaching
documents) provides teachers with access to the information they need
(http://www.cndp.fr/vei/acc_scol/accueil.htm). Teaching tools and methods to welcome
freshly arrived immigrant pupils are also available.
 74

On the other hand, Dominique Schnapper (2000) notes that “Unlike Germany, there has never
been a real debate in France about providing foreign children with a special education system. French
language classes organised for children who arrived late in France and have already acquired a social
basis in another language are only temporary. The aim is always to get the pupils into the mainstream as
quickly as possible (...).
The French education system considers that any differentiation based on national, ethnic or religious
specificities will be perceived and treated as a form of stigmatisation. This is demonstrated, for example,
by the reactions to the introduction of languages and cultures of origin classes (LCO : Langues et
Cultures d’Origine) introduced in 1975. The measure was adopted following European directives.
Teachers from the countries ‘of origin’, in other words, the origins of the parents, provide specific
education to specific pupils within the confines of the normal school programme and during normal
school teaching hours. It is an exception to the general rule of universality-unity of the education system
and is ill-accepted by everyone (pupils, pupils’ parents and French teachers), insofar as it differs from the
logic of the standard French policy and the teachings assimilated by all the social players. As the writer
Cavanna, son of an Italian immigrant, said “I tell you, your mother tongue is the language of
school” (p. 18-19).
What effects does this system have?

3 – IMPACT OF THE FRENCH EDUCATION SYSTEM ON YOUNG PEOPLE

FROM IMMIGRANT BACKGROUNDS

For Dominique Schnapper, and for the researchers she cites (Boulet, Fradet, 1988), this
system has its advantages. “All the sociological studies show that foreign children, when they
have been in nursery school in France, have the same tastes, the same knowledge and the same
behaviour as French children of the same social level. If we take their social relations into account,
their school results are even slightly better than those of French children with the same social level.
However, at the same time, indirectly and surreptitiously, the school system guides the pupils
differently, taking their capacities into account as they are judged by the teachers.” (p. 19)
We have already seen the problems concerning the guidance given to young people
from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds (cf. ToR 1) and we come back to
this type of negative discrimination that pupils in difficulty are faced with during their
schooling, whether from immigrant backgrounds or not.
Françoise Lorcerie (2000) believes that there is indeed discrimination, as much when
they're looking for a job, as in the way the school system functions. She refers, in
particular, to the results of the ‘Geographical mobility and social integration’ study
(MGIS : ‘Mobilité géographique et insertion sociale’ ) and other parallel work
conducted by Michèle Tribalat (1996) and her colleagues, Patrick Simon and Benoît
Riandey. By comparing populations defined by their ethnic origin with whole
 75

populations, they state categorically for the first time in France the objective reality of
discrimination. They argue the notion of discrimination for the first time and with
considerable prudence, in particular for young Algerians from immigrant families, most
of whom are born French, trying to enter the job market. But, Lorcerie, in other
publications and as other researchers also evokes the social background as a main factor
of failure and results more positive at school than on job market.
A recent study on schooling conducted by the DEP (Direction de l’Evaluation et de la
Prospective : Assessment and Prospects Department) in the Ministry of National
Education, in 2002, with a population of 16,701 pupils entering the first year of
secondary education in 1995 (Laronche, 2005), confirmed the arguments by D.
Schnapper and the analysis by F. Lorcerie regarding the differences young people face
in joining the job market according to their social background.
Educational research, particularly studies by the ESCOL team in Paris 8 in 1992 (cf.
Charlot, Bautier, Rochex, 1992), already highlighted that it is not so much coming from
a family with foreign origins that led to failure at school, but more the fact of coming
from a socially disadvantaged environment. This is obscured by the large number of
immigrant families with poor backgrounds as opposed to born and bred French
children.
Effectively, according to the DEP study, while only 27% of children from immigrant
backgrounds manage to reach the level of the general baccalauréat, against 40% of
pupils with native French parents and 48% from mixed background families, in a
comparable social and family situation, their results are not worse. On the contrary,
statistically more of them prepare the baccalauréat. In addition, “children from immigrant
backgrounds present less risk of leaving the school system early than other pupils, mainly because of
their strong ambitions.”
However, researchers also highlight the diversity of populations from North African
backgrounds and the fact that ethnicity is not only a factor of failure but also of success
at school (Lorcerie, 2005). Reflecting on the DEP study regarding the schooling of
young people from immigrant backgrounds (Vallet, Caille, 1996) and the study by the
MGIS (Mission générale d’insertion sociale : General social integration mission),
Françoise Lorcerie noted that, whatever the obstacles that constitute the negative
representation of immigration, and “as the social position of the family and the educational
level of the parents are by far the key explanatory factors regarding schooling,” young people
between 20-29 years old from Algerian backgrounds often study longer. There is an
ethnicity effect, which is explained by a “mobilisation which is nurtured by the feelings of
 76

pupils and their families. Their ambition reflects their resistance to ‘the collective experience of
stigmatisation and relegation, as much in their neighbourhoods as in the schools or socially devalued
classes,’ according to Jean-Pierre Zirotti, who was one of the first to observe the phenomena in France
(1997).” Another indication of this relationship mentioned by F. Lorcerie, from an
INSEE education study (Héran, 1996), is that the large majority of secondary school
pupils rejected the more negative images of their school suggested to them. The author
concludes that “collective mobilisation that resists stigmatisation makes quite natural sense.”
A more recent report on young people of North African origin who have succeeded
socially (Kessous, 2005) confirms that they themselves put their success down to their
ambition, with the same refusal of communitarianism as the French overall.
This population is defined by Djida Tazdaïd, former Member of the European
Parliament (Green Party), and founder of the Movement of Secular Muslims in France,
launched in May 2003, as “a generation that has come of political age” and that “wants to turn
a culture of failure into a culture of ambition. It may look like lobbying but there is a determination to
fit into a republican rather than a communitarian space.”
Contrary to generally accepted ideas and the “over-visibility” of Muslim associations
that they are trying to combat, these alternatives representatives from Muslim
backgrounds want, through such clubs as Averroès, the 20th century Club and the 21st
century Club, launched in February 2004, to proclaim their membership to a French
republican elite and make it visible. “The politicians want to make an ‘us’ for us that we refuse to
recognise” Amirouche Laïdi, founder of the Averroès club in 1997, said. “We are not
interested in communitarianism. What we have in common with the other members is discrimination,
not ethnic origin.” The aim of Averroès is to feed diversity to the media in order to put a
stop to “the clichés and stereotypes.”
Their first aim is to combat discrimination which affects “the forgotten of equal
opportunities,” as Yazid Sabeg, son of an Algerian docker, declared. His focus is on
developing access to the Grandes Ecoles like ENA (Ecole nationale d’administration:
National School of Administration) for minorities. We already looked at this new
contractual legislation regarding support strategies in socio-economically deprived
areas (ToR 3) and we will deal with the topic in more detail in ToR 11, with a case
study.
Evidence of this diversity in Muslim circles comes from the criticisms expressed
regarding these elitist clubs which match up with those put forward by educational
circles, researchers and practitioners with respect to the support strategy for excellence
and access to the Grandes Ecoles for school leavers from ZEPs. Thus, Rachid Mokran,
advisor to the Minister of “PME” (Petites et Moyennes Entreprises : Small and Medium
 77

size enterprises) in 2005, and a fervent supporter of “open to all” movements, launched
“Republican Diversity” with former boxing champions the same year, “a real social
reference for young people from certain neighbourhoods” (Kessous, 2005).
It would appear, however, that the elite of Muslim origin is not so different from other
French Muslims, if we are to judge by a study that looked at four European countries,
including France, published in 2006 by the Pew Research Center, one of the most
highly reputed public opinion institutes in the United States (Lesnes, 2006).
European Muslims have the same problems of unemployment within their
community (83% in France, 78% in the UK) and are concerned about Islamic
extremism. In terms of integration, however, the French differ. While half of British
Muslims consider there is a “natural conflict between practicing Islam and living in
modern society,” 72% of French Muslims see none, a proportion identical to that
recorded for French society overall. French Muslims are also, like the Spanish, the ones
who feel the least hostility to practicing Muslims, and 39% believe that most Europeans
are hostile to Muslims against 52% in Germany. Asked what defines them the most,
their nationality or their religion, 81% of British Muslims opt for the latter, while only
46% of French Muslims said religion, against an almost equal proportion, 42%, for
nationality. These results are very different to those of the French population as a whole
in which 83% identify first of all with their nationality, but the figures are close to those
found in the US, where 48% of the population define themselves firstly as Americans
and 42% as Christians. Finally, the perspective of French Muslims on other religions is
much more positive. 91% of French Muslims have a favourable opinion of Christians
and 71% have a good opinion of Jews, which makes them an exception : only 32% of
British Muslims and 38% of German Muslims have a good opinion of Jews.
These results could be interpreted as the positive effects of an educational policy
founded on secularity in France, which considers religion as a private affair that should
not interfere with school, unlike educational policies that privilege the milieu of origin.
It indicates an intercultural education, concerned with making differences a positive
factor in the construction of the citizen’s identity (Lorcerie, 2001). The weakness of
French educational policies does not lie in the principle of the republican school, which
recognises equal rights for all its citizens, whatever their origins, but in the abuses that
led it to take insufficient account of all the many differences with respect to knowledge,
whatever their socio-cultural, psychological or physical origins (cf. ToR 8 on physical
and mental handicap). In ToR 9, we will look at both the conflicts that lead to the need
to adapt to the socio-cultural realities of today, the original French school model and the
 78

obstacles to an intercultural education that exist in representations and practices more

than in the law, or how to meet the ‘challenges’ posed by ethnicity (Lorcerie, 2003).

REFERENCES : QUOTED TEXTS AND AUTHORS

Boulet, S.,Fradet, D. (1988). Les Immigrés et l’École, Une course d’obstacles, Paris, L’Harmattan,
1988.
Charlot, B., Bautier, E., Rochex, J.-Y. (1992). Ecole et savoir dans les banlieues… et ailleurs. Paris,
Armand Colin.
Chérifi, H. (2005). Application de la loi du 15 mars 2004 sur le port des signes religieux ostensibles dans
les établissements d’enseignement publics. Rapport à monsieur le ministre de l’éducation
nationale de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche, Ministère de l’éducation nationale de
l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche.
http://www.acb54.com/IMG/pdf/hanifa-cherifi.pdf
Editorial. Rénovation en panne. Le Monde, 13 novembre 2008, p. 2.
Heran, F., prés. (1996). L'école, les élèves et les parents. Économie et Statistique, n° 293, p. 107-124.
Kessous, M. (2005). L’intégration des français d’origine maghrébine. L’élite beur tisse son propre
réseau, Le Monde, 17 December 2005, p. 3.
Laronche, M. (2005). L’échec scolaire en trompe l’œil des enfants d’immigrés. Le Monde, 6 July 2005,
p. 9.
Lesne, C. (2006). Les musulmans français sont plus tolérants que leurs voisins européens. Le Monde,
29 August 2006, p. 11.
Lorcerie, F. (2000). La lutte contre les discriminations ou l’intégration requalifiée. In L'universel
républicain à l'épreuve. Discrimination, ethnicisation, ségrégation, VEI enjeux, n° 121 - June
2000 : http://www.cndp.fr/vei/
Lorcerie, F. (2002). Education interculturelle : état des lieux. In L'école et les cultures, VEI Enjeux, n°
129, June 2002, p. 170-189.
Lorcerie, F. (2005). Quand l’islam revendique la laïcité. In Education et religion, Revue Ville –Ecole-
Intégration Diversité, n°142, Sept. 2005, p. 57-68
Lorcerie, F. (2003) ) L’école et le défi ethnique : éducation et intégration,Issy-les-Moulineaux, ESF ;
Saint-Fons, INRP, Actions sociales/Confrontations, 337 p.
Meunier, O. (2007). Approches interculturelles en éducation. Veille scientifique et technologique -
Institut national de recherche pédagogique : http://www.inrp.fr/vst/
Schnapper, D. (2000). L’universel républicain revisité. In L'universel républicain à l'épreuve.
Discrimination, ethnicisation, ségrégation, VEI Enjeux, n° 121, June 2000, p. 10-21 :
http://www.cndp.fr/vei/
Tribalat, M. (1996), De l'immigration à l'assimilation, enquête sur les populations d'origine étrangère
en France, Paris, La Découverte/INED. En collaboration avec Patrick Simon et Benoît
Riandey.
Vallet, L.-A., Caille,J.-P. (1996). Les élèves étrangers ou issus de l'immigration dans l'école et le collège
français, Les Dossiers d'éducation et Formations, n° 67.
 79

Zirotti, J.-P. (1997). Pour une sociologie phénoménologique de l'altérité : la constitution des expériences
scolaires des élèves issus de l'immigration.In Aubert, F., Tripier, M., Vourc'h, F. dirs, Jeunes
issus de l'immIGration. De l'école à l'emploi, Paris, CIEMI/L'Harmattan, pp. 240-241.

OTHER REFERENCES

Hedibel, M. (2003). A quoi reconnaît-on un élève musulman ? Les Cahiers pédagogiques, n° 419,
December 2003, p. 13- 15.
Publications de la VEI : Ville-École-Intégration :
SCÉRÉN - CNDP
La discrimination ethnique. Réalités et paradoxes (2003). Ville-École Intégration Enjeux, n° 135,
December 2003, 235 p. : http://www.cndp.fr/vei/acc_scol/biblio/generalites.htm
S'informer sur la formation linguistique des migrants et de leurs enfants. VEI actualité, hors-série n°1,
2002
Enseigner en milieu ethnicisé. Face à la discrimination. Ville-École-Intégration Enjeux, hors-série n° 6,
December 2002
Nouvelles migrations, nouvelles formes des migrations Ville-École-Intégration Enjeux, n° 131,
December 2002
L'école et les cultures. Ville-École-Intégration Enjeux, n° 129, June 2002

La scolarisation des élèves nouvellement arrivés en France. Ville-École-Intégration Enjeux, hors-série

n°3, October 2001
Accueillir les migrants. Ville-École-Intégration Enjeux, n° 125, June 2001
Le français langue seconde, bibliographie proposée par le CIEP- February 2008 : www.ciep.fr/
Actes de l'université d'automne d'octobre 2004, Le français langue seconde, bibliographie proposée par
le CIEP- février 2008 : http://eduscol.education.fr/

TOR 5 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR TEACHERS WORKING IN

SUCH SCHOOLS

When applicable, and according to each of the topics we deal with, we draw attention to
the factors that influence teacher training relatively to the topic. In ToR 10 - The
assessment of success and failure regarding these points and the internal and external factors
that influence it -, we will introduce the last reform in teacher education. Here, we focus on
analysing a form of training designed to address the problems that teachers come across
in schools considered as “difficult”.
The legislation in this domain is listed in appendix 2.
 80

1 - THE LEADING PART OF LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITY IN

TEACHER EDUCATION FOR SOCIO-ECONOMICALLY DEPRIVED AREAS

Specific teacher training measures are developed, particularly by the Regional

Education Authority (“recteur d’académie”, “rectorat”), in the measures introduced to
combat disaffection from school and with respect to the Education Action Zones
In ToR 1, we mentioned the decree of 2006 regarding rebound programmes: “The local
education training programmes for state education staff, in liaison with the local education pilot group,
organise specific staff development programmes designed for all staff working in state education and
partners working in rebound programmes (discipline didactics, insights into adolescent behaviour,
conflict management, etc.). In parallel, the experience of teachers in rebound programmes can usefully be
reinvested in courses for training teachers in college in order to prevent disaffection of pupils from
school.”
This type of training is different from that designed for future teachers in IUFMs
(Instituts universitaires de formation des maîtres : Colleges of education/Teacher
training centres) and both researchers and field staff deplore the fact that newly trained
teachers are not or are poorly prepared for this increasingly important aspect of their job
(Malet, Lawes, Masson, 2005). In various studies, young people express the same
regrets. This weakness in initial training in France with respect to the problems that
continue to grow among the new generation of pupils may be linked to weaknesses in
the education system itself to deal with the learning difficulties of its users (cf.
researchers’ reports in the call for tenders regarding dropping out, MEN et al., 2003),
and the tendency to choose to send disruptive pupils out of the normal school circuit in
initiatives which thus tend to become places of ‘relegation’ for pupils stigmatised by
their academic records, in the same way as adults may be stigmatised by criminal
records (cf. Millet, Thin, 2005), or ‘scrapheap classes’, as the report by the two Chief
Inspectors of Schools noted regarding the rebound programmes (Dusseau, Isambert,
2003). We will not dwell on this issue as we have already dealt with it in topic 1.

2 – AN EXAMPLE OF TEACHER TRAINING IN SOCIO-ECONOMICALLY

DEPRIVED AREAS

We deal with the topic by introducing a research by Marc Loison, senior lecturer at the
IUFM in the Nord Pas-de-Calais, associate researcher with the PROFEOR research
team at Lille 3 University, and head of mission for the Chief Education Officer
responsible for Pas-de-Calais, one of two “départements” (county) attached to the
 81

Regional Education Authority of Lille (Académie), which, as we saw, was considered

as exemplary by the Chief Inspectors of Schools who appraised the rebound
programmes (Dusseau, Isambert, 2003).
He conducted a detailed assessment of the effects of staff development training
introduced in the framework of “success contracts” (contrats de réussite), created
following the 1997 decree. In 1999, following the revival of priority education, the 112
REP (Réseaux d’éducation prioritaire / priority education networks) teaching teams
from the Regional Education Authority of Lille were invited to put this new measure
into place.
Marc Loison (2005) noted that assessments carried out by other researchers were
positive (Chauveau, 1999; Van Zanten, 1999). He compared the situation in the Pas-de-
Calais with these findings, based on three local research issues (a comparison is also
made with the support measures introduced for teachers in Kent, but we will not deal
with this here) : priority education in the Regional Education Authority of Lille, the
INRP (Institut National de Recherche Pédagogique : National Institute for pedagogical
research) “Mission primary school” (Mission école primaire) study in the Pas-de-
Calais “department”, research conducted by the research unit and the pedagogic
innovation unit in the Regional Education Authority of Lille in a primary school
catchment area. Their results gave rise to the following questions which relate closely to
our research: “Are the practices experienced in class and the human relationships developed
within the professional community likely to produce knowledge of experience that can address and
resolve the issue of failure at school ? Does the pooling of the latter, within the framework of staff
development programmes, allow teachers’ perceptions and representations to evolve in terms of
the effectiveness of pedagogic measures ? Does this development really lead to a genuine change in
teaching practice?” (p. 251).

If the response to these questions is positive, it also provides a response to a weakness

often highlighted by evaluators of the education system, notably in the report by the two
Chief Inspectors of Schools regarding the rebound programmes : the lack of memory
in the system (Dusseau, Isambert, 2003). This inability in the French school system,
which reflects the national weakness for multiplying laws even before assessing the
effects already observed to date, and without leaving teachers the time to adapt their
practices, seems to be one of the reasons for its immobility and the absence of more
widespread innovative projects. Each reform brings in more innovations… and yet we
remain at an experimental stage.
 82

How can the success contracts form an effective support strategy for teachers that could
inspire an approach which could be extended to the whole system as well as to basic
teacher training and staff development programmes ?

3 – THE NEEDS OF THE TEACHING TEAMS

Marc Loison (2005) draws his conclusions from several studies with large sample
populations, his own and others, by analysing the success contracts drawn up by the
teaching and support teams developed with head teachers and network coordinators,
both old and new (p. 252). Several points emerge from this which support the
assessments of the rebound programmes by the two Chief Inspectors of Schools
(Dusseau, Isambert, 2003).
- Firstly, the need for most of the teaching teams to set up a “network board” to
manage and assess the project, in other words, for staff involved in the
“local realities to take collective decisions.” In effect, a network board would
include the head of the collège (State secondary school), the IEN, (Inspecteur de
l’Education nationale/ Primary School Inspector), the coordinator, education
advisors (from the IEN), heads of nursery and primary schools and secondary
school teachers.
This desire, expressed by the majority of representatives in the teaching teams, indicates
what Agnès Henriot van Zanten (1999) called “the normative passage from control to
making the various actors more responsible.” Marc Loison noted that if the network
board appears as an excellent management tool rather than a consulting tool in the
circles composed of decision-makers at hierarchical level, he believes it is because they
associate school heads and teachers with reflection and decision-making. There is more
likelihood of avoiding the often noted weakness of blaming others, in other words every
contributor to the system and at every level, for the failure of pupils.
- This leads to the need for didactic and pedagogic training that focuses above
all on language learning, remediation measures, pedagogical differentiation and
new communication technologies. Teachers appear to be aware of their own
weaknesses with respect to helping pupils overcome theirs, in cognitive as much
as in socialisation terms.
Members of the ESCOL research team in Paris 8 have specialised in this type of
problem, either alone or in association with others, linking the pupils’ “register of
learning and the relationship with school knowledge” with “practices in institutions and
 83

by teachers in the way they deal with specifically school-based difficulties” (cf. Bautier,
Terrail, 2003, p. 22).
Their studies highlight the fact that the best-meaning primary school teachers are lost
when they find themselves in classes in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. They tend to
focus on games and socialisation activities in order to foster a learning context in a
population which is unprepared by the culture of its family of origin. To put themselves
at the level of pupils who are unfamiliar with the school culture, they multiply
references to daily life, focus on project-based learning without it leading to
decontextualized knowledge relating to the children’s experience, use language learning
as a means of expression, leaving aside its explanatory and argumentation functions,
congratulate their pupils on their efforts and give grades for mediocre results so as not
to discourage them. They rectify errors by giving the right solution without making the
learner search for it for themselves.
In primary as in secondary schools, “teachers work in accordance with obvious learning
‘prerequisites’ that are supposedly shared by all, and are not therefore specifically developed in their
classes, and when they admit that their pupils do not have these “prerequisites”, the learning content is
adapted to the supposed characteristics of the population they are dealing with. This adaptation should
allow the pupils to feel empowered regarding the work they have to do, so that they can do it without
being aware that there is a gap between what they ‘do’ and what is expected of them. (Bautier,
Terrail, 2003, p. 25). Thus, pupils in difficulty manage to find factual information in a
text or do an exercise following instructions, but do not manage to make the transition
to meta-cognition involving more complex activities.
While teaching approaches in schools foster “cognitive misunderstandings” in pupils in
difficulty, the mistake of not putting pupils in a situation to help them develop complex
and non mechanical learning runs through the whole school system. The poor results of
French pupils in general, and in such domains as written comprehension in particular,
for example, are highlighted in international studies like the PISA programme or those
conducted in the framework of the OECD (cf. 1-2 Results of French pupils compared to
European pupils).
This implies that much greater effort should be put into developing teacher training
programmes.
According to the assessment methods used by Marc Loison, the interest of introducing
a programme like the success contract programme is that it is based on putting the
teachers in a network situation, with structures, a network board, and team meetings in
which the force of the hierarchy is replaced by the search for common solutions.
This is characteristic of support measures designed for schools and teaching staff in
 84

socio-economically deprived areas. We find it again in the assessment that Gilles

Ferréol (2005, 2006) made of the “Lycée de toutes les chances” (Secondary schools
with a good chance) experiment. As they feel comfortable, the teachers discuss their
problems more openly, enabling them to express the training needs that correspond to
their problems, and taking their analysis further with the help of colleagues who have
made more progress in the area. This puts them in a “sharing practices” situation,
promoting greater access to even complex education programmes. Studies by the
academics and researchers from the INRP show that pupils’ national assessment results
are thus taken into consideration.
From the quantitative and qualitative analyses of the success contracts and the
placement reports from the 36 REPs in the “department ”, Marc Loison identified the
following priorities with respect to initiatives developed with and for teachers :
Heading the list, “language skill remains a major challenge for the REPs, and the measures introduced
mainly address behaviour, tools, situations and reading and writing supports as well as supports for the
production of writing. Generally, these teaching and learning measures attempt to address the difficulties
identified via the national CE2 (3rd year of primary school) and 1st year in collège (secondary school)
assessments. They concern respectively difficulties linked to knowledge and mastering codes, lexical
knowledge and understanding instructions; the poor use of standard tools and a minimalist attitude to
work; the absence of reading and writing situations in some families and language lacuna.”
The following priority concerns support measures for pupils in difficulty, notably by
“drawing up a contract (tailored project) between the teaching team, the pupil and the parents; exchange
of teaching practices; conducting meetings to regulate and standardise between all the actors (teachers,
teaching assistants, specific and specialised staff). The third priority involving making sense of learning
and developing the pupils’ methodological behaviour, is mainly based on the inability of some pupils to
organise their work and, despite their passiveness, to construct knowledge in the absence of motivation
for writing and despite the difficulty to transfer learning.”
Continuity between learning and teaching and intra- and inter liaisons as well as primary schools and
collège (liaisons constitute the next priorities (…). The measures proposed focus, among other things, on
the correction of assessments in learning stage teams, the coherence of class projects with school stages
and the school, and the harmonisation of the disciplinary nomenclature” (p. 260-261).
The concern that pupils have “obvious difficulty” in making sense of their learning but,
above all, of transferring their knowledge and know-how, has led to measures which
“mainly consist of making all the disciplines involving reading-writing coherent, using diverse teaching
supports and targeting reading (read to write and communicate).” (p. 261-262).
It is interesting that the needs expressed by the interested parties themselves, namely the
teachers, match the weaknesses in their practice highlighted by researchers. Marc
Loison’s analysis highlights the fact that during board meetings, programme meetings
or teachers’ staff meetings, the interested parties themselves reach very similar
 85

conclusions to those of the researchers in the analysis of teaching practices and their
effects in REPs (education action networks).
The training schemes also continue to meet these needs and we find what we considered
the key characteristic : a collective and ‘sharing’ form of functioning. In all the
meetings, the teachers “demonstrate the determination or the ability to provide solutions to the
problems they come across in their daily classroom practice, particularly in terms of knowledge
acquisition and training preparation” (p. 262). They do not stop at the empirical analysis of the
process, however, but move on to a stage of meta-learning with respect to the problems.
This is facilitated by the fact that the teachers concerned are put in a research
framework situation. In effect, the staff development programme took place in stages
that lasted two to four days, introduced by the INRP and applying to 20 of the 24
schools concerned. (p. 263)
The results were then assessed from responses to a questionnaire using open questions,
administered before and after the training programmes, in 20 out of the 24 schools in
the département.

4 – RESEARCH RESULTS

The conclusions were as follows:

- “During the 2 or 3 day sessions, the pooling of classroom practice and the discussions about
perceptions and representations between the teachers regarding effective measures led to a
significant development of the latter for a large majority of teachers.” (p.265).
75% gave the definition of an effective measure as a ‘structure’ that
“meets pupils’ needs;
is coherent with the partners whose roles are clearly defined;
takes the initial situation into account in the short and the long term” (p. 265-266)
only 25% did not change their definition
- “92% (…) indicated that they wanted to use other indicators to those used beforehand.
Thus, great emphasis is put on assessments whether national or not, skills charts, activities and
observation of pupils who appear as objective indicators that allow teachers to go beyond the
often intuitive perception of effectiveness. Some trainees said they would like to take into
account other indicators involving motivation, pupil attention and involvement, discussions
between teachers, the teacher/pupil relationship, attitude to work, the school environment,
lifestyle, and parents’ participation and attendance.
8% of the teachers who stated that they did not want to change indicators, continue nonetheless
to refer to national evaluations” (p. 266).
 86

“Nonetheless, half the teachers failed to reply explicitly to the question regarding how to exploit the
placement, and asked for tailored support from teacher trainers (head teachers, trainers, education
advisors) as well as from researchers.” (p. 269).
Marc Loison deduces from this “thousand times and clearly expressed” wish, that he
positively audited the orientations of the teacher training reference framework
developed from the project in which his research was based (Interreg II Nord - Pas de
Calais / Kent project Transmanche Preventing school and social exclusion of young
people and preparing their social and professional insertion, coordinated by Carl
Parsons, Canterbury Christ Church University, and Danielle Zay, Lille 3 :
“The initial problem (…) lies in a triple reference framework : 1/ the identification by several researchers
of a certain disaffection of teachers for in-house staff development programmes, the offer of placements
which do not necessarily correspond to the problems they come across in their job. (…) 2/ the theory
developed by D. A. Schön which calls into question the academic training of professionals that aims for a
comprehensive and total explanation of knowledge, omitting the pertinence of practice with respect to
theory, as the latter is based on the haphazard, the unexpected and expertise founded on reacting
appropriately at a given moment (…) 3/ training policies tend to give increasing importance to the
context of school rather than to higher education institutions ” (Zay, 2001, p. 70-71).
This type of issue does not reduce the role of academics and other researchers in teacher
training. On the contrary, we saw that the teachers in the “success contract” programme
networks explicitly requested their support and assimilated the content with a
reassessment of their practices in the light of this input. However, he suggests that
researchers make the same effort in questioning their teaching practices and passing on
their knowledge as the effort they recommend primary and secondary school teachers
make.
Marc Loison’s research, in the time in which it was carried out, evaluated the direct
effects of staff development programmes on changes in the perception and attitude of
teachers, but not the concrete effects on their in-class practises. This aspect will be dealt
with in other researches conducted in the Regional Education Authority (“académie”)
of Lille (Lemoine, Guigue, Tillard; Reuter; Padoani David; Carra) that we will present
in ToR 11 case studies.

REFERENCES : QUOTED TEXTS AND AUTHORS

Bautier, E., Terrail, J.-P., ESCOL Paris8/Printemps UVSQ/SYLED Paris III (2003). Décrochage
scolaire:genèse et logique des parcours, In MEN, Ministère de la justice, DIV, FASILD.
Programme interministériel de recherche sur les processus de déscolarisation, p. 22-
29 : http://cisad.adc.education.fr/descolarisation/
 87

Chauveau, G. (1999). C. Des points de vue de chercheurs, Le contrat de réussite. Séminaire

DESCO-DPATE des 10, 11 et 12 May 1999, Poitiers, p. 23-25.
Dusseau, J., Isambert, J.-P. (2003). Dispositifs-relais et école ouverte, Rapport de l’IGEN et de
l'IGAENR à monsieur le ministre de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la
recherche, à monsieur le ministre délégué à l’Enseignement scolaire, April 2003, 163
p. : http://trf.education.gouv.fr/pub/edutel/syst/igen/rapports/ecoleouverte_2003.pdf
Ferréol, G. (2005). Expérimentation “ Lycée de toutes les chances ”, Rapport d'évaluation, Lille, Rectorat
et Conseil régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais, April 2005.
Ferréol, G. (2006). Décrochage scolaire et politiques éducatives. Évaluation d’une
expérimentation : le “ lycée de toutes les chances ”. Cortil-Wodon, InterCommunications
and E.M.E.
Loison, M. (2005). Formation des maîtres. Entre praxéologie et pratique réflexive. In Zay, D. (dir.).
Prévenir l'exclusion scolaire et sociale des jeunes. Une approche franco-britannique. Paris : PUF,
Coll. Éducation et formation/Aspects internationaux. Pédagogie comparée, p. 251-285.
Malet, R., Lawes, S., Masson, P. (2005). Tutorat d’enseignants en établissements sensibles.
Résultats de l’étude empirique franco-anglaise. In Zay, D. (dir.). Prévenir l'exclusion scolaire
et sociale des jeunes. Une approche franco-britannique. Paris : PUF, Coll. Éducation et
formation/Aspects internationaux. Pédagogie comparée, p. 209-232.
MEN, Ministère de la justice, DIV, FASILD (2003). - Programme interministériel de recherche sur les
processus de déscolarisation: synthèse des rapports, DEP.
http://cisad.adc.education.fr/descolarisation/
Millet, M., Thin, D. (2005). Ruptures scolaires. L’école à l’épreuve de la question sociale. Paris,
PUF Le lien social, 318 p.
Reuter, Y. (dir.) (2006). Effets d’un mode de travail pédagogique « Freinet » en REP, Rapport de
recherche (2004-2006), remis à l’IUFM du Nord – Pas-de-Calais, Université Charles-de-
Gaulle – Lille 3.
Reuter, Y. (éd.) (2007). Une école Freinet. Fonctionnements et effets d’une pédagogie alternative
en milieu populaire. Paris, L’Harmattan.
Reuter, Y., Carra, C. (2005). Analyser un mode de travail pédagogique “alternatif” : l’exemple d’un
groupe scolaire travaillant en pédagogie “Freinet”, Revue Française de Pédagogie, n° 153,
Décrire, analyser, évaluer les pédagogies nouvelles, October-November-December, 39-53.
Van Zanten, A. (1999). Des points de vue de chercheurs, Le contrat de réussite. Séminaire
DESCO-DPATE des 10, 11 et 12 May 1999, Poitiers, p. 25-26.
Zay, D. (coord.) (2001). - Prévention de l'exclusion scolaire et sociale des jeunes et préparation de leur
insertion sociale et professionnelle. Actes de la Journée d'étude Interreg II Nord - Pas-de-
Calais/Kent Transmanche, coordonnés par Danielle Zay, Université Charles de Gaulle Lille 3,
École doctorale, 2001, 153 p.

OTHER REFERENCES
 88

Carra, C. (2002) Une organisation coopérative pour permettre à l’enfant de devenir acteur dans la
construction de ses apprentissages, contribution à la recherche INRP conduite dans le cadre de
la charte « Bâtir l’école du XXIème siècle », 37 p.
Chauveau, G., Rogovas-Chauveau, E. (1998). Équipes et stratégies éducatives dans les ZEP, in Van Zanten,
A., coord., La scolarisation dans les milieux difficiles : politiques, processus et pratiques. Paris,
INRP, p. 177-189.
Chauveau, G. (1999). Les ZEP, Effets pervers de l’action positive, in Plein droit, n° 41-42, avril, p. 56-
59.
Chauveau, G. (2000). Comment réussir en ZEP : vers des zones d’excellence pédagogique : comprendre
les disparités de résultats, identifier les dynamiques de réussite, recentrer les ZEP sur les
apprentissages. Paris, Retz, 206 p.
Delhay, C. (2006). Promotion ZEP. Des quartiers à Sciences Po. Paris, Hachette littératures, 262 p.
Ferréol, G. (2005). Expérimentation “ Lycée de toutes les chances ”, Rapport d'évaluation, Lille, Rectorat
et Conseil régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais, April 2005.
Ferréol, G. (2006). Décrochage scolaire et politiques éducatives. Évaluation d’une expérimentation : le
“ lycée de toutes les chances ”. Cortil-Wodon, InterCommunications et E.M.E.
Giband, D., Lacquement, G., dir. (2007). La ville et ses marges scolaires. Retour d’expériences sur
l’éducation prioritaire et la rénovation urbaine en France et à l’étranger. Perpignan, Presses
Universitaires “ Collection Études ”, 147 p.
Hugon, Marie-Anne / Pain, Jacques (2001). Classes relais : l'école interpellée, CDDP de l'Académie
d'Amiens, Repères pour agir, 192 p.
Kherroubi, M., Chanteau, J.-P., Larguèze, B., (INRP-Centre Alain Savary) (2005). Exclusion sociale,
exclusion scolaire, 2e étude, in Les Travaux de l’Observatoire 2003-2004, Observatoire national
de la prévention de l’exclusion sociale, p. 127-165. Downloaded from :
http://www.social.gouv.fr/htm/pointsur/onpes/trav_03_04.htm.
Lorcerie, F., Zakhartchouk, J.-M. (2001). L’école et l’exclusion, in Cahiers pédagogiques, n° 391,
février 2001, p. 9-52.
Moisan, C., Simon, J. (1997). Les Déterminants de la réussite scolaire en zone d'éducation prioritaire.
Paris, Inspection générale de l’éducation nationale ; Inspection générale de l’administration de
l’éducation nationale ; Ministère de l’éducation nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la
recherche, 84 p. : www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr .
Nafti-Malherbe, C. (2006). Les discriminations positives à l’école. Entre relégation et socialisation.
Paris, Cheminements, 360 p.
La notion de réussite. (2008). VEI-Diversité, n° 152, March 2008
Réseaux et contrats de réussite. L'éducation prioritaire redéfinie. Paris, CNDP, Documents, actes et
rapports pour l'éducation.
Van Zanten, A., coord. (1998). La scolarisation en milieux difficiles : politiques, processus et
pratiques. Paris, INRP, 207 p. (Politiques, pratiques et acteurs de l’éducation)
Van Zanten, A. (2001). L’école de la périphérie. Scolarité et ségrégation urbaine. Paris, PUF, 424 p.
Vollkringer, C., Guillaume, F.-R. (OZP), Zakhartchouk, J.-M., coord. (2006). Dossier : Où en sont les
ZEP ?, Cahiers pédagogiques, n° 445, September.
 89

TOR 6 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS

TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM OF HARASSMENT AND
BULLYING

First, we will look at violence between pupils in France, and we will then examine the
support strategies available to schools and teachers.
The legislation in this domain has been listed in appendix 2.
1 – BULLYING IN FRENCH SCHOOLS

The phenomenon of urban violence is widely covered by the media, in so far as it

affects the general public above all, who fear for their safety. School violence is
presented in the context of disadvantaged areas populated by young people from the
poor French suburbs, mainly from immigrant and deprived backgrounds. While we may
accuse journalists of depicting certain neighbourhoods only in a negative way,
neglecting the positive aspects of solidarity and cultural expression for example, we
cannot deny that what they describe corresponds to the reality. In effect, as we saw in
the report by the two Chief Inspectors of Schools (Armand, Gille, 2006, p. 13), the map
of areas concerned by school violence may be drawn up according to ZEPs (Education
Action Zones), socio-economically disadvantaged areas in which the “2868 structures
(2357 primary schools, 511 secondary schools (including) 365 collèges, 81 lycées, 65
LP, lycées professionnels), located in ten Regional Education Authorities (Aix-Marseille, Amiens,
Créteil, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier, Rouen, Strasbourg, Toulouse et Versailles) (which) are involved in the
scheme to combat violence.”

Since 2001, the French centralized civil service has generated a computerised
statistical process for the State to record violent incidents using a software package
called Signa. Every school must indicate all the serious violent incidents it experiences
using this software program. Thus, the DEPP, the Ministerial assessment, forecasting
and performance department, analyses all notifications of serious incidents that the
heads of schools are obliged to send to the Ministry of Education. For such acts to be
taken into consideration by Signa, the violence must meet the three following criteria:
be clearly criminal in nature, have been notified, and have a major impact on the school
community. Uncivil behaviour is not taken into account by the software.
 90

Using this form of calculation, the DEPP report, published on 28 December 2006
included 82,000 declarations of serious incidents reported by the heads of institutions or
educational advisors for the year 2005-2006.
“The average number of reports of acts of violence by school institutions has remained more or less
stable, but there has been a 7% increase in priority education institutions.
Physical violence without a weapon and insults or serious threats remain the most frequent incidents,
making up 55% of all the incidents reported.
During an academic year marked by violence in the poor suburbs and demonstrations against the
introduction of a new first job contract policy (CPE : contrat première embauche), damage to property or
threats to security are the incidents that have increased the most.” (Rollot, 2007).
The ministry developed a reliable resource for collecting data about violence in schools.
However, this tool has certain weaknesses. We highlight two in our research.
The first is that “It is a ministry’s tool for the ministry,” as it itself recognised, meaning
that there is no feedback to the school heads. They are thus deprived of a precious
source of information about the situation in their own school compared to that in others.
And yet the system is costly both in terms of time and work for their staff. Following a
report on the most violent schools by the weekly magazine, Le Point, on 31 August
2006, the SNPDEN (Syndicat national des personnels de direction de l’Education
nationale : National trade union of national education managers) called on school heads
to boycott the tool the following academic year. The minister announced that Signa
would be reformed and that the new software “would enable school heads to monitor the
evolution of violence in their school and the range of actions set up to avert it. In addition, to facilitate the
data collection and the use of the statistics, the nomenclature of incidents reported would be simplified
and the definition of incidents would fit into such or such a clarified category.” (Rollot, 2007).
The second drawback is that the Signa system can only take into account serious and
reported incidents. Yet many incidents do not meet these criteria, and it’s the
accumulation of lesser uncivil behaviour, that goes unnoticed or unreported by the
school staff that ends up making a person a victim who suffers, while early
intervention could have stopped the process. This is the position taken by
Debarbieux which appeared in his report at the European Council conference of
December 2002 Violence in schools - a challenge for the local community (Council of
Europe, 2004) concluded a major integrated three-year programme (2002-2004),
“Responses to violence in everyday life in a democratic society.”

The figures collected by Signa are lower than in a qualitative study where pupils are
questioned directly, possibly because of the wary or disheartened silence of the victim
 91

and the tendency not to take the child victim seriously, as if violence was a form of
socialisation that adults continue to consider normal for young people.

Furthermore, comparing violence at school through a quantitative study may be

meaningless. Indeed, there may be fewer victims and more violence when the victims
are more violently and more often victimised. What the European and North American
studies show clearly is the importance of repetition. Much violence and criminality is
built on small and continuous acts (Blaya & Debarbieux, 2000).

Bullying not only has a psychological impact on victims, but also a sociological impact
as individuals desert the public space and the number of aggressions subsequently
increases. This is a well-known phenomenon of incivility.
Cécile Carra (2006) conducted a quantitative study with a qualitative study, including a
“study of self-reported violence,” in other words, taking into account not only what the
victims said but also the aggressors’ side of the story. She collated the data from 2000
pupil questionnaires and around 100 teachers’ questionnaires in 31 primary schools in
the Nord department of France. Unlike the Signa data, which indicated that violence in
primary schools is rare, the pupils’ statements in this study demonstrate that it already
exists between pupils in a form that is “massively physical, including punching and
fighting in the playground»”, and that it is “massively suffered.” In effect, almost half
the pupils questioned (41.3%) declared they had been victims of physical violence at
least once, and a third reported they had inflicted violence at least once on others.
The doctoral thesis by YoonJung Cho (2008) about bullying between school children
reinforces this viewpoint (Asdih, Cho, 2005; Zay, Cho, 2007; Cho, 2008). Her principal
and most significant method was a survey by questionnaire addressed to first grade
pupils in 10 secondary schools in 3 countries. The children were aged 11-12 year old
for the English and French pupils and 12-13 year old for the South Korean pupils. She
collected 1229 answers to the questionnaire (France : 321) completed by interviews
with school staff, teachers and others.

She confirms that violence between pupils is frequent, although it is often in a form that
is not easily discerned by adults, and that the victims are more likely to suffer from
repeated small incidents than from one major violent incident.
This lack of visibility of violence between pupils and the inadequacy of school practices
in dealing with those who are the most visible because they are the most disruptive, was
highlighted by the coordinators of the second world conference on violence in schools
 92

organised in May 2003 by the European Observatory of school violence, in partnership

with the Education Faculty at Laval university (Québec).
“Not all forms of violence are spectacular and some types of aggression are more insidious like bullying,
intimidation, and mistreatment between peers, which can be a source of insecurity and have a dramatic
impact on the victim’s future. These forms of micro violence may degenerate and lead to manifestations
of extreme violence if they are not dealt with by the adult community within the school. Some school
administrations adopt a policy of zero tolerance and stigmatisation of individuals considered as
potentially dangerous, without necessarily providing real solutions in terms of prevention and
management of crisis situations apart from suspension from school, which can in turn lead to social
exclusion. There appears to be an increasingly urgent need to exchange know-how and current practice,
both by teachers, management teams and researchers.” (Blaya, Beaumont, 2004, p. 6).

2 – ANTI-BULLYING STRATEGIES: PREVENTING, REMEDYING OR

REPRESSING ?

At school as elsewhere, violence leads to fear and reactions that are themselves
aggressive in order to protect oneself. The desire to punish is expressed more vocally
here than in other areas. While the European Council (1997, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007)
and researchers have clearly indicated their preference for a preventative policy, the
same cannot be said for the States, which seem to oscillate between the two poles
repression/prevention, in particular in France, where, since the last presidential
elections, the positions of the law-makers tend towards the former. We will look
successively at the help provided to teachers and schools, and will then focus on the
issues regarding teacher training.

2-1 – Measures to help schools and teachers to fight bullying

As we saw earlier, the Ministry is going to reform the data collection system regarding
acts of violence in schools in order to make it a tool that can be exploited by school
heads so that they can assess their own strategy. This is an important resource. The
importance in the way each school deals with violence has been highlighted in several
studies: there are some schools which are better than others. Whatever the official
directives and the resources provided by the national or regional authorities, in both
primary and secondary education, the determining factor is how the school team uses
the resources according to its own specific agenda.
 93

“Schools located in a same environment and that welcome the same type of population may be faced
more or less dramatically with the issue of violence. In secondary schools which are most affected by the
problem, research has also identified a ‘bad’ school atmosphere that may be perceived by a feeling of
injustice among the pupils. This correlation shows that violence is not a phenomenon that comes from
nowhere. While it may be explained to some extent by the violence in the surrounding community
environment and the porous nature of school with respect to this violence, it is also linked to the
way the institution is run, and its organisation, reflecting the issue of justice within the educational
system (Meuret, 1999). (Carra, 2006, p. 15-16).
With respect to her own research Cécile Carra concludes :
“While the perception of violence is closely linked to relations with others and the image that one has of
the school and its location, the sentiment of violence, is constructed not only from the perception of the
level of violence on one’s school, but also how this violence is experienced as a victim and author,
depends far more on the constructed contextual effects, in other words, the characteristics of the
school climate. A comparative approach to all the schools in our sample population enabled us to
identify the type of climate associated with a low level of violence among pupils. It is strongly based on
three factors linked to the school climate and significantly correlated between one another: the working
atmosphere, the atmosphere of learning and that of justice, are all aspects that are based on the
relationship that the teachers have with the pupils and their job.” (p. 158).
The comparative research work by YoonJung Cho (2008), mentioned above enabled us
to carry out an extremely interesting analysis at school level, and to compare the effects
of the French strategy with the somewhat repressive strategy led in South Korea, and
the more collaborative and open guidance strategy taken in the UK pupils and partners
outside the school, particularly the parents. The sample by country is too low to be able
to draw any generalised, but the data analysis nonetheless has an indicative value
insofar as it consolidates certain interpretations already put forward by other
researchers.
Like Cécile Carra, Eric Debarbieux and his team members, she points to the subjective
dimension of violence. What is considered as an act of violence by one pupil may not
be by another. Our attention was drawn in particular not only to the climate of violence
in a school and whether the users tend to see it in a positive or a negative light in the
context of their local environment, but also to the national cultural variable when seen
through a comparison involving very different countries.
At first sight, the results of YoonJung Cho’s survey contradict the Council of Europe’s
views whereby prevention and collaborative education with respect to students are
considered as the most effective means of guaranteeing safety at school and in society.
Indeed, we observe that fewer students are involved in bullying in South Korea (non
involved: 47%) than in England (28%) and in France (27%). Could this be the result of
 94

a more authoritarian school policy based on stricter discipline and codes of conduct,
including corporal punishment, with an education founded on adult authority and
justified by Confucian and colonial traditions ? This is a challenge for other cultural
contexts, because in today’s Western democracy, the different nations and their
governments balance repression with prevention to guarantee the safety of citizens in
towns, suburbs, and schools as much as throughout society. The media, which has a
powerful influence over public opinion, also appears to favour this form of
development (Zay, Cho, 2007).

What does the population under study have to say?

South Korean pupils are extremely negative with regard to their supervisors and other
forms of control intended to protect them, and appear to be against the authoritarian
educational tradition. This group also has the highest percentage of interviewees who
consider the victim to be responsible for being bullied rather than the bully (25% vs.
52%), the highest rate of pupils claiming to be a bully without being a victim (32% vs.
4% in England and 15% in France), and with bullies legitimizing bullying as something
that is educational : i.e. they “correct the victim's bad character” (21%, vs. 0% in
England and 2% in France : Table 9). For the French (45%) and the English (30%), on
the other hand, the main reason for bullying other children is “to get revenge, or in self-
defence”. This appears to indicate that violence for them is more a reaction to an attack
than a spontaneous choice of behaviour.

We could therefore put forward the hypothesis that an authoritarian and

repressive policy prevents violence as long as the authoritarian policy is in place,
but that it also generates frustration, a kind of legitimacy of violence and less
respect for those who are weak. In the main, the latter does not appear to sit well with
a form of education for young people that prepares them to live in a democratic society
based on respect for others. This interpretation is confirmed in all three countries via the
main reasons given for victimization: “different religion, timidity, physical appearance,
etc. ” (24% for English pupils, 18% for South Koreans and 14% for the French).

Consequently, we are led to believe that the Council of Europe is right in focusing on
education that fosters young people accepting others as having the same rights as
themselves just because they are all human beings, and that this citizenship education
should underpin initial prevention and the development of a suitable attitude for
preventing violence. The significant difference in the ratings between English and
French youngsters (24% vs. 14%) could also lead us to consider that the English social
 95

and school policy based on “social differentiation”, a political model founded on

communities, reinforces the awareness of difference among young people and increases
their negative perspective with regard to others who do not belong to the same ethnic
and religious model. On the contrary, the French policy of secularity, a model that
insists on religion being a matter kept uniquely for private life, while differences cannot
be introduced either at school or in public places, requires people to take into
consideration the fact that they are all, first and foremost, subject to the same State laws
and that they are all the same citizens belonging to the same republican State. We have
seen this model impact on pupils from immigrant background in ToR 4 and we will
develop it in ToR 9 - Support measures to facilitate school success of pupils from
minority backgrounds: ethnic, linguistic, religious, regional, etc.
The answers from the English and French students seem to be linked to different
school strategies and connected to the prevailing school cultural model. The
English youngsters trust adults more in general compared to the pupils from the other
two countries. 14% chose “Tell adults” (teacher, parents, police, etc.) in order to stop
bullying vs. 8% for the French and 3% for the South Koreans. They think, more than
the French and South Koreans, that supervisors are effective at preventing bullying at
school: 60% declare that they are “enormously” or “a lot” (effective), vs. 25% for the
French and 12% for the South Koreans. They also trust their school policies more as
well as the measures set up for this purpose : 56% vs. 38% and 16% for both other
countries.

It is true that in England school management is decentralized and the education

community is recognised for its role that contributes to policies and laws in schools
through cooperation and partnerships. In particular, young people play a role of
mediator between students, teachers and the school head’s office through the model of
“peer mentoring students”. They are also made responsible for helping students in
trouble. Pupils are expected to, and effectively do, assume responsibility by searching
for solutions themselves and then applying them. The national “policy statement on
anti-bullying” in English schools has raised the awareness of pupils to the problem
of bullying. These two measures have been applied in a very satisfactory way. This is
illustrated in our data. While the rate of non-involved pupils is more or less the same in
our English and French population (28% and 27%), these figures do not indicate the
same situation. As we saw earlier, there are twice as many victims in England than in
France (44% vs. 21%) and, consequently, there are fewer bullies (4% vs. 15%),
apparently attacking more victims, including fewer victims/bullies (23% vs. 37%). This
 96

indicates that not only most victims/bullies are defenders as in France (30% vs. 45%),
but that one bully generally picks on several victims. We can infer that the specific
English measures are more effective compared to France. First, they reduce the number
of bullies and second, they also make it easier to prevent them from doing it again,
because it is easier to focus on a few than on a large number.

The specific English anti-bullying policy which enhances negotiated rules,

tutorship and peer mediation can also be considered to make them more aware of
their own responsibility as young people for bullying between each other. For most
of them, the bully is the main person responsible for bullying between young people,
with the highest rate (72%, then the bully’s parents, 20 %, and last, the victim, 3 %),
while only adults are deemed responsible for the French. They also give the most
importance to their own behaviour with regard to the bullies: “avoid/ignore/do not
bother bully”: (47.5%, vs. 21% for the French) or, on the contrary, “cope with bully,
fight back”: 11% vs. 2.5% for the French.

The French answers are surprising. They first mention the police (25%), second, the
bully's parents (21%) and then the class teacher (17%) as being responsible for bullying
between pupils. We can compare this with the lower effectiveness they give to school
actions and supervisors than the English. They are also the only ones to favour
“strengthen supervision, punishment, education for victim/bully” as a solution : 24% vs.
less than 1% in England. We can explain the French attitude as linked to a traditional
culture that favours state schools and public services, and a centralized school system
managed by the State which may also generate a lesser sense of responsibility. There is
a specific French tendency to consider that the authorities are responsible for finding
solutions to every issue. This national tendency can lead pupils to believe that the
problem should be placed in the hands of adults. Consequently, if French pupils only
expect adults to help them, they may be disappointed because they are not effective
enough and may also consider that reinforcement and re-education of supervisors could
improve the situation. However, there is a lack of community education to make young
people more aware of their own responsibility and this does not prepare them as citizens
in a democratic society.

This comparative study of three countries with very different cultures, history, and
social habits confirms the policies recommended by the Council of Europe. The
English example shows their positive effects. The authoritarian education in South
Korea appears to generate frustration and make young people distrustful of adults and
 97

more ready to legitimize oppression of those who are weaker. The over-centralized,
subject-centred policies in France tend to make young people less aware of their own,
individual responsibility
Nevertheless, the sample studied is too limited to be able to draw general conclusions.
We can only check the results obtained and the interpretations put forward in
comparison with other studies. We have already mentioned some of these correlations.
Cécile Carra (2006) corroborates the importance of explicit rules, in the shape of a
set of rules.
“In some schools in violent areas and in education priority another dimension appears to be important to
the school climate : the rules. Where social control processes are initiated by precariousness, fostering the
development of an anomic context, rules contribute to the production of explicit standards that contribute
to establishing school order.” ( p. 155).
We saw the importance of this factor with respect to disaffection from school (ToR 1).
One of the causes of the problems that at times disruptive pupils in difficulty pose
is that they do not understand the standards they are expected to meet at school
nor the instructions given by the teachers (Barrère, 1997; Dolignon, 2005, 2008).
This “cognitive misunderstanding”, linked to a “socio-cultural gap” “that is growing
wider” between the school and the families, leads to direct disciplinary sanctions, often
without verbal explanations, in turn leading to a mutual misunderstanding with the
teachers, generating a repressive attitude repressive and an increasingly violent
backlash (Carra, Hedibel, 2004).
However, negotiating the rules with the pupils only plays a positive role with
respect to violence if it fits into a process structured by corresponding teaching
standards and if enough time is allowed for it to take effect, as for the Freinet school
(Carra, 2006; Carra, Faggianelli, 2005; Carra, Pagoni, 2007, cf. ToR 11, case study 2).
In other schools, this factor does not come into play.
“Finally, the most important aspect of these results appears to be that the rules are applied in the same
way for everyone and that everyone benefits from the same type of relations with the teachers (evaluated
via the educational score) and that the sanctions, whether they apply to behaviour or schoolwork, are
viewed as fair (what we learnt from with the justice score).” (Carra, 2006, p. 137).
This highlights the importance of the way the school generally operates, in an overall
system that fosters adaptation which goes beyond dealing with specific problems,
whether violence-related or not. We will look at this issue again in topic 10 - The
assessment of success and failure regarding these points and the internal and external factors
that influence it and 11 – Selected innovative and successful projects or case-studies that have
proved successful at school, local, regional or national level.
 98

After listing the help that currently exists, Maryse Esterlé Hédibel (2004) believes
nonetheless that many teachers remain powerless when confronted with the issue and
that their training in general is a major contributing factor: “increasingly precise assessment
systems have enabled us to evaluate and categorise the phenomena, and several ‘anti-violence schemes’
have been organised nationally, with reviews of the sanctions and punishments currently in place in
secondary schools (decree of 13 July 2000), several tens of thousands of teaching assistants have been
recruited to assist the pupils outside school hours (their contracts will not be renewed, and the smaller
number of education assistants will not be able to replace all of them.), and many conferences and
meetings regularly bring together researchers and practitioners to discuss these issues. However, many
school staff still only have their experience or their intuition to resolve the difficult situations. Initial
teacher training or staff development courses to improve conflict management in schools is increasingly
considered as a key issue, and it seems urgent that we raise the awareness staff confronted with violence
that managing the situation comes down as much to the discourse they use and their attitude, something
that concerns themselves as much as the pupils.” (p. 165-166).

2-2 – Problems for teacher education relative to bullying

In this section, we look at the article by Maryse Esterle-Hédibel (2004) which analyses
the problems of teachers training with respect to violence and the solutions that could
be introduced based on a study from the Nord Pas-de-Calais IUFM (Institut
universitaire de formation des maîtres : College of education).
The way we recruit teachers appears flawed in this area as in all those that areas that
touch on dealing with specific differences compared to the usual school system
organisation.
Competitive exams and initial training in an IUFM, are based on teaching discipline
knowledge rather than pedagogical skills which are under-valued. No aspect of the
recruitment exams relates to the teachers’ pedagogic and interpersonal skills. As we
saw earlier, the education law of 1989 (which, for the first time in France, was learner-
centred and mentioned interpersonal relations and class management among with the
teacher’s skills, and perceived the school in relation to its environment), has been
repealed since the last presidential elections.
Without specific pedagogical training, new teachers tend to apply the old, negative
recipes of sanctions and punishment, encouraged by the presidential and
ministerial speeches about the damaging effects of May 68 and the need to re-
establish the school’s authority. This has triggered the spiral of non standard and
violent behaviour by one or several pupils followed by the punitive reactions from
teachers that we mentioned above. Maryse Hédibel notes that the opposite reaction, in
 99

other words not interfering for fear of triggering rebellion, ends up with the same
results. Should we not try to keep in mind the famous theories relative to the types of
leadership that identify the effects of three attitudes on groups of children: i.e.
authoritarian, doing nothing and democratic (Lewin, 1972; Lippitt, 1940; Lippitt,
White, 1943)? Has recent research not shown that there are “26 ways to relinquish
having the last word”? (Life, 2003).
In ToR 5 - Support measures for teachers working in such schools, we presented appropriate
training courses that would enable teachers to develop links between their experience
and research, as this would no longer appear as too “theoretical”. In the present case, as
in previous cases, meetings and seminars are alternated with work in the schools and
teamwork to put trainee teachers in a hands-on situation and give them insight into
contracting and negotiating relations with pupils and others such as the families, for
example (cf. Zay, 1999).
Optional courses may also be organised in the IUFM. In the Nord Pas-de-Calais IUFM,
for example, courses are organised on “understanding adolescence,” “in-class conflict
management” (cf. Hedibel, 2002), “school/family relations,” “failing at school” and
“support measures to combat failure,” “prevention-justice-citizenship,” and “managing
punishment.” These courses are not always joined by those who need them most, as
students may be caught up in preparing for the competitive exams or teachers already
working in schools may hesitate to speak about situations where they feel under-valued
by the pupils or find themselves in a “difficult” class that they were relegated to at the
last minute, that they were not expecting and that they did not have enough time to
prepare for.
“These situations are exacerbated by postings being announced just before the academic year begins, and
sometimes after it has begun, which generally send beginners, particularly in secondary education, to
areas that are far from their home region. This means that the difficulties involved in meeting a
disconcerting public which can appear alarming in relation to their personal representations, are
heightened by problems related to geographical distance from family and loved ones, not knowing
anything about the town or the region, finding somewhere to live, etc.” (Esterle-Hedibel, 2004, p.
168).
As we already saw with other pupil-related problems (disaffection, socio-cultural
origins), teachers tend to blame the pupils and their parents for disruptive
behaviour in such a context, and try to get rid of the “cases” by passing them on to
more specialised structures.
“The institution still works in a register of ‘hard core’ unteachable children that it must ‘protect
the school community from’ by exclusion if need be. It fails to address the problem of how to deal
 100

with pupils in great or very great behavioural and cognitive difficulty, and the no less thorny issue
of teaching methods and the ‘provocation to deviance’ (Woods, Berthier, P., 1992) which some
teachers develop in a “mirroring’ relationship with their pupils.” (Esterle-Hedibel, 2004, p.
169).
It is difficult to draw up an overall picture of initial and staff development training
courses, as they generally depend on local solutions and often lack experienced trainers.
Trainers may be as little interested in dealing with this type of problem as their
students, in that their recruitment methods and their own training suffered from the
same weaknesses in the system. There is no concerted preparation between the different
IUFMs, and the same inadequacy often runs through a Regional Education Authority
with respect to those who deal with violence at different levels and in different
circumstances.
One example could be the cases cited by Maryse Esterle-Hedibel, involving the Nord-
Pas-de-Calais Regional Education Authority and the local IUFM.
In 1989, the GASPAR (Groupe académique de soutien et de prévention pour les
adolescents à risqué : Regional support and prevention group for adolescents at risk)
was created by the Local Education Authority. It firstly focused on the prevention of
abusive consumption of alcohol and illegal drugs, then on situations of violence and
general crisis situations within the institution. “Composed of chief education advisors and
teachers on part time or full time secondment, the GASPAR offers a flexible diagnostic and problem-
resolving tool for difficult situations, addressing teachers and administrative staff rather than pupils.” It
intercedes in the schools themselves. Other “support units” of this type have been set up
in other Regional Education Authorities to provide help for teachers and schools having
difficulty dealing with “unruliness” in schools. The GASPAR also takes part in
specially organised IUFM training courses (p. 171-172).
In each centre, located in different towns, it has installed a “cross-discipline teaching
unit” designed for the large population of users. This unit organises courses on “mixed
classes,” “conflict management,” “adolescence today,” “help for pupils in difficulty,”
etc.
In parallel to the IUFM’s initial training courses and staff development training courses,
which students and teachers are free to sign up for, primary and secondary school
teachers can also ask for “in-house” staff training. In this case, they contact a training
advisor to draw up a plan for the trainers.
They may also take part in two-day “field observations” in Education Action Zones,
which may include a day’s training in the centre or support measures for priority
 101

education networks, for example, writing up a report charter on violence and uncivil
behaviour, and focusing on preventing rather than managing the problem, which is
often over-estimated at the outset compared to the reality.
“Teachers, school heads, education advisors, social workers and integration officers get together for
debate seminars, (one entitled, ‘Youth, violence and risk-taking’ was coordinated for three years by
Maryse Esterle-Hedibel for the ‘Teaching in difficult sectors’ team project),... to discuss different social
science research projects, presented at each session by a researcher. These are held on Wednesday
afternoons, enabling national education staff to attend them more easily.” (p. 169) (because they have
Wednesday off).
The courses are designed to develop maximum participation, and they include : the
presentation of situations experienced by trainees with group debates, their analysis
based on research work presented by the trainers, presentations of experiences
including, if applicable, partnerships with local actors, advice on how to avoid incidents
or prevent an escalation in interactions with pupils via role plays, communication
exercises, etc. (p. 169-170).
The author noted that “to organise effective courses, we need to develop synergies with the different
practitioners: sociologists, psycho-sociologists, teaching specialists, teachers and school principals, social
workers, etc.” and that “Comparable training programmes are also organised in other IUFM such as
Toulouse or Créteil (Cf. Le Monde de l’éducation, n° 288, January 2001, p. 38-39). » (p. 169-170).
She then talks of the difficulty of setting up partnerships within the National Education
framework. This problem appears to run through all the specific topics that we deal
with concerning support for schools and teachers : i.e. situations of disaffection, schools
in socio-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods, disability, young immigrants and
issues relating to ethnic, linguistic, religious or regional minorities. Yet all the
remediation and prevention measures that we have presented require partnerships in
order to work effectively.
Since the 1990s and the promulgation of the law of 1989, and despite the risks
involved, partnerships have been identified by many researchers as a key element in
promoting positive changes in the school system (cf. Zay, 1994 ; Zay, Gonnin-Bolo,
1995). We explore this aspect in more detail in ToR 10 – The assessment of success and
failure regarding these points and the internal and external factors that influence it and
11 – Selected innovative and successful projects or case-studies that have proved
successful at school, local, regional or national level, based on a summary of the
elements developed in the preceding topics.

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 102

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Carra, C. (2006). Univers de violence des enseIGnants, systèmes de régulation et pratiques
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Carra, C., Faggianelli, D. (2005). Quand une école bouscule les normes… Etude d’une école
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Carra C, Faggianelli D. (2006), École et violences, Paris, La Documentation française, coll. Problèmes
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Carra, C., Pagoni, M. (2007). Construction des normes et violences scolaires ». In Reuter Y. (Dir.),
Une école Freinet. Fonctionnements et effets d'une pédagogie alternative en milieu populaire,
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Council of Europe (2000). Violence in schools. Awareness, raising, prevention, penalties. F. Dubet, N
Vettenburg . Strasbourg : Council of Europe Publishing.
Council of Europe (2004). Violence in schools – a challenge for the local community. Strasbourg :
Council of Europe Publishing. http://book.coe.int/EN/recherche.php
Council of Europe (2006). Violence reduction in schools. How to make a difference . Chris Gittins, co-
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Dolignon, C. (2005). In Zay, D. (dir.). Prévenir l'exclusion scolaire et sociale des jeunes. Une
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Dolignon, C. (2008). Processus d’intégration sociale et scolaire chez des adolescents à risque :
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pédagogiques n° 407, October 2002, p. 20-21.
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TOR 7 - SUPPORT MEASURES ADDRESSING PUPILS LIKELY

TO BECOME EARLY SCHOOL LEAVERS

See ToR 1
 105

TOR 8 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR PUPILS WITH A PHYSICAL

OR MENTAL HANDICAP AND PUPILS IN CARE

In this section, we will focus on the issue of pupils with a physical or mental handicap,
something which appears to have been more poorly managed than any of the other
issues relating to the French school system, although some progress has been made. We
will firstly draw up an inventory of the existing forms of schooling and will then
examine the changes introduced by the law of 2005 with respect to the preceding
legislation and, finally, we will look at the issues this has given rise to.
The legislation in this domain is listed in appendix 2.

1 – SCHOOLING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM A DISABILITY

In the 6222 complaints addressed to the HALDE (Haute autorité de lutte contre les
discriminations et pour l’égalité : High Authority against discrimination and for
equality) in 2007, disability was the most frequently mentioned discrimination criteria
(22%) after origins (27%) (Paulay, 2008).
The different sections of the Law of 11 February 2005 “for equal rights and
opportunities, participation and the citizenship of disabled people,” which affirmed the
principle of non-discrimination and reinforced the rights of the 5 million citizens
concerned, was backed up by improvements to their situation for that of their family. In
addition to financial assistance, the new measures included an information system for
parents, with a freephone number : “Aide Handicap Ecole” (Handicap at school
support) (08 10 55 00), and increased reception facilities for children in ordinary school
environments: “support from teaching assistants (AVS), support from a special
education service and home care facilities (SESSAD : Service d’éducation spéciale et
de soins à domicile ) as well as school inclusion classes (CLIS : Classe d’intégration
scolaire) in primary school and education inclusion units (UPI : Unités pédagogiques
d’intégration) in secondary school” (Beauvais, 2008, p. I). In secondary education,
young people from 12 to 16 years old also had the opportunity to join classes at CAP
level (Certificat d’aptitude professionnelle : vocational skills certificate) in adapted
general and vocational education programmes (SEGPA : Section d’enseignement
général et professionnel adapté). For those who cannot go to school in the “ordinary
environment, there are special education institutions : medico-educational institutes
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(IME : Institut médico-éducatifs) for pupils with learning disabilities, and special
institutions or therapeutic educational institutions (ITEP : Institut thérapeutique
éducatif et pédagogique ) for multi-disability populations (Toustou-Chedlize, 2008, p.
VIII).
The Secretary of State for Solidarity, Valérie Létard, announced that it was essential to
develop bridges. She cited Douai (“Académie” of the Nord Pas-de-Calais) “a wholly
exemplary institution which combines an ordinary primary school and a school for the physically
disabled on the same site. Both institutions are managed by the same director and the children share the
same playground.” (Beauvais, 2008, p.I).
With regard to staff training, the specialised teachers are qualified National Education
teachers who received additional training validated by a teaching certificate for disabled
children. Preparation for this certificate is provided by the National Institute of training
and research for the education of the disabled and adapted teaching, and by certain
higher education institutions, the IUFMs and universities. (Beauvais, 2008, p. VIII). At
the request of the Minister of National Education, Xavier Darcos, the IUFMs were
invited to organise staff training modules for non specialised teachers, and the regional
authorities (rectorat) were requested to introduce measures designed to support them in
their classroom practice in each department (Beauvais, 2008, p.I).
At the beginning of the school year 2007-08, schools received an extra 38,000 disabled
pupils, 10,000 of whom benefitted from individual support, making a total of 170,000
compared to 89,000 for the school year 2005-06. “According to the estimates, between 8000
and 15,000 children will stay the course” (Toustou, 2008).

However, France still has a long way to go to catch up.

The demonstration held on 29 March 2008 that marched to the “Elysée”, the French
president’s headquarters, mobilised the whole of France, culminating in Paris with
some 35,000 demonstrators and 85 national associations. It was a sad reminder of the
situation regarding the recognition of the disabled in France, and their access to the
same rights as other citizens (APF, 2008).
An analysis of the progress made is far from satisfactory.

2 - THE POSITIVE TURN INITIATED BY THE LAW OF 2005

Serge Ebersold (2006), sociologist at the OECD, who led a study in the field on the
opportunities for disabled people to play a full social role, estimates that around 30% of
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people with a physical disability “dare not go out as they are worried about how other
people consider them” (p. 38).
In the field of education, changes to the law of 1975, ostensibly “in favour of the
disabled,” and to the law of 11 February 2005 “for equal rights, opportunities,
participation and citizenship of the disabled,” marked what was considered to be a
positive turning point by the President of the FNASEPH (Fédération Nationale des
Associations au service des Elèves Présentant une situation de Handicap : National
federation of associations for disabled pupils), and member of the CNCPH (Conseil
National Consultatif des Personnes Handicapées : National consultative council for the
disabled). The founding principles are relatively clear. “For example, in the definition of
disability, we speak about the ‘limitations imposed by the environment.’ This is an important concept in
view of the fact that, at times, school is a difficult environment for a child to gain access to” (Faraut,
Philbert, 2006, p. 17). There is progress too in the declaration that young people should
“preferably” attend an ordinary school, otherwise they should go to a special school.
The law of 2005 stipulates that all pupils have the right to be registered with a
mainstream school as their base institution, even if they attend a special school because
of their disability. This is described as their “learning path” and learning continuity.
The law tries to address the problem of dispersal of structures by introducing new actors
in new structures for coordination purposes.
In every department, the MDPH (Maison départementale des personnes handicapées/
Departmental centre for the disabled) is the “one-stop-shop’ where the disabled and
their families can get more information and make their voice heard. Within the MDPH,
one entity, the CDPAPH (Commission départementale des droits et de l’autonomie de
la personne handicapée/ Departmental Committee for the rights and autonomy of the
disabled) has replaced the former CDES (Commission départementale d’éducation
spécialisée : Specialised departmental education committee) and the COTOREP )
(Commission technique d’orientation et de reclassement professionnel : Technical
orientation and professional placement committee). This committee decides on the
orientation of pupils via a tailored education plan.
The multi-discipline team is made up of new contributors who design a tailored project
and the pupil’s educational programme, deciding on the pedagogical, psychological,
educational, therapeutic, medical, paramedical and social needs.
The contact person, who is affiliated to the national education system, works in close
liaison with the parents. He/she listens to them, provides them with information,
ensures the project’s continuity and coherence and coordinates all the project’s actors,
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i.e. teachers, professionals from the medico-social sector or partners from the world of
culture and sport. The vice-president of the FNASEPH appreciates “the emergence of a
bridge between national education and the health and medico-social sectors which, in the past, have
tended to work in isolation, with relations that were at times difficult” (p. 20). In addition, the
parents are always included in the education monitoring team. However, “in order for it to
work harmoniously,” “you have to be flexible and reactive, and be prepared to give up your time.” (p.
21).

3 – DOUBTS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE LAW OF 2005

At the same time, the president of the FNASEPH voiced a certain number of
reservations. The first relates to the criticisms regarding the support strategies
developed for socio-economically deprived areas. In effect, we already noted that time
is the enemy of non-sustainable measures and this aspect gives rise to a number of
issues.
“Everyone knows that a successful project is a project in which the different actors have time to develop
it. First of all, the child’s arrival needs to be prepared. Then the project needs to be followed through, and
tools need to be developed for its assessment. This all implies planning and fitting in meetings to share
the expertise of all the actors involved. We believe that not enough time is allowed by the school and this
can jeopardize the project. People invest a great deal in the projects and if insufficient time is allowed,
this will create a number of problems for those involved and for the projects to develop.” (18)
The lack of tools required to assess the young person’s potential needs mean that the
project could fail to validate schooling adequately.
The law stipulates that “every child is registered by right in an ordinary school and that
this shall be their base institution.”
However, there is no corresponding statement in the legislation governing the base
school. What exactly are the commitments of the school head ?
In the same way, the law recognises the right to be registered at a university with
specific support, but there is no provision for this in the laws regarding finance, and
teaching assistants’ jobs remain insecure.
Furthermore, the law will achieve nothing if the staff who implement it are not trained
to deal with the disabled or with the arrival of the disabled. “When a handicapped child
arrives at the school doors, it gives rise to a number of fears and anxieties. While these may be legitimate,
they should be dealt with at some point, or at least some form of support should be provided : this is the
role of the training programme.”
At the beginning of the 2007-08 school year, a French opposition review noted that
schooling for disabled children was a “dashed hope,” for the “opposable right written into the
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laws was poorly applied,” due to the “lack of assistant teaching staff (AVS) and teachers, both in terms of
numbers and training” (Tranchant, 2008, p. 26-27).
In effect, despite the initial promises, the planned improvements regarding the reception
of disabled pupils were affected by the reductions in National Education resources, and
the suppression of jobs.
This policy of shortage that accompanies and contributes to discrediting the reforms
might be considered an economic problem, but it also reflects a recurrent problem in the
French school system, namely the absence of acknowledgement of differences and the
tendency to relegate anyone who fails to adapt spontaneously to specific structures.
This right, explicitly demanded in the case of disability, is the same everywhere and for
all citizens.
“All children and adolescents are now registered in a school. This means that our child is recognised first
as a ‘child’ before being considered as ‘disabled’, and I believe it was high time that this was stated and
published clearly for once and for all.” (Faraut, Philbert, 2006, p. 19).
Nevertheless, after analysing the new law, Serge Ebersbold (2006) identifies a possible
conclusion to the present topic 8: the inability of the French education system to adapt
to all young people, including difficult pupils and pupils in difficulty, children “at risk”,
drop outs, the disabled, and the “socio-culturally challenged” who do not adapt
spontaneously to the norms.
The author firstly notes that the semantic shift “from ‘integration at school’ to
‘schooling’” brings France closer to other countries that have already taken this concept
on board. “Because once we start speaking about schooling, we admit that school is not an end in itself
but a means. In other words, the question of pedagogic differentiation is no longer simply a question of
pupils in difficulty, and thinking about disabled children’s schooling implies thinking about every
pupil, because what a disabled child may need, every child may need. Rather than focusing on the
notion of misfits, or extent of inability, the law operates an essential shift with respect to previous laws by
thinking about the issue of diversity, making the school think about the needs of every child. In this
frame, we do not think about pupils with specific needs, but only pupils who all need teaching
methods and support measures that enable them to succeed, to construct their lives and to gain a
foothold. (p. 37).”
Finally, “Thinking about disability in school means thinking about disability as an
opportunity.”
“Thinking about schooling for children with a disability implies thinking about school for everyone, in
other words thinking about school in a different way, thinking about the ability of every one of us
to construct a world based on human beings and living together.” (p. 38-39).
This leads on to the notion of partnerships, which as we already saw, arise from all the
difficulties encountered by teachers with regard to drop-outs or disadvantaged
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populations as, in such cases, turning to others faced with the same situations appears to
be a necessity and is imposed by legislation.
“It seems to me that we will never develop coherence regarding schooling in the ‘ordinary’ environment
if we don’t question the legitimacy of each and every one of us. What is the parents’ legitimacy in the
process? It is a moral legitimacy but not necessarily an institutional legitimacy with respect to the
rationality of the school? What is the legitimacy of professionals in the social and medico-social sector
given that they were created as an alternative and thus in opposition to school ? (…)
If the parents, more often than not for financial reasons, have to ‘select’ the professional and are unable to
be present when the project is drawn up, they risk being considered as inadequate or remaining in the
background. What is important in the partnership is to develop a collective social capital and to create
resources for families to help them to be socially and professionally involved in the project” (p. 39).
Similar analyses have been produced by researchers in the domain of young people
from immigrant backgrounds and ethnic and religious minorities. We will explore these
aspects in ToR 9. As already noted, these points of convergence suggest that rather than
restrict solutions to problematic situations in special cases which are treated separately
from the school system overall, we should instead review national education policies
overall.

REFERENCES : QUOTED TEXTS AND AUTHORS

APF (Association des paralysés de France). (2008). Ni pauvre. Ni soumis. 29 mars une date historique
dans l’histoire de l’AFP et de ses adhérents. Ensemble, n° 100, juin 2008, p. 4-6.
Beauvais, L. (2008). En place pour l’égalité des chances. In Les cahiers de la compétitivité, spécial
Handicap. Cahier du Monde daté du 10 avril 2008, n° 19662, p. I.
Beauvais, L. (2008). « Les efforts accomplis commencent à porter leurs fruits. ». In Les cahiers de la
compétitivité, spécial Handicap. Cahier du Monde daté du 10 avril 2008, n° 19662, p. VIII.
Ebersold, S. (2006). La nouvelle loi change radicalement la place du handicap pour l’école. Reliance.
Revue des situations de handicap, de l’éducation et des sociétés, n° 22, décembre 2006, p. 37-
39.
Faraut, M.-C., Philbert, M.-C. (2006). L’éducation et la formation : 1975-2005. Quelles évolutions ?
Reliance. Revue des situations de handicap, de l’éducation et des sociétés, n° 22, décembre
2006, p. 17-21.
Paulay, A. (2008). « La tolérance à la discrimination diminue ». In Les cahiers de la compétitivité,
spécial Handicap. Cahier du Monde daté du 10 avril 2008, n° 19662, p. I.
Toustou-Chedlize,E. (2008). L’école pour tous en voie de concrétisation . In Les cahiers de la
compétitivité, spécial Handicap. Cahier du Monde daté du 10 avril 2008, n° 19662, p. VIII).
Tranchant, B. (2008). Le handicap à bras-le-corps. L’hebdo des socialistes, 27-9-08, p. 26-27.
 111

TOR 9 - SUPPORT MEASURES TO FACILITATE SCHOOL

SUCCESS OF PUPILS FROM MINORITY BACKGROUNDS :
ETHNIC, LINGUISTIC, RELIGIOUS, REGIONAL, ETC.

We will firstly look at the principles and values that inspired French education policies
with respect to ethnic, linguistic, religious, regional minorities, and will then look at
real practice and the measures that could enable us to develop an intercultural education
that recognises both the adhesion of citizens to the same values, respects the same laws
and, above all, recognises differences whatever their origin.
The legislation in this domain has been listed in appendix 2.

1 – THE REPUBLICAN SCHOOL MODEL

The demand by minorities or specific social bodies for the right to different treatment
compared to other citizens has been a bone of contention in France ever since the
French Revolution in 1789 and the universal declaration of the rights of man. As all
people, by their very nature, are free and equal humans, the new political
representatives of France, in the name of this value of universalism, recognised the
same rights for all individuals, independent of their community of birth and their social,
ethnic or religious background, and at the same time abolished anything that might link
these same individuals to a specific social entity. On the one hand, the same citizenship
rights were recognised for members of the “third estate” (as opposed to the noblesse
and the clergy, the Catholic church), Jews and black slaves. On the other hand, the
corporations that governed professions under the Ancien Regime (previous monarchical
system) were abolished, and priests who refused to take an oath of allegiance to the
Republic and remained under the foreign papal authority of Rome, were banned from
continuing to preach to their flock.
This historical background inspired the compulsory, secular and free republican school
model, permanently institutionalised by the Ferry law in 1882 and regarded as sacred
ever since, even today considered as a golden age.
During the 3rd Republic, claims by regional minorities were bitterly fought,
embodying resistance to a republican citizenship which was developed as a value of a
universality assimilated with uniformity. To be a good French citizen, you had to speak
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French. Little schoolchildren who spoke in their regional dialect, pejoratively termed as
“patois,” were corrected by a whack on the fingers with a ruler.
Even today, attachment to republican values and equality means that we continue to
promote a diploma gained at the end of secondary schooling via a national exam, the
baccalauréat, rather than a certificate delivered by the individual schools, while we
recruit public sector workers and secondary and higher education teachers via a national
exam, or an academic exam for primary school teachers, using the same type of tests.
Criticism regarding the “baccalauréat”, i.e. that it’s very expensive and takes up too
much of the staff’s time, falls on deaf ears. The contradiction between legislation which
obliges schools to work on local projects and the impossibility for their heads to recruit
local teachers, who would be best equipped to manage the project being developed by
the team in place, is largely ignored.
Some things have improved, however. Nowadays, pupils can choose their regional
language as an option at school. As we already saw, with the creation of ZEPs along the
lines of positive discrimination, republican equality was officially refuted in 1981 in its
role as the only means of ensuring “equal opportunities” and compensating for existing
social inequalities.
After reminding us that “During my primary school days, there was the school of the
“devil” and that of the “clerics,” Jean-Manuel Queiroz (2001) analyses the
deconstruction of the original republican model, adapted to a society which has been
replaced by another for which it was no longer tenable. His research is supported by
that of Gabriel Langouët and Alain Léger (1991, 1994, 1997) on private schooling in
France. “One of the results shows that 75%, of French families today, whether their children go to
private or secular schools, agree that it is normal that there are two school networks : the public and the
private. This is new. We are no longer at war. The same study also identified material proof of this
mental evolution: the unsuspected extent of what could be termed as ‘school zapping’ practices, whereby
many families change ‘networks’ during the course of schooling, at times for reasons of commodity, but
mainly for exclusively school-based reasons. And the parents whose children move from one network to
another, say: ‘Being able to choose is a good thing.’”
J-M Queiroz draws “indications from the fact that we are no longer in the great period of this intrinsic
liaison between the secular republic and the secular school. We are in another period.” (p. 195-196).
The task for education researchers and education movements is thus to construct “a new
secular myth (… ) in totally new conditions which take social and cultural realties into
account,” in other words, a “lycée” that is not simply designed for “the sons of the rich.” As
we have already seen, in line with the aims of the French education system, 80% of an age
group in these secondary schools must be able to pass the baccalauréat. The question therefore
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becomes “how can we invent (…) a new means of transmitting knowledge that integrates the pupil as a
person rather than the old abstraction that secular ideology imposes ? How can universalism be squared
with the reality of multiculturalism, without also accepting something we have excellent reasons for, the
‘communitarism tradition’ ? How can we do this without agreeing with the ‘anti-pedagogy’ faction who
see in it the renunciation of real teaching and a scandalous alignment with the specific cultures of our
pupils, their ethnic specificities, that of mass ‘unculture’ ” (lack of culture) (p. 200-201).
Dominique Schnapper (2000), like J-M Queiroz, argued that this was what led the
original education system to adapt to the concrete realties in the society of its time. Now
we should do the same with today’s society as, linked to the European and global
economy, school is no longer the same and has become massified.
“Social integration developed in France around the idea of individual citizenship. It is as if political
society was influenced by Rousseau’s general ideology which was hostile to intermediary bodies.
However, he acted according to a regulatory principle which was conveyed by institutions and social
practices, not by a description of the reality.”
It is true that state schools strictly observe this regulatory principle.
“Neither regional specificities nor national origins nor the religious beliefs of the pupils were taken into
account. They were all treated uniformly and equally as future citizens and all received the same teaching
(…). By treating all children in the same way, without taking their origins or social characteristics into
account, the republican school formed citizens who shared the same language and the same historical and
cultural references” (p. 11).
Nonetheless, “the institutions did not manage the ‘citizen’ but real individuals. The universal
principles were inevitably adapted to specific cases.” (p. 13).
The same applies to schools today as those of yesterday: “Universal principles are asserted
but, given the massification of education, how can we avoid adapting them to specific populations as we
have always done in the past ?” (p. 18).
Under the 3rd Republic, the State negotiated the dates of holidays, a day off on
Thursdays, replaced by Wednesdays, so that catechism could be taught by the Catholic
Church, and with the agreement of the Regional Education Authority inspectors, the
teachers in Lorraine integrated the Jewish calendar into the school timetable. The
departments of Alsace and Lorraine still retain the special status they were given after
becoming part of Germany, following the defeat of France.
“We have to keep the universal republican” principle of a school that transmits the
founding idea that political legitimacy and the source of social ties rely on “the free and
equal community of citizens” as, for the author, this is the closest formula to democratic
values (Schnapper, 1994). It has fewer perverse effects than the idea of communitarism,
but it must also, inevitably, be continually improved.
Intercultural education, which was inconceivable at the time of the 3rd Republic when
school stopped at the end of primary level for all except a minority of privileged
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children, has become a requirement, both with the target of more than 2/3 of all children
reaching the level of baccalauréat, and the multiplicity of different cultures,
particularly Islam, which is now the second religion in France by the number of
adherents. France is the European country with the largest immigrant population from
muslim countries.
We are going to try to identify some of the ways intercultural education is introduced in
schools in France, which reflects a position that is both respectful of the historical and
cultural French context, the necessary basis for French society and its education system,
and the multiplicity of cultures that make up France today.

2– TOWARDS AN INTERCULTURAL EDUCATION IN FRANCE

2-1 – What is an intercultural education ?

We would like to go back to an article by Françoise Lorcerie (2002) who denotes the
changes in the meaning of the expression. The term “intercultural” was first used in the
Official Bulletin at the end of the 1970s, a new teaching concept supposed to foster the
integration of immigrant children. However, despite two pilot experiences from 1976 to
1982, no intercultural pedagogy was ever set out with concrete instructions for its
implementation in France. The expression then took on a more cosmopolitan sense in
the recommendations by the Ministerial Committee of the Council of Europe on 25
September 1984 concerning Teacher training in intercultural understanding, notably in
a context of migration : the “dialogue of culture,” “understanding between cultures,”
“the value and originality of each and everyone,” and “understanding between
communities.” French discourse developed the same ideas: “refusal of ethnocentrism,
adhesion to the principle of cultural relativism and transposition to educational action in
the interests of the integration of immigrant children.”
In the 1980s, the Council of Europe led a programme on intercultural education as a
permanent aspect of state education in European societies, and another on the “new
minorities” in Europe.
A consensus finally developed in America and Europe “(1) to recognise and accept cultural
pluralism as a reality of society; (2) to contribute to the institution of a society with equal rights and
equality; and (3) to contribute to the establishment of harmonious inter-ethnic relations” (Pagé, 1993).
“Opinions differ as to how to combine logic and equality and how to take plurality into account, but
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everyone agrees on its necessity. It is in this framework that the general intercultural education project is
defined today.” (Lorcerie, 2002, p.171).
The Council of Europe (1995) developed tools that included a teaching kit which is
available to all teachers.
“The French Ministry of Education, in all its different forms, positioned itself outside
this development. “From 1984, it removed the term ‘intercultural’ from administrative discourse; the
working indications by the CEFISEM no longer referred to the concept. The word is considered to be
politically incorrect, as is the concept of the transformation that it designates; the ministry notes the
principle of republican equality exclusivity.”
This position only changed after evidence of ethnic discrimination was brought to light
by the statistical study conducted in the 1980s and the official recognition of its
existence by the government in autumn 1998. The same year, the report by the High
Committee of Integration confirmed that “The exclusive nature given to the concept of equality
by the school did not stop a principle of difference from developing spontaneously, increasing the
distance between the ‘immigrants’ and the ‘French’ at the very core of the school system” (p. 172).
The school as an institution preparing citizens to adopt their duties within a democratic
society, and transmitting ideals of justice and humanity, needs to respond to the
challenge posed by cultural diversity, in other words the discrimination that
“minorities” are faced with, “reduced to the status of intruders in the nation,” in relation
to majority populations. (p. 177)
“Intercultural education is a trend in education initiatives that aim specifically to take up these challenges.
It does not try to create a new discipline, but rather to equip all young people with the cognitive and
affective means to control the situation and to “tame the panther,” as Amin Maalouf said. The desire for
identity should not be treated either by persecution or complaisance, but should be observed, studied
calmly, understood, then controlled and tamed if we want to avoid the world becoming a jungle’
(Maalouf, 1998, p. 165). The ultimate goal of intercultural education is no more than civic education in
its widest sense” (p. 178-179).
From this perspective, the formative target of the democratic school is governed by three
principles:
“(1) a new offer of knowledge relative to the plurality of the national society, (2) a new assertion of
values of equality and justice, and (3) teaching approaches that allow the development of new capacities
and attitudes related to living together as a group. Cultural pluralism is thus defined as the plurality of
human contributions that built our national society and continue to renew it.” The extent to which
the school accomplishes this task allows the pupils to find both their markers with
respect to their identity and to situate others like themselves with a common identity,
while accepting their differences.
Teachers have to make a particular effort as “the republican ideology tends to treat plurality of
cultures as a hindrance to the universal game of equality, especially when the cultures emerge in the
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public space” (p. 183). Legislation illustrates this position, as in an analysis by F. Lorcerie, via
an extract of regulations for civic, legal and social education (ECJS : Éducation civique,
juridique et sociale), in the chapter “Citizenship and integration” Fact sheet for teachers:
“Diversity of cultural traditions and shared culture.” The text cited also “attributes to
minority cultures alone the cultural stumbling blocks to democratic citizenship. Those linked to the main
prejudices and to xenophobia are not mentioned.”
Education contributes to democracy “if it helps to know about people’s rights and the national and
international instruments that protect them; if it leads to identifying ethnic, racist, national, religious
stereotypes, to understanding the hidden undercurrents (the phenomena of power and privilege) and how
to move away from them.”
The teachers’ task is all the more difficult given that the school, as a social framework,
is itself home to a logic of ethnicity, particularly when arising from ethnic segregation
in working-class urban areas. Pupils relegated to institutions that are as undermined as
their neighbourhood can join forces in “an oppositional ethicised culture (mobilising
ethnic symbols).”
What is the teacher training situation in this regard ? What help is given to the trainees ?
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2-2 - Intercultural teacher training

“The ‘intercultural’ question in teacher training is a sensitive issue” Maryse Hédibel

(2002) said in an article relating to her experience in IUFMs. In 1999, when she first
suggested such training courses, few were available, and those that did exist were
organised as options by Centres set up to deal with the issue in the school system, like
the CEFISEM (Centre de formation et d’information sur la scolarisation des enfants de
migrants/ Centre of training and information about immigrant children’s schooling) and
such optional courses were not all incorporated into the IUFM programmes as there
were not enough candidates. “The need to begin a debate on cultural diversity and difference does
not seem important (“why speak about that? The problem is not cultural, it’s social,” are frequently
heard comments).” (p. 208). However, no one was against her suggestion.
The author highlights the problem of representations which inspire practice and which
are underpinned by the idea that school is objective by nature - founded on “republican
values,” it “is supposed to give the same treatment to all pupils” - and that the problems
are linked to a certain category of pupil, namely the North Africans.
The same lessons can be drawn from an analysis of her experiences in IUFM as
education in schools (Beski-Chafiq, 2002).
Cultural and linguistic specificities are little known or not known at all and they give
rise to unease and a fear of violence and indiscipline. They are considered as obstacles
to learning rather than as resources that can be used by teachers and pupils.
Nonetheless, Hédibel notes the trainees’ interest in the issue, and finally, their passage
from astonishment to understanding when they start to think about their own
representations of others. One trainee secondary school teacher declared at the end of
the course: “Before passing the teachers’ entrance exam, I thought that France was an apartheid
country and that I would never be accepted because my name is Ahmed” (p. 208). Out of 460
students who passed the competitive entrance exam, only four were of North African
origin. Most young graduates are French and white, and have little knowledge of other
immigrant cultures, even though many have parents or grandparents from Poland or
Italy.
Based on discussions about their classroom experiences, the trainer gets them to think
through their pupils’ problems have according to the contradictions they may come
across, their sensitivity with respect to teachers’ attitudes that might appear demeaning,
which other immigrants may have experienced just as any other person who finds
themselves in a foreign land.
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“During these courses, we try to get them to think about what creates a distance with others through an
anthropological approach, ‘an approach that consists firstly of developing astonishment about what is
most familiar to us (something that we experience every day in the society we are born into) and to make
what is foreign to us more familiar […],’ (Laplantine, 1987, p. 28). To do this, it is vital to understand
the representations of the trainees, starting from their own questions at the beginning of the course to
allow them to adapt the information and the elements of discussion put forward to their initial questions.
At the end of the session, the participants begin to question their own identity, their own origins, the
relativity of their values and standards of behaviour and thus drew closer to their pupils, who often
appeared so different to them at the outset.” (p. 211).
All educational problems need time to be resolved, especially when we need to change
the representations, should these involve issues of identity or identification.
The newspaper, Le Monde, reported the findings from a study conducted by the
HALDE (Haute Autorité de lutte contre les discriminations et pour l’égalité), the High
Authority to fight discrimination and to promote equality, on 6 November 2008, about
the place of stereotypes and discrimination in school text books. The findings show the
visibility of minorities. 10% of the illustrations represent “a main non-white character” “who
could be considered as of North African or Middle Eastern origin.” The racist clichés inherited
from the colonial period have disappeared and have been replaced by an antiracist
discourse. Discrimination in this domain is denounced more frequently than
discrimination concerning other groups such as women, the disabled, senior citizens,
and homosexuals, who were also included in the survey.
Nonetheless, whether in terms of geography, life sciences or civic education, overseas
characters, particularly from the African continent, tend to project negative
representational factors such as poverty, illness, racial segregation or slavery, likely to
promote “a vision of inequality between Black and Whites, by maintaining an emotionally useless
register.”
The authors do not advocate keeping quiet about the truth, but rather, suggest putting
things in perspective with other images, such as “a very healthy-looking and smiling Massai
shepherd in the middle of his flocks, holding a mobile phone” in a history and geography textbook
by Magnard publications, for example. On the other hand, in another textbook, the same
editor publishes “the famished hand.”
Like the illustrations, the examples used can also lead to prejudice, like for example, a
“very French first name” for a little girl who did well at mathematics and the name of
Samira for the child who failed.
“Visible minorities often appear in school textbooks more like objects of debate than as characters on the
same level as the others,’ one English teacher noted” (Van Eeckhout, 2008, p. 3).
 119

More than in other areas, dealing with cultural differences is a sensitive issue. It is
easier and less expensive to give out teaching hours than to organise interactive training
courses in small groups. The repeal of the 1989 education orientation law and its main
objective to focus the system on the learner and develop links with partners who are the
other stakeholders in the education of young people outside school, parents, elected
representatives and associations, does not facilitate the adaptation necessary to raising
awareness of differences between pupils, whether cultural or otherwise.

REFERENCES : QUOTED TEXTS AND AUTHORS

Beski-Chafiq, C. (2002). Interculturalité, laïcité : comment préserver les valeurs démocratiques ?

Leçons d’une démarche de formation. In L'école et les cultures, VEI Enjeux, n° 129, juin
2002, p. 122-136 : http://www.cndp.fr/vei/
Chanet , J.-F. (1996). L’École républicaine et les petites patries. Paris, Aubier.
Conseil de l’Europe (1995. Tous différents, tous égaux. Kit pédagogique – Idées, ressources, méthodes et
activités pour l’éducation interculturelle informelle avec des adultes et des jeunes, Strasbourg,
Conseil de l’Europe, direction de la jeunesse.
Haut Conseil à l’intégration (HCI) (1998). Lutte contre les discriminations : faire respecter le principe
d’égalité, Paris, La Documentation française.
Hédibel, M. (2002). Les formations à l’interculturel en IUFM : sous les pavés, la plage… In L'école et
les cultures, VEI Enjeux, n° 129, juin 2002, p. 207-216 : http://www.cndp.fr/vei/
Langouët, G., Léger, A. (1994). Ecole publique ou école privée ? Trajectoires et réussites scolaires.
Postface de C. Lelièvre. Paris, Fabert, 1ère éd. Publidix-Nanterre, 1991.
Langouët, G., Léger, A. (1997). Le choix des familles. Ecole publique ou école privée ? Paris, Fabert.
Laplantine, F. (1987). Clés pour l’anthropologie. Paris, Seghers.
Lorcerie, F. (2000). La lutte contre les discriminations ou l’intégration requalifiée. In L'universel
républicain à l'épreuve. Discrimination, ethnicisation, ségrégation, VEI enjeux, n° 121 - juin
2000, p. ? : http://www.cndp.fr/vei/
Lorcerie, F. (2002). Education interculturelle : état des lieux. In L'école et les cultures, VEI Enjeux, n°
129, juin 2002, p. 170-189 : http://www.cndp.fr/vei/
Lorcerie, F. (2003). L’effet « outsider ». En quoi l’ethnicité est-elle un défi pour l’école ? In La
discrimination ethnique. Réalités et paradoxes, Revue Ville-Ecole-Intégration Enjeux, n°135,
déc 2003, p. 86-102 : http://www.cndp.fr/vei/
Lorcerie, F. (2003). L’école et le défi ethnique : éducation et intégration. Issy-les-Moulineaux, ESF ;
Saint-Fons, INRP, Actions sociales/Confrontations, 337 p.
Lorcerie, F. (2005). Quand l’islam revendique la laïcité. In Education et religion, Revue Ville –Ecole-
Intégration Diversité, n°142, sept 2005, p. 57-68 : http://www.cndp.fr/vei/
Maalouf, A. (1998). Les Identités meurtrières. Paris, Grasset Poche.
Pagé , M. (1993). Courants d’idées actuels en éducation des clientèles scolaires multiethniques, Québec,
Conseil supérieur de l’éducation, coll. Études et recherches.
 120

Queiroz de, J-M. (2001). Universalisme laïque et antipédagogisme. In L'école pour tous : quel avenir ?
VEI Enjeux, n° 127, décembre 2001, p. 195-202 : http://www.cndp.fr/vei/
Schnapper, D. (2000). L’universel républicain revisité. In L'universel républicain à l'épreuve.
Discrimination, ethnicisation, ségrégation, VEI Enjeux, n° 121, juin 2000, p. 10-22 :
http://www.cndp.fr/vei/
Schnapper, D. (1994). La Communauté des citoyens. Sur l’idée moderne de nation, « NRF/essais »,
Paris, Gallimard.
Van Eeckhout, L. (2008). Des manuels encore un peu trop blancs, Le Monde, 6 novembre 2008, p.
3.

OTHER REFERENCES

Felouzis, G., Liot, F., Perrotoni, J. (2005). L’apartheid scolaire: enquête sur la ségrégation ethnique
dans les collèges, Paris, Le Seuil, 233 p.
Weil, P. (2008). Liberté, égalité, discriminations. L'« identité nationale » au regard de l'histoire.
Paris, Grasset, 208 p.

ToR 10 – ASSESSMENT OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE

REGARDING THESE POINTS AND THE INTERNAL AND
EXTERNAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE IT

To develop comparisons between the different European systems, their strengths and
weaknesses need to be placed in their national contexts and vice versa. The same
criteria do not necessarily impact on each different level. In this section we look at the
factors that we have identified, which are subsequently illustrated through the case
studies presented in ToR 11. In our conclusion to ToR 10 and 11, we position ourselves
with regard to the final report on the 10 countries that took part in the DOCA project.
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1 – TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL PROGRAMMES, SELECTIVE

PROGRAMMES, SCHOOL SUCCESS FACTORS AND SOCIAL
INTEGRATION

1-1 – The results of professional and technical programmes

We already noted that the mediocre results of French pupils and students in relation to
the OECD rankings and comparative European studies (Research orientations, 2).
However, we also indicated that the assessment methods could be responsible to some
degree. It’s true that, as Gabriel Langouët pointed out (2008), many French researchers
tend to blame these average results on the calculation tool used. However, two clear
results from the PISA studies cannot be disputed. On the one hand, French pupils
consistently rank higher in knowledge restitution tests than in those which demonstrate
the ability to apply acquired knowledge (problem solving). It is this last type of test
which brings down the overall scores in France, and which points to a major weakness
in French teaching methods. The most successful countries are those whose education
systems are less complex than in France, and where all the pupils attend school as long
as possible with no selection system.
On the other hand, technical education, either in a general or a technology-based lycée,
or in a vocational lycée (secondary school which provides vocational training as well as
the more traditional core subjects) appears to be one of the French school system’s
strong points, and this is particularly apparent in the framework of our study for two
reasons. On the one hand, it helps the young population, which is mainly from more or
less disadvantaged backgrounds, to obtain good school results, offering the pupils
options they are unlikely to find elsewhere. On the other hand, it is the vocational
certificates rather than the general nature of the core subjects that unquestionably offer
better access to the job market. Finally, these programmes give the students the
possibility to go on to higher education, which could not have happened otherwise.
According to Jean-Louis Auduc (2008), a relatively large number of students
subsequently take up the opportunity to study at university.
Why don’t the statistics consider the integration of young people into higher education
via short programmes as a success factor, which in France is possible through
vocational programmes that pupils can join after successfully passing the baccalauréat,
the national exam that validates the end of secondary schooling, whether these diplomas
are prepared in a vocational lycée, in classes for training technicians (STS : section de
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techniciens supérieurs) with diplomas like the BTS, or in institutions outside the strict
confines of the university such as the technology-oriented higher education institutes
(IUT : Instituts universitaires de technologie) ?
While no one disputes the principle of access to university for all holders of the
baccalauréat, even holders of a general and technology-based baccalauréat, if not a
vocational baccalauréat, choose selective programmes that they feel focus more on the
acquisition of skills that foster access to the job market : pre-business school classes for
the Grandes Ecoles (9.2%), study programmes for senior technicians (STS, 19.3%),
other training programmes (8.9%), IUT (10.3%), in other words 47.7% in total, against
45% in university programmes excluding IUT (L’état de l’école (School state) 2007,
cited by Auduc, 2008, p. 99).
In ToR 11, we analyse a new policy that aims to help high school pupils in an
Education Action Zone (ZEP) to gain access to the most selective higher education
institutes (Case study 3).
This policy is criticized for giving help to the best pupils, who don’t need it as they will
succeed whatever happens, while it fails to provide support for those who need it the
most. The most recent issue of Cahiers pédagogiques (n° 467, November 2008)
explored the issue of “Success for all rather than for the meritocracy alone.” But why
take such a binary and ultimately simplistic point of view ?
In this report we leave to one side the “either…or” aspect. We believe that it is more
useful and more realistic, particularly in the competitive world of international
exchange, to aim to train both an elite from the widest possible recruitment pool and to
develop success for all. We feel that both are compatible and this is backed up by
several studies, including one that we present in ToR 11. On the one hand, as we will
see with respect to the orientation of pupils (2-1), the choices of the latter are linked to
their parents’ social ambitions. The immediate social circle of the majority of
“meritocratic” pupils would not encourage them to be as ambitious, and the training
they receive via tutoring from higher education students is crucial for most of them if
they are to attain the level of the elite institutions. In addition, the image of the lycée is
itself enhanced in the eyes of the users, parents and pupils, and the whole institution,
including both pupils and teachers, is drawn upwards by this initiative and by the notion
of a place of “excellence” in an area otherwise rejected by its “disadvantaged” nature.
We should not forget the symbolic effect of this measure, which, by making institutions
attractive which had previously been considered as schools for rejects, helps to combat
the “ghetto effect” criticism that is often levelled against ZEPs. “The main criticism of ZEPs
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is their tendency to develop a ghetto effect. In a way, the school transfers a geographical and social
reality that subsequently gives rise to segregation. No one wants to live in a trouble spot and no one
voluntarily chooses to go to school in a priority education area. A truly difficult area is also, and above
all, a symbolic area which reflects the disparaging image of its inhabitants as a place of rejection that they
cannot talk about with pride and that they reject in turn, often regretfully. Consequently, while the
poorest families cannot escape from the education offer available, the others get away as soon as they
can, choosing to put their children in other state institutions than those in the neighbourhood where they
live, or else in the private sector.” (Raynal, 2006, p. 3).
It is also possible to reassess technical education and its different programmes without
necessarily undermining the value of general education programmes.
While the percentage of job-seekers among young people aged between 20-24 who
have left education and have no higher education degrees is higher than average in
France compared to other EU countries, it appears that here again, educational options
in technical and vocational teaching programmes, and short higher education
programmes which can follow this, can help improve this situation.
On the other hand, the last report by the Economic and Social Council on the
integration of young people considers that inadequacies in school programmes impede
the integration of young people.

1-2 – Inadequacies in school programmes impede the integration of

young people

Compared to Germany, there is a twofold weakness in French school programmes,

whether general or technical, which prevents young people from gaining “cross-discipline
qualifications that would allow them to adapt to changes in the job market.” On the one hand, “the
trend focuses more on developing general degree programmes or programmes based on specific jobs
developed at a certain moment in time without any thought being given to future needs,” and on the
other hand “adaptation to industry needs is better provided by block release programmes.” Unlike
the German system which, “by the way it operates, is indissociable from the characteristics of the
job market,” and consequently “promotes vocational training” and ensures “enough jobs for young
people,” (Cf. Gautié, 2002). “The percentage of block release programmes in the education system
overall is particularly low in France and this partly explains the difficult transition between the education
system and the workplace. Rather than focusing on block release training, France has developed a system
of ‘assistance’ contracts and work placements for young people who have left the school system.”
In addition, “exchange programmes, particularly at European level (Erasmus, Leonardo, etc.), have led
to the development of student and apprentice mobility (…) and in this sense have been a real success.
However, they are highly selective and they fail to provide adequate reception facilities, making access to
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them extremely expensive. In addition, there is no automatic credit transfer system for the graduates.
Each case is specific, and rulings are made according to decisions taken by credit transfer committees
created specifically for the purpose with rulings on each specific case unless a prior agreement has been
drawn up between the two institutions that prepare for these diplomas. With respect to apprenticeship,
350 mobility grants were awarded to the Chambres de métiers et de l’artisanat (French chamber of trade
and crafts) in January 2008” (Dumont, 2008, p. 18).

1-3 – Support strategies for vocational and technical institutions and

teachers

1-3-1 – Do not blame the schools or ask them to manage what is beyond their
control

Academic results are not the only factor that impact on the situation of young job-
seekers as other economic and social factors and the dominant representations in the
workplace probably play an even greater role. Thus, we noted that while the number of
young graduates is growing, there has been a corresponding downgrading of academic
success with respect to access to jobs compared to the preceding generation. In
addition, integration is slower and more difficult for children from working class
families or with non-European immigrant background or from families in difficulty,
which have always made up the bulk of technical programme populations compared to
general education programmes (cf. Research orientations, 1 & 2).
The aim of the DOCA project is not to cover the factors linked to social changes.
However, we mention them in passing to show that, even when the school plays its role,
it cannot deal with all of the problems that are not directly related to it.
Numerous studies have shown that young people in France, including graduates, find it
more difficult to find a job, whether full-time or temp, than those from other European
countries. Moreover, young people from immigrant backgrounds come up against
specific problems of discrimination when looking for work. A report by the Conseil
économique et social (Economic and social council), published in July 2008, pointed to
an unemployment rate that is twice as high as for young people in general. It also noted
that “young people from working class neighbourhoods are victims of massive discrimination, mainly
related to their supposed or real origins, but based on no more than their address” (Fodé Sylla, cited
in Dumont, 2008, p. 17).
 125

To guarantee equal treatment for all applicants, article 25 of the “Equal opportunities”
law of 31 March 2006 recommended generalising the practice of anonymous CVs in
companies with over 50 employees, but no decree was ever published to set out how
this should be enforced. Some businesses and institutions have introduced such
measures, however. The Regional Council of Aquitaine has gone even further by
extending the initiative to all job vacancies (Tranchant, 2008) and the public sector
hopes to diversify its recruitment through an “equality charter” (Van Eeckhout, 2008).

Politicians remain the hard core of resistance in such matters with the lowest minority
representativeness. Only one “deputé” (Member of Parliament) on the metropolitan
France is non white. Diversity remains the government fiat. While the new president
has added some non-white members to his ministerial team, his party - and others - are
as timid in this field as in that concerning parity, preferring to pay fines rather than
place women in more responsible positions. In addition, despite the president’s
declarations of principle, social discrimination has been exacerbated by the reductions
in funding for the renovation plan for poor suburbs and education. Some of the reforms
in progress may also be included: “the reduction in legal requirements in terms of social diversity
in housing policies, the suppression of the carte scolaire” (the catchment area list of schools according
to where parents live and consequently where they are obliged to register their child at school), “the
refusal to generalise the 10% quota of students from all lycées nationwide, including overseas, to all
selective higher education programmes by law, and the stifling of urban renovation.” (Bernard, 2008).

As Marie Raynal wrote (2006), “In addition, not everything can come from the school. We also
need to question our capacity to rebuild towns that offer families decent housing, provide better links
between the different neighbourhoods and make towns a shared space, a city in the Greek sense of the
term. This is why municipal policies have a major responsibility in terms of education.” (p. 3-4).

1-3-2– Enhancing the role of vocational and technical programmes and teachers

The fact that short training programmes are not taken into account in the OECD
statistics (2006) indicates a certain degree of disdain for such programmes, as post-
baccalauréat vocational programmes are not included as part of the higher education
system in the same way as university programmes.
In France, teachers also bemoan the lack of recognition, which is unjustified given the
opportunities and the results that arise from these programmes.
“They often feel they are ignored, left on the sidelines, or even abandoned by the ministry responsible for
them (…). Pupils and their families don’t yet seem to have grasped the advantages that such
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technological and vocational courses from the industrial sector can offer, nor to have measured their
modernisation.
Vocational programmes chosen at around 15 years old by pupils who are not lagging behind now “offer
diverse opportunities : a vocation at CAP or BEP level, the possibility to continue studying to obtain a
vocational baccalauréat (46 specialities in 1993, and one baccalauréat (office management) alone
accounting for 50% of the total) or to join a technological programme to get a technological baccalauréat
and then a BTS or a DUT diploma” (2-year technology-based higher education diploma prepared in an
IUT). (Auduc, 2008, p.86).
We mentioned the importance of the symbolic effects of certain selective programmes,
whether short or long, technological and vocational, or preparatory classes for the
grandes écoles, in improving the image of an institution in the eyes of the public,
parents, pupils and all the school staff, even when located in a ZEP (cf. Raynal, 2006).
Vocational programmes lack such measures and/or such a ripple effect, which have a
certain impact no matter how many pupils involved. The very idea that the
term “excellence” can be coupled with the notion of a “trouble spot” calls social
representations into question, even if these take time to change. Researchers like Gérard
Chauveau have been insisting on this for a number of years (cf. Chauveau, 2000).

1-3-3– Ensure that the specialities offered square with the job market and the
pupils’ wishes

The economy is changing fast. Some jobs have disappeared while new ones have been
created. It is not simple to adapt vocational programmes to these changes, however, for
they require expensive materials that need to be constantly upgraded. In addition, the
teachers’ jobs cannot be axed and replaced from one day to the next. Management
problems are complex, even if the regions contribute considerably to financing their
lycées.
The disinvestment of the State that has accompanied decentralisation and does not
transfer the funding needed for the local authorities to carry out their new
responsibilities has reduced spending in this area as in others. The ANRU evaluation
committee (Agence nationale pour la rénovation urbaine/ National agency for urban
renewal), for example, produced a report denouncing the inadequate budgetary
resources of the suburbs revival programme that cannot be replaced by the nonetheless
considerable contributions from the local authorities (Bronner, 2008-1 and 2). Since the
last presidential elections, education has continually been presented as requiring too
much money in relation to its results, including by the public authorities. At the same
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time, however, the new government is accused of transferring proportionally more to

the private school sector than to the public sector (Fourest, 2008).
We have seen that the number of school drop outs is linked to the discouragement of
pupils who fail to get into the programmes they ask for and subsequently have to
change their plans (ToR 1, 2-2). In this case the problem of adapted education options is
linked less to the job market than to the applicants’ wishes. The same problem arises
with regard to the speed with which the education system can increase the number of
places in popular programmes and reduce or even axe those that are not. Nonetheless,
with respect to the choices of pupils, a major problem is the way in which teachers
guide pupils in their choices over the course of their schooling, and, at institutional
level, by the procedures in place in the 3ème class, just before children move on to the
upper secondary school.

2 – THE WEAKNESSES IN EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE ORIENTATION

2-1 - Weaknesses in guidance and orientation procedures

While technological and vocational programmes allow pupils to acquire diplomas

which they would not have had otherwise, as we already saw (ToR 1, 2-2), several
authors have noted that a key factor affecting dissafection from school is the way pupils
are helped to make crucial career choices in the 3ème class (15 year olds), which, on the
one hand, advise children to join short courses against their will, as they would prefer to
study longer and, on the other hand, advising weaker students to join vocational training
courses in lycées or apprenticeships liable to accept them. The reporters from the
Conseil économique and social sur l’insertion add that “the young people themselves find it
difficult to choose their programme and to decide on a vocation because they are asked to plan their
future when they are still too young. This leads to errors in the choices made and consequently the
reorientation of pupils that the school system fails to take sufficiently into consideration.” (Dumont,
2008, p. 19).
One factor leading to drop-out is therefore that they cannot join courses to prepare them
for jobs that interest them, and this reinforces the other factors that we have already
mentioned. “The impact of such ‘forced’ choices is all the more damaging in that certain programmes
correspond little to the needs of the workplace, and the French system fails to develop links between
employment and training, either in initial or in continuing education” (Dumont, 2008, p. 19).
Furthermore, systematic orientation to general secondary programmes, often through
parental pressure, also leads many pupils to give up once they realise that they do not
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want to continue long secondary studies with little vocational interest. This brings us to
the problem of reassessing the value of short academic programmes that are too
vocationally-focused and too undervalued in France.
Such short-sightedness works both ways. Sociologists from the IREDU (Institut de
Recherche sur l'EDUcation/ Education research institute) have long indicated that it is
not only the pupils’ school values that influence their career choices: “the families’
ambitions play a decisive role in the orientation chosen and schools reflect the degree of ambition of the
populations they take in.” (Auduc, 2008, p. 102).
In addition, in ToR 11, the case study on support given to secondary school pupils in a
ZEP by students from two French higher education schools, one a business school and
the other an engineering school, highlights the fact that these pupils, at the end of this
programme, begin to think about higher education programmes and careers that they
had never thought of before.
The latest report by the Conseil économique sur l’insertion des jeunes (Economic
Council for the integration of young people) confirms that this remains highly topical. It
also highlights the fact that “there are currently a large number of structures and staff who deal with
orientation (careers guidance and information centres, local careers centres, youth information centres,
etc.) but they seem to lack a global strategic vision. Young people and their families find it very difficult
not only to find their way around the labyrinth of the present system but do not all have Internet at home,
which can prove an additional handicap in terms of information, advice and enrolment.” (Dumont,
2008, p. 18).

2-2 – Support strategies for schools and teachers involved in careers

guidance

Given the weaknesses due to the dispersion of structures, “The need to create a real public
careers guidance service and to develop an effective management system for it justifies the recent
creation of an inter-ministerial careers guidance delegation.” (Dumont, 2008, p. 18). According to
the report by the Conseil économique et social, however, this is not enough:
“A crucial career guidance link between the initiatives set up by the national Education system (Mission
générale d’insertion/ General integration mission) and those young people can use when they leave the
school system is currently lacking. The absence of this link means that some young people miss out on all
forms of post-schooling careers advice, which should be available during the four stages that concern :
the choice of programme currently chosen by secondary school teachers, the successive choices under
study to define the acquisition of competencies corresponding to jobs and/or specific and growth areas, a
 129

professional perspective at the end of the school programme and before joining the workplace, and lastly,
re-orientation during an individual’s working life when certain problems arise.” (p. 19).
The report also suggests that “Given the multiplicity of actors responsible for orientation (CIO,
ANPE, local job centre counsellors, Chambers of Trade and Industry, PIJ, etc.), its coherence relies on
the professionalization of these actors. At present, they work in a relatively compartmentalized way and
each of them has a different field of expertise.”
In addition to training and developing internal partnerships (cf. ToR 5), we already
noted the problem of external partnerships in several of the topics covered; no
institution alone can resolve problems as complex as school failure, urban insecurity
and the high unemployment rate of young people (Goodlad, 1994; Sirotnik et Goodlad,
1988; Zay, 1995). We also pointed to the gradual conjunction of education and
municipal policies (ToR 3). After highlighting a major weakness in the French school
system which cuts through all the topics, namely its inability to take differences into
consideration, we will look at both the structural problems and an economic aspect
which calls into question the prevention and remediation policies drawn up, giving rise
to concerns about the failures rather than the advantages of decentralisation and the
sharing of responsibility and expertise between the State and the local authorities.

3 – THE INCAPACITY OF THE FRENCH SCHOOL SYSTEM TO TAKE

DIFFERENCES INTO CONSIDERATION

With respect to disaffection, like any other problem posed by pupils who do not fit into
the general norm, i.e. young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods or from ethnic
or religious minorities, recourse to violence, handicap, etc., the same weakness comes
up time and again : the inability of the school system to take differences into account
and the tendency to multiply the number of targeted initiatives rather than to try to
resolve difficulties at school when they arise within the normal school programme.
The result of this failure in the system as a whole is that pupils who come back to the
fold after joining an “rebound programme” tend to drop out again despite being re-
motivated to continue studying and returning to a secondary school class, considered by
researchers as the key success factor (ToR 1). At various moments, we noted that the
different teaching methods observed in specific programmes for pupils in difficulty
could be a welcome addition to the general curriculum (cf. Research orientations, ToR
1, ToR 3, ToR 5, ToR 6, ToR 8).
We are within the definition of inclusion by UNESCO (United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization) (2008) : « Inclusion is not about : reforms of special
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education alone, but reform of both the formal and non-formal education system; responding only to
diversity, but also improving the quality of education for all learners; special schools but perhaps
additional support to students within the regular school system; meeting the needs of children with
disabilities only; meeting one child’s needs at the expense of another child.” (p. 8). According to
UNESCO’s Guidelines for inclusion (2005), it is seen as : “a process of addressing and
responding to the diversity of needs of all learners through increasing participation in learning, cultures
and communities, and reducing exclusion within and from education […] Inclusion is concerned with
providing appropriate responses to the broad spectrum of learning needs in formal and non-formal
educational settings. Rather than being a marginal issue on how some learners can be integrated in
mainstream education, inclusive education is an approach that looks into how to transform education
systems and other learning environments in order to respond to the diversity of learners. It aims towards
enabling teachers and learners both to feel comfortable with diversity and to see it as a challenge and
enrichment of the learning environment, rather than a problem.” (p. 13 & 15).
The issues are raised by the great deal of supporting measures required to make the
process of integration successful : modifying the culture of teachers and other
educational personnel, modifying the premises, teacher training, human resources,
teaching materials, etc.). “ The main challenge with integration is that ‘mainstreaming’ had not been
accompanied by changes in the organisation of the ordinary school, its curriculum and teaching and
learning strategies. This lack of organisational change has proved to be one of the major barriers to the
implementation of inclusive education policies.” (Guidelines for inclusion, p. 9)
France is currently going through ambitious reforms and an reversal of what was
previously set up ten years earlier. There has been a steady stream of new decrees since
the new government came into power and this makes it virtually impossible to assess
the impact at present. No research results are available to date. In addition, our study
focuses on the measures taken with respect to social integration and support strategies
for schools and teachers rather than the French education system as a whole.
However, the changes introduced in the education system have led to a climate of crisis
that does not encourage teachers and other staff concerned to focus on pupils’ problems
– and even less on problem pupils – and, in addition, some of the new ministerial
regulations affect the sector of young people in difficulty directly. A headline in Le
Monde newspaper read “Support systems for pupils in difficulty are at the heart of the
conflict with Mr. Darcos,” (Minister of National Education) (Cédelle, 2008-3).
In this section (3-1), we therefore explore the main aspects of the reforms, then (3-2)
the reactions they have given rise to and, in the following section (4), we attempt to
analyse as far as is possible in the present unsettled climate, how they are positioned
compared to the contributions and weaknesses of the preceding policies. Finally, in
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ToR 11, we present case studies that assess the strategies of teachers and schools and
present alternative solutions, and we analyse the question of their transferability.

3-1 – What strategies do the new decrees offer schools and teachers ?

The election of a new president and the formation of a new government has led to
changes in primary and secondary school programmes.
The Education Code arising from the law of April 2005, based teaching on “a core
foundation of knowledge and skills.” It is organised into seven “pillars,” introduced by
the decree of 11 July 2006, two of which aim to develop
- Social and civic skills,
- Pupil autonomy and initiative
and five of which reform the previous programmes:
- Mastery of French,
- Skills in a foreign language
- Basic skills in maths and scientific and technological culture
- Mastery of basic IT (Information Technology) and communication techniques
- A humanistic culture.
“The requirements of a common foundation curriculum are intrinsically linked to assessment
requirements.” Intermediary stages are determined within the foundation curriculum.
“Schools must organise an adapted support system : supervised homework sessions, tutoring, access to
books, culture and Internet. Pupils with specific in order to acquire the learning set out for each stage are
offered tailored educational success programmes” (PPRE : Programme personnalisé de réussite
éducative). (Auduc, 2008, p. 41-43).
Since the beginning of the school year 2008, primary, maternal and elementary school
is organised around a 24-hour week with no more school on Saturday mornings. The
two hours thus “freed up” should be used to support the 15 % of pupils in difficulty in
various ways as decided by the individual schools.
The programmes drawn up in April 2007 were reviewed at the beginning of 2008 to
take this into account. Emphasis is laid on French and maths, in other words, “the core
skills.” At nursery school the focus is on organised oral and vocabulary language skills,
and, central to the programmes, “becoming a pupil.” (Auduc, 2008, p. 135-136).
The reforms appear to target the weaknesses that we identified in the French system. In
effect it targets excellence and democratisation for all, learning continuity, cross-
discipline approaches, revised assessment methods, diverse forms of success, the sense
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of the collective, a review of the discipline hierarchy and the end of repeating classes as
practiced at present. (Auduc, 2008, p. 44-52).
However, of the reforms application has been highly criticised by the staff concerned
and some researchers as they are said to accentuate all the prior weaknesses, worsening
the situation of pupils in difficulty, particularly as they have been accompanied by a
drastic reduction in education funding, teaching posts and the availability of some
teachers who carry out all or part of their work in associations, which could close
without them.

3-2 – How will the decrees be applied by the social actors concerned ?

3-2-1 – In the education system

With respect to problem neighbourhoods and sectors specialised in supporting pupils in

difficulty, and in similar vein to what happened concerning the renovation of the
troubled French suburbs (Bronner, 2008-1 et 2), the minister responsible is accused of
failing to keep his promises. When he announced the reforms to the primary sector in
October 2007, the Minister of National Education promised to “pull out all the stops” to
“reduce failure at primary school by three” between now and the end of his mandate. Of
the 13,500 jobs that the minister planned to axe at the beginning of the academic year
2009, 3000 (from a total of 11,000) would be made in the RASED (Réseaux d’Aide aux
Elèves en Difficulté : Support networks for pupils in difficulty) and the specialised
teachers would be reassigned to normal classes. The latter worked with small groups of
pupils in several schools alongside the class teacher and during school time. “According
to the Minister, the two hours a week of individual help for pupils in difficulty delivered by the teachers
and made possible by stopping Saturday morning school, would make the RASED unnecessary.(…)
However, the professionals consider that the new tailored support schemes cannot replace the
intervention of specialised staff (…). Our strength lies in the complementary approaches (…)
The plan to axe the RASED was one of the reasons that the main primary school unions called its
members out on strike on November 20, 2008.” (Cédelle, 2008-2).
The Minister backed up his arguments with statistics to prove that the reduction in the
overall number of pupils justified reductions in school support jobs. However, the
teachers demonstrated with their own figures that dividing the overall number of pupils
by the overall number of teachers did not give a valid calculation as the situation is
more complex depending on the classes, the programmes and the options. In secondary
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schools, there is an average of 27.8 pupils per class and in seconde (16/17 year olds), an
average of 31 pupils.
The Minister accused the teaching opposition of reflecting corporatist interests and
insisted that the French people were behind him. His reforms were effectively
welcomed by the “députés”, the members of Parliament from the majority party in the
French National Assembly.
However, the Minister does not appear to be very confident in his popularity as he fails
to attend meetings with local councillors which concern him, and did not go to the last
“Salon de l’Education”, Education Fair, which his predecessors have always attended
(Cédelle, 2008-3).
In addition, teachers are not as isolated as he claims. Secondary school pupils, who,
although young, are also French, took to the streets in large numbers to defend their
teachers’ jobs during demonstrations that lasted several days. (Rollot, 2008). At the
same time, the main parents association (the FCPE : Fédération des Conseils de
Parents d’Elèves) joined the militants from Crap-Cahiers Pédagogiques, Education &
Devenir and the Ligue de l’enseignement to sign and disseminate a petition entitled
“Réforme du lycée : un essai bloqué” (Lycée reforms : a gridlocked trial) on 6
December 2008.
With respect to young people in difficulty, all our analyses in the preceding topics and
the case studies that we will present in ToR 11 indicate both the need for partnerships
between specialised staff and teachers and group work that involves the entire class,
rather than initiatives that isolate those in difficulty as well as the teacher assigned to
work with them. In the light of these findings, the Minister’s argument that the work
conducted by the RASED can be replaced by support schemes scheduled on Saturday
mornings appears to be intrinsically flawed (cf. Zay, 1998, 1999, 2005-1 and 2).
In both the reforms to the baccalauréat and those of the primary school, the Minister is
suspected of being driven by economic reasons, while both the working methods and
the new programmes are equally controversial. The reforms to the primary section give
rise to protests that can be compared to the profession’s outcry provoked in 2006 by the
preceding Minister regarding reading. “Only the “anti-pedagogy” fringe, in other words
a minority, approve of them.” (Cédelle, 2008-1).
With respect to reading, both specialists, considered by the Minister as being over-
pedantic, and other observers, such as Michel Fayol, are concerned by the introduction,
before the age of six in nursery school, of activities which previously began after the
age of compulsory schooling, which is already early in France compared to other
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countries. For Jean-Emile Gombert, development psychologist, this highlights a

“worrying ignorance of the learning capacity of young children,” and the linguist, Alain
Bentilola, spoke of “a wholly regrettable mistake” (Cédelle, 2008-2).
Researchers as reputed in France as Antoine Prost have spoken about a “pedagogic
Munich” and raised the question: “In an atmosphere of general complicity, Xavier Darcos wants to
do away with two hours of class at school. How can we learn better by working less ?” “Mr. Darcos
insists that ‘we remain well above average among countries which obtain the best performances’. But if
they succeed, it’s because they spread the school hours over a whole week. As everyone knows, twenty
four hours over six days are far more effective than over four. From Professor Debré to Doctor Hubert
Montagner, doctors have repeatedly argued that six hours of schooling for children under eight years old
is too much to be effective.” In France, “this makes fewer than 140 days of school a year. Japan has
210, Italy and Denmark have 200, Finland has 188, and the UK has 190. And we complain about the
level of French children ? There is only one really important thing in education : the work of the pupils.
With what miracle, what magic potion does Mr. Darcos expect to compensate for the amputations he has
decreed ?” Wednesdays could have been used instead of Saturday mornings, “an
administrative tribunal has just ruled that it is compatible with catechism.” Or else generalise “what
was accepted in the departments which adopted the 4-day week : shorten the holidays a little. Not at all:
we get rid of these extra days. The principles which govern us are not stingy … The proof ? This
measure adds nothing to the budget; it is a pure gift.” (Prost, 2008).
The author sees two consequences of this policy which he considers to be poorly
thought through:
- there will be even more pupils incapable of following in the first year of
secondary school;
- parents who have the necessary cultural and materiel resources will know how
to compensate but the working classes will find themselves at an even greater
disadvantage.
One of the authors of the preceding primary school programmes reforms, Philippe
Joutard, former Chief Education Officer and president of the expert committee for the
2002 primary school programmes, reiterates this analysis of the initiatives and content.
He considers the new programmes to be “unfeasible; the number of hours have been reduced and
the workload has increased (…), and the reduction to four days a week instead of four and a half with a
faster pace of work will exhaust young children and consequently exacerbate the situation (…) The risk
of increasing school failure is therefore very real and will widen the inequality gap.”
“I would suggest that you read the programmes for 2002, especially the preface to the 2003-2004 edition
where it clearly states that the main priority is to master the French language. Isn’t this the core
foundation? But I think that the 2008 programmes have confused the goals and the means. The objectives
are to be able to express oneself clearly, to read, to understand different types of texts, and to know how
to write : spelling, grammar and vocabulary serve these objectives and not the contrary. Knowing how
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the rule of 3 works is fine, but if you don’t know how to apply it to solve a problem, it’s of little use.
“(CRAP-Cahiers pédagogiques, 2008).

3-2-2 – In teacher training programmes

The reform to teacher training programmes, scheduled to come into force in 2010, has
led to fierce criticism and similar protest movements to those in the primary and
secondary school sector. It is difficult to provide a clear assessment of the situation as
the previous system, which was changed by the LRU law (Liberté et Responsabilité des
Universités : Liberty and Responsibility of Universities) in 2007, is again being
changed and the present situation is not yet stable.
Below is a brief outline of the situation to date.
The 1989 Education Orientation law was drawn up to bring recruitment and training
conditions of primary and secondary school teachers into line. All potential students
must now have at least a Bachelor undergraduate degree. This has given primary school
teachers (or “professeurs des écoles”, formerly known as “instituteurs”) the same
public sector index and thus the same salary as collège and lycée teachers in the
secondary school sector. All are trained in the same higher education teacher training
institutions, the IUFM (Institut universitaire de formation des maîtres), which was
absorbed into the university system in 2007.
At present, candidates for teachers’ training college have two options : they can either
pass the admission exams for the first year of the IUFM and prepare the entrance exam
to join the second year of the professional training programme, when they have the
status of trainee teacher and earn a salary, or they can apply to sit the external entrance
exam for primary teachers at graduate level for the first level or to sit the CAPES
(Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de l’enseignement du second degré/ National
competitive examination to recruit teachers in secondary schools : collèges and lycées),
CAPET (Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de l’enseignement technique/ in a lycée
technique), CAPEPS (Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de l’éducation physique et
sportive/ in physical education and sports), CAPLP (Certificat d’aptitude au
professorat de lycée professionnel 2ème grade/ in a vocational secondary school).
Graduates who have completed the first year of a Master degree, equivalent to the
former maîtrise, are eligible to apply to sit the “aggregation”, a national competitive
examination, the highest level to teach in secondary school.
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In the first year of the IUFM, teacher training institutions, the students alternate
theoretical courses and placements in classes with teachers who have qualified either
through locally-organised competitive exams to become teacher trainers (MF : maîtres
formateurs) in primary schools or via selection by the IA-IPR (Inspecteur d’académie-
Inspecteur pédagogique regional : Chief education officer - Inspector of secondary
school in an “académie” (a Regional Education Authority) for education advisers in
secondary schools. In the second year, they do a “responsibility” teaching practice alone
in a class, supported by education advisors or teacher trainers. These placements give
the normal class teachers time to join professional training courses.
At the end of the second year, the trainee teachers are awarded teacher status by an
examination board made up of inspectors of schools and chaired by the Chief Education
Officer who takes into account their teacher training programme validation.
Since the decree of 19 December 2006, the new teachers, whether primary or secondary
school teachers are monitored for four weeks during their first year in the job and for
two weeks the following year. The Chief Education Officer is responsible for
organising the supervision process (Auduc, 2008, p. 342-347).
The reform brings teacher training and recruitment into line with that of other European
countries and/or the OECD. Recruitment takes place five years after the “baccalauréat”
(Master degree or equivalent). Applicants take the entrance exam during their 5th year.
Holders of any Master’s degree or equivalent in Law, Economics, etc. are eligible to sit
the teacher’s competitive entrance exam while preparing their Master finals, although
the regulations do not specify what the professional training involves after this.
Criticism generally focuses on this point.
Future teachers will not study for a teaching degree but for a university degree or
equivalent, which will be in another type of higher education institution such as a
business school, for example. French university departments that deliver degrees
corresponding to taught disciplines, i.e. Literature, History, etc. do not provide
professional training. How will this be organised ? Everything will depend on the type
of organisation that the university departments choose, with or without the
collaboration of IUFM teachers. The IUFMs will not close but will be absorbed into the
university structure like other institutions such as the IUT.
What is the situation for primary school teachers who have to teach seven disciplines?
Collaborative Master degree programmes will be designed and will include professional
training, but there is no guarantee that candidates will choose this option. They may
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well prefer to focus on their final Master degree exams that they registered for in the
first year, which include no preparation for teaching.
In addition, the suppression of the “responsibility” teaching practice, which formed the
main element of the IUFM second year, reduces in service training opportunities for the
teachers.
Specialists, researchers and practitioners have voiced widespread disapproval,
publishing articles with titles such as: “The teachers’ Saint-Barthélemy,” with the sub-
title: “The suppression of teacher training colleges (IUFM) will do away with most
professional training of teachers.” They argue against the competitive entrance exam in
the middle of the 5th year of a Master degree: “some aspects of professional training will be
taught between February and June and the fledgling teachers will take up their posts from the following
school year, with a simple ‘mentoring’ system by experienced teachers. By postponing their entry into
the school system by one year, the State will make substantial savings on wages. It will gradually transfer
responsibility for teacher training to university entities and could rapidly close the IUFMs more or less
everywhere.” (Auduc et al., 2008).
Apart from the risk that universities refocus training on specific disciplines, with the
subsequent problems for future primary school teachers who must teach several
subjects, the authors note that the longer study time will reduce the number of students
from families with limited resources. In the event of insufficient teachers, part-time and
untrained stand-in teachers will have to be brought in.
Teachers from vocational lycées, who, as we already saw, represent a key success factor
in motivating young people likely to drop out, “have, notably and once again, been left
out of the picture,” due to the lack of Master programmes in their specialities. However,
some of them, particularly in teacher training colleges, see this as an opportunity for
trainers and professionals alike to create Master degrees adapted to the needs of the
field, unlike university taught disciplines.
Lastly, the protesters believe that “post-graduate recruitment by competitive exam five
years after the “baccalauréat” will preclude the development of solid sandwich training
programmes and a good professional grounding before entering the workplace. We
already noted (1-2) that this weakness is considered as the main handicap of the French
school system with respect to social integration compared to Germany.
The authors don’t deny that there are weaknesses in the present IUFM training
programmes and they put forward solutions. In conclusion, they highlight a flaw that
we will introduce in the following (4). “We cannot prepare the future without knowing about the
inheritance of the past and the players of the present! There is a high risk that we pay for our errors today
by irrepressible turmoil and unrest at school.” These fears have already been expressed with
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respect to disadvantaged neighbourhoods and all the services which will no longer be
available due to the unfinished nature of the planned improvements and renewal of the
suburbs.
In the absence of research studies and on the basis of testimonials from practitioners
and researchers, the provisional conclusions regarding the reforms undertaken in France
is that they risk exacerbating both the poor results of the pupils, and thus the failure of
social integration, as well as the lack of support initiatives for young people in difficulty
and teachers, in a social climate that is demotivating for one and all.

4 –THE LACK OF MEMORY IN THE SYSTEM AND OF CONTINUITY IN

POLICIES

France, a Latin country, has inherited the Roman tradition of written legislation, which
it tends to overuse. As we saw with respect to secular matters, the law may clarify a
confusing situation and impose rules that reduce conflict, like the law regarding the
Islamic head-scarf, for example (ToR 4, 1). However, the law cannot be a substitute for
adaptation and regulations concerning everyday practices. Law-makers could draw
lessons from these. Information feedback to the ministry, which continues to centralise
decisions, is poorly managed. Not enough time is given to assessing the effects of the
reforms introduced before new ones are created. Due to lack of evaluation and
information feedback to the deciders, there tends to be an accumulation of specific
measures and a lack of resources to support those which could provide the most
effective solutions. The shortcomings in the national education system combine with
overlapping problems in other areas.
Thus, as we saw, the ANRU (Agence nationale pour la rénovation urbaine : National
agency for social renovation) assessment committee produced a report denouncing the
inadequacy of the financial resources for the urban renovation plan, which the
nonetheless considerable contributions from the local authorities cannot make up
(Bronner, 2008-1). Already, social players and researchers alike are highly concerned
by an increasingly likely social explosion. Yazid Sabeg, President of the ANRU, called
the government’s policy in difficult neighbourhoods a “succession of avatars.” The
State’s disengagement affects the whole social fabric, not only in the housing sector but
“access to transport, educative, and the redistribution of wealth between local authorities (…). The
resulting social meltdown constitutes a real public order problem. In this respect, we have failed to draw
lessons from the riots of 2005. Local relegation, the spatial separation of communities, difficulties in
 139

gaining access to fundamental rights such as education or employment, and the transmission of inequality
to several generations has reached intolerable proportions. With the invisibility of minorities in the area
of representation, there will be a revolt on the French scene. We cannot say to young people in a
neighbourhood ‘we have a plan’ and then go back on our promise.” (Bronner, 2008-2).
Our analysis of the current reforms seems to point to a particularly acute phase of
relapse in the age-old French defect of lack of memory and discontinuity of policies.

5 – ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

The pessimistic conclusions that we have just drawn may lead us to question the
solutions needed by an education system that appears to be poorly managed.
Nonetheless, alternatives solutions have always existed, based on initiatives introduced
by social players, which correspond to those put forward by present research with
respect to each topic. When policies are in place to support them, they develop and
spread throughout the system, for those who wish to innovate have more resources to
do so and are helped by the school and social climate. In periods of recession, they live
on in a few more small pockets than before.
One factor which has changed over the last twenty years is that the effects of
decentralisation have introduced opposition forces that challenge the central decisions.
We cannot go into these issues in depth as they do not directly concern our report, but
we should keep this factor in mind when we analyse the French situation. Even if the
State changes its policy and its emanations as represented by the local education
authorities in the regions, even if the regional and local communities complain about
having far less power than their colleagues abroad and the transfer of State credits is far
less than the money needed to manage all the work it is expected to do, they can
nonetheless develop their own, more continuous policies in the regions, the departments
and the urban areas (cf. Zay, 2002).
According to Claudy Lebreton, President of the Assemblée des départements de France,
“the local communities provide almost 75% of the nation’s public investments”
(Lebreton, 2008). Since the municipal and cantonal elections of March 9 and 16 in
2008, which supplemented the regional elections of 2004, the socialist party has
managed almost all the metropolitan area (with only two exceptions), almost two thirds
of the departments, and 14 of the 20 largest towns. (Andréani, 2008). Following the
urban community and municipal elections, the left governed 2/3 of all urban areas in
France, in other words 12 urban communities (conurbations with over 50, 000
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inhabitants built around one or several town-centres of 15,000 inhabitants) out of a total
of 14 (Ternisien, 2008).
Even if the State credits to the regions fail to match the outgoings sent to the local
representatives, there is still some room for manoeuvre which allows all scenarios to be
envisaged.
The four case studies introduced in ToR 11 show these in a single regional education
authority, the Nord Pas-de-Calais, one of the largest in France, which organised all the
national experiments.
The research carried out by Maryan Lemoine, PhD student in Education and
coordinator for the “Démission impossible” scheme, Michèle Guigue, Professor, and
Bernadette Tillard, Senior Lecturer, all members of the PROFEOR-CIREL research
team at Lille 3 University, on an initiative designed to prevent pupils from dropping out
of the education system, illustrates the strategies taken at regional and local level in the
Pas-de-Calais “département”, which referred to by Regional and Local Education
Authority, and even national level (in reports by the National Education Chief
Inspectors of Schools) and which complement a national policy in secondary schools
(collèges).
The research by Cécile Carra, Senior Lecturer at the IUFM in the Nord Pas-de-Calais,
CESDIP-CNRS national research team, Head of the Research Centre RECIFES,
University of Artois, focuses on violence between pupils in all primary schools in the
Nord “department”, whatever their orientations with respect to national and local
strategies. This enabled comparisons to be made between the choice made by
institutions with respect to them.
The doctoral thesis by Graciela Padoani David, PhD in Educational Sciences,
PROFEOR-CIREL and ESCIP International Business School, analyses the effects of
the last ministerial policy regarding socio-economically deprived areas to foster access
to these élite higher education institutions via agreements between the higher education
institutions and secondary schools (lycées) in ZEPs, through a case study on
collaboration. The ministry ratified the initiatives taken by two “Grandes Ecoles”.
The research conducted by Yves Reuter, Professor, Head of the THEODILE-CIREL
research team, presents a detailed assessment of five years work on the effects of the
policies introduced by a team of teachers in a primary school which applied the Freinet
teaching methods, notwithstanding the powers in place.

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 141

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professionnelles dans les établissements de banlieue, Paris, La Dispute.
Zakhartchouk J.-M. 2002), Enseignant: un métier à réinventer. Former les citoyens de demain, Barret-
sur-Méouge, Yves Michel (Acteurs sociaux).

ToR 11 – SELECTED INNOVATIVE AND SUCCESSFUL

PROJECTS OR CASE-STUDIES THAT HAVE PROVED
SUCCESSFUL AT SCHOOL, LOCAL, REGIONAL OR NATIONAL
LEVEL

INTRODUCTION

The four ToR 11 case studies may be placed in a specific French context, characterised
by:
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- an upheaval in the national education political climate that tends towards a

repressive neoliberal option rather than a preventive one, laying responsibility
for problems at the door of social players, the school, the family, etc.;
- the continuity of local policies linked to decentralisation which reinforces the
opposition in bodies that make up the elected regional, “général” (départements)
and municipal council representatives that are mainly in the hands of the
opposition.
Regarding the first point, as Cécile Carra noted in the case study on the fight against
violence in primary schools in the Nord department of France, “the negative sanction
has been set out as a necessity in the fight against violence in the school environment”
and “is in line with a widely publicised ministerial policy.”
The continuity of the territorial policy is well-illustrated by the case study describing
the initiatives aiming to prevent school drop-out in the collèges in the Pas-de-Calais
“département” (Lemoine, Guigue, Tillard).
In Tor 11, the nine preceding topics are approached firstly from the perspective of the
implementation of ministerial policies or alternatives that appear better adapted in the
same local environment by those who are in contact with pupils and their families. They
explain how, in the face of the problems they have to deal with, schools and teachers
use the support strategies that national, regional or local authorities offer them, and how
they choose others themselves.
Each case study is written by one or more specialists on the question and they illustrate
directly just one theme or other, related, themes. However, they also indirectly overlap
the other issues, since the problems posed by the social integration of young people are
inter-dependent, as we have seen throughout the report.
Thus, the first case study (Lemoine, Guigue, Tillard), dedicated to the social integration
of young “drop-outs’ or those who are likely to drop-out from collèges in a
“départment”, incorporate the ToR 1 (drop-outs), 7 (likely drop-outs), 5 (support
measures for teachers working in such schools) and they touch on ToR 2, because the
disaffected young people find themselves in institutions affected by other social
exclusion indicators, 3, because they are mostly in schools in socio-economically
deprived areas, 4 and 9, because the areas themselves are places that house large
populations from immigrant backgrounds, 6, because the geographical map of these
areas overlaps with that of schools subject to the problems of harassment and bullying
(cf. ToR 3, 1).
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The second case study (Reuter) focuses on the fight against school failure in primary,
that in France includes nursery, two schools located in REP (Réseau d’éducation
prioritaire, an extended ZEP, education action area), in other words, in socio-
economically deprived area (ToR 3). Its main interest lies in showing how a school
team, united by a same ideal and choosing one another in line with their pedagogical
choices which shape the work they do with respect to the pupils as much as with
outside partners, families, elected representatives and school authorities or others, can
resolve the problems described in the different topics regarding the school populations
considered as difficult, whatever criteria are taken into consideration.
The third case study (Padoani David) also focuses on a strategy that addresses socio-
economically deprived areas (ToR 3). She illustrates a national policy that has been
designed to raise the level of lycées in ZEPs/REPs which have drawn up an agreement
with a number of Grandes Ecoles, enabling their best pupils, chosen for their good
school results, to benefit from the elite training programmes offered by the higher
education institutions renowned for their excellence. Here, the ministerial measures
have ratified the initiatives taken by two Grandes Ecoles in Paris, the Institut d’Etudes
Politiques (IEP : Institute of Political Studies), formerly known as “Sciences Po.”
(Sciences Politiques : Political Studies), and the Ecole Supérieure de Sciences
Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC), a business school. The assessment of the way
this initiative has worked, illustrates both the spinoff effects for the pupils and for the
entire secondary school in question and the interest of drawing from this policy for all
other pupils in difficulty or lacking motivation.
The fourth case study (Carra) focuses on strategies by schools and teachers in a
department’s primary schools to deal with violence (ToR 6), but it also illustrates the
decisive role played by the school team in ensuring that the solutions introduced are
effective. In effect, she explicitly aims to “review the involvement – or not – of teachers in the
institutional schemes already in place, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the weight and the role of
institutional recommendations on professional practices.”

1 - “DÉMISSION IMPOSSIBLE” (IMPOSSIBLE RESIGNATION) : A SCHEME

DESIGNED FOR PUPILS IN DIFFICULTY TO SUPPORT THE WORK
CONDUCTED BY PROFESSIONALS

Maryan Lemoine, PhD student, coordinator in “Démission impossible” scheme,

PROFÉOR- CIREL, Educational Sciences, University Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 ;
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Michèle Guigue, Professor, PROFÉOR-CIREL, Educational Sciences, University

Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 ;
Bernadette Tillard, Senior Lecturer
PROFÉOR-CIREL, Educational Sciences, University Charles de Gaulle Lille 3

France has a highly centralized governance system as does the French school system as
a whole. However, since the 1980s, there has been a clear shift, and school policies
have changed in line with general laws on decentralisation, paving the way for regional
and sector-based differentiation, in particular with the introduction of compensatory
initiatives such as ZEPs or changes to accounting practice that have opened the way for
global budgetary grants to be allocated to individual institutions, facilitating numerous
local initiatives. In this context, several initiatives have been developed to combat
learning difficulties and school failure and, more recently, disaffection from school. A
one-size-fit-all education system fails to address the diversity of pupils and the French
school system, heir to an egalitarian principle, has failed to acknowledge the “specific
educational needs”1 of a small percentage of pupils.
In this section, we are going to present one of these initiatives, “Démission Impossible,”
which was designed and implemented in the Pas-de-Calais for collège level pupils (11-
15 year olds).2
We begin by explaining its origins and analysing how it works, in other words the
personalised and negotiated educational measures that it gives rise to. We will then
illustrate its scope with some key figures. Finally, we will show how the scheme is
organized, particularly on a day-to-day basis, and how measures and practices that it
generates impact on the sector professionals, leading to repercussions that were not
initially forecast. “Démission Impossible” provides help and support for professionals in
areas where the conditions of everyday life are particularly difficult. It also contributes
to supporting change in the work of teachers at collège, and provides training for
professionals who wish to get involved in these iniatives.

1 This expression covers the very different realties from one country to another. It has also given rise to
statistical evaluations drawn up by the OECD. For example, this category concerns over 17% of young
Finnish pupils, but only 3.54 % of French pupils.
2 This presentation is based on research developed by the Observatoire de l’enfance en danger (ONED/
Observatory for children at risk) : Guigue M. (dir) (2008). Des jeunes de 14 à 16 ans "incasables"? 2 2
Itinéraire de jeunes aux marges du collège, ONED report, with the participation of Delphine Bruggeman,
Maryan Lemoine, Éric Lesur and Bernadette Tillard.
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1-1 – “Démission impossible” (impossible resignation) : an initiative

designed to support pupils in a precarious situation

1- 1-1 - The origins of “Démission Impossible” (Impossible resignation)

The initiative was first introduced in 1992. The date highlighted the articulation
between national policies and local initiatives. In 1991, the so-called “CPPN” and
“CPA” classes, which aimed to prepare pupils in difficulty for a more professional
environment, were disbanded. In a highly working class area, the “Inspecteur
d’académie” (IA), Chief education officer responsible for the “département” of Pas de
Calais in the “académie” of Lille, wished to address the concerns and warnings from
actors in the field, school heads and teachers. Alternative schemes were required to
continue to support pupils who had become marginalised or who had distanced
themselves from school in a more radical way. In this context, it seemed crucial to
develop a form of schooling that would give children aged 14 and over a means to
discover the world of work and its different vocational options.

This led to the creation of a first link between three institutions : the IA, the Chamber of
Trade, and the departmental labour, employment and training service. This partnership
signalled the determination to develop close ties between the school and the world of
work and industry.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the idea of supporting this partnership was considered
highly original and even unconventional in view of the prevailing concepts, particularly
those of school professionals, but it corresponded to the feeling that a relatively high
proportion of pupils aged between 14 and 16 had got nothing, or no longer got
anything, out of a traditional school programme. These pupils use various means to
display their disaffection, some rejecting school entirely and at times vehemently by
disturbing the classes. The youngsters and their families also tend to be relatively
fatalist, often deeply affected by unemployment and precariousness. The initiative also
enabled the school system and its stakeholders to recognise the capacity these young
people had to take on a certain number of commitments and responsibilities. Some of
them already had such responsibilities that were deeply embedded in their daily lives
but were not recognised at school. For their part, the departmental labour, employment
and professional training services noted the lack of collaboration between those in
charge of education and SMEs and industrial networks. This led to a search for “a
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sandwich-type training scheme that would give the pupils responsibility, and raise their
awareness to the need for a general basic education if they were to successfully
complete their vocational training, at the same time helping them “define a career
project.”3

The initiative took a departmental turn and, after a few years, it became wholly
“institutionalised.” It is now a specific feature of the Pas-de-Calais, referred to by the
Institution at departmental, academic, and even national level.4 Its specificity has
become a benchmark of sorts that the players in the field and their partners often refer
to.5 Its name has been extended to: “Parcours relais - Démission Impossible,”
(Rebound programme – impossible resignation) since the beginning of the 2008 school
year, so as to place it within the global strategy of the national outreach programme or
initiative framework concerning difficulties at school.

1-1-2 - How does “Démission Impossible” work ?

From the institutional perspective

A teacher, who is a full-time project leader and one of the initiators of the Démission
Impossible initiative in her collège of origin, was given the task of managing a team of
project coordinators. The team is made up of teachers who continue their traditional
teaching activity part-time, and the rest of the time, they manage a large district in
which they go where they are needed, either to help other professionals identify difficult
situations and design prevention or support measures, or to talk to young people (and
their parents), help them draw up a tailored programme, and then monitor and support
their progress.

The initiative is designed for three quite different categories of young people. The
majority are simply going through a bad patch. One or two meetings with the pupils are
generally enough to put them back on track more or less successfully and without major
disturbance. For others, the dropping out process has gone further with truancy,
disturbance in class, repeated provocation, verbal or physical violence, or being

3 Citations from the internal presentation for the initiative drawn up in 1998.
4 Diverse institutional presentations, particularly the IA (School inspectorate) website, and reports by the
National Education Chief Inspectors of Schools.
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physically present but refusing to participate, having no school materials, waiting for
the bell, and abandoning all pretence of work. Changing class, personalised support,
and, in particular, finding a work placement, can help the pupil to get back on track by
allowing them to find a vocation that interests them.6

The third group concerns pupils who have dropped out completely. Some have been
expelled for serious incidents (violence, theft, racketing…) with regard to the other
pupils or sometimes the school staff, and a new school has to be found for them. Others
are pupils who have dropped out and need to be brought back into the fold. This might
involve numerous interviews and meetings with the young person in question, their
parents, school staff, and professionals from outside the school (social, legal,
integration services and employers), sometimes in a one-to-one situation and at other
times in groups, in order to promote interaction and operational projects.

An agreement may be drawn defining the aims and the implementation plans, and this
is signed jointly by the young person in question, their parents, the collège, the
employer who takes them for a work placement and the Regional Education Authority.
This legal measure is in fact exceptional as only a few pupils per school sign this type
of placement agreement. For the others, either this type of project does not correspond
to their needs, or the meetings have led to new efforts being made.

In terms of the pupils :

Each case is specific. Like the members of their family, the young people — at least 14
years old — are encouraged to talk and are listened to. They get support in developing
their programme, gradually get involved in the project and find out about the different
options. They are encouraged to take the initiative and are given responsibility for
finding a work placement, making the travel arrangements and respecting a complex
timetable… The young person can opt into or out of the agreement at any time.

The pupils are seen and helped at the school they are affiliated to. Their collège remains
responsible and the preferred solution is to get them to return to their class of origin.

5 Framework agreement with the PJJ, Special young offenders service at the Ministry of Justice, the
Maisons Familiales Rurales (Training centres for young apprentices), and initiatives developed with
local social services.
6 This practice is widely encouraged, as indicated by the decree n°2003-812 of the 26 August 2003
relative to reception facilities for pupils under 16 years old in the world of work, as authorised by article
1: “visits for information purposes, observation, induction and application placements or training
periods,” in work situations or training institutions.
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This avoids the creation of ghetto-like classes where the only common ground between
the pupils is that they are in difficulty.

Lastly, the involvement of the families at the outset and throughout the reintegration
process means that they see their child in a new light rather than simply as a person in
difficulty, or as someone who creates difficulties. This helps encourage the children to
go back to collège, and sometimes also impacts on their brothers and sisters. It also
helps the schools to see the families differently and to talk to them about matters that go
beyond the usual bones of contention.

The young person is supported through this demanding programme by the project
coordinator who takes stock and collects feedback, and by a ‘tutor’ from the school
staff who monitors the learners and discusses, advises, controls, guides and keeps in
line, meeting the young person every week and, from time to time, their family. The
latter are often unable to deal with all the aspects related to the young person’s
difficulties. Help from the school staff in coping with these matters guarantees that
schooling can continue.

1-2- The place and scope of “Démission impossible”

Since 1992, the Démission Impossible initiative has developed in stages, initially
including just a few sectors for the whole department. In the year 2000-2001, around
two thirds of collèges called in a project coordinator, and the coordinators met around
500 pupils for one or more meetings. In 2002-2003, almost 100 of the 126 collèges in
the department used the services of the Démission Impossible initiative, the
coordinators met 569 pupils, and 219 (190 boys and 29 girls) drew up and signed an
agreement. During the school year 2004-2005 the programme reached a new level: the
coordinators met 750 pupils and 372 (303 boys and 69 girls) signed an agreement. The
number of pupils joining the scheme continues to rise with, it should be noted, an
increasing proportion of girls.

This increase is probably due in part to the increased renown of the initiative and the
relief it can provide for teachers faced with a difficult pupil who can be temporarily
taken off their hands. There are other factors : on the one hand, the closure of numerous
vocational classes for 13 to 14 year olds and, on the other hand, the emphasis placed on
sandwich courses in 2004-2005. The coordinators intervene to help manage the
situation, monitoring feedback about the young person and the appropriateness of the
 151

placements and agreements proposed. In September 2001, there 7 coordinators, with

eight in 2004, 9 in 2006, and finally 11 coordinating teachers, in other words, one per
district, since the beginning of the 2008 school year. It should be added that the core
group of coordinators is highly stable and they are chosen by selection and solicitation.
The group is consequently both cohesive and flexible and it remains close to the
realities in the field and the ongoing changes.

The increase in the number of pupils suggests that the initiative has led to pupils
becoming visible who, in the past, were largely ignored: persistent truants, “dropping-
in” pupils, girls, etc. are now more likely to be spotted earlier, and preventative
measures can be taken before the situation gets too far out of hand. At the same time,
schools now operate a first level of diagnostic, and this has slightly reduced the
percentage of pupils who are not affiliated to an agreement. The ratio between the
pupils who sign an agreement and the pupils met has dropped in the last few years from
1 in 3 to around 1 in 2. However, the increased renown of Démission Impossible in the
sector, illustrated by the higher number of demands, could lead to a certain degree of
saturation and less time and energy being available, which the most serious cases need.

The Démission Impossible scheme offers highly personalised and flexible measures
which are particularly well-adapted to what is required in difficult situations. At
present, almost all the collèges in the department have used the Démission Impossible
scheme at one time or another. Some lycées have also been in touch about pupils who
received support the previous year or for young people who have not yet reached 16
years old.

At departmental level, the overwhelming majority of collèges regularly call on a DI

coordinator to study one or several situations. Collèges which do not require the
Démission Impossible services for two years running are relatively rare. Several
professionals are invited to meet up each time they are called on: members of the
management team, chief education advisors, careers advisors and psychologists, social
assistants, and teachers, to discuss different ideas and develop solutions together.

1-3 – A scheme that accompanies and supports professionals

This initiative, designed to help pupils in difficulty, also provides welcome support for
school professionals (management staff, chief education advisors, teachers, school
 152

assistants), as well as social workers from the areas where they recruit their pupils
(youth workers and social assistant). This was not the initial aim but is an additional
benefit resulting from the design of the scheme and the way it is run. Pupils in
difficulty, in this case 14-year-olds+, can be helped in a many different ways: extra help
at school, confidence boosting and re-motivation workshops, teaching reorganisation,
etc. Démission Impossible is original in that it is developed at local, departmental level
(rather than at the level of a school, and even less at the level of a school discipline),
and it is articulated with the world of work. Teachers thus become coordinators,
responsible for the organisation of Démission Impossible within a specific sector. These
two basic concepts have a number of repercussions and offshoots, including support
from professionals, due to the basic organisation of the scheme. We will now highlight
the different aspects of this scheme that help practitioners directly, and will explore its
characteristics.

1-3- 1 - Teacher and project coordinator

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Everyone knows that the coordinators are always part-time teachers in their own
collège, and are therefore considered as close allies, sharing the same difficulties and
able to understand the downside and the pernicious aspects of the system. They are
close but they are also strangers : they don’t know this school because it’s not theirs.

Coming in from the outside means that real discussion is needed. The coordinators need
to be provided with information and there’s no question of simply commiserating
together. The discussions are stimulating and, in a way, calming : the staff no longer
feel alone as someone else is listening to their problems and helping to find solutions.
The situation is being taken in hand and will not continue to deteriorate.

Coming in from the outside also implies finding intermediaries –tutors- in the school
who can monitor the pupils on a daily basis in their to-ing and fro-ing between the
collège and work placement, in their learning and exam preparation (general training
certificate). In order to act as tutors, some professionals learn new teaching,
interpersonal and institutional skills. In turn, they disseminate their new skills within
the school, demonstrating that other methods can work and developing new insights
into the young people and their schooling.

1-3 -2 - The responsibility of a sector with several schools

Collège staff are based in the school they are employed by and that they make a
contribution to. They know and understand its specificities and the
immediate environment: the primary schools, pupils and families, and the area. When
they have difficulties, they inevitably call into question the way the school is run, its
everyday practices and the general atmosphere. When the community is undermined,
there is a risk of tension or conflict. Resources to assess the situation and find solutions
exist in this context but are often limited by the adherence of the staff to the institution
in question and by their impression of being blamed directly. As the coordinators move
from one institution to another, covering a whole sector, they develop a ‘big picture,’
absorbing the many variations in the way tasks are delegated, the teaching organisation,
the way absences are dealt with, the activities confided to assistants, etc. and this allows
them to gain new insights into the simultaneousness of the organisational methods they
observe, which they can subsequently give feedback on. Like the different professionals
who come in for new arrivals for example or training consultants, they pass on
information about institutional expectations or difficulties linked to the complex field
realities, for example.
 154

This position of local expert, outside any notion of hierarchical status, is recognised and
exploited: the coordinator is called on by one institution or another to speak about a
project or to give an opinion, in addition to working with the pupils. Their position on
the sidelines of a highly structured institution makes them an invaluable interlocutor.

1-3- 3 - The coordinator as mediator

The coordinators thus provide professionals, who see each other every day but only
pass on scraps of information, with opportunities to speak, discuss, and work together,
and to discuss such or such a pupil or various educational, teaching and social aspects
and processes. The coordinator can help the other professionals to appreciate the young
person as a whole, not just as a pupil, and thus overcome certain reports or
complications, thereby kick-starting the support process once again with the staff
concerned. Their presence leads to certain factors being reviewed, deconstructed and
discussed with others, resulting in a widely shared diagnosis being drawn up. This
process goes beyond the obvious, the unspoken and the misunderstandings, and makes
the other protagonists listen in order to develop a joint understanding of what is
happening and to draw up a collaborative approach to tackling the situation. The picture
becomes less black and white and more nuanced.

The coordinator is thus a mediator who calls in the different actors concerned (young
person, parents, professionals from inside and outside the school system) and elicits
new perspectives.

1-3-4 - A pivotal position both within and outside the school system

The coordinator not only works within the different schools but, given the schooling
difficulties the youngster is faced with, is also in touch with :
- the young person’s family, even if they meet primarily at the collège,
- social workers from the socio-educational or judicial sector: social assistants,
judicial youth workers, …
 155

- training institutions like the maisons familiales rurales, rural training centres
for young apprentices),
- companies or employers who accept the young people for work placements
In the extended context that integrates resources from sectors outside the National
Education system, the coordinator helps open up new training perspectives to the school
staff, the young people and their parents. For example: they may suggest continuing
schooling in a “Maison familiale rurale” a centre that takes young people in as
boarders, trying out this solution for two or three days so that the young person can
experience the structure and adopt it or refuse it after first experiencing it.
Developing networks in this way, they explain the school discourse, its channels,
procedures and expectations to other professionals outside the system. They thus help
support the youth workers and social workers who may be finding it hard to find new
schools for the drop-outs. They anticipate reception facilities for young people in
difficulty, provide information and prepare the groundwork for their entrance to the
new collège. Helping them understand the different temporalities and the logic behind
certain school processes, they provide the practitioners responsible for these adolescents
with support. They help them to find a school which will allow the adolescent to stay
somewhere for a while in order to reduce the number of opportunities when they can
commit the irreparable.

1-3– 5 - Coordinators who regularly consult one another

Nonetheless, these coordinators are not entirely free spirits. They regularly meet up
with the project leader to coordinate and adjust their projects. In the framework of an
innovative and flexible professional activity, these meetings provide opportunities for
discussion about what is happening in their sector, their difficulties and their
powerlessness, novel situations, exemplary cases from which they can analyse their
practices and develop group reflection, the definition of good practice, ethical matters,
etc. These meetings also provide moments when critical analyses, ideas, and
suggestions for new initiatives can be developed, and where a note is taken of what
needs to be passed on to the authorities.

1-3- 6 - An initiative that informs and trains

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As this scheme is developed on the sidelines of the school, and as the school teams
change regularly, information about the scheme is not left purely to chance and at the
beginning of the year, the coordinator organises information meetings in the collèges in
his or her sector at the request of the school heads. This presentation of the scheme
provides various openings and illustrates the diversity of resources available. In
addition, given their local nature, these information meetings do not work with schools
alone but are also held for local educational and social services (Maisons de la
solidarité), while others are organised with teacher training and social worker training
institutions.
Workshops are also organised, sector by sector, to work with the coordinator-teachers,
giving them an opportunity to develop their mission together, help them design
measures for early identification, or develop teaching programmes based on learning
and remedial courses.Lastly, some days may also be organised as themed meetings. In
2004-2005, these included: “La prise en charge partenariale et individualisée des
élèves” (working with pupils on an individual basis and in partnerships), 2005-2006:
“Les enjeux de l’alternance au college” (the challenges of vocational sandwich
programmes at college). These days provide opportunities for sharing experience and
learning together.

1-4 – Conclusion

The way Démission Impossible operates, making teachers coordinators and giving them
a space to work within, creates both a territorial network and a means to disseminate
information and develop interaction that helps and supports the different categories of
collège professionals. In addition, it is not limited to the school itself but goes beyond
the school gates, developing relationships with other institutions, social workers, youth
protection workers, and specific institutions like the Maisons familiales rurales, as well
as with institutions in other areas of expertise such as those pertaining to the world of
work and vocational training. The coordinators are thus available for all school
professionals including school counsellors, heads of departments, and head teachers
who they may turn to discuss strategies and envisgae solutions. They also help youth
workers who wish to prepare for the reception of a difficult youngster in a local collège.
They become the interface between the collèges and outside interlocutors, displaying a
dual perspective. They ensure that the staff are not isolated when they are confronted
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with difficult situations, disturbance or failure provoked by the young people in

difficulty in the throes of adolescence, often considered as unmanageable.
The coordinators support those who are dealing with the young people in difficulty, and
who are, generally speaking, difficult: in other words, they support teachers in collège,
outside professionals and parents. All are in regular and intense face-to-face situations
with the young people who stretch the resources of all concerned by their suffering,
their aggressiveness and their unpredictable outbursts. The interventions and strategies
that the coordinators propose via Démission Impossible provide opportunities for
sharing, negotiation, management and innovation that help, train and support. The
young people thus continue to be supported, facilitating the programme’s continuation
in the long term.

REFERENCES : QUOTED TEXTS AND AUTHORS

Guigue M. (Dir.) (2008). Des jeunes de 14 à 16 ans « incasables » ? Itinéraires d’élèves aux marges du
collège. Rapport ONED (Observatoire national de l’enfance en danger).

OTHER REFERENCES

Absentéisme des élèves dans le second degré en 2004-2005 (L’). Note d'information n° 06.09 :
http://www.education.gouv.fr/stateval/default.htm,
Barrère A. (2006). Sociologie des chefs d’établissement. Les managers de la république. Paris : PUF
Chartier J.-P. (1988). Les « incasables » alibi ou défi ?, Journal des psychologues, Hors série, sept.
Debarbieux E. et al. (2008). Analyse critique de littérature sur les modalités de prévention, de prise en
charge et de gestion de passage à l’acte violents d’adolescents dans les établissements
relevant, au moins pour une partie de leur public, de la protection de l’enfance, Paris : ONED.
Esterlé-Hédibel M. (2007). Les élèves transparents. Les arrêts de scolarité avant 16 ans, Villeneuve
d’Ascq : Presses universitaires du Septentrion.
Évaluation de l’enseignement dans l’académie de Lille, IGEN, IGAENR, Rapport à Mr le Ministre de
l’éducation nationale, de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche, juillet 2006.
Forestier C., Thélot C. (2007). Que vaut l’enseignement en France ?, Paris : Stock.
Gaillard B. et al. (2005). Les violences en milieu scolaire et éducatif. Connaître, prévenir, intervenir,
Rennes : PUR.
Guigue M. (Dir.) (2008). Des jeunes de 14 à 16 ans « incasables » ? Itinéraires d’élèves aux marges du
collège. Rapport ONED (Observatoire national de l’enfance en danger).
Guigue M., Lemoine M. (2007). Inclusion in a complex society: what strategies are available for young
people in difficulty ? Symposium : Comparative studies of policy, practice for inclusion of
marginalized children and young people in France and England, Chair François Tochon. 2007
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AERA Annual Meeting Program (American Educational Research Asssociation), Monday April 9
Friday April 13 2007, Chicago (http://www.aera.net/annualmeeting/?id=1706).
Guigue M., Lemoine M. (2005). Pour des collégiens à la dérive, des enseignants innovent et
s’autoforment. 3ème colloque mondial sur l’auto formation : Rencontres entre les cultures
et les pratiques formelles, informelles, non formelles d’apprentissages, 23-25 novembre,
Marrakech – Maroc.
Guigue M. (2003). Des garçons décrocheurs et l’école, Les Sciences de l’éducation pour l’ère nouvelle
(Le décrochage scolaire ), vol. 36, n° 1, CERSE, Université de Rouen, pp. 85-107.
Guigue M. (2001). Les enseignants, professionnels solitaires de la transmission de savoir ?, Connexions,
75, pp. 85-96.
Guigue M. (1998). Le décrochage scolaire, dans M. C. Bloch, B. Gerde (dir) Les lycéens décrocheurs.
De l'impasse aux chemins de traverse, Lyon : Chronique sociale, p. 25-38.
Guigue M. (1997). Soutien scolaire : une frontière qui se brouille entre l'école et le hors école, un enjeu
pour la culture professionnelle des enseignants. Revue du Centre de Recherche en
Éducation, 13 , Université de Saint Étienne, p. 19-35
Hussenet A., Santana P. (2004). Le traitement de la grande difficulté scolaire au collège et à la fin de
la scolarité obligatoire, Rapport établi à la demande du Haut Conseil de l’évaluation de l’école,
disponible sur : http://cisad.adc.education.fr/hcee/
Kherroubi M., Chanteau J. P., Laguèze B., (2003-2004). Exclusion sociale, exclusion scolaire. INRP,
Centre Alain Savary, Travaux de l’observatoire national de la pauvreté et de l’exclusion sociale.
http://www.social.gouv.fr/htm/pointsur/onpes/trav_03_04.htm
Langevin L. 1994. L’abandon scolaire. On ne naît pas décrocheur, Montréal : Les éditions logiques.
Louzoun C. (2007). Un partenariat pour désamorcer l’échec chez les 10-18 ans, La santé de l’homme,
388, mars-avril, p. 11-12.
Millet M., Thin D. (2005). Ruptures scolaires. L’école à l’épreuve de la question sociale, Paris : PUF.
Olson D. (2005). L’école entre institution et pédagogie. (traduit de l’anglais par Y. Bonin,
Psychological Theory and Educationnal Reform : How School Remakes Mind and Society,
ambridge University Press, 2003), Paris : Retz.
Olweus D. (1999). Violences entre élèves, harcèlements et brutalités : les faits, les solutions. Paris :
SF.
Payet J.- P. (1997). Le sale boulot : division morale du travail dans un collège de banlieue, Les Annales
de la recherché urbaine, 75, p. 19-30.
Perier P. (2005). Écoles et familles populaires. Sociologie d’un différend, Rennes : PUR.
Prévenir les ruptures scolaires (2003). Ville Ecole Intégration, n° 132.
Savoie-Zac L. (1994). le discours sur l’école d’adolescents identifiés à risque d’abandon scolaire, dans
Langevin L. (1994). L’abandon scolaire. On ne naît pas décrocheur, Montréal : Les éditions logiques.
p. 104-133
Schlund F. (2002). Le harcèlement à l’école. Un établissement français en Suède. Spirale, 30, p. 155-
174.
Woods P. (1990). L'éthnographie de l'école, Paris : Armand Colin.
 159

2 - THE FIGHT AGAINST SCHOOL FAILURE IN AN EDUCATION

ACTION NETWORK (REP)

Yves Reuter, Professor, Head of THEODILE-CIREL, Educational Sciences,

University Charles de Gaulle Lille 3

This paper is based on our work7 (Reuter, 2007) which is the outcome of over five
years of research, carried out from June 2001 to September 2006, and based on an
atypical experience in the French school system: the introduction of the Freinet teaching
model in a group of primary schools located in a Réseau d’Éducation Prioritaire,
Education Priority Network (Extended Education Action Zones) in the suburbs of
Lille, France, for children from working class, and often very difficult family
backgrounds.
The Concorde school group, comprising the Anne Frank nursery school and the Hélène
Boucher primary school, is located in an Education Action Network (extended
Education Action Zone) in Mons-en-Barœul, near Lille in the north of France. The
teaching team changed completely at the start of school year in September 2001. After
much negotiation with the old team, the teachers’ trade unions, the school inspectors
and the joint schools committee, the teachers working in the school at that time were
transferred to the schools of their choice, and were replaced by teachers from the ICEM
(Institut Coopératif de l’École Moderne : Cooperative Institute of the Modern School)
who were chosen to develop a teaching project that aimed to incorporate the ideas set
up in the works by Célestin Freinet and specifically updated by this group, in order to
combat school failure in a very ‘disadvantaged’ environment.
The final project was the result of convergence between two key concepts: that of
certain members of the regional ICEM who wished to be able to collaborate from the
nursery school lower class through to CM2, the last primary class (2 to 10-11 year
olds) and to test the validity of their ideas and their teaching strategies in a difficult
inner city environment; and that of the local Inspector of Schools who was looking for
ways to improve this group of schools whose reputation had been damaged by poor
results and an atmosphere of incivility leading to high staff turnover and liable to
result in the closure of classes. The experiment also aimed to stimulate neighbouring
schools and combat school failure.

7 It is a summary of the presentation, together with the first and last chapters.
 160

It was in this context that contact was made with the THÉODILE laboratory, and the
research project was progressively structured over several months through formal and
informal meetings.
The study was based on four principal issues, developed by the researchers, the
Inspector of Schools, the teaching team and experts from the Ministry of Education : a
description of the teaching methods introduced; the ensuing results; a specification of
the relationship between the teaching practices and their effects; the transferability of
the strategies introduced.
The study was underpinned by five fundamental methodological principles (Reuter and
Carra, 2005):
- “non collaborative” investigations so as not to influence teachers’ practices;
- a long-term study period (at least five years) so as to have enough time to follow the
subsequent school career of the pupils who had spent all their primary school years
exposed to this way of working, and to understand differences in possible effects over
time;
- a range of comparisons, both diachronic (before/after the beginning of the experiment,
depending on the years…) and synchronic (with students from similar or more
advantaged backgrounds, working with other teaching models, with teachers or parents
from other schools, etc.) in order to analyze as precisely as possible the developments
and their various forms, as well as any specific outcomes potentially attributable to this
teaching methodology;
- a study of diverse dimensions (school-family relationships, deviations, construction of
norms and values, relationship with school and knowledge, reflexivity, learning
outcomes in different subjects…) in order to measure the potential effects in areas more
or less concerned as precisely as possible;
- the collation of theoretical frameworks and different research methods (observations,
production asked for or not, questionnaires, interviews…) in order to evaluate our
results and assess their various interpretations.
The last two principles, in particular, justify the multidisciplinary makeup of the
combined team: sociologist, teaching specialist, psychologists, and French, maths and
science course-designers. The mix of disciplines guaranteed certain academic standards,
at the same time, guarding us against recently evoked ‘alternative’ teaching approaches,
which are often monolithic and generalised, as well as incomplete in their empirical
underpinning and very limited with respect to the interpretive frameworks used.
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2-1 - The principles of the “Freinet” school

In this section, we set out the working principles applied to the “Freinet” school in
Mons-en-Barœul, firstly to understand the teaching methodology introduced, and
secondly, to serve as a reference framework for interpreting the results observed, and to
provide us with tools to explore the question of transferability.

2-1-1 – The school as an institution



This subtitle suggests that nothing should be taken as given; everything needs to be
thought through, developed and institutionalized, both by teachers and with respect to
their working methods.

1° The school focuses on learning : this principle is obviously fundamental and is

continually reaffirmed. It is the justification behind everything else, the systems in
place and the rules, even the different types of punishment: most things are forbidden
because they are considered to affect learning or to hinder work. Learning processes –
and not the child – are therefore at the heart of the present system. School is there for
learning and this is only achieved through hard work. Teachers and pupils alike
frequently use a number of terms in their vocabulary like work and career(s). The
learning processes concern and are indissociable from knowledge, know-how and
behavioural skills. From this perspective, instruction and education serve one another
and are therefore fundamental objectives.

2° The school as a community was established, and is constantly being re-established,

via diverse provisions, including, in particular:
– an institutional project – incorporated, in its entirety, at the very heart of a school as a
model of “Freinet” pedagogy – articulated in line with a working and experimentation
agreement with the academic inspectorates and a research agreement with a research
team;
– a real teaching project, assessed and re-designed collectively, which provided a
charter and served to guarantee the work undertaken;
- the co-opting, within the Freinet movement, of founding members and replacements
for those who leave;
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– many frequent and genuinely functional meetings with the class, the school, the
teaching staff, etc.

3° The school is formed as a relatively autonomous micro-society. This is confirmed in

particular by the fact that it draws up of its own rules and regulations, by the creation of
specific decision-making authorities, by its work-centred and professional culture, by
the development of a common culture and by highly structured leisure activities
(recreation, fêtes, evening workshops taught partly by the teachers or parents, and
which are, consequently, considered as part of the learning project and are not simply as
leisure activities set apart from work and group rules. Consequently, its members (both
teachers and pupils) are all considered as school citizens. In addition, sociability and
citizenship are central principles in that they are constantly set out as aims, objectives
and conditions for learning. They are therefore principles to live by and of life and are
not one-off discursive objects, only mentioned when calling someone to order or during
lessons on civility.

4° This micro-society is linked to a democratic ideal, put to the test every day,
whatever the difficulties. It is not a question of laying down or imposing an ideal in
words alone for some remote future, but of trying to put it into practice within a school,
as a common good. To this end, numerous principles have been initiatives are designed
to support this project:
– the student-citizens are seen as equals in terms of rights and obligations (with control
mechanisms such as the institutional rotation of tasks and responsibilities, different
meetings, etc.);
– no individual pupil’s fate is set in stone: rights can be lost and regained;
–rules are drawn up collectively in class and school meetings, and they are then voted
for and tested before being adopted or integrated in the social order (via numerous
notices in the school and in the classrooms) so that nobody can plead ignorance. They
may subsequently be altered;
– everyone, teachers and students alike, is subject to the rules which is a key to mutual
respect and the pupils’ belief in the value of rules and regulations;
–cooperation and mutual help – and not competition – are the main working principles
via group work, shared equipment, teacher encouragement, a notice board for messages
asking for help, absence of stigmatization in the event of difficulties and mistakes, etc.;
 163

– problems are discussed collectively and rapidly in places and at times set aside for
this purpose, thereby avoiding a number of pitfalls: their concealment, summary
management by a single teacher or by the pupils themselves, gut reactions without
reference to the rules, and their persistence in the same form.

5° There is a desire to construct a common heritage of this society, with raised

awareness through the recording and the conservation of experiences, talks, writing,
drawings, sculptures, etc., also using numerous resources (class logbooks, posters,
archives…). This culture, which is able to forge identities (school, class…), adopts
multiple functions: it acts as a basis for work, enabling different activities to be linked
together, for evidence of a collective and individual history, an assumed heritage, a
source for monitoring learning progress… It also provides a specific response to the
tensions between the school culture and out-of-school cultures (filtered and
reconstructed for learning purposes), mediation towards forms considered as more
legitimate, and an alternative tool in view of the prerequisites often called for.

6° Nonetheless, this micro-society is not at all insular. It is, on the contrary, largely
open to the outside world. Thus, the knowledge and know-how taught is constantly
presented in relation to its functionality in the non school world, and the curiosity of
pupils is continually stimulated. Each class has pen friend relationships, resulting in a
great deal of writing activity. The group of teachers goes out of its way to meet families
and tries to interest them in joining schoolwork support activities (as parents of pupils
and not just of children) : they are invited into the school during school fêtes or
presentations of the pupils’ work and on Saturday mornings; kept regularly informed
via home/school notebooks, and frequent and explicit posters at the school entrance;
called in to meet teachers, even when there are no problems; invited for conferences or
to help out during evening workshops … In addition, initiatives like free writing
activities, interviews and the “what’s new” sessions in the morning, provide
opportunities for sharing experiences, subjects, knowledge, experience, etc. between
school and the family, but always in a highly codified way with a specific learning
purpose …

7° The methods described call for at least three remarks. The first concerns the
authority and power of the teachers, necessary to uphold the school’s underlying
principles and their implementation, but at the same time taking into account the fact
 164

that this authority and power is itself subject to regulations and internal controls (school
rules and guidelines) and external controls (the teaching body, the principles of the
Freinet movement, etc.). This always leads to certain tensions and a delicate balance
needs to be found between the construction of democracy and the teacher’s power
(since, for example, at times, teachers step back from the rules that they themselves are
normally bound by, in order to ensure their application …). The second remark
concerns an interrogation regarding the dominant school processes. For pupils in this
system, the loss of rights via the loss of autonomy, means finding themselves back in a
traditional school system. The third remark aims to emphasise the original way that the
tensions between the school culture and out-of-school cultures are resolved via the
construction of a specific class culture, a culture of compromise that is continually
redesigned in line with transition.

2-1-2 – Pupils and learning

Learning is absolutely central. In consequence, everything is organised around

achieving this goal, based on a few founding principles.

1° Fundamentally, every child is considered as wanting to and capable of learning as

long as the educational environment allows them to and facilitates their learning. To
some extent, this is an axiom which, admittedly, in a way constructs a child’s nature,
but which subsequently places an inescapable burden of responsibility on teachers.
On this basis, all failure by pupils is seen as a failure of the teaching environment or, at
least, as strongly calling into question the teachers’ work. This again helps us to
understand the constant questioning of teaching methods as well as the individual need
for self-training and co-training of teachers. The dynamics and perpetual motion are
characteristic of the way they work.

2° The principle mentioned is nonetheless accompanied by a second principle which

counterbalances its possible idealism. Accordingly, the child must be considered as a
learning subject (school or teaching subject), a member of a community with specific
rules and ways of working. A number of initiatives can be understood, at least in part,
within this perspective, like being responsible for developing and maintaining adhesion
and enrolment: providing advice, drawing up rules, jobs, work given in line with
materials and questions provided by the pupils…
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It should be noted that the teachers do this with extreme care, so as not to give the
pupils the impression that they have to break away from their home environment.
Everything is done to ensure that schooling is not considered as a renunciation…
We would also like to underline the fact that this occurs, in many cases, by recognising
the roles held by the children outside the school environment (and their responsibilities,
which are often considerable in working class families), or even by re-establishing the
status of some pupils as children, helping them to shake off the external burden of “big
people” or adults, which is often very difficult for them to manage. Thus, paradoxically,
the constitution of the out-of-school subject into a pupil sometimes takes place through
rebuilding, at least temporarily, their identity as a child…

3° It is the pupils themselves who must learn, and no one else in their place, which has
undoubtedly become commonplace in much discourse about school. What is striking
here, however, is the genuine incorporation of this principle in the practices put in
place. It gives rise to two rational principles:
- depending on the diversity of pupils, their different rhythms and ways of acquiring
knowledge and know-how, the teachers are particularly careful to provide tailored
forms of construction for each pupil and their specific temporality (cf. learning to read,
research, creation, certificates, work plans…);
- secondly, the central role of the teacher is not designed uniquely according to the
dominant learning transmission method but mainly as the conception, the
implementation and the support for initiatives and situations that facilitate pupils’
learning.

4° While it is the pupils who learn, they only learn from questions they have that
motivate them and give meaning to the knowledge and know-how. This means that
teachers should not give cut-and-dried answers to questions that haven’t even been
asked but should elicit questions, building on the thirst for knowledge and
understanding that is ostensibly shared by all children, and on approaches designed to
awaken, stimulate, fuel and increase this desire. Thus, starting out with the “what’s
new” sessions or interviews, pupils can get involved in research or preparation for
conferences which will be taken up again in other frameworks through phases of
socialisation via the feedback and questions from teachers and / or peers.
This principle nonetheless has to be put squared with two types of practice. The first
consists of managing pupils’ questions, which are not always dealt with immediately.
 166

This is probably partly due to the teacher’s management of the chronogenesis of

knowledge and the relationships between individuals and class groups. The second type
of practice consists of the work children are given to do, and which may have no
immediate relation to the questions they have as individuals (cf. work sheets), which
could be due to a need to maintain a common reference framework for the programmes,
to incorporate other structuring processes / or as a form of acculturation to the school
structure, that goes beyond teaching per se.

5° “Pupils learn by doing” is the most often cited principle in the theoretical literature
on alternative pedagogies. However, this needs to be viewed with respect to certain
precisions, particularly regarding its articulation with complementary principles.
At any rate, it means that pupils learn by doing and because they experience work,
projects, research… in this sense, and unlike other teaching methods or some other
education theories, doing at school must be authentic and not involve pretend doing or
a travesty of doing. Learning is the pupils’ main work and this is constantly repeated by
the teachers. There is no question, therefore, of pretending to learn by or through “real
life situations” but rather of developing real projects, research, correspondence… to
learn and because it helps develop the learning process.

6° However, this experiential learning articulates very closely with the construction of
a distanced, reflexive position, through numerous and commonly used mechanisms:
– situations of preparing to act (including, for example, plans or drawings);
– discussions in groups, pairs or with the teacher, about problems, strategies and
possible solutions;
–cooperation (cf. the many support measures or requests for help as well as forms of
group dictation);
– the relationship between reflection and action constantly called on by the teacher
during the class work;
–no stigmatisation when mistakes are made;
– the time allowed, which is rarely restrictive and which may be extended to a shared
and satisfactory outcome;
– the multiplicity of socialisation and assessment situations …
It is also important to highlight the two pillars of learning, doing and the reflexive
distance to doing that have rarely been mentioned about the Freinet pedagogy.
 167

7° Pupils also learn through adopting numerous roles and positions in relation to
knowledge and know-how: as pupil, user, creator, researcher, teacher, conference
speaker, auditor, member of a discussion, critic, assistant… From this perspective, they
are protean agents with respect to roles and activities that are far more diverse,
continually and over the long term, than those of pupils subjected to more traditional
teaching methods. These roles and positions, introduced at an early stage (from nursery
school to the first year of primary school), can be seen as an updating of multiple ways
of doing and the distance to doing, via concrete situations. Complementary, they
introduce a concept that facilitates learning via the variety of relationships established
with knowledge and the various forms of input used. Looking at it another way, we
could consider that this principle refers at least implicitly to ‘institutional’ approaches
of academic communities and the way they construct knowledge and pedagogical-
didactic concepts within which the development of an ‘academic school community’
and the introduction of a multiplicity of roles are fundamental.

8° Pupils learn by experimenting with different forms of thinking. This means

that different forms of thinking, particularly convergent and divergent thinking,
are constantly demanded in numerous subjects, calling into question certain
traditional school activities such as the domination of exercises that require
convergence and disciplinary compartmentalization.
This framework includes the great importance given to creativity, for example,
(including in mathematics) and the promotion of the arts. We may also note that certain
divisions opposing the disciplines are called into question via research or mathematical
creations, or else critical discussions, and planning and reflection in the field of the arts.
This framework also includes the fundamental place of the production of hypotheses
and experimentation and the continual management of the duality between rigour and
freedom and, strikingly, unlike dominant educational methods elsewhere, emphasis is
systematically placed on the idea that in general, there are many solutions to a problem
and different ways of achieving the same goal…

9° Pupils learn because they feel safe. This principle is extremely important, especially
in an environment where the living conditions and the relationships with school are
often difficult. Again, it operates in many ways. It involves, for example, avoiding
cutting off with their out-of-school life, at the same time allowing the pupils to shed
their out-of-school worries, at least in part, and to truly express themselves. Various
 168

methods exist with this in mind, i.e. “what’s new?”, free writing sessions, advice,
creation…) which structure this material in educational forms that can be managed and
articulated with learning. Again, it involves developing and guaranteeing a safe school
environment, which avoids, as much as it is able, all forms of violence or fears likely to
disrupt the work, at the same time giving the children the right to express their needs as
children (drinking in the classroom, moving about, etc.).
Last, and above all, it involves making the learning situations safe, via:
– the right to make mistakes (no stigmatisation and, on the contrary, considering
mistakes as objects of work and reflection, and as legitimate and interesting…);
– a more formative assessment role: no marks or ranking, but certificates, exhibitions of
progress, removal of stress (like in dictation, the most important thing is to do their
best…) ;
–systematic help from peers and teachers, whether cognitive or material (store of
stationary in case someone forgets something, accessible markings on all the objects
available in the classes, plans and guides to help them use the computers themselves…).
In keeping with the cooperation principle, this assistance is legitimate, official and
never stigmatising;
– frameworks that can be adopted by everyone: public posting of the day‘s work
organisation, individual plans, daily routines …
– stages repeated so as to constantly relate them to what is being done or what has been
done with what was worked on before;
–time, adjusted to everyone’ needs, for discussions and search for possible solutions …
It is probably because the teaching framework is so safe that the unexpected may be
incorporated without the rest falling apart, and the pupils can learn by being encouraged
to take risks without fear of a return to punishment, quickly getting involved in
research, presentations and creative output…

10° The last principle, which I will just mention briefly, seems to me to rarely receive
much attention in schools. It is that pupils learn because they can position themselves in
a history of their learning which is made accessible to them through procedures or
measures such as work plans and certificates, stages in their projects, keeping as many
of their documents as possible, the class logbook, getting in touch with pupils from
prior or subsequent classes … This a specific factor that can be understood as one of the
many resources used to develop the role of pupil, create links between situations and
knowledge, encourage by taking progress made into account …
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2-1-3 – The Teacher’s role

Within the framework set out above, we understand that the teachers’ role is primordial,
largely because they consider every child as able to learn and because they shoulder,
almost exclusively, the responsibility for learning. At the risk of repetition, I would like
to reiterate certain key aspects of their work where, a priori, nothing is considered as
given, and everything must be constructed under the governance of teachers.

1° “Everyone in their place” could be the slogan of the system, with constantly
reasserted and reconstructed positions and roles: adults/children; teachers/pupils/
pupils’ parents. There is thus a dual structure in place, that doesn’t waver but which
ensures total and maximum respect for discussion and cooperation for every individual.
It requires substantial work with the pupils’ parents, and model adult behaviour on the
part of the teachers, which is clearly put forward for what it is.

2° The teacher’s role develops through the measures in place and their management.
This is a crucial aspect, emphasised by all those who have studied the Freinet pedagogy.
However, some additional remarks are required.
While many significant mechanisms have been inherited from the methodology, as well
as real confidence in them, they are nonetheless constantly being (re)created and
modified and, while stable, they can be affected by the unexpected, are laid down but
are subject to re-appropriation. This means we have moved quite far from the image of
Freinet techniques as rigid and dogmatic, transmitted via a vulgate contained almost
uniquely in Célestin Freinet’s writings. Moreover, these mechanisms may don a
relatively significant function of physical and symbolic third party between children
and pupils, pupils and teachers, adults and teachers, and the school and the world
outside of school.

3° - Alongside their teaching work, teachers also have a decisive role as a guarantor,
guarantor of learning, safety, the smooth-running of the organisation in place, drawing
up collective rules, etc.
This role of guarantor, which explains in part the attention they pay to their role as a
behaviour model, does not, paradoxically, exclude moving away from their position or
role in certain circumstances (when timing needs to be respected during the “what’s
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new” session, when calls to order are necessary, to refocus certain research in the group
interest …).
In addition, this role as guarantor is itself controlled in different ways: by class or
school meetings they must ensure and which can call them into question, by discussions
with their peers and during teachers’ meetings, by the principles they adhere to (and
that are debated at the heart of the movement), by the explicit respect for the school
regulations, by their continual self-learning and co-training…

4° Once again, fundamentally, the teacher is considered here as a support, because it is

the child, and only the child, who learns through the activities developed. This adjunct
role is expressed in many different ways: through the construction and management of
initiatives but also by their frequent place at their desk– in a corner of the classroom and
not in the centre – where they are open to requests; by their individualised feedback
(search for documents or texts which can resonate with the free writing sessions or help
certain pupils with their research); by their attention to the group’s progress and
individual backgrounds; by their stimulation and support in individual oral expression
and group discussions (very different from the traditional scenario of school
communication: question, short answer, assessment). In a way, the teacher demonstrates
an almost obsessive search for what can help each child without getting in the way of
the individual’s personal learning path within this teaching framework. It would appear
that through the initiatives and the types of intervention by the teacher, there is a
constant search for a balance between support and promoting autonomy.

5° At the end of the day, the image of the tightrope walker appears to best reflect this
continual management of duality that characterises the teachers in this working
methodology, such as between:
– the development of an autonomous micro-society and strong out-of-school relations;
– the development of a democratic way of working and respect for the rules and the
teacher’s authority on the one hand, or even the circumventing of some of them (to
restore or ensure them) on the other;
– establishment of strong, stable and mobile frameworks and an open attitude to the
unexpected;
– respect for the pupils’ need to move, and the development of conditions for studying
and civility (able to speak but in the group’s “silence”; may throw paper on the floor or
towards the dustbin but must pick everything up at the end of the lesson…) ;
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– engagement in the doing and construction of a reflexive distance;

– respect for unusual backgrounds and specificities and construction of a work and
learning community;
– respect for individual questions and adherence to the group’s learning that is
indispensable to moving the school programme forward;
– guidance and development of autonomy…

2-2 – Aspects to take into account for a provisional assessment

This section aims to draw up a provisional assessment of the research conducted over
the last five years. In line with the initial questions, it is organised around four points:
the interest of the experiment conducted in the school, the development of the results
put forward, problem areas, and the eventual transferability of what was set up. It can
only be understood however, in the light of the whole work which supports and helps
construe it.

2-2-1 –The interest of the experiment

The interest may be organised around a dozen or so dimensions that we believe give
rise to ‘positive effects.’
Fundamentally, in relation to the previous situation, the school has improved, both with
respect to the increase in the number of pupils and their image in the social
environment, and regarding the knowledge and know-how assessed institutionally.
The problems of violence tended to decrease, accompanied by an evolution in the
pupils’ representations and standards. Greater incorporation of regulations, rules and
values was noted, with better appropriation of the rules than that noted in other
institutions, a greater sense of justice and better acceptance of sanctions, together with
fewer problems between pupils. Three other factors illustrate the substantial nature of
these ‘changes’: acts of violence decreased very rapidly (it was already noticeable one
month after the experiment began), the ‘climate’ (of work, education and justice) also
improved considerably, becoming notably better than that in many other schools, and
disputes dealt with during staff meetings were increasingly related to schoolwork rather
than conflicts with no relation to studying.
‘Problem’ pupils sent by other schools or pupils “in great psychological difficulty” also
seemed to integrate better as they were treated in the same way as the others, and their
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“recovery” was in close liaison with the shared pedagogy and construction of
knowledge… Consequently, we noted during interviews and observations that there
were fewer school motives for pupils to ‘suffer,’ and that as they were able to fit in and
were encouraged to ask questions, many of these pupils felt less humiliated and
impotent. We could therefore suggest that, as a general rule, the pupils’ institutional set
up can contribute to the recovery of some children.
We also felt that the relationship with the school, and with work, learning and
knowledge… seemed to evolve in a ‘positive’ way: the work climate and the value given
to the work carried out; greater autonomy in the tasks carried out, and greater risk-
taking as opposed to the inhibition of pupils often noted elsewhere; development of a
reflexive distance accompanied by explanations and longer and better supported
arguments, with greater attention to coherence and meaning; feeling of security and
serenity (for example, during the introduction to writing) ; clear links between
situations, activities and objectives; awareness and control of tasks; sense given to
learning and early and strong feeling of being in learning situation at school via work;
positive vision of school and knowledge... In a way, we could suggest that the way the
pupils study and their relationships with the school, work, learning and knowledge, etc.
that are developed and express themselves through their practice are the major
outcomes of the teaching method introduced here, certainly facilitating learning
acquisition.
With respect to the learning of the different disciplines, even if the results continue to
vary, many of them have shown progress since the experiment was first set up, with
performances equal or superior to those of pupils from the same backgrounds but who
work in a different teaching setting, or even, in some areas, with results that are closer
to those of pupils from more advantaged backgrounds. This is the case for:
– the introduction to writing (with awareness of the stages that need to be covered,
clarity concerning the activities undertaken, enhanced sensitivity to the sense and
functions of texts);
– written production with, in particular, effort (development of the length of texts,
frequency of writing…), diversification of textual means, joint updating of the
imaginary and textual structuring …
– the management of oral production (from nursery school onwards) with interesting
indicators regarding listening and respect for others, the length of productions,
elocution and confidence, the ability to speak without notes, risk-taking or even the
construction of possible roles;
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–maths learning with remarkable performances (in axial symmetry, for example), the
development of explanations and arguments, the variety of strategies used, task control
…
– academic learning, particularly with regard to calling into question, relationship with
knowledge, fitting it into networks (within the class) and the dynamics at work in its
development, the importance of observation, awareness of the importance of multiple
reference sources …
In every case, we have to add, concurrently, the beginning of the use of questioning
(providing meaning for the pupils) and research (which authorises and supports trying
out, turning to multiples tools, length of time…) as well as the development of a self-
assessment aspect (enabling the state of their performance to be analysed more
precisely, pointing to possible improvements and introducing a concern for means to
verify the success of the task).
Contrary to many generally accepted ideas, the move to the first year of secondary
school is not a particularly traumatic experience. Globally, even if, for these pupils, as
for others, changing school brings with it certain fears, their level does not suffer, there
is continuity in their performance and results, and they compare well with their peers
from other schools. They are not more ‘lost’ than others and, in addition, they
demonstrate a reflexive capacity that enables them to compare ways of working and
teaching methods often better than other pupils. At any rate, we have the impression
that the development of a feeling of safety and self confidence in the Hélène Boucher
school, as well as autonomy in their work organisation and their judgements may not
resolve all the problems, but has given a number of them considerable advantages in
overcoming certain difficulties linked to the transition to another school.
Some interesting effects were also noted regarding the teachers in this school: no
requests to change schools, mutual support, constant dialogue (including between
nursery and primary school), congruence in the way they work within the school,
stimulation of inventiveness, successful integration of some ‘peripheral’ contributors
(RASED8 teacher, teaching support staff…), perceptive evaluative analysis of their
practices, continual calling into question of the initiatives, operations and tools …
In parallel, we noted that this experiment generated real stimulation and greater
attention to practices and results between the schools in the area, illustrated by an
improvement in the results during national assessments.

8Réseau d’aides spécialisées aux élèves en difficulté. Network for specific needs of children at risk
 174

On the parents’ side, we noted certain shifts in discourse, attitudes and behaviour:
increased satisfaction with the school, improvement (if fragile) of certain relationships,
slightly more involvement as parents of pupils, or even as an evening workshop
coordinator …
We need to add two other important remarks to these aspects, regarding the pupils in
this school. They are not as destabilised as others when confronted with tasks, situations
or unusual tests (which seems to indicate a real adaptive flexibility) and they are more
confident than others in their relationships with adults that they don’t know very well.
All this brings us to posit categorically that, according to our study, with respect to the
prior school situation, the pupils concerned and the surrounding environment, the
experiment conducted here has proved beneficial.

2-2-2 - Some problems

However, we also have to point to certain limitations to the beneficial character

mentioned previously. I would like to highlight four problem areas in particular.
In the first place, the initiative and its outcomes remain fragile, in a particularly
difficult social environment, subject to sporadic dysfunctions linked to personal
difficulties, relationships with the police, human dramas, etc. The parents’ involvement
remains minimal. The pupils’ incorporation of standards remains unsteady as illustrated
by recurrent problems when replacements arrive, for example. This probably reflects
the fact that the patiently constructed reference points remain highly tributary to the
measures in place and the teachers’ authority. It reminds us, at any rate, of just how
‘difficult’ the pupils can be.
We also believe that the promotion of the concept in place in the school also gives rise
to certain problems:
– less attention paid to the pupils (very relative, however, compared to other schools) at
certain moments (visits by the media, for example) ;
– difficult relations at times with occasional contributors (psychologist, nurse…) who
may have the impression that their competencies or their power is called into question;
– tense relations with neighbouring schools at times, which feel targeted, less
supported, and above all, in competition;
– heightened sensitivity to incidents with the parents.
Other less successful aspects can be identified in disciplinary learning situations. This
concerns, for example, some aspects of writing (syntax, spelling and vocabulary), the
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highly ritualised oral production measures which at times generate stilted and routine
interactions, the mastering of formalised ‘academic’ practises (weakness in the
disciplinary vocabulary or codes of grammar, maths and science; wavering use of
mathematical concepts that can be less immediately contextualised within everyday life;
destabilisation in the face of metalinguistic exercises whose sense and function are only
perceived to a limited extent).
Lastly, we identified a certain heterogeneity in the pupils’ progress (a relative
stagnation or regression during the second year of the experiment, for example) and in
the impact that was more or less intense, depending on the level and the pupils.
Given these assessments, we are therefore continuing to work on the relations between
the solidity and the fragility of what has been created; between a space of autonomy,
authorisation and freedom on the one hand and the setting of limits on the other;
between the development of a reflexive attitude on the one hand and problems of
‘academic’ formalisation on the other.

2-2-3 – The difficult issue of transferability

The issue of transferability remains a particularly complex issue and, in the absence of
large-scale experimentation over a relatively long timeframe, there is inevitably a
speculative dimension that, in addition, overlaps the possible and the desirable. The
following points, which have resulted from long joint discussions by the team, should
therefore be considered with a certain degree of caution.

1° Transferability : hypotheses concerning the possible and the desirable

It appeared to us a priori possible and desirable to transfer certain principles and
working methods insofar as, either they have proved successful in other schools (with
similar associated effects), or replacements or teachers other than the ‘permanent’ staff
have been able to use them and make them work without too much difficulty, or again,
they can be appropriated by other teachers in such a way that the great benefits will
largely and rapidly compensate for the cost of certain changes in teaching methods.
With respect to the working principles, we would like to highlight:
– team solidarity;
– the collective and continual construction of working rules and their scrupulous
respect (by both pupils and teachers);
 176

– respect for pupils and constant attention to their progress, the questions they ask and
the problems they may come across;
– the concern to keep parents informed in as detailed a way as possible and to involve
them in the school;
– the emphasis on cooperation and mutual support, as well as the articulation between
the recognition of pupils as unique and the construction of a community;
– the importance given to the notion of work and conscious effort, together with a real
concern to value everyone’s efforts;
– the strong articulation between production (diversified, frequent…) and the
establishment of a reflective attitude;
– the diversity of categories of activities and positions in the face of knowledge,
together with the constant forging of links between them;
– the development of a learning climate (serenity, right to make mistakes, encouraging
all attempts, optimization, using the pupils’ questions for a basis, listening to their
questions, replying to their requests for clarification…) ;
– the constant search for clarity with regard to frameworks, rules, tasks, objectives…
– the importance of time (to adjust to the learning path of each individual, to complete
research…), which should be highly structured while nonetheless remaining “open”;
– the development of a common class culture, transaction between school and out-of-
school cultures, common heritage and basis for research…
With respect to the initiatives, we can probably mention – apart from the free writing
and the “what’s new?” (in the forms adopted here and not in their vulgate) – research
and mathematics creations, cooperative dictations, ways of integrating IT tools (in
everyday working life), socialisation measures (exhibitions, brochures disseminated to
outside, presentations to parents on Saturdays…), regular and frequent staff meetings,
jobs (with different responsibilities given to the children), the many types of reminders
(images or texts produced by the teacher to echo the pupil’s work; questions to develop
or to socialise individual research …); public management of behavioural problems; the
introduction of tailored work plans; various frequent and early public speaking
situations accompanied by controlled listening; regular readings to the nursery school
children by the primary school children …

2° Transferability: some issues regarding what is possible and what is desired

Several categories of issues should be taken into consideration. First of all, it is clear
that the ‘success’ noted is dependent, in this instance, on the way the team was put
 177

together – co-opting the other members to join the project – which we see as both
legitimate and justified, in other words, in the case of a school in difficulty in a
particularly disadvantaged environment, but in which abuses can also easily be
envisaged if this system is generalised beyond the targeted and justified projects.
Secondly, here, as in many experiments, three elements are highly present: the
tremendous involvement of the teachers, the high level of professional competency as
much in terms of some of the content as with the measures and the belief in the
principles and initiatives in place. It is easy to understand that many teachers would not
wish to get as involved in such a project, that the competencies demonstrated are not
very widespread and that they need time to develop and, lastly, that this belief may be
judged as arguable, for many reasons.
In the third place, a classic problem remains to be resolved. If we agree to consider that
the various elements previously mentioned function as a system, to what extent may
any one of them (either principle or measure) continue to function in an identical way
and produce similar effects after being extracted or isolated from its context and placed
in a different system? In a number of cases, the comparisons that we have drawn
regarding the initiatives (advice or discussions, for example) clearly indicate different
ways of functioning and different effects, particularly with regard to a more formal
shift. And with respect to the principles, unless they are underpinned by measures
constructed in the same way, they very frequently arise more from a discourse of intent
than any observable reality. All of this tends to highlight the need for caution.
We will end with a final question. To what extent is it possible for an ‘ordinary’ school,
in other words one which is not seeking to experiment and to promote its strategy
(institutional, social…), to adopt such methodologies without specific contact with the
school’s inspectorate, researchers, teaching movements, the media etc., without the
discussions, feedback and bonuses (symbolic) linked to these exchanges? This raises a
serious paradox: the more experimental the school practices in place, the more the
transferability it is trying to promote is likely to be endangered …
We are well aware that what is desirable belongs more to the nation, to politics and to
institutional decision-makers, but we would nevertheless like to highlight two points in
this respect.
The first arises both from policies (to what extent is it desirable to attempt to unify
educational operations?) and from research insofar as, in our opinion, there are far too
many gaps in the information on which such decisions are based:
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– it is important, in effect, to extend the methodology and the effects of these teaching
methods, in particular by studying their differences depending on the school level and
the category of pupils (primary school, types…);
– it is equally important to study these issues in more depth, taking into account other
styles of teaching (project-based teaching, for example);
– it is still crucial to clearly formulate these questions with competent teachers who
respect their pupils with respect to what we include in the category of ‘classic’ or
‘ traditional’ working methods, in order not to be too quick to throw out approaches that
have sometimes been hastily compiled or criticized on the basis of certain abuses…
The second point concerns the limitations of the working methods we have studied,
especially as they may exclude a priori other interesting possibilities from the
specialised literature which exist elsewhere (small group work, individual help with
spelling problems, instructions for joint writing, long writing…), or in that some of the
emphasis (on research and creation in mathematics, for example) results in a certain
degree of disequilibrium (absence of similar grammar or science initiatives, for
example).

2-3 – Conclusion

Obviously, many questions still need to be answered. We have tried to provide

additional answers through the research work currently in progress. Nonetheless, I
would like to highlight three points to conclude this report. The first point is a reminder:
with regard to the prior state of the school, the pupils concerned and the surrounding
area, this experience is undeniably a success, whatever the problems that remain to be
addressed. The second concerns our methodological choice: for feasibility reasons (in
the comparisons), we have highlighted in the data collected, at least in part, categories
of situations and productions, which tend to be slightly out of step with the ‘usual’
working methods of the Freinet pedagogy (and it is the same for institutional
assessments). This tends to reinforce the validity of the first point. Finally, depending
on the way we deal with the question of transferability, the third point risks going
unnoticed. In a way, through this experiment, and contrary to many of the views
currently held, the “Freinet” teaching methodology has demonstrated its potential and
its adaptability that goes far beyond single classes, rural backgrounds or “non
disadvantaged” pupils.
 179

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Carra C. (2004a), « Participation citoyenne et construction de normes : quels effets sur les
violences scolaires ? », Spirale, n° 34, Citoyenneté et rapport à la loi, 41-53.
Carra C. (2004b), « La pédagogie Freinet peut-elle contribuer à la lutte contre les inégalités
face à l’école ? », Communication au 12e congrès mondial d’éducation comparée, La
Havane, 25-29 octobre.
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 180

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3 – THE DEMOCRATISATION OF ACCESS TO SELECTIVE EDUCATION

IN FRENCH HIGHER EDUCATION : PSE (PROJET SOUTIEN À
L’EXCELLENCE/ EXCELLENCE SUPPORT PROJECT)

Graciela Padoani David, Doctor in Educational Sciences, PROFÉOR – CIREL,

University of Charles de Gaulle Lille 3, ESCIP - School of International Business

Inequalities in the field of education reflect numerous forms of social inequality. Our
research study concerns those pertaining to access to selective higher education
programmes in France.
European policies concerning education and youth-related European policies have three
principle objectives : to build a European knowledge society, to develop a European
cultural space, and to actively involve European citizens in Europe’s construction, all
three incorporating greater social cohesion.
In France, the latter objective highlights the specific nature of the French higher
education system: the division between state universities (guardians of the principles to
which the nation is attached : i.e. free and equal educational opportunities) and the
competitive-entrance higher education institutions known as Grandes Ecoles, renowned
for their system that offers places based on a highly selective entrance exam. French
secondary schools offer their best students specially designed and highly intensive post-
baccalauréat foundation courses to prepare for these exams. It should be noted that
traditionally, Grandes Ecoles’ students come almost exclusively from more advantaged
social backgrounds.
In order to try to remedy this injustice, a new policy was introduced in 2005 to
compensate for inequality in career opportunities, with a partner who, until then, had
been relatively uninterested in the situation, namely the “crème de la crème” (the cream
of society, the best) of the higher education system, the Grandes Ecoles. The aim is to
offer the best pupils from socio-economically deprived areas the opportunity to go
 182

further thanks to partnerships between higher education institutions and “lycées”

(secondary schools) in ZEP (Zones d’éducation prioritaire/ Education Action Zones).
This policy was inspired by initiatives developed by two Grandes Ecoles in Paris which
began to extend their offer of places in 2001: the IEP (Institut d’Études Politiques/
Institute of Political Studies) -called “Sciences Po” (Political Studies) - and ESSEC
(École Supérieure de Sciences Économiques et Commerciales/ ESSEC Business
School).
How effective are these democratisation of access to selective higher education
programme strategies ?
We explored the issue through our PhD (Padoani David, 2008) and collected the data in
a field study of one of these projects, called PSE (Projet Soutien à l’excellence/
Excellence Support Project). Launched at the beginning of the 2005-2006 academic
year, it involved a partnership between a “lycée” (secondary school) in ZEP (Zone
d’éducation Prioritaires/ Education Action Zones) and one engineering school and
business school complex (EIPC-ESCIP campus), both in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais
region, within the framework of two Interreg III Anglo-French micro-projects, which
we coordinate on the French side.9 The results were analysed on the basis of data
collected during the first two years of the project, which adopted one of the two models
that inspired higher education institutions.
We will begin by outlining the origin of these new measures for the democratisation of
access to selective education and the two models that have emerged since 2001. We
will then present our research results with respect to the students concerned and their
school.

3-1. Background to the democratisation of access to selective higher

education schemes

Educational inequalities linked to social background are played out in two ways : via a
vertical differentiation and via a horizontal differentiation. The former concerns the
length of studies beyond compulsory education, while the latter concerns the choice of
options during the first years of secondary school, reinforced by the options and choices
made during the final years of secondary school. According to some authors, this

9 The two Interreg III Micro-projects are respectively entitled: “Théâtre, prévention exclusion des jeunes/
Theatre and preventing youth exclusion” and “Élargir la participation dans l’éducation supérieure/
Widening participation in Higher Education.”
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second factor has become more predominant in recent years (Merle, 2002; Dubet, 2004;
Duru-Bellat, 2006). Thus, with the introduction of comprehensive school (collège
unique) and the fact that most children now stay on at schooland and attend a “lycée”,
families from socially and culturally advantaged backgrounds seek to maintain their
children’s advantage by choosing good schools, circumventing their immediate
catchment area whenever possible or paying for private education, and then choosing
the most selective main subjects and options.10
The situation is the same when it comes to higher education, with socially and
culturally advantaged families trying to preserve their children’s advantage by opting
for selective higher education programmes (especially the Grandes Ecoles).
These highly valued programmes focus on professional content, subsequently allowing
easier access to the job market. In France, higher education and good qualifications are
particularly important both in terms of access to employment and salary levels. Longer
studies and the ensuing degrees have a high payback rate. Having a good degree opens
doors to jobs and has a real impact on income while, on the contrary, lack of a degree
increases the likelihood of unemployment and its length.
Degrees with a high professional focus guarantee access to better jobs compared to
general degrees at the same level (Giret, Mollet and Thomas, 2003).11 This explains, in
part, the popularity of selective degree programmes with students.12
However, young people from modest backgrounds find it extremely difficult to gain
access to these programmes, especially the most selective (Albouy and Waneck, 2003)
and, in the Grandes Ecoles, the educational elite merge with the social elite. To some
extent, this situation has an impact on both economic competitiveness, and thus on
French economic growth, and on social cohesion.13 In terms of competitiveness and
economic growth, the Grandes Ecoles turn away a number of talented people. On the
issue of social cohesion, the urban riots of November 2005 and the demonstrations
against a new type of employment contract, called CPE (Contrat pour l’Embauche/

10 La France en transition 1993-2005, La Documentation française. Paris 2006, p. 165, Doc. I: “La
Formation et l’égalité des chances.” Source : www.cerc.gouv.fr
11 Ibid, p.211.
12 Cf. the DEPP information bulletins (Direction de l’évaluation de la prospective et de la performance/
Ministerial assessment, forecasting and performance department) N° 08-26 August 2008 and N° 06.23,
August 2006, which respectively note the reduction in the number of students in nearly all universities
and the rise in the number of students enrolled in foundation courses. Source: www.education.gouv.fr :
“Les étudiants inscrits dans les universités publiques françaises en 2007” and “Les étudiants en classes
préparatoires aux grandes écoles - croissance soutenue des effectifs - année 2005-2006."
13 La France en transition 1993-2005, La Documentation française. Paris 2006, p. 211.
 184

Contract for Employment), in the spring of 2006, are just two examples of revolt
against the present situation.

3-1-1 The two models

Within the context of the democratisation of access to top education, since the elite,
often cut off from the everyday social environment, tend to reproduce the elite, higher
education selective institutions do not generally welcome students from secondary
schools in disadvantaged areas with open arms. This was one of the motives behind the
emergence of partnership schemes between selective higher education institutions and
ZEPs, in other words, to encourage the former to contribute to greater integration of
youngsters from “difficult” neighbourhoods.
Two partnership models appeared.
The first model, created by “Sciences Po.”, the IEP of Paris (Institut d’Études
Politiques/ Institute of Political Studies), in 2001, consists of signing partnership
agreements with schools in ZEP. Teachers in these institutions select their best student
volunteers who, after intensive support from around the age of 16, are accepted to study
at Sciences Po. thanks to an adapted entrance exam, in other words, under different
conditions to those imposed on other school leavers. The process is in 2 stages:
“eligibility in the “lycée”, (secondary school) which has entire responsibility, followed by selection by an
IEP admissions panel, with close collaboration between secondary schools and higher education
institutions.”14 Sciences Po. called this experiment: “ Conventions ZEP : l’excellence
dans la diversité” (ZEP agreements : excellence in diversity). In short, the IEP
introduced a partial positive discrimination scheme which begins before the students
join the institution. To be eligible, the performance of the ZEP candidates is not
compared to that of candidates who sit the national entrance exam. According to some,
this would go against French Republican values of meritocratic equality, a concept that
underpins the entrance exam itself. By common agreement, later schemes that adhere to
this idea have been called “Sciences Po model” schemes.
The second model, introduced by ESSEC (École Supérieure de Sciences Économiques
et Commerciales/ ESSEC Business School Paris) in 2002, offers volunteer secondary
school pupils the opportunity to take part in additional courses during their sixth form
programme, the last three classes in a “lycée” (seconde, première, terminale), to allow
them to sit the entrance exam in optimum conditions. This experiment, called “ Une

14 Delhay C., 2006, p.35

 185

prépa, une Grande Ecole, pourquoi pas moi ? ” (A “classe préparatoire”/foundation

course, a Grande Ecole, why not me ?), focuses on supporting pupils through extra
activities, a buddy system and tutoring, without going so far as to design a specific
entrance exam with reserved places as is the case with the Sciences Po. system for
students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds (affirmative action, but because a
specific exam is designed for these pupils, it is closer to the American affirmative
action model).
The ESSEC model has instead chosen to reinforce the social, cultural, educational and
methodological knowledge of the secondary school pupils beforehand to make them
genuinely able to apply for this type of study programme. Furthermore, their
preparation, unlike that of the IEP, stands them in good stead even if they do not pass
the entrance exams to elitist education, because this knowledge once assimilated, is
theirs for life. The “Sciences Po scheme”, on the other hand, reinforces their knowledge
at a later date, after the students have been accepted into the higher education
institution.
These partnership schemes started out as corrective ‘in the field’ responses.
Government measures were passed later, in 2005, in the form of a “Charter for equal
opportunities to access selective education programmes.”15 The government favours the ESSEC
model. The Charter, which ratifies such schemes in accordance with the terms set out
by former Prime Minister and signatory, Mr. Villepin, is based on “an original approach
that involves collaboration to deal with all the major challenges that endanger the
cohesion of our country.”
The Villepin government chose the ESSEC model (without necessarily refuting the
other) because, according to him, it represents a French-style positive discrimination
model, in other words, socio-economic affirmative action that is deeply rooted in the
values of the French Republic.
The government recommended that the charter be adopted at regional level by all
higher education institutions in France, both state and private, from the beginning of the
academic year 2006. It is within this context, and in line with the ESSEC model which
places emphasis on accompanying and tutoring secondary school students from modest

15 “Charte pour l’égalité des chances dans l’accès aux formations d’excellence,” signed by the
Conference of University Presidents, the Conference of Private Universities and the Conference of
Directors of Engineering schools and engineering training schemes, together with the Minister of
Education, Higher Education and Research, the Minister of Employment, Work and of Social Cohesion
and the delegate Minister of Integration, Equality and the Fight against Exclusion. Access to Higher
Education: the implementation of the Charter for Equal Opportunities to Selective Academic
Programmes. Circular N°2005-148 DU 22-8-2005. Source: www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2005.
 186

backgrounds but with promising academic potential, that we set up our PSE
“Excellence support project”.

3-2 – The PSE (Projet Soutien à l’Excellence/Excellence support

project)

The Excellence support project studied a tutoring initiative in a secondary school in a

ZEP (Zone d’Education Prioritaire/Education Action Zone), the lycée (secondary
school) Jean Moulin in Roubaix. The pupils were tutored by students from ESCIP
(Ecole Supérieure du Nord-Pas-de Calais/Nord-Pas-de-Calais School of International
Business and the EIPC (Ecole d’Engénieurs du Pas-de-Calais/Pas-de-Calais
Engineering School). It began on Tuesday 7 November 2006 and ends in August 2009.
Some of the tutors (on one-year academic exchanges in France) come from developing
countries, in particular Latin America. The results presented herewith concern the first
two academic years, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. 14 top students were involved in the
project each year, chosen by their principal year teacher.
They were given two hours of tutoring a week in small groups. They used the most
effective Grandes Ecoles teaching activities and strategies to help enhance the pupils’
chances of joining higher education programmes, thereby improving their employability
and social mobility (trips abroad, body language and oral expression, activities during
the “Semaine de la science” (National Science Week), visits to museums and
companies, CV writing, simulated and filmed job interviews, etc). The purpose was
also to increase the pupils’ interest and motivation through input from a wide range of
activities that extended the pupils’ traditional learning frameworks and helped them
explore the possibility of entering higher education.
All of these pupils’ marks, along with those of their peers who did not take part in the
tutoring scheme, were collected during the two academic years in question in order to
measure the progress made by the two groups. Interviews were conducted with the
members of staff responsible for the project and the pupils taking part, and the pupils
were also asked to fill in a questionnaire.
As it was too early to assess the indirect effects from the pupils’ study paths, the marks
obtained by the pupils who received extra tutoring appeared to provide the best measure
of the directly perceptible impact of the project (data from annual evaluations given to
pupils taking part in the project by their class teachers; these results were compared
with those of their peers who did not take part in the project: detailed breakdown of
 187

marks per subject by term and annual average for the classes that included pupils in the
tutoring programme).
It was automatically assumed that the pupils in the programme would do better than the
others: they had been chosen by their teachers for their excellent academic results and
their motivation (meritocratic criteria). The difference in average marks between the
two sub-groups was consequently not considered a reliable indicator. The indicator
chosen was the progress in marks from one term to another, and over the academic year
as a whole. This progress was expressed as a percentage of overall progress, i.e. a
student mark of 10 in the first term and 12 in the second was recorded as a 20% rise in
progress.
The semi-directive interviews with the staff from the ZEP (Zone d’éducation
prioritaire/education action Zone) secondary school involved in the project (the head,
the vice-head, the head teacher, the coordinating teacher for the pupils and the tutor-
students) and the participating pupils were also carefully analysed.
Given the small sample population and the short-term aspect of the project, this
experiment provided a mini-laboratory that identified the impact of the democratisation
of access to selective higher education for a previously excluded public. To this end, the
case study provides an excellent tool as it relies essentially on a single instrument
(access to selective higher education by means of tutoring education action zones’
students), it has a very short timeframe (two years) and finally, the case study is limited
to one group whose progress can be compared with that of their peers in the control
group that is not receiving any such scheme.

3-3 – Results

Given the innovative nature of the topic, our case study was not grounded in any
explicit hypotheses, but instead adopted an explorative-descriptive approach. Our
objectives were nonetheless clearly defined: to provide information about what can be
expected from the democratisation of access to selective higher education.
The first two years of the “Excellence Support Project” provided us with the following
results regarding three key areas: academic success, the development of new ambitions
and enhanced career plans, and lastly, the benefits, and the added value for the whole
school which adopts such a scheme.
 188

3-3-1 – Academic success

From the point of view of academic success, all the students who were able to profit
from tutoring during the “Excellence support Project” had higher averages during both
consecutive academic years. This was to be expected as these students had been
selected for their excellent school results. On the other hand, from the second term
onwards, the progress made in their general average mark was greater than that of
students who did not have access to tutoring. These results were statistically significant.
11th grade pupils (première) who had joined the project the previous year but who had
subsequently dropped out of the project lost their advance over their peers (all the other
11th grade pupils). Pupils from this age group appear to need to continue the tutoring
scheme in order to stay ahead of their peers. These results should be considered as
general trends as they were not statistically significant.
The scheme seems to have made it easier for pupils to acquire and develop knowledge
and know-how, study methods, cognitive learning skills (development of a critical
mindset), and good interpersonal skills. The scheme also seems to have helped them
mobilize their intelligence to reflect on what they are doing (metacognition) and on the
pleasure of learning. These two types of knowledge, know-how and interpersonal or
soft skills, are used in higher education institutions and the Grandes Ecoles to give
students better training as future company executives.
Teaching methods used to train the elite include working in small groups, cooperation
rather than individualism, project-based learning and partnerships. This methodology is
used to help develop the competencies of top European managers:16 creative,
operational and strategic entrepreneurial individuals with highly developed analytical
capacities. In short, our results highlight the effectiveness of tutoring in learning.
‘Good’ pupils from Eduation Action Zones , who have been spotted, selected and
supported, succeed just as well as students from more privileged backgrounds. In
addition, the scheme taught the students how to work collectively, in groups and on
projects. These study conditions had previously been reserved above all for students in
foundation course institutions and the Grandes Ecoles.

3-3-2 – The development of new ambitions and enhanced career plans

16 Professors from the HEC Group, L’école des managers de demain, Economica, 1994, p.617.
 189

Tutoring outside the classroom seems to foster the learning capacities that help top
students succeed at school, as well as developing their ambitions, giving them a sense
of excellence, and improving their career plans. The scheme seems to expand the
participating pupils’ mental referential framework. While, at the beginning of the
academic year, the pupils’ had no precise idea of their future, at the end of the project,
and with career guidance which is part of the tutoring programme, all of the pupils were
able to define the type of studies they hoped to pursue for their chosen career path. All
of them had broadened their options in terms of their study plans.

Our results correspond with those of the first ESSEC-tutored pupils: these pupils got
better grades in their baccalaureat results than the other pupils in their secondary
school, and over 80% of them went on to join long higher education programmes, the
main purpose of the scheme and, in addition, they all “discovered a wider range of
career options than they had previously envisaged.” Of 19 students, 15 started the
foundation courses for the Grandes Ecoles, 3 joined IUT (Institut Universitaire de
Technologie/Technology-oriented University Institutes), and 1 opted for a medical
faculty.17
Our findings also fit in with those observed by Sibieude, Louveaux and Dardelet
(2008), who noted ‘promising’ results for “secondary school pupils from modest
backgrounds, with good potential, that helped them to develop their potential and their
choices more fully.”18 They also correspond to the first IEP observations, since all the
pupils went on to better things than might have been expected had they not taken part in
the democratisation of access to selective higher education programme schemes: 17
students from education action zones’ secondary schools have now finished their IEP
programmes, and 3 of them were among the top 10% in the Class rankings.19
Studies conducted with secondary school practitioners indicate that tutoring appears to
compensate for some of the problems encountered by their pupils: poor study methods,
cultural lacuna, lack of career orientation, etc. The practitioners note the importance of
learning to express themselves and soft skills. They believe that the scheme helps pupils

17 Blanchard M., Favier I., Gaini M. Scotton C., (2006) “Mixité sociale dans l’enseignement supérieur :
doit-on faire de la discrimination positive ? The dossier was compiled from seminars with students that
reflected on inequalities at school and the assessment of so-called “positive discrimination” policies in
higher education. 18 January 2006. Document 8: Presentation of ESSEC programme “Une grande école
pourquoi-pas moi ?”
18 Sibieude Th., Louveaux F., Dardelet C. (2008), report on first stage of the "Une Grande Ecole,
Pourquoi Pas Moi?" programme (January 2003 - January 2008). Source:
www.pourquoipasmoi.essec.fr/rubrique44.html
19 Delhay C., “Promotion ZEP, des quartiers à Sciences Po,” Hachette Littératures, 2006, p.185.
 190

to foster their oral expression skills and know-how, placing the student “in optimum
conditions” for envisaging higher education. This reflects one of the criticisms made
about the Grandes écoles entrance exam which is said to favour candidates who have
mastered socio-cultural codes, in line with Jacquard’s comments (1998), who noted that
the education system is wrong to focus abusively, and often exclusively, on knowledge
acquisition, considering it as an end in itself, despite the fact that education is not
intended to simply impart knowledge, but rather to provide the best possible solutions
possible through knowledge that facilitates participation in discussions and
relationships with others.

This resonates with Chauveau (2000) who suggests that “the search for excellence” can
also be envisaged "outside of school" in its real sense, through a policy of educational
excellence involving “the development of intelligent partnerships,” not only within the
school walls and during school hours. This implies reinforcing and increasing initiatives
that foster intellectual-cognitive aims and content such as school support programmes
(our tutoring), introductions to Science (our trip to the “La Piscine Museum” and the
“Science Day’s” events ), etc. It also involves promoting and organising “local
education projects between several institutions, providing a range of equipment, and
different kinds of contributors” (our partnership between three local regional partners: a
ZEP secondary school, a higher education institution, a drama group, and UK partners),
which “gives rise to intelligence and knowledge,” “fosters an open-minded attitude”
and “knowledge of different international environments,” (our two trips to England).20

3-3-3 – The advantages, added value to the whole institution.

In addition to the promising school performance results of the pupils, their increasing
interest and motivation to learn (thanks to the input from various activities allowing
them to extend the traditional learning input), and their increased interest and

20 On 18 November 2008, Valérie Pécresse, Minister of Higher Education and Research, introduced the
first “Cordées de la réussite” (links to success), a label that recognises these initiatives and designates the
new partnerships (between secondary schools, business and engineering grandes écoles etc.) to promote
social mobility, equal opportunities and the success of the younger generation in terms of gaining access
to higher education, especially selective education. The “tête de cordée” (leading climbers) are
systematically higher educational institutions, which can lead several teams at the same time, with
different ‘source’ secondary schools or junior high schools. While this recognition “acknowledges a
strong institutional commitment” (to quote the Minister), it also aims to accompany, to support and to
assess these schemes which have increased significantly in less than 10 years. Source: Minister of Higher
Education and Research/ Secretary of State for Urban Policies: “Les cordées de la réussite,” press
release, 18 November 2008.
 191

motivation to explore the possibility of joining elite, long-term higher education

programmes, the “Excellence Support Project” highlight a third factor: improvement of
the secondary school’s image. The school is “pulled upwards” by the introduction of a
place “of excellence” in an area previously rejected as disadvantaged.

Secondary school professionals agree that, while they are aware that the project only
concerns a minority of pupils, it will have a ‘driving’ effect and an ‘osmosis’ effect on
the students, the teachers and the school in general. The ‘social orientation’21 (the
attitude of professionals to their environment) also seems to be “driven upwards.”

This point correlates with Cyril Delhay’s observations (2006). Responsible for
“Sciences Po” agreements, he noted “the undeniable dynamism” created in these
secondary schools which had previously felt relegated to second place, and also in the
disadvantaged areas. Sciences Po has altered its admission selection procedures to
ensure that students benefiting from the scheme really do live in the secondary school’s
education action zones.

Our study results and interviews also appear to correlate with Duru-Bellat (2002),22
who noted that the present context is worsening social inequality and that teachers are
actively participating, albeit to an unequal degree, in creating and maintaining this
context. The author adds that an effective learning environment is not defined simply by
the pupils’ social and academic aspect and that the impact of the school or teachers
themselves is considerable. What is clear is that it is “easier for a school (to be
effective) when dealing with pupils from a privileged background. But research also
shows that the performance of schools with similar publics varies significantly,”23
leading us to imagine that schools have a certain degree of room for manoeuvre, and
that “proactive policies at the level of the school, within the framework of equally
proactive public authority policies that base success at school on initiatives designed to
compensate for the basic inequalities between families at the outset, may end up with

21 Chauveau, Gérard ; Rogovas-Chauveau, Eliane . “Les conditions d’une école efficace en ZEP ,”
Journée nationale OZP (Observatoire des Zones Prioritaires)/National Day of Action Areas Observatory
of 13 May 2006. Actes de la Journée nationale OZP, May 2006, pp.1-2. Source: www.association-
ozp.net.
22 Duru-Bellat M., “Genèse des inégalités scolaires et portée des politiques éducatives,” 2002, in Gaini
M., Scotton C., Blanchard M.,and Favier I., Mixité sociale dans l’enseignement supérieur : doit-on faire
de la discrimination positive ?, report drawn up from pupils’ seminar meetings reflecting on inequality in
education and an assessment of so-called ‘positive’ discrimination policies in higher education, 18
January 2006., p.5.
23 Ibid., p.6.
 192

significantly different results” (Zay, 2005, p. 314). At the end of the day, it is “the
response given by teaching professionals in direct contact with youngsters that is
decisive” (Zay 2005, p.320).
Finally, the questionnaire sent at the end of the project to pupils who took part in the
“Excellence Support Project” and to pupils who did not take part, enabled us to identify
statistical differences between students who received tutoring and those who did not
with regard to what they believed their families’ thought of their academic success and
the pertinence of continuing to higher education. This highlights the importance of
family encouragement. Our results also indicate “the importance of the families active
participation in the creation and preservation of contextual conditions that are more
favourable to the pupils” such as the “academic and career choice and differentiated
auto-selection” (Duru-Bellat, 2002, p.3). In fact, it is the families, in addition to the
teachers, who contribute to widening social injustice by their school orientation
strategies. Within this framework, the results of our study seem to indicate that the
family’s image (or at least the image that the students believe to be held by their
families) plays a role in the social and educational capacity of their children.

In the light of these results, this case study appears to contribute to two topical issues in
the current educational debate.
The first issue concerns the contrast between the academic programme in the grandes
écoles and that delivered to students in a state university. The latter seems to reproduce
the weaknesses in the rest of the school system: focusing on content, or even limiting
itself entirely to content, neglecting the way such content is assimilated and how it can
be applied in other contexts. The analysis of the schemes set up in education Action
Zones’ secondary schools based on the selective higher education model can give rise
to transformations which could also be useful for universities as well as the rest of the
educational system and the youngsters that attend these institutions, should they adopt
the grandes écoles teaching methodologies.
The second point concerns the conditions inherent in tutoring pupils in ‘difficult’
neighbourhoods and the importance of the pupils being able to identify with their tutors
so as to find the adult model they need to develop not only their knowledge, but also
their social identity by projecting themselves into the future. In effect, the student
tutors, some of whom have similar racial origins, are registered in French institutions
that could be considered elitist, but came from developing countries, particularly Latin
America. They were impressed by the resources available to the pupils in the so-called
 193

disadvantaged secondary schools in comparison to the schools they attended during

their own schooling. They thus gave the ZEP (Zones d’éducation prioritaire/educationa
action zones) students a positive image of themselves and their school, thereby
reinforcing the positive image they already had as elite pupils chosen by their teachers.
The analyses highlight both how a culture which grants privileges to certain individuals
is constructed, and how one can acquire it when not born into a privileged class, as the
effects of this programme on the acquisition of cognitive and interpersonal skills by the
ZEP pupils illustrates.

3-4 - Conclusion

This paper has attempted to explore two issues that are at the heart of current political
and ideological debate regarding the challenges of developing equality at school: the
quality of the educational offer in ZEP (Zones d’éducation prioritaire/Education action
zones) and the inequality of pupils’ futures generated by the existence of elitist selective
programmes in French higher education, mainly frequented by students from wealthy
backgrounds.
Concerning the quality of the academic offer in ZEP’s, we believe that these schemes
can make a real contribution to transforming school teaching methods: there is a clear
link between democratisation and the new out-of-school professional practices which
reflect both the normative transformations of the school organisation and an
appropriation process by the players involved in these initiatives (Kherroubi, 2004).
The positive effects of the teaching practices used in these initiatives seem quite
conclusive. They appear to enable the best pupils from ZEPs to acquire a little of the
excellence possessed by the elite (study methods, cooperation, confidence, social codes
…).
With regard to inequality in the pupils’ futures, we need to stress that, contrary to
generally accepted ideas, pupils from ZEPs are not characterised so much by their
homogeneity but rather by their heterogeneity, presenting a far greater range of
educational performance and competencies than elsewhere. The introduction of
differentiated teaching appears far more necessary in such locations than elsewhere
(Chauveau, 2006). It is therefore crucial to address the issue of how we can help the
best pupils to progress, without abandoning the others. The opening up of selective
higher education to a few pupils from modest backgrounds leaves the question
regarding the future of the majority of less good pupils unanswered.
 194

Regarding the positive results derived from the out-of-school activities studied, if these
initiatives ‘work’ for the pupils who benefit from them (while remaining aware that
there are also other objectives about which higher education institutions and grandes
écoles are less vociferous like reputation and renown, the drop in student numbers and
the difficulties experienced by foundation course institutions, the wish for new blood,
for example), can they be copied, transferred, and adopted for the other, less brilliant
pupils?24
Our study is currently focusing on this issue (school year 2008-2009) in the
prolongation of the ZEP Jean Moulin lycée - Campus EIPC-ESCIP partnership, in a
research partnership with the “ZUP de CO” association, an association founded by
ESSEC alumni, which carries out ZEP-selective institutions partnerships
(www.zupdeco.org).

REFERENCES : QUOTED TEXTS AND AUTHORS

Auduc, Jean-Louis (2008). Le système éducatif. Un état des lieux. Paris, Hachette Education.
Albouy, Vincent ; Waneck, Thomas (2003). « Les inégalités sociales d’accès aux grandes écoles »,
Économie et statistique, n° 361, pp. 27-52, Insee.
Blanchard, Marianne ; Favier, Irène ; Gaini, Mathilde ; Scotton, Claire ; Bouagga, Yasmine (2006).
Mixité sociale dans l’enseignement supérieur : doit-on faire de la discrimination positive ?,
Dossier élaboré à partir des réunions du séminaire d’élèves réfléchissant sur les inégalités
scolaires et l’évaluation des politiques dites de ‘discrimination positive’ dans l’enseignement
supérieur, 18 janvier 2006. http://eleves.ens.fr/pollens/seminaires/seances.
Chauveau, Gérard (2000). L’excellence en ZEP et en REP. Compte rendu de la réunion publique du 29
mars 2000, p.3-4, Observatoire des Zones Prioritaires. http://association-ozp.net.
Chauveau, Gérard ; Rogovas-Chauveau, Eliane (2006). Les conditions d’une école efficace en ZEP :
mettre la pédagogie au centre , Journée nationale OZP (Observatoire des Zones Prioritaires)
du 13 mai 2006. Actes de la Journée nationale OZP, 12 mai 2006. http://association-ozp.net.
Delhay, Cyril (2006). Promotion ZEP, des quartiers à Sciences Po, Paris, Hachette Litérattures.

24 Jean Louis Auduc in his book, Le système éducatif, un état des lieux notes that in our present
education system, average students tend to be left to one side. Statistics indicate that 50% of primary
school pupils do very well (with an average mark of over 12), 15% get very poor results, and 35% are
average (average marks ranging between 8 and 12). These 35% are excluded from the system because
they are neither too good, nor too bad. Auduc adds that the lack of support for average pupils puts them
off learning completely. (Source: www.prisme-asso.org). This result should be compared with the initial
findings from the assessment of educational stages by Sibieude Th., Louveaux F., Dardelet C. (2008), “It
appears that the best pupils were the ones who got the least out of the input” from the scheme, a scheme
that “appears to work well for pupils with “good” results but not necessarily “very good” results.”
 195

DEPP (Direction de l’évaluation de la prospective et de la performance) (2008). Les étudiants en classes

préparatoires aux grandes écoles - croissance soutenue des effectifs - année 2005-2006. , Les
notes d'information - N° 06.23, a o û t 2 0 0 6 , http://education.gouv.fr
DEPP (Direction de l’évaluation de la prospective et de la performance) (2008). Les étudiants inscrits
dans les universités publiques françaises en 2007, Les notes d’information N° 08.26, août
2008, http://education.gouv.fr
Dubet, François (2004). L’école des chances : qu’est-ce qu’une école juste ?, Paris, La république des
idées, Seuil.
Duru-Bellat, Marie (2002). « Genèse des inégalités scolaires et portée des politiques éducatives »,
Document 1, in Gaini, Mathilde ; Scotton, Claire ; Blanchard, Marianne ; Favier, Irène ;
Bouagga, Yasmine (2006). Mixité sociale dans l’enseignement supérieur : doit-on faire de la
discrimination positive ?, Dossier élaboré à partir des réunions du séminaire d’élèves
réfléchissant sur les inégalités scolaires et l’évaluation des politiques dites de ‘discrimination
positive’ dans l’enseignement supérieur, 18 janvier 2006. http://eleves.ens.fr/
pollens/seminaires/seances.
Duru-Bellat, Marie (2006). L’inflation scolaire. Les désillusions de la méritocratie, Paris, La république
des idées, Seuil.
Giret, Jean-François ; Moullet, Stéphanie ; Thomas, Gwenaëlle (2003). « L'enseignement supérieur
professionnalisé. Un atout pour entrer dans la vie active ? », Bref, n° 195, mars, Céreq.
Jacquard, Albert (1998). L’équation du nénuphar, Les plaisirs de la science, Calman-Lévy, Paris.
Kherroubi, Martine (2004). "Les pratiques pédagogiques hors classe au collège" in Marcel, Jean-François
(dir.) (2004). Les pratiques enseignantes hors de la classe, Paris, L’Harmattan, pp.19-30.
La Documentation française (2006). La France en transition 1993-2005, Paris : Conseil de l'emploi, des
revenus et de la cohésion sociale (CERCS), Rapport N°7, Document I : « La Formation et
l’égalité des chances », p. 165. http://www.cerc.gouv.fr
Les Professeurs du Groupe HEC (1994). L’école des managers de demain, Economica, Paris.
Merle, Pierre (2002). La démocratisation de l’enseignement, Paris, Repères, n° 345, La Découverte.
Padoani David, Graciela (2008). La démocratisation de l’accès aux formations sélectives : qu’attendre
des conventions de partenariat entre lycées des ZEP et établissements d’éducation
supérieure?,Thèse Doctorale sous la direction de Danielle Zay, Université de Lille 3.
Sibieude, Thierry ; Louveaux, François ; Dardelet, Chantal (2008). Premier Bilan d’étape du Programme
"Une Grande Ecole, Pourquoi Pas Moi ?" (Janvier 2003 - Janvier 2008).
http:///pourquoipasmoi.essec.fr/rubrique44.html.
Sibieud, Thierry (2003). « Une prépa, une grande école de gestion pourquoi pas moi ? » Document 6, in
Blanchard, Marianne ; Favier, Irène ; Gaini, Mathilde ; Scotton, Claire ; Bouagga, Yasmine
(2006). Mixité sociale dans l’enseignement supérieur : doit-on faire de la discrimination
positive ?, Dossier élaboré à partir des réunions du séminaire d’élèves réfléchissant sur les
inégalités scolaires et l’évaluation des politiques dites de ‘discrimination positive’ dans
l’enseignement supérieur, 18 janvier 2006. www.eleves.ens.fr/pollens/seminaires/seances.
Zay, Danielle (dir.) (2005). Prévenir l’exclusion scolaire et sociale des jeunes. Paris, PUF.
 196

4- RESPONSES TO VIOLENCE : DISPARITIES IN PROFESSIONAL

PRACTICE AND DIFFERENTIATED EFFECTS. THE CASE OF FRENCH
PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Cécile Carra, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, IUFM of Nord/Pas de Calais, CESDIP-

CNRS research team, Head of the Research Centre RECIFES, University of
Artois

At the crossroads of political communication and ideological opinions on social

organization, (negative) sanctions are put forward as a necessity to combat violence in
the school environment. They are incorporated in a well-publicized ministerial policy
“that highlights the legitimacy of authority and puts rules and regulations back in their
rightful place at the centre of teaching and develops specific strategies” (Decree n°
2006-125: 16-8-2006). The theme of citizenship has become central in the discourse on
school, a form of citizenship from which the political dimension has disappeared to be
redefined in the apprenticeship of living together (Charlot, 2000) presented as an
obvious fact; a citizenship used to establish a school order with the onus on the pupils
assuming responsibility for themselves. (Barrère, Martucelli, 2001). An indicator of the
reinforcement of this logic is the return of moral instruction which came into force in
the new primary school programmes at the beginning of the school year in Sept 2008.
In secondary schools, the lawmakers have been called on to reform the disciplinary
procedures of 2000 (Pech, 2002, Decrees 5 and 6 July 2000 and Decree n° 2000-
105:11-7-2000), while the issue of early detection has also cropped up (INSERM,
2005). Since the end of 2006, every institution must have developed a preventative plan
against violence in schools. This plan must include a “close partnership” with the
police and judiciary services (White Paper n° 31 of 31 August 2006). Whilst recourse
to the police and the judiciary services remains exceptional in primary schools,
punishments nonetheless appear to be frequent.
The present paper aims to analyze these punitive practices and, more generally,
‘ordinary’ responses to violence from a sample of 31 primary schools in the second
largest Regional Education Authority in France, that of Lille. The schools were chosen
randomly to obtain a representative sample of schools from the Regional Education
Authority, based on three main criteria: their institutional ranking, or not, as the case
may be (Education Action Zone, Violence Prevention Zone, and outside the
classification system), their size and geographical location. They have not been chosen
 197

as experimental grounds for innovation in the fight against violence. They allow us, on
the contrary, to discover, on the one hand, how the teachers use, or don’t use, the
institutional means at their disposal, and on the other hand, the impact and the role of
institutional recommendations on professional practice. Beyond this, we have tried to
identify the strategies employed in schools to fight against violence, their specific
features and their impact. To this end, we will draw on the answers to a questionnaire
circulated to 2000 pupils and a hundred or so teachers. Violence is based on a “violence
score,” calculated from three main indicators: perception, victimization and self-
declared violence. [1]
The pupils’ statements enabled us to draw up a list of punishments that they say they
have been subjected to; they indicate the frequency of these punishments and the
disparities between schools (part 1). We need to understand the origin of these
disparities; in particular we explore whether they arise from the specific features of the
geographical location (catchment area) and socio-economic background of the pupils or
from an “institutional impact.” A wider-ranging study of the processes used to regulate
deviances based on teachers’ statements will help shed light on the logic behind the
actions taken and their differentiated impact on the phenomenon of violence (part 2).

4-1- The frequency and disparity of punishment

This part of the paper sets out an analysis of punitive practices. Studies of this aspect of
the teachers’ job are scarce and it is an area that constitutes the darker side of education.
In effect, punishment is often considered as a sign of failure; the failure of the teacher
in the socialization of the student even if the ultimate responsibility is blamed more and
more frequently on the parents. At the same time, punishment is increasingly
mentioned in the discourse of teachers for its absence, weakness or poor adaptation
which is used to explain the failure. It is, to say the least, troubling question that betrays
“our relationship with authority and violence, and with our own violence.” Prairat
continues: “What we say about punishment is always half said” (Prairat 2001, 42). We

1The data used in this paper is the result of research sponsored by the IUFM du Nord / Pas de Calais and
the CESDIP-CNRS, who put together a team of ten or so researchers (University de Lille 2 and 3) and
primary school teachers from the Nord/Pas de Calais IUFM. The data was first used in Carra, dir., 2006.
The analysis is developed in book currently being edited: Carra C., Violences à l'école élémentaire : ce
que révèlent les déclarations des enseignants et de leurs élèves. (Violence in Primary Schools : what we
can discover from statements by teachers and their pupils
 198

will first take a look at this “dirty job” (Payet, 1995) from the perspective of the pupils’
statements.

4-1-1. Frequent punishments

To the question: “Have you been punished at all this year?” more pupils replied in the
affirmative than in the negative: respectively 48% and 40.4%, with 11.6% of pupils
replying “don’t know.” Amongst the 48%, 28.7% claimed to have been punished “once
or twice,” 9.7% “between three and four times” and 9.6% “4 times or more.” In other
words, almost half the pupils declared having been punished, and almost 10% were
frequently punished.
Amongst the pupils who declared they had been punished, 1.9% said they had been hit
by their teacher. According to the studies by Debarbieux (1999), these practices are
decreasing: he indicated in effect that 9% of pupils punished in primary education said
that they had been hit by their teacher. On the other hand, according to the teachers in
this study, almost 13% admitted to having used violence against their pupils, mainly
physical violence. Douet (1987) noted that 14.7% of teachers in his sample admitted to
spanking a student. Inspector Baldet’s report (2004) recently drew attention to the
continuing use of corporal punishment in certain primary classes. This practice was
prohibited by decree in 1887, a prohibition which was reiterated in the decree of 6 June
1991, which drew up a framework of punishments that could be administered by
teachers against pupils. According to this decree, the total suppression of recreation is
also prohibited; only brief periods of isolation and reprimands are authorized. The
pupils’ statements illustrate the rarity of punishments that respect the law while
highlighting the frequency of extra punitive assignments (figure 1).

Punishments reported by pupils

Type of punishment Num Statements Frequency

I was sent to a corner 130 9.2%

I wrote lines 530 37.4%
I did extra work 144 10.1%
I copied the school rules 165 11.6%
I missed a break 221 15.6%
I was sent to see the head 72 5.1%
I was excluded from school 2 0.1%
I was hit 27 1.9%
Don’t know 60 4.2%
Other 68 4.8%
Total citations 1419 100%

Figure 1
 199

Coding of answers to the open question: “Why were you punished the last time?”
indicates the large number of punishments inflicted for non-standard behavior (34.3%
of responses). In addition to “talking in class” which is the most common explanation
pupils give to explain their punishment, the following verbatim illustrate other
recurrent motives: “I ran in the corridor,” “I was chewing gum,” “I didn’t line up,” “I
went up the stairs without permission,” “I didn’t listen to the teacher,” “I was tilting my
chair back” and even: “I didn’t put my hand up to answer a question.” Unfulfilled
school obligations account for 14.3% of responses. Essentially, this concerns
documents which haven’t been signed and work not done as well as forgetting school
equipment: “I forgot to get my parents to sign my school report book,” “I didn’t do my
homework,” “I forgot my swimming things,” “I arrived late” and “I forgot my book.” In
all, the punishments inflicted usually seem to be based on non-conformity to teachers’
expectancies of how a pupil should act: they account for 48.6% of all responses. While
this data illustrates the distance separating the pupils from school norms, it also
illustrates the difficulty facing teachers to socialize the pupils in their role as a pupil in
a context where the school situation no longer seems to be given but rather a construct
(cf. infra). The data also reflects the cultural divide between teachers and pupils
(Bachmann, Brinis, 1994), a divide which has grown in relation to the working classes
because of the minimum need for school teachers to have at least a degree.
There are far fewer allusions to violence as a cause for punishment although it
nonetheless represents 17.4% of the motives given by the pupils. Physical violence is
the main reason given: “I told another pupil to piss off and I hit him so he was bleeding
from the mouth and nose,” “I got into a fight with a classmate,” “I hit a boy.” It should
be noted that among those pupils punished most frequently, there is a significant over-
representation of pupils mentioning this reason for their punishment (22.7% against
13.9% for the total sample).
In addition, collective punishments represent almost 7.7% of the pupils’ responses: “I
was punished because of the class,” “A student wasn’t paying attention to the teacher
who was speaking and we were all punished.” These punishments call the concept of
justice most strongly into question. 5% of the reasons mentioned could be considered
as attacks against the institution and its representatives: “I answered back,” “I tore out
some pages,” “I was writing on the desks,” “I took the piss out of a canteen staff
member,” “I spoke back to a teaching assistant.” This behavior is considered by the
teachers as real violence because it questions their very identity.
 200

Reasons given by the pupils for their punishment

Why punished Num Frequency
statements
Don’t know 122 13.1%
School obligations not fulfilled 133 14.3%
Non-standard behaviour 320 34.3%
Violence 163 17.5%
Attacks against the institution 36 3.9%
Collective punishments 72 7.7%
Misc and other generalities 87 9.3%
Total mentions 933 100%

Figure 2

Punishment thus appears to be frequent. It is massively used to penalize deviations

from expected pupil behaviour. It also affects the pupils differentially: Pupils who are
late for class and from working class backgrounds are punished most frequently. The
greater distance that separates these pupils from the school norms, difficulties at school
and the different expectations of teachers according to the pupils’ social background25
seem to combine in the production of punitive practices. Could there also be a certain
degree of prudence by the teachers with respect to the potential reaction of parents, the
hypothesis being that the risk of parental reaction increases the higher the social
background level? Prairat notes that even if teachers always tend to be wary of the
parents, practices nonetheless appear differentiated or, to put it more bluntly, it has
always been easier to be a schoolchild from a well-off background (Prairat, 1994).
Debarbieux’s studies also show a correlation between the number of punishments and
socio-demographic variables: “The pupils who are punished most often are mainly
North African boys, pupils who are late and pupils whose parents are from
underprivileged socio-professional categories” (Debarbieux, 2000, 104). While
exposure to punishment is disproportionate, based on the pupils’ social and educational
background, it also varies between schools.

4-1-2. Pernicious effects ?

− An institutional impact ?

As can be seen in figure 3, the frequency of punitive practices correlates significantly

with the school in question

Distribution of punishment according to school

Factor analysis of correspondences from a cross tabulation26

1 To cite one of the first studies: Zimmerman, 1978.

2 The codes allow us to identify the 31 schools: The schools with a code that starts with the
number 1 are schools that are not classified. Those with a code that start with the number 2 are in an
 201

Dependence is very significant. chi2 = 234.19, ddl = 90, 1-p = >99,99%.

Figure 3

The schools coded 1.1., 1.2. and 1.17 deviate most markedly from the median. The first
two have the highest percentage of pupils stating that they have never been punished
(66.7% and 66.2% respectively compared to an average of 45.9%) and the third has,
firstly, the highest percentage of pupils stating that they have been punished, and,
secondly, the highest proportion of pupils saying they have been punished “4 or more
times” (82.2% and 53.3% respectively compared to 21.3% on average). We should
emphasise that these schools are not in an Education Action Zone, nor in a Violence
Prevention Zone.
Schools also differ as to the types of punishment handed out as shown in figure 4.

Types of punishment according to school

Factor analysis of correspondences from a cross tabulation

Education Action Zone and those with a code that start with the number 3 are in a Violence Prevention
Zone.
 202

Dependence is very significant. chi2 = 616.99, ddl = 210, 1-p = >99,99%.

Figure 4

The teachers from schools 3.4., 2.2. and 1.19. most often send their pupils “into the
corner” (17.6%, 21% and 28.9% respectively). School 1.20. is significantly over-
represented in depriving pupils of their playtime (27.3%); school 1.5. stands out for
giving extra school work (21.7%); schools 1.10. and 2.5. for copying the school rules
(22.1% and 25% respectively); schools 2.1. and 1.9. send pupils significantly more
often to see the head (14% and 10.4% respectively). The punitive practices
consequently seem to differ considerably from one school to another. They may even
vary considerably within the same school in comparable cases (Debarbieux, 1999).
According to Prairat (2007), the school staff appear to have more and more difficulty in
adjusting the scale of severity.

− Correlation between exposure to punishment and violence at school

In the group of schools with the lowest violence scores,27 the pupils stating that they
have been punished are also significantly lower (38.6% against 54.3% for the whole
sample) as well as the pupils stating that they have been punished “4 or more times”
(11.9% against 21.8%). At the other end of the spectrum, in the schools with the
highest violence scores, 61.8% of the pupils stated that they had been punished (figure
5).

Distribution of punishments according to the violence score of the school

Factor analysis of correspondences from a cross tabulation

Dependence is very significant. chi2 = 68.69, ddl = 6, 1-p = >99,99%.

Figure 5

1 The schools have been divided into three groups according to their ‘violence score’: the group
“violent schools-” groups those schools where the violence score is significantly below average, the
“violent schools+” groups schools where the violence score is significantly higher than average and the
“violent schools=” groups all the other schools which find themselves within the average band.
 203

According to this data, punishments appear to be interpreted as essential for the

teachers to combat violence, a need perceived all the more intensely if the school is
located in a segregated area, this type of school being over-represented in the group of
schools with the highest violence scores. This need nevertheless appears to be wholly
relative since, in a similar environment, the punitive practices of the schools are not
developed in the same way. To give just two examples from a sensitive zone in the
same network “ambition and success” (RAR : réseau ambition réussite), 63.3% of
pupils from school 2.1. report having been punished compared to 47.1% in school 2.2.
School 2.1. obtains a significantly higher violence score than the average, while school
2.2. is around the average. In the same violence prevention zone, 72.9% of pupils from
school 3.4 state that they have already been punished compared to 36.4% of pupils
from 3.1; the first school belongs to a group of schools whose violence score is
significantly higher than the average, while the second school is around average.28
Moreover, in comparable environments, punitive practices are disparate not only in
terms of frequency but also in nature (cf. figure 6). In the group of schools with the
highest violence scores, the pupils who reported writing lines are significantly over-
represented (43.8%) as are those pupils who report being hit by their teachers, even if
the percentage remains low (3.5%).

Types of punishment according to the violence score of schools

Factor analysis of correspondences from a cross tabulation

Dependence is very significant. chi2 = 42.36, ddl = 14, 1-p = 99.99%.

Figure 6

If there is inequality in the face of violence, with over-representation of schools whose

pupils come from the poorest working class backgrounds in the group with violence
scores significantly higher than average, the schools in question are not all from the
same group: four in seven of the schools with the highest violence scores do not have

1 - Note that this sample has been taken in such a way as to be representative of schools in the ‘Nord’
Regional Educational Authority on the one hand and in pairs allowing comparisons between schools in
the same type of catchment area and with the same type of pupils on the other hand.
 204

any form of classification, two are in an “Education Action Zone” and one is in a
“Violence Prevention Zone.” However, the schools that belong to the latter group stand
out for their frequency of punishment, with their pupils being the most frequently
punished, the most common type of punishment being extra assignments. These
practices thus appear counter productive, to say the least. Moreover, they feed a sense
of injustice among the pupils which is significantly higher in this group of schools and
the practices seem more arbitrary to the pupils from these schools. They also contribute
to the development of a negative relationship in the pupils the most often punished
towards the school and towards others, and in particular towards the teachers. These
pupils also develop the most anti-establishment behaviour and are the most frequently
involved in violence. Such behaviour may thus appear as an attempt to re-establish
justice which had hitherto been denied (Caillet, 2006) or at least to obtain a sense of
recognition, even if this recognition is negative (Carra, 2001). For Debarbieux, “One
of the most devastating consequences of this injustice is the radicalization of hard
cases, as it increases their resentment” (Debarbieux, 2000, 107). It is therefore crucial
to analyse the issue of professional practice in depth in order to manage violence and
social deviance and to study its impact.

4-2 - Dealing with violence : questioning professional attitudes

It is difficult to develop an analysis of the teachers’ statements with regard to the

questions on violence and student deviancy as the remarks made in this regard are
relatively vague. This aspect of a teacher’s work is difficult to observe, as it is a ‘dark’
side of the profession that teachers prefer not to speak about, at least when the answers
mention punishment, a practice considered as “shameful” (Debarbieux, 1999). It is also
particularly difficult to put into words in that it appears necessary and contingent,
uncertain and over-reasoned in a context of “desecration of the school order” (Prairat,
2002).

4-2-1. “Demonstrating authority”

14% of teachers feel that they have a ‘difficult’ class. In the group of schools with
violence scores significantly above average, 21.4% of the interviewees felt this to be
the case. Difficulties are essentially measured by the yardstick of the presence
of “elements who disturb the class,” elements that prevent normal school activities
 205

from taking place: “It’s incredible to see the extent to which a few pupils can disturb a
whole class.” In a context marked by a loss of legitimacy provided by the status of
teacher and the possession of knowledge, the teacher is the person who seems most
directly involved in constructing a school order and managing relationships with the
pupils. The negotiation process involved in establishing or re-establishing school order
is illustrated in the following quote: “Two pupils have behavioural problems and are
disturbing the class. You have to continually negotiate and interrupt the class to
motivate them.” The importance given to discussion in managing violence – the term
most often associated with punishment in the statements made – show the importance
of this dimension in the construction of school order. Such discussions should enable
dialogue to be re-established – “Refuse all forms of violence. Don’t adopt the same
behaviour. Discuss and re-establish dialogue” – remind the pupils of the difference
between good and bad based on morality and even help deviant pupils to become aware
of their acts – ‘Talk to those concerned and get them to justify their acts in order to
become conscious of them.”
This greater mobilization of the stakeholders’ personal resources tends to expose them
more directly to unstable relationships which, according to Périer (2006), are not risk-
free. Colleagues in educational teams constitute another resource, however – 79.6% of
teachers in the sample said they had used turned to their colleagues when confronted
with a problem. But the help drawn on in this case is essentially one of moral support:
“Advice on attitudes to adopt. Colleagues’ support. Speaking helps to get things off
one’s chest at the end of the day” or “It can help to feel more confident about our
decisions, our ideas, our thoughts (I feel less alone).” However, teachers who say they
have a difficult class appear to discuss the problems encountered with their pupils with
other interlocutors less than average: 30.8% said they spoke about such things “rarely”
or “sometimes” (compared to 20.7% on average). When they do so, more of them say
that the discussion failed to help them find solutions to the problems. Thus, 84.6%,
compared to 61.5%, said that the interlocutor “rarely” or “sometimes” helped them. A
higher number (30.8% compared to 17.6%) also said that the pupils could not be
integrated into a class routine: “Always because of non-respect of rules and of others.
They are the pupils who have family problems and need to be noticed in class,” or:
“Some children, are not integrated and don’t try to be because of their differences
(social, educational, maturity).” On the other hand, when the problem is recognized as
one of violence by the community, it is commented upon.
 206

Discipline seems to be a major concern: “we have to keep putting them back on track
and setting limits,” “They’re young (CE1) and so they’re easy to deal with although
you mustn’t be too relaxed. But once they get into the older classes (CM), they can be
much more difficult.” The difficulty increases when the pupils’ behaviour seems to call
into question the teacher’s authority: “A small group that’s difficult to manage as they
dispute everything.” This is when you have to show your authority. Punishment appears
to be an attempt to restore the teacher’s authority and to stabilize a precarious teaching
situation. We have seen that punishments are often used to penalize deviance from the
expected pupils’ “role.” It also seems necessary to act quickly in the case of behaviour
that risks spiralling out of control, a fear that is illustrated in the following quotes:
“There is always the risk of a pupil losing control or a parent’s reaction,” “a feeling
that what has been put in place or constructed is fragile,” or “I’m always worried that
things will get out of control.” Punishment allows a school order to be laid down.
The difficulties of managing a class lead to stress and fatigue: “a large class of 8 to10-
year olds for a double time period with certain disruptive elements who cause a heavy,
talkative, slow, non productive atmosphere... exhausting!” that can lead to chain
reactions when it’s “the final straw,” and punishment may well be inflicted on the last
student to step out of line or on the whole class. This behaviour, even if it rarely goes as
far as the pupils directly casting doubt on the teacher, would appear to be particularly
conducive to a feeling of injustice or at least incomprehension. As noted above, almost
13% of teachers say they have responded to deviant student behaviour with violence: “I
grabbed a pupil by his clothes and threw him out of the class by force,” “a particularly
difficult child in my class had gone too far and hit a classmate on the hand with his
ruler: he got the same treatment from me.” Some teachers consider that their violence
is a necessary reaction to that of the children. One teacher, for example, said that he
“stopped [sic] a fight between two pupils” because: “you have to stop the little boxers
or karate experts who want to lay down the law as if they’re on the street!” Others
suggested that it is not really a question of teacher violence as this behaviour re-
establishes order: “A child threw a tantrum in the canteen. I tried to restrain him, to
calm him down with a firm and calm attitude but without success. In the end, I had to
carry him back to the class by force to get the ‘upper hand’ and save the situation.”
The teachers thus use survival strategies (Woods, 1990) in an attempt to deal with the
situation and “save face”, attempts that are improvised, that can border on the arbitrary
and that end up being no more than a battle of inter-individual power.
 207

4-2-2. An ambiguous use of the rules

86.6% of the teachers said that their class had rules, and this figure rose to 96.4% in the
group of schools with significantly higher violence scores than average. However, the
latter group had the highest number of teachers who said that the pupils were not
familiar with the rules (25% compared to 12.9% for the sample as a whole). However,
they also were the most numerous in saying that their pupils took part in drawing up
these rules (89.3% compared to 81.7%). Finally, they were also the most numerous to
say that the school rules did not change during the school year: 17.9% compared to
11.8% on average. In other words, schools with significantly higher violence scores
than the average appear to differ not so much with regard to the existence of school
rules but by the possibility to develop them. As the pupils’ remarks from this group of
schools also indicated less knowledge of the school rules, we may assume that the rules
are established at the beginning of the school year – and usually automatically
reinstated annually –, with student participation being reduced for the most part to one
or two simple comments and a justification of their legitimacy.
In their responses to violence, the teachers mention punishment which is woven into
their dialogue: “Explanations. Penalties: Punishments for the youngest ones such as
‘lines’: for the older ones, an essay about the incident” or in a totally repressive policy,
which is most often the case in the schools with high violence scores: “Extra
surveillance, immediate punishment,” “Zero tolerance.” The parents are also included
in the discourse in the vast majority of cases “Punishment for the pupils, and perhaps
discussions with the parents,” “calling in the parents and resolving the matter with the
administration.” However, only 16% of teachers referred to the school rules when
deciding on a punishment, another element indicating the importance of individual
responses based more on the interactional stakes than on a reference to a framework of
rules. We should note, however, that teachers in schools with a high violence score
mention the school rules most often.
The same importance is given to school rules as to class rules. Less than 10% of
teachers feel that the school rules are merely peripheral (3.6% in the group of schools
with significantly higher violence scores than the average). The school rules therefore
seem useful, and even indispensable, for virtually all the teachers. The main reason
given is that they help to manage behaviour as the rules serve as “a reference” in case
of problems. Their importance lies in posting rules that everyone is supposed to know,
in particular the children and the parents, the teachers including themselves less often.
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The school rules appear to act as a framework that facilitate the organization of
relationships between the different categories of actors at school (pupils, parents and
teachers) with less emphasis on the final objectives of school: i.e. to train future
citizens, or at least to establish a learning-friendly environment, than as a means of
defining the barriers between “them” and “us,” the children and the parents on the one
hand and the teachers on the other, in a logic of statutory protection. This logic tends to
rigidify the rules; for many teachers, the school regulations must set “the absolute
limits beyond which there can be no discussion,” especially for the parents: “We refer
to the regulations in the case of an “offence.” “In the event of dispute, they enable us to
justify the punishment in the eyes of overprotective parents whose children would
otherwise remain unpunished when they don’t respect the rules” or, “They are mainly
useful for the families so that everyone can respect the school rules. But some people
find them difficult to apply.” And it is doubtless for this reason that the regulations
appear to be posted more clearly in the group of schools with significantly higher
violence scores than the average. For some people, school seems to be the last place
that works according to rules: “Society has rules. Too many local children don’t have
any. School must be a place with rules.” The rules should in turn legitimize the
teachers’ authority: “For safety reasons, the rules are essential. At school, authority is
not up for grabs (the adults have it).”
The first requirement of rules resides therefore in the potential protection they can offer
teachers in the face of pupils’ and parents’ reactions to any punishments meted out
(whether for bad behaviour or learning problems). It is with respect to the latter issue
that tension tends to mount and conflicts break out with the parents, as the educational
stakes appear very early in schooling. And while it is mentioned less forcefully, another
reason lies behind the usefulness attributed to school rules: the coherence of the
teaching approach in schools and the team’s cohesion: “this is the common
denominator for all the pupils … (the rules) set the framework for school life, they are
a point of reference when there is a problem,” “They are a the code that govern the
whole school and provide cohesion” or “Thinking about them and drawing them up
gives all forms of authority coherence.” However, coherence appears to be based more
on a concern to establish authority in an attempt to stabilize school life rather than from
a concern to treat all pupils and parents equitably and this overriding preoccupation is
stronger than average in schools with significantly higher violence scores. Recourse to
the school head, which occurs most frequently in these schools (53.6% compared to
46.2% on average), is in line with this logic. The school head is called upon to both
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legitimize the teachers’ authority and to try to avert deviant behaviour by the pupils and
parents. This use of the rules and the representatives of authority in order to impose the
teachers’ authority tends to harden the relationships between the different categories of
actors.

4-2-3 Ambiguous recourse to the group

Many researchers agree that one of the main levers in combating violence at school is
teaching team cohesion (Debarbieux, 1996, 2006, Van Zanten, 2001, Galland et al.,
2004). The group aspect of teaching, which helps make learning programmes coherent,
nonetheless appears to be poorly developed: 31.2% of teachers stated that they work in
a team more than twice a month. The “one teacher, one class” organization remains the
dominant model and the teacher is generally limited to being in charge of one class
group over the course of an academic year. Schools with the lowest violence scores
appear to work in teams the least often. Schools with the highest violence scores are
barely above the average when it comes to working more than twice a month as a team
(32.1% compared to an average of 31.2%); the schools with median violence scores are
well above this average as 40% of them say that they work more than twice a month in
teams. It may be that schools with the highest violence scores also encounter major
staff turnover problems, which acts as an obstacle to teamwork. However, this problem
is no more marked in this group of schools than in the group of schools with average
violence scores in our sample. We should note however that while the problem indeed
exists for schools in Violence Prevention Zones, only one of these schools is in the
group with the highest violence scores.
When the teachers are asked about the positive aspects of working as a team, they
mention the pupils’ work and school life, sharing tasks, the planning and organization
of activities, the harmonization of practices and sometimes the development of
common teaching tools. More than 59% of teachers judge teamwork as “indispensable”
and 33% of them “useful.” In schools with the lowest violence scores, the number of
teachers who replied that it is indispensable significantly lower (36.8% compared to an
average of 59.1%). This figure is 57.1% in schools with the highest violence scores
(just below this average). It is highest in the group of schools with average violence
scores (68.9%). The importance given to teamwork differs therefore from one group of
schools to another, and has an influence on teaching practices.
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Coherence of teaching input and sharing skills is the reason most frequently mentioned
by teachers in favour of teamwork, whether they consider this work “useful” or
“indispensable.” Beyond these recurrent answers, an analysis of the verbatim allows us
to identify a more specific logic among the teachers who qualify team work as
“useful,” a specificity which is accentuated when this variable is crossed with the
groups of schools formed in accordance with their violence scores. In the group of
schools with the highest violence scores, while the concern to make the teaching input
coherent is manifest, other elements are considered as equally important: to end
isolation, to feel supported : “Continuity in the work done, exchange (working in
cycles), being less isolated,” “To feel less isolated, stay in line with the norm. To see
the difficulties that colleagues are encountering with ordinary pupils” or “Continuity.
Support (both material and moral).” Others added: “To form a close-knit team.”
Escaping from the feeling of isolation and being part of a team corresponds to a
defensive strategy not only with regard to the pupils but also to their parents and an
external environment perceived as hostile and therefore one from which the teacher
needs protection. In answer to the question: “How would you qualify your relationship
with the pupils?,” while the relationships are for almost all the interviewees at least
described as “good,” only 25% of the teachers from schools with the highest violence
scores judged that the relationships are “very good” (against 36.6% on average). To the
question: “How would you qualify your relationship with the pupils’ parents?,” while
once again the majority of responses are positive, whichever group of schools is being
considered, in the schools with the highest violence scores, less positive answers are
more frequent: around 18% judge these relationships as “average” (compared to 14%
on average) and 10.7% “very good” (compared to 19.4% on average). In these schools,
a large majority of the teachers qualify the school’s catchment area negatively (53.6%
compared to 37.6% on average). Responses to the question: “How would you qualify
the atmosphere of the area or the village where your school is situated?” are highly
revealing in this respect: “Difficult, because it’s pretty much the law of the jungle, more
or less inevitable considering the state of poverty for the most part. The inhabitants try
to live their lives too much under the influence of media marketing pressure but they
don’t have the means.” “A climate of indifference, inner withdrawal, sometimes of
violence. The area has been hit by the effects of a downturn in the social climate
(unemployment),” or “Tense atmosphere. Lots of quarrels between parents, complaints,
police-raids.”
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Moreover, in the teachers’ responses from the group of schools with the highest
violence scores, no mention is made of projects, school projects or academic cycles or
any other form of project (educational excursions) when talking about teamwork unlike
the teachers from the two other groups of schools, particularly the group of schools
with average violence. Over 50% of the whole sample nevertheless feels that their
participation in developing the school project has been “significant” and more than
20% qualify it as “very important.” Among these respondents, the teachers from
schools with average violence scores are in the majority: 73.3% compared to 67.7% on
average. On the other hand, most of the interviewees who answered that their
participation had been minor or inexistent were teachers from the group of schools with
the highest violence scores (around a third compared to an average of 26.9%), closely
followed by the schools with the lowest violence scores (31.6%). To the question
“How do you judge the role of the school project?,” the teachers from the group of
schools with average violence scores are the most likely to consider it indispensable:
31.1% compared to 23.7% on average, while the percentage of teachers from schools
with the highest violence scores responding likewise was under this average.
The opinions on the school project are far more divided than those on teamwork: “We
hardly know it and we don’t apply it. It’s just more paperwork” or “It’s simply
eyewash. Waste of time. Of little interest except to please the school inspectors,” but
also “A constant reference, a guide, above all a safeguard” or “It’s a guiding principle
for the team.” However, 36.6% are of the opinion that it is important for the coherence
of teaching input and team cohesion, and this is the most frequent type of response.
26.9% of teachers see the school project as a resource for defining the work to do, or as
teaching guidelines. Teachers from the group of schools with average violence scores
are again the most numerous (35.6%): “The school project gives us avenues to work
from to help the pupils succeed,” “It gives us guidelines to develop student skills” or “It
allows us to refocus the learning input on the pupils’ difficulties.” This percentage is
only 14.3% for teachers from the group of schools with the highest violence scores. It is
21.1% for the last group of schools.

4-2-4. Responses to different systems of logic and to differentiated effects

Two main rationales seem to distinguish the group of schools with the highest violence
scores from that of the schools with average violence scores. In the former group, the
institution’s authority is invoked in the form of the head of the school, the legitimacy of
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relationships of authority is written into the rules, and team cohesion plays a protective
role. This defensive logic is developed through an ‘US versus THEM’ situation.
Answers to the question “Are there special procedures in your school to counter
violence?” are revealing in this respect: “Calling in parents and, above all, staff
solidarity and good mutual understanding regarding this point,” with a repressive
dimension: “Zero tolerance,” “Calling in of the parents + punishment.” The two main
strategies used involve recourse to the rules and calling in of parents. It should be noted
that a significantly higher number of teachers from this group of schools reply
positively to the question regarding the existence of strategies to combat violence in
schools: 64.3% compared to 49.5% on average (44.4% for the schools with average
violence scores).
In the second group, that of schools with average violence scores, the school project
serves as a guiding principle for teaching input, and teamwork provides teaching
coherence. This logic is pursued in relation to the pupils’ learning and achievements.
When the teachers from this group speak of strategies implemented to fight against
violence in their schools, three aspects seem to recur. Firstly, the existence of specific
pedagogical initiatives in almost all the schools: i.e. child counselling, a system of stars
for good behaviour, good conduct diplomas, and “Living Together Better”
programmes. Secondly, discussion with pupils and dialogue with parents: “All violent
situations are analyzed in class,” “We try to understand what gives rise to arguments,
to warn the parents and to try to find solutions with them.” Thirdly, ensuring there are
regular or even daily initiatives: “Continual updating of class rules, debates,” “A good
or bad conduct book with coloured stars every day (green/orange/red). A weekly
summary with punishments/rewards.” While the first group of schools takes a ‘blow-
by-blow’ stance, the strategies in place in the second group seem to be developed
jointly and pedagogically in order to regulate day-to-day school life. In the schools with
the lowest violence scores, the strategies are less frequent and basically involve the
schemes suggested by the programmes: i.e. the “Living Together Better” and “Civility”
programmes or class debates. These initiatives are also mentioned in the other schools.
Where they exist, strategies to fight violence are considered at least “important”
(59.9%) if not “indispensable” (18.9%). Across all groups, these strategies are
considered useful as they are expected to compensate for the poor family background:
“The children must have limits and an educational framework, especially when there’s
not one at home,” or “We have to give a framework to the children who very often have
no reference points.” A study of remarks according to the groups of schools confirms
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the systems of logic noted earlier while revealing differences in the mission attributed
to the school. Thus, in the group of schools with the highest violence scores, some
remarks argue that the main issue is team cohesion and self-protection, “If the teaching
teams show the slightest weakness in this area, anarchy quickly takes over. The parents
and children think that anything goes,” and the role given to parents, “It’s the parents’
responsibility to resolve their children’s behavioural problems,” which also gives us
insight into the meetings that, more than elsewhere, involve calling the parents into the
school. We would like to highlight a response to violence structured by the definition of
an ethos of violence dependant in part on the local context: “Violence only concerns a
minority, 2 or 3 pupils per class. There’s no need to do anything, it would just
stigmatize the pupils and the school in general.” While this response puts the issue of
the school’s reputation into perspective, it also highlights the representation of violence
blamed on the pupils, their background and their environment. The teachers are
subjected to this violence that they perceive as an individual or societal violence, and
the only role they can play is to preserve themselves individually, or indeed
collectively. According to this rationale, answers cannot be found in an ordinary
teaching context but need to be referred to other professionals, either because they have
institutional authority or because they are perceived as experts when it comes to the
question of ‘difficult’ pupils. Attempts to find solutions to the problems encountered in
this group of schools tend to involve recourse to the school head more frequently than
in the other groups of schools (53.6% compared to 46.2% on average), to the school
psychologist (46.4% compared to 28% on average) and to RASED (Réseau d’aides
spécialisées aux élèves en difficulté. Network for specific needs of children at risk)
(39.3% compared to 33.3% on average). While a majority of the other teachers also
point the finger at external circumstances as the cause of violence in school, they
nevertheless feel that they have a role to play if only because “The working atmosphere
and the pupils’ progress depend on it.” Teachers from schools with average violence
scores refer to their educational role: “An education that is a part of what a school
should offer” or “The teacher should also be an educator.” One teacher put it as
follows: “Schools steer clear of injustices that are often at the root of diverse forms of
violence.” In the mind of this teacher, the team spirit governs the coherence of teaching
input which in turn allows fair treatment of pupils who infringe the rules.
Such reasoning is widespread in schools and seems to make the difference in the fight
against violence and more generally in the management of unacceptable behaviour. The
dynamics they bring in their wake give us a better understanding of why similar
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schools, in particular those in Education Action Zones and/or Violence Prevention

Zones, display a significant difference in violence scores. More specifically, in schools
with a high proportion of pupils from the most disadvantaged families, and in similar
catchment areas but with average violence scores, the children feel that they are treated
as pupils capable of progressing and worthy of teacher support in a school environment
where each and every pupil has the right to fair and just treatment. In the final analysis,
it seems that the legitimacy of authority is the main issue, a legitimacy which, in a
context of relegation, is based, on the one hand, less on the teacher’s status than on the
latter’s practices and, on the other hand, less on the school as an institution than on the
way it operates both locally and internally. The legitimacy of authority is defined
collectively and is constructed on site, in situations where the child’s socialization is
not a prerequisite to learning but where it is placed at the centre of the learning process,
thereby symbolically stamping the school space with a specific sense of meaning.

4-3 - Conclusion

The analysis of the pupils’ statements highlights differentiated exposure to punishment

depending not only on their socio-demographic backgrounds but also on the school in
question. The nature of punishments inflicted accentuates the differences between
schools. Professional practices in response to student misbehaviour also increase the
differences between schools. Inequalities in terms of violence are thus exacerbated by
inequalities in punishment practices. The most common responses take the form of
spontaneous individual actions bordering on the arbitrary. It is easy to see why such
responses may be considered by the pupils more as “arbitrary governance” than as a
fair means to manage misconduct. This type of response illustrates both the difficulties
encountered by the teachers in schools where a transitory and unstable order has
become the norm, constructed temporarily and continually on negotiation, and ongoing
relational arrangements
Although they are advocated in the literature as an effective means to fight against
violence in schools, school rules and team cohesion are nonetheless governed by
different forms of logic. When the rationale is defensive, recourse to the rules, the team
and the school head constitute the means used as protection from an environment
perceived as hostile. They are used to legitimize the teachers’ authority and to set the
school limits. When the rationale is educational, however, the rules and teamwork are
seen as a means of allowing the school to help the students to progress. These differing
 215

rationales have an opposing impact on the management of violence, as may be seen

when similar schools with differing rationales are compared. In the first case, the
relationship between the teachers, the pupils and their parents worsens, reflected in a
repressive, blow-for-blow response. In the second case, the responses tend to be
collectively and pedagogically constructed, with initiatives introduced that govern daily
school life. There thus appears to be a school institution effect that contributes to the
construction-deconstruction processes of violence in schools. These rationales are
underpinned by the different self-representations of the practitioners. In the first case,
education is the responsibility of the parents alone, while in the second case it is an
aspect of the teaching profession. We can see that by passing the educative role on to
other actors on the one hand, and the management of violent problems on the other,29
the schools fence themselves into a situation which no longer allows them to act on the
very problems they deplore, at the same time exacerbating the aforementioned
problems. On the contrary, professional practice which is learner- and progress-centred
helps produce a school atmosphere that motivates pupils to adhere to school norms
while offering maximum protection to the teachers.

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Baldet, Nicole (2004). Brutalités et harcèlement physique et psychologique exercés sur des
enfants par des personnels du Ministère. Rapport, Ministère de l'Education
nationale.

Barrère, Anne ; Martucelli, Danilo (2001). Le désordre de la sanction scolaire. Cahiers Alfred
Binet, 668/3, pp. 21-31.
Caillet, Valérie (2006). Sentiment d'injustice et violence scolaire. SPIRALE, Revue de
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problématiques, nouvelles réponses ?, pp. 63-71.
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comparative, le cas du département du Nord. Rapport de recherche R/RIU/03/005,
recherche subventionnée par l'IUFM du Nord / Pas de Calais et le CESDIP-CNRS.
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l’Harmattan.
Charlot, Bernard (2000). Violence à l’école. La dimension ethnique du problème, VEI Enjeux,
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1 Including the increase in the practice of “the right to withdraw,” reaffirming the powerlessness
to act.
 216

Debarbieux, Eric (2000). La violence à l'école. In Van Zanten A. (Éd.), L'école. L'état des
savoirs. Paris : La découverte, pp. 399-406.
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Debarbieux, Eric (1996). La violence en milieu scolaire. Tome I : Etat des lieux. Paris : ESF.
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débutants, SPIRALE, Revue de Recherches en Education, n° 37 : Violences en milieu
scolaire. Nouvelles Problématiques, nouvelles réponses ?, pp. 123-135.
Prairat, Eirick (2007). Sanction/punition. In Barreau J-M. (dir.), Dictionnaire des inégalités
scolaires. Issy-les-Moulineaux : ESF, pp. 254-257.
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Van Zanten, Agnès (2001). L'école de la périphérie. Scolarité et ségrégation en banlieue.
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Woods, Peter (1990). L'ethnographie de l'école. Paris : Armand Colin.
Zimmerman, Daniel (1978). Un langage non verbal de classe : les processus d'attraction-
répulsion des enseignants à l'égard des élèves en fonction de l'origine familiale
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OTHER REFERENCES

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sociologie, XXXIX-4, pp. 651-671.
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Carra, Cécile (2006). Univers de violence des enseignants, systèmes de régulation et pratiques
professionnelles. In Reuter, Y. (dir.). Effet d’un mode de travail pédagogique "Freinet"
en REP. Rapport de recherche R/RIU/05/011, 2004-2006, recherche subventionnée
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Carra, Cécile ; Faggianelli, Daniel (2006). École et violences. Paris : La documentation
française, coll. Problèmes politiques et sociaux, n° 923.
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recherche en sociologie, Déviance et Société, vol. 27, n° 2, pp. 205-225.
Carra, Cécile ; Pagoni, Maria (2007). Construction des normes et violences scolaires. In Reuter,
Y.(dir.), Une école Freinet. Fonctionnements et effets d'une pédagogie alternative en
milieu populaire. Paris : L'Harmattan, pp. 31-62.
 217

Carra, Cécile ; Sicot, François (1997). Une autre perspective sur les violences scolaires :
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des savoirs. Paris : Armand Colin, pp. 61-82.
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5 - CONCLUSION

The case studies in ToR 11 present solutions to issues that we dealt with in the
preceding topics. These solutions have many points in common that also appeared in
the research results mentioned in the other topics.

5-1 – Incorporation of differences, differentiated pedagogy and

tutoring
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All the remediation measures are based on embracing the differences between young
people and developing tailored approaches in working with them. Whichever the form
chosen or the type of pupil in question, in other words, whether “drop-outs” (case study
1 “Démission impossible”) or “top students” (case study 3 Grandes écoles – ZEP
partnership), tutoring appears to be the most effective support measure.
The leitmotiv of our report, which we will not expand on here, remains : if the
education system adopted teaching methods that were more open to differences, we
would not need to spend so much on human and financial resources or to find remedies
for failure, particularly if these methods included partnerships with professionals other
than the class teacher.

5-2 –Internal and external partnership

The second common point characterising the four case studies is that all the social
integration schemes for young people that gave positive results are underpinned by
strategies which provide support for the teachers working alone in their classroom. Staff
teamwork in schools, inter-institutional partnerships with other professionals and
relations developed with families all help foster success with pupils, as well as co-
training and support for teachers.
As we saw in the first case study in ToR 11 (Lemoine, Guigue, Tillard), this partnership
with the world of professionals is crucial in orienting disaffected pupils towards the
world of work. However, extended to other bodies outside the school environment, such
as cultural bodies, for example, it is one of the teaching methods most likely to give
back a taste for learning and education, and to foster a better transfer of their learning to
social and professional life (cf. case study 3, Padoani David).

5-3 – The importance of local versus national

In all four case studies, the contribution by local authorities, and the policies introduced
in their respective areas, represent key strategic factors for the schools in question. The
issue of the articulation between them and decision-making at national level is
particularly relevant in a country with a centralising tradition like France. The fact that
the majority of national elected representatives (members of Parliament) tend to be
more conservative, and the local elected representatives tend to be more socialist (i.e.
town councillors in most big cities and still more those representing the ” départments”
 219

and the regions, are from the opposition in France, under the governance of a president
of the Republic who is highly preoccupied with his own personal power), may be one
of key factors with regard to dysfunction and/or compensation.
However, in both cases, they leave bodies that are closer to the field with real room for
manoeuvre.
Intervention at area or departmental level, rather than at the level of the school or school
disciplines, may enable a support strategy to be developed for schools and teachers
based on the co-training of school staff from one institution working in another, thanks
to some of their members who, because of their personal capacities and the cooptation
of their peers, become “project coordinators” taking on the role of “mediators” with
families, the authorities and acting as “tutors” for the pupils. They are more aware of
the problems than outside contributors, as they continue to work part-time in their own
classroom and, as they belong to the same professional body, they are more likely to be
listened to by the others (cf. case study 1, Lemoine, Guigue, Tillard, p. 7-10).
We will now conclude with the characteristics of the French education system as a
whole and the specific factors affecting success and failure, in order to put forward
questions that need addressing in comparison with the nine other national teams taking
part in the DOCA project.

CONCLUSION : WHAT ARE THE ISSUES RAISED BY THE

FRENCH REPORT FOR A EUROPEAN COMPARATIVE STUDY?

The French report describes situations which raise issues that must be placed in a
European context if we are to take the DOCA project further and provide a valid
comparative study between the ten participating countries : France, Germany,
Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United
Kingdom.

The project’s aim is to identify “good practice” from existing research, and decide how
this can be transferred to support schools and teachers in order to foster social inclusion.
This is the focus of the French report. Nevertheless, the authors of the national reports
will probably have to define the term “good practice” for all ten countries. Indeed, there
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is a risk of misunderstanding as questions are raised about the initial objectives and
their assessment, which may differ from one research team to another.

The same is true for our research goals. If we are dealing with strategies to foster
inclusion, we need to know which concept of inclusion we are talking about and the
corollary social exclusion we are referring to because this will influence the ways and
the means we choose to deal with the problem in schools.

From our previous research, we learnt that although European countries have chosen
the same type of market economy and democratic society, they do not have the same
view about the kind of society and school that will best serve their goals. In particular,
their education and social policies are not inspired by the same paradigm with regard to
the DOCA project (Zay, 2005 a & b, 2007).

We need to have clear principles to guide our comparative reflection and this is what
we have endeavoured to develop in our report.

Indeed, we refer to the principles we drew from the French experience relative to the
Council of Europe recommendations in order to identify and put forward the main
issues to be discussed and included in the final report regarding the ten participating
countries:

- What are the principles to follow and the questions to raise with respect to support
strategies for schools and teachers in order to foster social inclusion?

- Differing concepts of social exclusion and citizenship

- Competing models of school in one country and convergence with those of another
country

- Strengths and weaknesses of the French mainstream model

- Converging students’ problems and strategies for supporting schools and teachers

- “Community development” as a means to respect differences in the whole community

of free and equal citizens

- Learning about otherness as a conceptual link between learning programmes and ways
of working

- The do-it-yoursef as a strategy for supporting teachers as a support strategy for

teachers

- From unexpected events to strength in numbers

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1 - WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES TO FOLLOW AND THE QUESTIONS TO

RAISE ABOUT SUPPORT STRATEGIES FOR SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS
IN ORDER TO FOSTER SOCIAL INCLUSION?

1-1 - The European choice of educating citizens-to-be for democracy

The development of international exchanges has led to both growing inequality

between citizens from a same country, and a growing number of new immigrant
populations arriving for economic or political reasons. No EU member state can be
quite as irrational as to ignore them or to neglect the debate on how we can live
together on the same soil. Iraqi-born Ezra Suleiman, citizen of the United States, who
did his undergraduate studies in the United Kingdom and is interested in France “by
chance,” noted that Europe is wealthy and the fear of a new world is “the privilege of
the affluent” (Blumenfeld, 2008).

Like the publications by the Council of Europe, our analyses from ToR 1 to 11 have
led us to the conclusions that the goal of all education for democracy encompasses
both :

- developing the social links that make all citizens, whatever their origin of birth,
members of a same State, setting out their rights and duties with respect to the
observation of the same laws;

- respecting individual differences whatever their origin and whether biological or

socio-culturally constructed, and ensuring that everyone has access to the means to
optimum personal development, taking into account what he or she is by nature and
not by socially-generated discrimination, whatever the social group, family or
other.

“Maintaining and developing the unity and diversity of European societies” is the
introduction to a recent Council of Europe report on the survey concerning initial
teacher education with respect to socio-cultural diversity (Arnesen, et al, 2008, p. 9).

In this sense, many of the dilemmas posed in a limiting binary logic based on an
“either …or” attitude and a Manichean vision of the world, seem to us to be of little
relevance and should be reviewed in the light of what all individuals have the right to
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hope for in a democratic society, i.e. economic and social security and freedom of
thought and lifestyle, which only ends where that of others begins (cf. Montesquieu,
1748).

The political choices of member states do not call these principles into question but,
firstly, they do not have the same concept with respect to their realisation and,
secondly, they have problems regarding their application, which need to be corrected
in the face of common problems.

1-2 - The shared issue of social exclusion

European countries and, more generally, developed countries belonging to the OECD
(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) aspire to economic growth
considered to be at the heart of social and cultural development. The origin of the
European Union is the “Common Market”. Political choices followed on from
economic choices. The market economy is a fact and a creed common to all the
countries in the EU. It has generated an increase in the National Product and incomes,
but at the same time has widened the gap between those who take part in the growth
and those who are excluded from it.

In all European countries, ‘pockets’ of poverty and of relegation remain, where young
people from low-income environments reject a society which they consider to have
failed them (Innocenti, 2000). Policies oscillate between the need for security and
preventing school and social exclusion.

Educational issues cannot be detached from this general context. Economic

development is considered to be dependent on a highly qualified population and access
to the labour market is linked to having the right qualifications. Social and professional
inclusion depends on academic success and businesses need staff who can adapt to
technological progress. School therefore has a key role to play for both individuals and
for society.

The statistics give us an unambiguous response : school exclusion and social exclusion
are apparently linked as is the precariousness of a section of the population, left behind
by the economic growth in Europe, and which now finds itself in suburban ghettos on
the edge of cities. A study of international trends on the effectiveness of schools shows
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that “‘ineffective’ schools are located in sectors with poor socio-economic resources”
(Thrupp, 1998, p. 205, op cit. by Welsh, 2005).

In all democratic and economically developed countries, research explores how to

prevent and resolve these problems, but different paradigms underpin the policies for
tackling them both in terms of society and education.

2 - DIFFERING CONCEPTS OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION AND CITIZENSHIP

2-1 – The two most conflicting paradigms of exclusion in European

countries

Various paradigms of social exclusion are debated across the European Union,
grounded in different concepts of integration and citizenship. They apply in all
countries but one in particular dominates in each. On two opposite sides of the fence,
the Anglo-American specialisation paradigm underpinned by a neo-liberal overview of
the world contrasts with the paradigm of French solidarity, based on a concept put
forward by Durkheim. While each paradigm gives rise to certain social and educational
national policies, no education system is entirely homogenous. School models compete
and each one struggles more or less successfully in some part of the system with respect
to the strength of the competitive social forces that support them. (Cousins, 1988).

Two conflicting traditions from the different variations are the nineteenth century
Anglo-Saxon liberal tradition of research into poverty and the continental tradition of
social exclusion.

The notion of poverty is based on distributional issues and defined as “a lack of

resources at the disposal of an individual or household.” The concept of social
exclusion, in contrast, is conceived in accordance with relational issues. This implies
“inadequate social participation, lack of social protection, lack of social interaction and
lack of power” (Room, 1995, p. 105).

According to Gore (1995), this line of thought was particularly strong in France in the
1970s. It influenced the definition of the RMI (Revenu minimum d’insertion) or
minimum income for social integration, considered as “a form of regulation of the
social link and a response to a perceived threat to social cohesion” (quoted in Silver,
1994, p. 534).
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The discourse spread from France to other European countries and the term was first
used by the European Commission in 1989, when the Council of Ministers requested
that the European Commission study policies to combat social exclusion. Since this
date, the European Commission has preferred it to poverty. It has linked the notion with
the idea of an inadequate realisation of social rights. Thus social exclusion has been
defined as “incomplete citizenship” due to deficiencies in the possession of rights as a
citizen and inequalities in the status of citizenship (Gore, 1995, p. 19).

The European Observatory on National Policies for Combating Social Exclusion, set up
in 1990, defines it in relation to “the social rights of citizenship... to a basic standard of
living and participation in the major social and occupational activities of society”
(Room, 1993, p. 14). The principal focus of the Observatory has been on the
effectiveness of different national, regional and local policies. What barriers do citizens
face in order to exercise their rights? What are the consequences if they do not
participate in the main institutions of society and are deprived of them over the long
term? (Room, 1993)

The Council of Europe publications disseminate examples of education which illustrate

how schools can prepare citizens-to-be for democracy (cf. References : Council of
Europe publications: Human rights education, intercultural education, education for
democratic citizenship).

Anglo-American liberalism ‘conceives the social order, like the economy and politics,
as networks of voluntary exchanges between autonomous individuals with their own
interests and motivations” (Silver, 1994, p. 542). Each is thus responsible for his or her
own success or failure. The poor are deemed responsible for their situation and for
developing the means of escaping from it.

In Britain, social political discourse has used terms like “long-term dependency”, “new
poverty” and “underclass problems” which are to be combated by “self-reliance”,
“enterprise” and “opportunity” (Silver & Wilkinson,1995).

Like any other sector of society, school is dependent on the laws of a self-regulating
market. School heads in the most sought-after institutions only accept pupils with good
results. Those in institutions in disadvantaged areas are obliged to take anybody who
registers in order to have the required number of pupils for funding. All pupils must sit
national tests, however, and the institutions find themselves in competition. Schools
where pupils get the worst results risk being closed (Welsh, 2005).
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In France too, the new measure cancelling the “carte scolaire,” the catchment area list
of schools according to where parents live and consequently where they are obliged to
register their child at school, corresponds to free consumer choice combined with the
negative effect of strengthening the “ghettos.”

The notion of social exclusion in French republican tradition reflects a lack of solidarity
as a rupture to the social fabric. This is Durkheim’s inheritance and centres on social
links, organic solidarity and social order. Exclusion occurs when the links which
connect an individual with society are broken. The opposite of exclusion is integration.
The concept of republican citizenship includes political rights and duties and an
obligation for the State to help the excluded to be included.

In the same way, school, a compulsory public service, must ensure equal access to
knowledge for all, even if it means giving more to those who have less. Regulation
operates by way of a supposedly strong administration that is expected to guarantee
equal opportunities for all.

2-2 - Competing models of school linked to two opposite views of

society: liberalism and solidarity

The paradigm of solidarity in relation to social exclusion in France corresponds to a

philosophy of integration at school, by which all the stakeholders (teachers, school
staff, parents and pupils) consider that young people must go to school and that schools
must be financed by the State, including the State-endorsed private sector, which
receives public funding and follows the same curriculum and rules of schooling as
secular state schools. Private schools take in 17% of all pupils. This percentage varies
widely depending on the classes, with notable increases between primary and secondary
school. 93% of private schools and 98% of grant-aided schools are Catholic, some
schools are Protestant, about fifty are Jewish, and some belong to a national Federation
of secular private schools (Auduc, 2008, p. 215). Some Muslim families who want their
daughters to wear the headscarf register them in Catholic schools because such schools
will take in pupils who wear religious symbols that are banned from the secular state
schools. Others register with “CNED” (Centre national d’enseignement à distance/
National Centre for distance learning) correspondence courses. In France, the private
sector function may be considered as a safety valve in relation to state schools. This is
 226

why parents are so fond of them, even when they have no strong religious convictions.
(cf. Langouët, Léger, 1994, 1997).

Exclusion from school is prohibited in primary education and relatively rare in

secondary education. Pupils must always be attached to an institution, whether within
or outside of school. Compulsory schooling only begins at 6 years old, but all children
can register for nursery school should their parents so wish from 4 years old, and they
can register from 2 years old depending on the places available.

The Anglo-Saxon paradigm, known as specialisation (Cousins, 1998), closely linked to

a neo-liberal vision of the world in which the fate of individuals depends on their ability
to take control, results in a legislative and media context in which responsibility for
problems is laid at the door of the main educational protagonists, namely the parents
and the teachers. Parsons (2001) examined press reactions to the case of a 13-year old
boy who was excluded from his school in Nottingham. Cartoonists lampooned the
social assistance granted to the family, with the then Minister of Education and the
Prime Minister saying in the caption: “So I've arranged your educational tour for you
and your family. Two years in France, two years in Germany, two years…” The
headline, “Family costs taxpayer £43,000” heads the item-by-item list of State granted
financial subsidies.

Modernisation of the school system was conceived by both the Labour and the
Conservative governments as recentralisation founded on technocratic principles that
imposed tighter controls on the teachers (Coldron & Smith, 1999, 2001).

However, what appears to be contradictory or strange in the way each country operates
can also be understood if we work from the basis that a dominant paradigm is never
alone, but competes with others which, inspired by conflicting values, may carry the
day in some parts of the social or educational systems.

3 - COMPETING MODELS OF SCHOOL IN ONE COUNTRY AND

CONVERGENCE WITH THOSE OF ANOTHER COUNTRY
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In France, the formulation of three competing school models30 from the 1980s and
1990s by Francoise Lorcerie (1994) makes the application of a model of solidarity to
the school system more nuanced and complex with regard to social exclusion. It also
offers other comparisons with the English school system than those founded on the
paradigm of specialisation and its neo-liberal base.

1 - The “traditional” French “republican” model aims at elevation through education,

based on the subjects taught which are delivered to everybody leading to the extraction
of a “meritorious” elite, in a school that is given almost sacred status and is protected
from external influences by a strong and centralised administrative organisation.

This “ ‘traditional’ school model continues to govern the structure of the administration,
the definition of the service and career management of its staff, the absence of parental
power and that of other civil bodies, forms of certification, etc.” (p. 54). The social
forces which support it are the largely corporatist teachers’ trade unions, philosophy
teachers, some of the political parties, particularly the Conservatives, but also among
the Socialists and the “Grand Orient de France” (the freemasons).

2 - The law on educational orientation, dated July 10, 1989, overturned the “traditional”
French “republican” model. The new school model set out to raise the level of
education through the ‘modernisation’ of the institution. The origin may be found in the
“renewal of the public sector” conceived by Rocard’s socialist government as a “search
for efficiency and a reassertion of the principles of civil servant responsibility, the
institutional mission, concern to satisfy the user, and devolution of the decisions
brought about by the decentralisation of the public authorities” (Lorcerie, 1994, p. 54).
Applied to education, these principles, laid out in the law of 1989, resulted in the focus
being put on the pupil, the institutional mission, changes to the professional role of
teachers, internal assessment, etc.

Françoise Lorcerie sees the emergence of this model in the socialist policy of
“restoration of collèges” (secondary schools for 11 to 15-year olds) (1982-85). In
opposition to the first model, the thinking behind this second model is based on the new
education movements which developed in the inter-war period, whose protagonists like
Ovide Decroly and Maria Montessori voiced their ideas around the end of the 19th
century, and which Adolphe Ferrière promoted to counter the practices of the 3rd
Republic School.

30
- The school model is defined as "the imagined social system, resulting from the attribution of mutual
characteristics coherent with various dimensions according to which a school system can be described"
 228

“The latent reference” of the “modernization” of national Education is the State-

endorsed private sector or grant-aided schools, but without the adoption of a liberal
logic which is unanimously rejected. Unlike in England, it is not the market that is
considered as a regulator and likely to support the changes, but a strong administration.

The social forces which defend the second model are the main parent associations, the
SGEN (Syndicat Général de l’Education Nationale, “general” minority trade union for
all those working in the education system, i.e. primary and secondary teachers, school
heads, inspectors, and administrative staff), the private school sector, some socialist
politicians and supporters, the UDF (minority conservative party), and “experts in the
sector” (p. 53). Primary schoolteachers are more supportive than secondary
schoolteachers (Zay,2005, 2007).

3 - A third model has also been emerging since the 1980s but, unlike the others which
cover the whole school system, this model is directly linked to the “fight against
exclusion,” which was presented in the annex report of the educational orientation law
under “school exclusion”, but which had been defined prior to that in and outside the
national education system, both in the ZEP school policy (Zones d’éducation
prioritaire: Priority Education Zones, in England : Education Action Zones) and in
various urban policies. ZEP and ZUS (Zones urbaines sensibles : Problem Urban
Zones/ problem areas) were created at the same time, inspired by affirmative action.
They began to develop separately before joining forces.

The third French model, like the dominant English policy, is inspired by a context
external to national Education. But while the English school model imports the laws of
the market into education from a neo-liberal perspective, considering that the free
choice of parents or institutions will act as a regulator of quality, the French model
remains in a paradigm of solidarity guaranteed by the public administration.

This ideal was shaped through an explicit relationship with the social and moral
changes bought about by upheavals to the labour market and the risk that this posed to
social cohesion. Globally, it refers back to the “modernisation of the State” or to “State
democratisation” which, in this model, are comparable. Following the example of the
two preceding models, characterised respectively by “elevation through education” and
“raising the level of education,” F. Lorcerie names the third model according to its
intended goal, in other words, “social/civic development” (p. 53). Its aim is to form
links between social concerns, the only concern clearly designated through “urban

(Lorcerie, 1994, p. 50).

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social development” policies, and political concerns “in the fundamental sense of the
term” designating the “citizen” as an adjective via expressions like “citizens’ districts”,
“a citizen school”, - “typical of this type of action” (p. 55).

This model profoundly changed the concept of school and public service as it considers
that the resulting situation of zones of “relegation” is too serious for just one authority
to deal with. This recalls the argument justifying recourse to partnerships in some North
American theories that defined and developed this concept (Sirotnik & Goodlad, 1988;
Zay, 1995, 2005, 2007). In disadvantaged districts, the fight against school and social
exclusion demands that all those concerned act together, from public services, including
school, through to private services and the inhabitants.

The third school model is rooted in “State democratization” which anticipates the
dangers facing society and which, for this reason, is supported less by a social demand
and more by bodies looking to the future. It is made up of experts : commissions
preparing for the 11th plan and assessment commissions for urban policies and new
social policies. What differentiates the supporters of State democratization from those
who just wish to modernise the public service is that they put forward a new standard,
namely a partnership with the users and other social actors, which is the basic
difference between “public” (public action, public interest, public space) and “state”, a
widespread vision in the public sector and the republican ideology of school, and which
is just as antagonistic to the ideology of “less State.” This has not led to any specific
school model in the French debate (p. 56).31

Since 1994, the date when Lorcerie’s article was published, changes seem to have gone
in the expected direction. A whole series of texts redefined the functions of the three
focuses of educating young people, namely the family, school and extracurricular
institutions together with the institutional contexts in which they operate.

In her 1994 article, Lorcerie spoke about the increase in the number of partnerships,
particularly between parents and teachers, in spite of cumbersome administrative
procedures and the slow change in mentalities. Like the rest of the school system, the

31
- Lorcerie’s analyses were supported by those of Derouet (1992), leading to the evolution of education between
the 1960s and 1990s which counters the republican model of "definition of public service” by the “general interest
model," a "Community model" and a "model of efficiency," parallel to the "irruption of a market model" and the
maintenance of a "model for child creativity." The State remains responsible for the right to education, but it is no
longer a matter for the State alone. With decentralisation and the promulgation of the institutional project, the
institution becomes "a small area of local politics." Day by day and step by step, the staff in the school institution
must adjust the defects in the system and renegotiate the social ties and the education contract with the other social
players, in particular the families. Hence the title of the book: École et justice. De l’égalité des chances aux
compromis locaux? (School and justice. From equal opportunities to local compromises?)
 230

ZEP/REP (Priority Education Zones and Networks) were divided between the three
models.

A number of administrative steps have since been taken, reflecting the growing
investment of local authorities and, in particular, of the communes.

The local educational project embodies the third school model of the fight against
exclusion through a partnership between all the educational and social players. Indeed,
it “consists of putting into words what the local players envisage in order to assume responsibility
collectively, leading successive generations of children living in their area to the beginnings of adulthood,
while allowing them to play an active role in the social space (…).

It brings together projects that concern education, school, institutions, ZEP/REPs, social centres, leisure
centres, and school support associations.” (Repères, p. 10).

The third school model not only aims to educate pupils, but also to guide them in their
life as young people who belong to a family, a community and an urban space.

The school becomes a centre in an extended educational community, which includes

other institutions involved in social assistance and care, justice and supervision of
young people, local associations, prevention and family organisations. This concept of
school is related to the British “extended school.” But it is different in that it does not
include the role of being at the service of all inhabitants, but rather only that of pupils.

Indeed, we find the three competing models of school in both England and France. The
British “Grammar schools”, for example, follow the first model of school as do the
French “lycées d'enseignement general”.

Like the ZEP in France (Zones d’éducation prioritaire : priority education zones),
school institutions in underprivileged areas in the United Kingdom and EAZ (Education
Action Zones) are based on the third model.

The present French education reforms overwhelmingly reflect the first model.

4 - STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FRENCH MAINSTREAM

MODEL

France has been a country of centralist traditions since the French Ancien Régime of
the monarchy, and has been Universalist since the Declaration of the Rights of Man
during the French Revolution, first applied to the schools of the 3rd Republic during
the 19th century, and still considered as a golden age even today. It privileges
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individual rights as the basis of the State and considers nationality along the lines of
integration and assimilation and citizenship in line with homogeneousness.

Other European countries privilege birth in a community with regards to their

citizenship within the State, but this means that while differences are respected, there is
a risk that the differences take precedence over what is common to everyone in a
nation.

As we saw, centralisation and universalism may have a positive impact, leading to a

national collection of data like, for example, the reporting of incidents of violence in
schools to the ministry (ToR 6, 1), or the influence of the French secular model to give
members of communities that build their collective identity with regard to a religion a
stronger individual sense of belonging to a nation than in other countries (cf., in ToR
4,3, American study of four European countries, including France, published in 2006
by the Pew Research Center). Even if young people from immigrant backgrounds
justifiably complain about discriminatory practices at school, the system nonetheless
appears to work relatively well as those from similar social backgrounds succeed just
as well - and, as we saw in ToR 4 - certain researchers consider that they succeed
better - at school than children of French extraction.

In ToR 4, as in ToR 10, it appears that it is mainly the injustice of exclusion for
whatever reason (community roots, poverty, unemployment, stigmatisation) that leads
social groups to violence. It seems that we are too quick to consider phenomena that
could be interpreted otherwise as arising from a problem of “communautarism” or
“community-ism.” In the middle of the 1980s, for example, certain demonstrations
against racism and in favour of equality were called the “March of Beurs” (immigrants
of North African origin living in France), probably reflecting an expression of political
aspirations.

According to Olivier Noël (2006), confidence in the republican integration model and
the banning of ethnic statistics delayed the development of greater general awareness,
but from 1998, under the influence of the EU (European Union), there was greater
recognition of discrimination at national level. Following the summit meeting in
Florence, held on 21 October 1995, and the joint declaration in favour of the fight
against discrimination, research studies were funded by the social action funds for
immigrant workers and their families (FAS : Fonds d’action sociale pour les
travailleurs immigrés et leur famille) and the European Union.
 232

This sociological recognition was completed by an adaptation of the juridical approach

following France’s ratification of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, in which article 13
stipulated that the European Council is authorized to “take all measures necessary to combat
all discrimination based on sex, race or ethnic origin, religion, convictions, disability, age or sexual
orientation.” Official recognition of the existence of discriminatory practices was
expressed at the highest level of the State.
“In parallel, the territorialisation of the policy in the fight against discrimination developed through the
Commissions of Access to Citizenship (CODAC) and municipal contracts” (Noël, 2006).

Olivier Noël notes the semantic shift from equality in dealing with diversity to equal
opportunities. In September 2004, the CODAC (Commissions d’Accès à la
Citoyenneté/ Commissions of Access to Citizenship) became known as the COPEC
(Commission pour la promotion de l’égalité des chances/ Commission for the
promotion of equal opportunities), whose aim was to federate departmental initiatives
in the fight against discrimination. A decree published on 30 December 2004 created
the HALDE (Haute Autorité de Lutte contre les Discriminations et pour l’Egalité/
High Authority in the Fight against Discrimination and for Equality). Finally, the
decree of 31 March 2006 for equal opportunities was introduced, “presented as an
ambitious and global response, and adequate to deal with the challenges raised by the urban and social
riots of November 2005.” It transformed the FASILD, whose mission was the fight against
discrimination, into the ANCSEC (Agence nationale de cohésion sociale et d’égalité
des chances : National agency for social cohesion and equal opportunities).

We already noted in ToR 10 (1-3-1) that in French society, like at school,

discriminatory practices exist but that, at the same time, civil society and the public
sector are changing. Anonymous CVs, considered as fairer recruitment practices, first
appeared in business organisations and local French administrative structures and the
public sector now hopes to diversify its recruitment thanks to an “equality charter.”
Nonetheless, the political class remains far more resistant. This is where minorities are
least represented. In addition, the reduction of funding for the suburbs renovation plan
and education, together with some of the reforms currently in the pipeline, have
increased social discrimination.

All pupils suffer from an often restrictive Universalist vision which is accompanied by
a tendency towards homogenisation linked to the French school model. All the issues
raised in the first nine ToRs of our study, summarised in ToR 10 and illustrated by the
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four case studies in ToR 11, bring us back to the study of support strategies for
teachers and schools in order to respond to the problems posed by pupils who do not fit
in with the academic norms corresponding to an “average pupil” whether because of
disaffection from school, a socio-economically disadvantaged situation, violent
behaviour, differences arising from membership to an ethnic, religious or linguistic
minority, or a physical, intellectual or cultural handicap.

5 - STRATEGIES FOR SUPPORTING TEACHERS AND PUPILS WHO ALL

HAVE DIFFERENCES

Researchers like Howard Gardner (1999) have shown that, when born, human beings
benefit from various kinds of skills and intelligences, which are developed more or less
in accordance with the opportunities they have to express themselves. Thus each of us
develops dominant characteristics. Following Gardner’s studies of various circles that
young people belong to, such as family or school, two most frequent forms of
intelligence are visual-spatial and bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence. However, schools
tend to focus on two others, linguistic and logico-mathematical intelligence and pupils
are likely to drop in and out through lack of opportunities corresponding to their own
form of perception and memory when learning at school. Those who have the main
skills privileged by school also lose opportunities to develop others that could be
useful in their adult life because they are neglected at school.

Support strategies that could help teachers to better adapt to the needs of their pupils
and ensure that they do not become “difficult” in class include making them aware of
these processes and making them experiment with appropriate responses in the field.
As we saw, the present education reforms in France have turned their back on this type
of education (ToR 10, 3-2).

In every case, we believe that treating certain future citizens as having difficulties or
diverse handicaps will result in isolating them from their peers, both in the physical
measures, which tend to create ghettos, as in the minds of others who are led to
consider them as misfits, abnormal or inferior. “There is no handicap (or aptitude) as
such but only in relationship to particular social forms” (Isambert-Jamati, 1992). Pupils
have a disability in relation to the material and symbolic environment around
them and we believe that this is what needs to be changed in order to give
everyone access to the best personal development possible. In addition, training
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future citizens implies teaching them to live together with their differences, in
other words providing an education about otherness, taking others into
consideration as they are, something that is not achieved through a simple class of
Civic Education, however useful this may be.

6 – “COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT” AS A MEANS OF RESPECTING

DIFFERENCES IN THE WHOLE “COMMUNITY OF FREE AND EQUAL
CITIZENS”

In European countries other than France, the problem may, on the contrary, involve
regulations imposed by the State in relation to the actions carried out by certain
communities of citizens. In the UK, for example, the recent terrorist attacks in London
committed by young British nationals who were educated in British schools, led to
questions being raised as to the freedom that should be granted to communities with
respect to the legislation voted by all citizens and its applications at school or
elsewhere.

A go-between (passeur) between East and West, and winner of the Goncourt prize for
literature in 1993, Amin Maalouf, author of The Crusades through Arab eyes,
declared: “Already when I was a young Lebanese boy concerned about the future of my country, I
deplored the fact that it hadn't been built on a more solid footing, that a civic spirit worthy of this name
had never been developed, that the people had always considered that belonging to a community was a
more determining factor than belonging to a nation. In the world at that time, the popular concept was to
go beyond communities to create a nation. This is not true today. On the contrary, the whole world is
now breaking up into communities.” (Flamerion, 2007; cf. Maalouf, 2007).

To this extent, the term community is controversial. According to the historical

dictionary of the French language (Alain Rey), this should not be the case. At the
outset “community” in old French, from the Latin word “communitas,” meant “shared
participation,” “group with a common link.” It denotes a group of people and, in the
abstract, the state of what is common to several people. The terms “communautaire”
(community) (1842) is a derivative, and subsequently “communautarisme”
(community-ism/communautarism) (1951) (Lhez et al., 2008).
“In Europe, it is commonly used with a positive sense. In fact, it was widely used during the creation of
the European Union and is mentioned in the first article of the French Constitution” (Dane, 2008, p.
3).
 235

In the CEBSD (Combined European Bureau for Social Development) project Training
and Learning for Community Development in Europe (2008), “community
development” has two meanings according to Carole Dane (2008), based on The
Budapest Declaration Building European civil society through community
development, issued from a conference gathering representatives from 33 countries in
2004 (Craig et al., 2005).

Community development is defined as aiming to “strengthen the capacity of people as active

citizens through their community groups, organisations and networks; and the capacity of institutions
and agencies (public, private and non-governmental) to work in dialogue with citizens to shape and
determine change in their communities. It plays a crucial role in supporting active democratic life by
promoting the autonomous voice of disadvantaged and vulnerable communities,” (Craig et al., 2005, p.
77). Thus, it means what Carole Dane and other CEBSD members call “community
organisation,” that is to say “to involve the inhabitants directly in political empowerment processes
likely to question, or indeed even to confront the political authorities.” (Dane, 2008, p. 1).

On the other hand, “It has a set of core values/social principles covering human rights, social
inclusion, equality and respect for diversity, and a specific skills and knowledge base” (Craig et al.,
2005, p. 77). In this sense, for Carole Dane and other CEBSD members, “community
development” is conceived “as a planned and coordinated process of actions with populations
acquiring competencies, the meaning often used in France” (Dane, 2008, p. 1).

Hélène Strohl (2008 a) proposes “restoring the social ties by propping up all forms of more open,
freer, and more fluid communities, so as to facilitate multiple memberships. Communities may adopt a
protective role and provide mutual aid, as well as having a function of social control” (p. 31, cited by
Lhez et al., 2008, p. 3). She picks up on Edgar Morin “the notion of contradiction and conflicting
interests, which are not subsumed either in the summary or in the dialectic relationship (nor in ‘or
exclusive’ but in ‘and inclusive’). Believing that the State does not have a monopoly of the public good,
she advocates supporting community ties and the development of mutual support groups. Her reasoning
calls into question the social action objectives in different territories, while maintaining control over the
guarantee of access to services in nature and in kind: ‘we’ve said it, the community, communities, tribes,
make up the best and the worst of environments’ (Strohl, 2008, p. 199). The development of
communities must be accompanied by the protection of citizens by the State.”

This proposal implies that local communities are free to take up social action in the forms that they
judge the most appropriate, according to the best adapted scales (depending on the cost of living and the
resources available in the department), the best means of access … as long as these forms are explicit
and correspond in spirit to the objectives set out at national level. It calls on national objectives and
‘autonomous’ territorial plans that correspond to national objectives. The administrative judge
could ensure that the law is respected.” (Lhez et al., 2008, p. 3-4).
 236

This community development movement may be combined with that which appeared
in municipal policies in France, and with its subsequent development, which, as we
saw above, was articulated with that of Education Action Zones, particularly in local
education initiatives. This is just one of the positive contributions to the DOCA
project, a contribution recognised in other European projects in addition to this
municipal policy set out in the form of decrees, and its articulation with social and
education policies (Dane, 2008).

It thus appears to us that the spirit of the Council of Europe directives, which aim to
uphold democratic societies through the education of future citizens, encompasses the
general position of developing social ties based on differences : on the one hand, this
implies the development of a concept of “community,” based on solidarity,
discussion and mutual support, constructed via the social processes developed through
dayly life, whatever the community of origin (Strohl, 2008 a and b); and on the other
hand, the inclusion of local territory (town, “département”, region) and local
authorities as intermediary administrative bodies, involved in a continual process
of information feedback, enabling differences to be dealt with as and when they
arise, and wherever they arise, without necessarily sanctifying them as
generalised laws.

There are no problems of racism in nursery school, this develops progressively as

children get older and join the society of adults like school, breaking out most radically
at secondary school.

“Civic skills” begin at the earliest age. (cf. CEBSD, 2008 and Dane, 2008, 2005).
We have already mentioned the example developed in the case study (2) in ToR 11
regarding the Freinet school group, which includes a nursery school and a primary
school, in other words the whole range of primary education in France (which includes
“maternelle” - nursery and “élémentaire” – primary, in primary level).

The majority of the national population is little concerned with certain aspects of the
learning input introduced by teachers and linked to specific commemorative occasions
and events of diverse reach (Sétif massacres in Algeria, for example), or the political
decisions taken by Jacques Salvator, the new mayor of Aubervilliers, a municipality in
the Paris area, with 60% of various immigrant populations represented by 60% of the
town councillors. However, they can help citizens, whether young or not, to better
accept the values that underlie national legislation, and to no longer perceive the
area they live in as second rate. Young people can discover meaning in the history
 237

taught at school when they re-appropriate their families’ memories in a celebration of

events or festivals that either affect them personally or affect others, in collaboration
with all the inhabitants of their town and not only in a place that specifically segregates
young people like school (CEDIAS et al, 2008).

Thus, the dilemma between “communautarism” and secularity does not need to exist if
we consider that all democratic societies must respect both the beliefs and the lifestyle
choices of its members, and the fact that they themselves respect the same laws as the
others. However, this also implies that there should be no injustice in either laws or
social practices, at school and elsewhere, with regard to minority groups or
dominated social categories. Women are not in the minority in terms of number and
pupils from immigrant backgrounds may not be in the minority in certain classes. They
may both be – or feel they are – discriminated against by teaching practice, and at the
same time violently oppress other minority schoolmates. This is the well-known
process by which oppression continues because the oppressed are also oppressors, as
illustrated by Augusto Boal (1980), referring to a type of theatre that involves the
spectators in order to raise their awareness.

The position of a researcher like Dominique Schnapper (1994), who we cited in ToR
9, appears to us to be compatible with political choices other than those of a
school founded on French republican universalism.

This implies retaining the principle of a school that transmits the basic idea that
political legitimacy and the source of social ties are built on “the community of
free and equal citizens,” as this is the formula that best conforms to democratic
values. It has fewer pernicious effects than the notion of “communautarism,” but it
must also continually amend the notions regarding respect for the distinctive
characteristics of each individual.

In every case, we believe that the importance of symbolic and social representations
is neglected and, while they cannot replace a policy of necessarily costly compensation
of inequality, their advantage is that they can be applied by everyone without any other
effort than some personal soul-searching. Education could easily provide this at every
level.

7 – LEARNING ABOUT OTHERNESS AS A CONCEPTUAL LINK BETWEEN

LEARNING PROGRAMMES AND WAYS OF WORKING
 238

Putting school programmes and specific initiatives and learning about otherness at the
centre of our proposals as a programme-articulating concept involves reassessing
support strategies for schools and teachers with respect to their pupils, not only with
regard to the learning content and the tools used, i.e. school textbooks (cf. ToR 9, 2-2),
but also as a community promoting the development of identity as a citizen by
membership to multiple communities that are open to one another, their families,
peers, school and the city.

The case study by Yves Reuter on the Freinet school in ToR 11, illustrates the concept
of a school which has overcome its locally-based operating autonomy to focus not just
on the programmes or on the child, but on the learning input, the link between the
pupil, the content and the resources, and their appropriation in a socio-economically
disadvantaged environment.

“The school as a community was set up – and is constantly re-established” by various

mechanisms and processes which different groups, pupils and teachers take part in, in
communities that may be extended to others. It is “set up as a relatively autonomous
micro-society,” whose members (teachers and pupils), mutually considered as
“school citizens,” draw up specific rules and regulations. Learning is taken even
more seriously in that the school is open to researchers who rigorously assess the
working methods in place and their results (cf. Reuter, 2007).

We also find the importance of developing a memory, a history for pupils in the
school, in the conclusion to what facilitates learning in the case study in ToR 11, as in
the community of citizens in the town of Aubervilliers : “Pupils learn because they can
position themselves in a history of learning which is made accessible through specific processes or
initiatives.”

As in the case study by Cécile Carra regarding violence between pupils, which is also
described in ToR 11, we see the importance of the democratic workings of the group,
which reassures pupils and teachers and is linked to the smooth-running of the school.

We move away from the artificial opposition between programme content and teaching
methodology to a focus on anything that can help pupils to appropriate learning input,
including the transfer of knowledge learnt at school to other situations, because the link
is made between the different spaces in which young people live. We saw that the
transfer of knowledge is the weak point in the results of French pupils in the PISA tests
(cf. Research orientations, 1-2 and ToR 10, 1-1).
 239

The institutional teams who make their choice in the case study in ToR 11 have no
particular help, and receive nothing more from others than an ideal which led them to
defend their convictions and to introduce them in an institutional environment that was
not necessarily favourable. Nonetheless, it is this common ideal which is the decisive
factor. In effect, for a community to function well, there has to be a consensus between
its members regarding the aims and the practices to adopt and defend in the face of the
authorities, and how to obtain them when they are not already in place.

Consensus between members of a team is bound to be relatively difficult if the only

criteria in the appointment of a teacher to a school is the satisfaction of his or her
personal wishes based on strictly individual criteria (length of service, individual mark
awarded following the report by the school’s inspector, individual mark also awarded
by the school head), as is the case in France. Thus, appointing teachers on strictly
personal criteria hampers innovations that other more dynamic members would like to
introduce (cf. Zay, 1994). In the case of the Freinet school studied in ToR 11, all the
staff were appointed at the same time and all belonged to the same teaching movement
and “the co-opting of founder members and those who took over from the ones who
left within the Freinet movement,” remains “the criteria for replacing teachers.”

The education and teacher training reforms currently in progress do not seem in
keeping with this line, and public disapproval of a pedagogic approach to teaching
must surely discourage those who wish to work not less but in a more meaningful way
with the contents of the curriculum, teachers who are not only concerned with the
programme content but also about taking a specific and personal approach so that each
pupil can appropriate the content and the general context of the class and the school in
order to promote learning.

The fact that the Master-based teacher training programme has become optional and
that it is possible to become a teacher simply by preparing the general knowledge
entrance exams, says much about the lack of consideration given to the behaviour of
teachers with regard to their pupils in the classroom.
We might believe that it would be useful for French teachers – and others – who have to
work with often ‘difficult’ young people, to follow training programmes inspired by
what could turn them into “reflective practitioners” (Schön, 1983). Such training
programmes existed and still exist in many countries, in particular and for many
years with support from research teams in the “Ecole Normales”, the former teacher
training colleges in France, prior to the IUFM (Instituts universitaires de formation
 240

des maîtres : Colleges of education), as well as in the IUFM themselves (Zay, 1985,
1987, 1994, 1998 a, 1999 a). These programmes are based on incorporating reality
as it exists for both pupils and for those who work with them, and on more modest
ambitions than the reforms set out by the powers on high, which ignore the
everyday realities of those who work in the field and who often have to deal with
urgent situations on the fly, even if it means out-of-box (or do-it-yoursef) thinking
to respond to the unexpected needs of the moment.

8 - THE DO-IT-YOURSEF AS A SUPPORT STRATEGY FOR TEACHERS

The analysis and discussions about existing research and the social processes currently
in progress makes us think of La pensée sauvage (The Savage Mind) by Levi-Strauss
(1962) which considers the use of do-it-yoursef as a means of appropriating the world.

Relatively cheap changes that are better adapted to the needs of the moment, which can
be particularly unpredictable when they concern young people, may be developed
using the do-it-yoursef model (p. 29), which is very similar to the way teachers, with
their relatively restricted room for manoeuvre, operate. The do-it-yoursef handyman is
“able to realise a large number of different tasks; but unlike the engineer, these tasks do not require
specifically designed and purchased raw materials and tools in line with the project (…) and … the rule
of the game is always to manage with what is to hand, in other words an ill-assorted set of tools and
materials because the overall composition does not correspond to the project of the moment, nor with
any other particular project, but is the contingent result of all the opportunities that arise to renew or
enhance the present stock, or to maintain it with what remains from prior constructions and
destructions.” (p. 27).

We believe that this sense of the unexpected and the capacity to cope with it is the key
to successful practice, which, according to Schön, characterises the expert, the
experienced professional, the “reflective practitioner” (Schön, 1983). Education, like
everything that relates to changing mentalities, is a slow process and teachers need to
accumulate a stock of experience that they can dip into, giving them a sound basis to
allow innovation without having to take too many risks (Schön, 1991, 1996, cf. Zay,
1998 a, 1999 b, 2001). Nothing is more damaging to the serious work of education that
they perform than over-hastily devised reforms.

For a long time, the more effective policies that fostered teachers’ initiatives instead of
restraining them were backed up by analyses from in-the-field experiences. Thus, in
the United States in 1988, Goodlad had already denounced the parallels between
 241

"Bureaucratic growth and educational decline.” “More and more workers function by rules
fashioned by others in remote and usually inaccessible places. Often the rules did not fit the
circumstances for which they were intended by those who fashioned them (usually because the
circumstances were only dimly understood by those who fashioned the rules). Worse, the workers were
usually powerless to change the rules to fit them to the circumstances.” (p. 6-7)

However, “the shift in decision-making authority, with its questionable claims of increased efficiency
and cost-effectiveness, appears to be particularly inappropriate and dysfunctional in education,” because
“teaching involves not only thousands of decisions of cumulative impact made daily by just one teacher,
but also thousands of largely unpredictable human interactions occurring daily in and around a single
school” (Goodlad, 1988, p. 7).

Taking pupils into account as they are with their own specific problems, schools and
teachers need to feel free, considering themselves as responsible for introducing
learning situations and creative solutions appropriate to the specific circumstances that
they experience. Only with a strong basis rooted in their own abilities can they develop
in such a way as to make progress. Reflective practice supported by research teams is
the best way to do just that (cf. Zay, 1999, 2001).

9 – FROM UNEXPECTED EVENTS TO STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

The job of teaching young people is too serious to leave teachers to deal with it alone.
We saw that the articulation that developed between municipal policies, education and
the social sector at local level in France has provided an opportunity to develop this, in
line with the European approach. Thus, the European ministers of urban development
met in Marseille on Tuesday 25 November 2008 to work on setting up “the sustainable
and mutually supportive city,” where they adopted a common declaration.

The reality is neither black nor white - and is never simple - but is a somewhat dirty,
confused and tangled, grey. It is difficult to grasp because, as Kant brilliantly
demonstrated in The critique of pure reason, we only know what each of us
individually perceives, hence the difficulty of agreeing on a vision of the world which
is, by definition, subjective. If these visions are shadowy, there is not point in
searching for the key under the spotlight when the ground is lit up (cf. Watzlavick,
1976, 1978), and such simplified thinking appears to be the principle of barbarity and
tyranny in modern times (Morin, 1977, 1980).
None of society’s problems, whether in crisis or not, can be resolved if they are dealt
with separately. Modern democratic societies have become too complex for an
 242

institution to be able to find solutions to school failure, unemployment and urban

insecurity on their own. An inter-institutional partnership that takes into account the
complexity and correlations between the issues has become crucial (Goodlad, 1994;
Sirotnik & Goodlad, 1988; cf. Zay, 1995).

Apart from investigating possible educational transfers, the DOCA project could also
explore what other networks and other European projects which also focus on social
inclusion can offer. To complete the French experience, the four pillars of learning
proposed by UNESCO and cited by the CEBSD (Combined European Bureau for
Social Development, 2008) could be an interesting way to explore learning to know, to
do, to live together and to be.

Lastly, perhaps we could also analyse the dissemination strategies of our results and
the type of reader they address in order to achieve the intended impact with respect to
support strategies for schools and teachers to foster social inclusion ?

When a French Minister of National Education claims to make the umpteenth reform
which will resolve the problem of failure at school by increasing curriculum content,
lowering the school age, reducing teaching hours and the way they are distributed in
the weekly and annual timetable, and financial and staff resources, we may
legitimately question whether any advice, even scientifically proven or based on solid
foundations, will make him/her change his mind regarding a policy that specialist
researchers and other professionals judge likely to exacerbate the problems, any more
than the same government team is likely to review the resources granted for health care
or provided for the suburbs renovation plan, instead adopting measures likely to widen
the gap between the haves and the have-nots (cf. ToR 10, 1-3-1).

Perhaps the voters or public opinion would have more success, once again raising the
issue of how reports, including the DOCA project report, are disseminated and the role
of large-scale communication resources to support opposition groups.

There is no doubt that we need to create such opposition groups in our increasingly
complex society as much as at the time of Montesquieu. The present crisis is an ideal
moment for modest reflection to replace the megalomania of those who consider
themselves to be great men and the very French habit of uprooting the young tree to
see how it growing and planting another in its place. Perhaps, more than ever, we need
to distinguish between what is legal and what is legitimate (Dane, 2008).
 243

The internet, with its numerous websites and blogs, provides us with highly effective
resources, whose impact was clearly visible during the last American presidential
elections.

Thus, many petitions and mediatised events in opposition to the French education
reforms are flourishing, using information resources that can be adopted by individuals
as much as by pressure groups and which, like blogs, evolve according to needs:
Résistance pédagogique pour l'avenir de l'école, (Pedagogical resistance for school
future) which cites La justification de la désobéissance civile by John Rawls (Muller,
2008). And, on 17 December 2008, a press release from a group of organisations “De
l’ambition pour la réforme des lycées!” (Ambition for second school reform)
announced “the decision of the Minister to defer the reforms to lycées sine die.”

On several occasions we noted the importance of symbolic, social representations

conveyed by the media regarding technical programmes for young people from
disadvantaged suburbs, immigrant backgrounds or with a disability. The “common
sense” of the “average” citizen interviewed in surveys remains a popular myth as does
the notion of “the average pupil.”

We believe that in addition to identifying the challenges and possible solutions, it

would be worthwhile examining our means of communication. The level of
communication is important. Perhaps we should look into this issue when we have
finished our final European report. What impact might we hope to have on the
strategies of a member state, a regional or local administration, or a school and its
staff? And what about the role of public opinion ?

In this area, we feel that an association like PRISME in France, which has a widely
consulted website (500 visitors a day on average with peaks of + 1500 at the beginning
of the school year), whose members are militants who cut across various aspects of the
administrative machinery, including chief inspectors of schools, academic
inspectorates and catchment areas, local education authorities and regional councils,
locally elected representatives, education institutions from primary to higher education,
and associations working in urban and rural communities, may be more effective than
a university.

PRISME is organising a summer university in July 2009, which could provide an

excellent opportunity to meet a wide range of people outside the confines of French
education professionals and researchers.
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 249

LIST OF RESEARCHERS WHO TOOK PART

IN DRAWING UP THE REPORT

Final report written by :

Danielle Zay, Emeritus Professor, PROFÉOR-CIREL research team, Educational

Sciences, Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 University;

ToR 11 – Case study 1 : “Démission impossible” (impossible resignation) : a scheme

designed for pupils in difficulty to support the work conducted by professionals
- Maryan Lemoine, PhD student, Educational Sciences,
coordinator in “Démission impossible” scheme,
PROFÉOR- CIREL, Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 University;
- Michèle Guigue, Professor, Educational Sciences,
PROFÉOR-CIREL, Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 University;
- Bernadette Tillard, Senior Lecturer, Educational Sciences,
PROFÉOR-CIREL, Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 University

ToR 11 - Case study 2 :

The fight against school failure in Education Action Networks (REP)
Yves Reuter, Professor, Head of the THEODILE-CIREL research team,
Educational Sciences, Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 University

ToR 11 - Case study 3 : The democratisation of access to selective education : what can
we expect from partnership agreements between “lycées” (secondary schools) in ZEP
(Education Action Zones) and higher education institutions ?
Graciela Padoani David, Doctor, Educational Sciences, PROFÉOR-CIREL,
Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 University & ESCIP - School of International
Business
 250

ToR 11 - Case study 4 : Responses to violence : disparities in professional practice

and differentiated effects. The case of French primary schools
Cécile Carra, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, IUFM of Nord/Pas de Calais, CESDIP-
CNRS research team, Head of the Research Centre RECIFES, University of
Artois.

In collaboration with

Gabriel Langouët, Sociologist, Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Human and Social

Sciences (University of Paris Descartes) and associate researcher at the
CERLIS-CNRS (Centre for Studies and Research on Social Ties),
who reread and completed the conclusion.

Jacques Crinon, Professor, CIRCEFT research team, Educational Sciences,

Paris 12 University and Paris 8 University
who reread and completed ToR 10 – 3-2-2 about teacher training programmes

Susan Leclercq who translated the French report in English

Jean Roucou, President, and PRISME team who looked for the documentation

Elise Delhommeau, Secretary of PRISME, Student in Management of Social

Organisations Economy Vocational Degree, University of Marne la Vallée
for the report layout

For Research Orientations, and ToR 1 to 9, the final report resumes

and completes the Intermediary report

written by Danielle Zay, Emeritus Professor,

PROFEOR-CIREL research team, Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 University,
member of PRISME
 251

In collaboration with

Martine Kherroubi, Sociologist, Senior Lecturer, Paris XII, CERLIS- CNRS Research
Team (Centre for Studies and Research on Social Ties), University of Paris
Descartes

Gabriel Langouët, Sociologist, Emeritus Professor,

Faculty of Human and Social Sciences (University of Paris Descartes) and
associate researcher at the CERLIS-CNRS (Centre for Studies and Research on
Social Ties)

whose advice and writings helped me in my initial orientations and who, by re-reading
the first, helped me to improve the present report.

Cécile Carra, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, CESDIP-CNRS research team, IUFM of

Nord/Pas de Calais, CESDIP-CNRS research team, Head of the Research
Centre RECIFES, University of Artois
For the bibliography of her articles and proofreading of ToR 6 Support measures for
establishments and teachers to deal with the problems of bullying and violence among
pupils

Anne Jorro, Professor, Educational Sciences, Head of the CREFI-T (Research Centre
in Education, Training and Insertion in Toulouse),
University of Toulouse, Le Mirail,
For her team’s report on PEL (Local Educative Project) presented in ToR 3 Support
measures for schools in socio-economically deprived areas

Yves Reuter, Professor, Head of the THEODILE-CIREL research team,

Educational Sciences, Charles de Gaulle Lille 3 University,
who gave me access to his team work on research concerning a Freinet school, a case
study presented in ToR1 Support measures for schools with high drop-out rates – on
grounds of “alternative pedagogies”.
and Bertrand Daunay, Senior Lecturer, for the bibliography

Viviane Guerdan, Honorary President of AIRHM

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(Association Internationale de Recherche scientifique en faveur de la personne

Handicapée Mentale/ International Association of scientific research for the
mentally handicapped)
Professor and trainer, responsible for Unité Enseignement et Recherche en
Pédagogie spécialisée (Specialised Pedagogy Department), Haute Ecole
Pédagogique (HEP-VD, Lausanne, Suisse)
who provided me with the material used in ToR 8 “Support measures for pupils with a
physical or mental disability”

Dominique Glasman, Professor of Sociology, University of Savoy,

for the references from his bibliography in Topic 1 - Support measures for
schools with high drop-out rates

Françoise Lorcerie, Head of Research, CNRS, IREMAM-MMSH,

for the bibliographic selections and references to her work on young people
from immigrant backgrounds used in ToR 4 - Support measures for schools
with large populations of pupils from immigrant backgrounds and ToR 9
Support measures to facilitate the educational success of pupils from minority
backgrounds: ethnic, linguistic, religious, regional, etc.

Yoon Jung Cho, Carole Dolignon, Graciela Padoani David, doctors,

PROFÉOR-CIREL research team, Educational Sciences, Charles de Gaulle Lille
3 University, whose respective research on Violence between pupils, was used in
ToR 6, Social and educational integration processes for young people at risk in
TOR 1 and the Democratisation of access to selective education programmes
called “areas of teaching excellence” in Tor 3, which is developed in the final
report in ToR 11 Case study 3 Selected innovative and successful projects or
‘case-studies’ that have proved successful at school, local, regional or national
level
And Frédérique Gaudillet, PRISME, for finding the official legislative and regulatory
texts and for the report layout
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APPENDIX
 254

APPENDIX 1

LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND DOCUMENTATION RELATIVE TO

TORs 1, 3, 5, 10

TOR 1 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS WITH HIGH DROP-OUT

RATES (INCLUDING LEAVING SCHOOL WITHOUT DIPLOMAS)

1 - Legal framework

1-1 – Monitoring school attendance

- Official Bulletin n° 14 of 1st April 2004: Monitoring and promoting school attendance
in students subject to compulsory attendance.
- The steering group chaired by Luc Machard was set up at the Ministry of Health on 1st
October 2002 to study school attendance support measures
http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2004/14/MENE0400620C.htm
(Government website)

1-2 - Measures of academic success in the social cohesion plan

http://eduscol.education.fr/D0220/ref01.htm (a ministry of education website)

Following the "loi de programmemation pour la cohésion sociale" (social cohesion
plan law) of January 19th 2005, several decrees have been introduced by the (DIV)
(inter-departmental state organization).

1-3 –Rebound measures and classes

- Rebound measures (dispositifs relais): organisation and coordination of rebound

measures: Decree n° 2006-129 du 21 August 2006
http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2006/32/MENE0602165C.htm
The ministerial decree describes the dispositifs relais (rebound programmes - measures
to provide alternative education opportunities outside but connected to the school) as
the principal means to combat school drop out and social exclusion for young people of
compulsory school age.
- Coordination and support for the dispositifs relais (rebound programmes) : rebound
classes and workshops: decree n° 2003-085 of 16 May 2003.
 255

http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2003/21/MENE0301107C.htm
Objectives and measures to combat school failure and prevent social exclusion.
- Framework agreement and terms of reference regarding rebound workshops:
Agreement of 2 October 2002:
http://www.education.gouv.fr/botexte/bo021010/MENS0202207X.htm
This decree introduces a requirement for partnerships with associations working closely
with the school system, giving rise to a new sort of " rebound class."
- Rebound classes: Decree n° 99-147 of 4 October 1999
http://www.education.gouv.fr/botexte/bo991007/MENE9902091C.htm
This decree completes the decree of 12 June 1998, outlining the role, pedagogical
organisation and management of the " rebound classes." It includes possible contacts
with business circles.
- Rebound classes in collège: Decree n° 98-120 du 12 June 1998.
http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/1998/25/ensel.htm
This decree outlines the teaching organisation and management of " rebound classes"
which aim to recreate learning conditions for students through a specific temporary
structure.

1-4 - Measures to combat early school leaving

The Mission Générale d'Insertion (General Mission for Insertion), set up in 1993,
allows young people over the age of 16 to continue studying or suitable professional
training, with the aim of offering a second chance to young dropouts who want to
obtain a qualification or diploma. (Programme Nouvelles Chances - New Chances
Programme).
The Mission offers several options: information and guidance session, professional
integration on block-release (CIPPA), block-release exam re-preparation module
(MOREA), lycée induction module (Modal), tailored access to qualifications (ITAQ),
integrated training (FI), integration assistance group (PROFIT). Few evaluations are
available on the effectiveness of these schemes.
Structured as an association, the second chance schools (E2C) have been pursing the
goal of social insertion for 18-25 year olds with no professional qualifications or
diplomas for the last ten years, offering to update their basic knowledge and providing
in-company training. Each offers a personalized training course. Initiated by the
European commission in 1995, the E2Cs were set up in France (the first in Marseille)
and in Europe. (Gaussel, 2007).
- Public measures intended to help young people enter the job market without a diploma
(detailed analysis of the results of the study by the CEREQ (Génération 98) by Gasquet
& Roux 2005, cited by Gaussel, 2007).

2 - Documentation
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2-1 - Official documentation

2-1-1 - Dispositifs pédagogiques d'aide aux élèves en collège et lycée (teaching support
measures to help secondary school pupils) - Octobre 2005 [online]

http://www.esen.education.fr
Decrees and practical guide to help students at risk in secondary education. (from 1977
to 2005).
- Le traitement de la grande difficulté scolaire au collège et à la fin de la scolarité
obligatoire (dealing with school difficulties in secondary education for pupils from 11
to 15 years old and at the end of the compulsory schooling: 16 years old)
http://cisad.adc.education.fr/hcee/documents/avis13.pdf
Ministère de l'Education Nationale de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche /
Haut Conseil de l'évaluation de l'école, 2004 (Ministries of Education and Higher
Education)
Advice of the "Haut Conseil de l'Evaluation de l'Ecole" about managing school
difficulties in the "collèges" and proposals to help students.

2-1-2 - Accompagnement à la scolarité (learning support schemes)

- Charte nationale de l’accompagnement à la scolarité (National Charter for learning

support schemes) http://www.education.gouv.fr/cel/imagesetdoc/Charte.pdf
The national accompanying schooling charter proposes a legal framework for
educational actions in support of pupils. It sets out the general principles and objectives
of learning support schemes.
- Guide de l’accompagnement à la scolarité: fiches pratiques (learning support schemes
guide: practical sheets)
http://www.education.gouv.fr/cel/imagesetdoc/Guide.pdf
- Accompagnement à la scolarité: guide pratique, fiches familiales (Learning support
scheme: a practical guide, family records). Accompagner son enfant dans sa scolarité
(supporting your children’s learning).
http://www.famille.gouv.fr/famil_ecol/fiches_accomp_nb.pdf
This 83-page document, published by the Ministry of Health and Solidarity addressed
families as well as professionals.
- L’accompagnement à la scolarité: pour une politique coordonnée équitable et adossée
aux technologies de l’information et de la communication - 2006 [online] (learning
support schemes: for a coordinated and fair policy supported by the TIC)
ftp://trf.education.gouv.fr/pub/edutel/syst/IGaen/rapports/2006_010_acccompagnement
_scolarite.pdf
MEN (Ministère de l'Education Nationale - Ministry of Education), 2006
Report devoted to learning support schemes: definition, assessment, pupils concerned,
using TIC, new policy principles, recommendations.
- Accompagnement à la scolarité, égalité des chances et TIC
 257

http://www.educnet.education.fr/dossier/accompagnement/
A file by Educnet about learning support schemes, equal opportunities and TIC:
notions, stakes, legal framework, measures, players providing support measures,
commercial supply.

2-1-3 - Dispositifs de réussite éducative (academic success measures)

- Internats, équipes de réussite, tutorat... : Le dispositif de réussite éducative, un an

après [online] (boarding schools, academic success teams, guidance: one year after)
http://www.cohesionsociale.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/DP_Bilan_Reussite_educative.pdf
Ministère de l'emploi, de la cohésion sociale et du logement, 2006 (Ministry of
Employment, Social Cohesion and Housing, 2006)
An assessment of academic success measures first running and partnerships.
- La veille éducative et les dispositifs de réussite éducative - Les dossiers thématiques:
dispositif de réussite éducative (Academic supervision and academic success measures -
Special reports: academic success measures)
http://www.resovilles.com/dossiersthematiques/reussiteducative4.asp
Educational success in the social cohesion plan and the "loi sur l'égalité des chances"
(law on equal opportunities); legal framework relating to the DRE (academic success
measures).
- La veille éducative et les dispositifs de réussite éducative (Academic supervision and
academic success measures)
http://www.andev.com.fr/dossier38.html
The academic monotoring measure addresses young people leaving school without
qualifications, sometimes at compulsory school age.
- Veille éducative: une démarche qui suscite de plus en plus d'intérêt (Academic
supervision - a strategy that is generating increasing interest)
http://www.ville.gouv.fr/infos/dossiers/veille-educative.html
This strategy arose from the desire to combat disaffection from school by coordinating
the social and academic players and the local authorities.

2-1-4 - Programmes personnalisés de réussite éducative - PPRE (Tailored programmes

for academic success)

http://eduscol.education.fr/D0072/PPRE_experimentation.htm
Ministerial document about the PPRE: links and explanations about the legal
framework, downloadable practical guide.
- Les programmes personnalisés de réussite éducative: un soutien aux élèves en
difficulté (Tailored programmes for academic success: support programmes for pupils
at risk)
http://media.education.gouv.fr/file/00/6/2006.pdf
Press release by the ministry responsible for introducing the PPRE, gradually
introduced into the mainstream since the 2006 school year.
 258

- Programmes personnalisés de réussite éducative (tailored academic success

programmes)
http://lesrapports.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/BRP/064000688/0000.pdf
Report devoted to the PPRE after one year of experimentation: data and analysis of the
first year of experimentation.
- Programmes personnalisés de réussite éducative (PPRE) (tailored academic success
programmes)
(PPRE): Guide pratique pour l'expérimentation des programmes personnalisées de
réussite éducatives à l'école et au collège durant l'année scolaire 2005-2006
Practical guide for testing tailored acedmic success programmes at primary and junior
high school during the 2005/6 school year.
http://eduscol.education.fr/D0072/PPRE_guideexperimentation.pdf
Practical guide. Downloadable 5-page file. Objectives and definitions of the PPRE.
How to apply it at primary and secondary school level.
We have collected a certain amount of information about teaching and local schemes
through regional and local websites that we will sort through and analyse later.

2-1-5 - Les dispositifs relais (Rebound measures)

http://www.eduscol.education.fr/relais/default.htm
Ministerial dossier on the "dispositifs relais" (rebound measures) (classrooms and
workshops), specialised spaces outside, but linked to, a "college" (junior high school for
11-16 years old pupils) to help them return to school.
- Les dispositifs relais (rebound measures ([online]
http://eduscol.education.fr/D0049/CXJACC01.htm
Ministère de l'Education Nationale de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche,
2006 (Ministry of Higher Education and Research 2006)
Ministry of Education website devoted to the "dispositifs relais" (rebound measures):
presentation, legal framework, national resources, regional correspondents, definition
and stakes, management, studies and surveys, pedagogical means.
- Dispositifs-relais et École ouverte ("open school" = extended school)
http://lesrapports.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/BRP/034000684/0000.pdf
This report introduces the legal institutional framework of the "dispositifs relais"
(rebound measures), their distribution in France and their partnerships ("École ouverte":
open to partners). It analyses how they work and how to assess them, and proposes new
forms of improvement.
- Les dispositifs relais (rebound measures)[online]
http://eduscol.education.fr/D0049/CXJACC01.htm
Ministère de l'Education Nationale de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche,
2006 (Ministry of Higher Education and Research 2006)
Ministerial website devoted to the "dispositifs relais" (rebound measures): presentation,
legal framework, national resources, regional correspondents, definition and stakes,
management, studies and surveys, pedagogical means.
 259

2-2 - Documents pratiques (Practical documentation)

- Réseau Relais : lettres d'information à destination des acteurs des dispositifs relais
http://cas.inrp.fr/CAS/publications/reseaurelais
Letter of information addressed to the main "dispositifs relais" (rebound measures)
players: legal framework, up-to-date scientific research, surveys, professional news,
exchange of best practice.
- We have collected data about information and innovative schemes through local and
regional websites.

TOR 2 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS WITH HIGH SCORES ON

OTHER POSSIBLE INDICATORS OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION
See ToR 1

TOR 3 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS IN SOCIO-

ECONOMICALLY DEPRIVED AREAS

Reviving priority education:

(Reviving “priority education": special help in education. Cf. EAZ: education action
zones in the UK: education priority zones and networks in France)

1 - Textes cadres (legal framework)

- Official Bulletin n° 13 of 31 March 2006: préparation de la rentrée 2006 (preparing

the new school year 2006)
http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2006/13/MENE0600903C.htm
- Official Bulletin of 6 March 2006: Principes et modalités de la politique de
l'éducation prioritaire
This decree introduces the principles and details of implementation of "priority
education" and outlines the teachers' duties.
http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2006/14/MENE0600995C.htm
- Official Bulletin n° 3 of 18 January 2007 - Rentrée scolaire: préparation de la rentrée
2007 : decree n° 2007-011 of 9 January 2007 (preparing the new school year 2007)
http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2007/3/MENE0700047C.htm
Main orientations for the new school year 2007. Renewing basic learning. New
measures for "l'égalité des chances" (equal opportunities), in particular, measures
associating "lycées" in Education action zones and "grandes écoles" (competitive-
entrance colleges which recruit the best candidates for higher education).
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2 - Textes officiels de présentation (legal introduction)

2-1 - L'éducation prioritaire (priority education)

http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid187/l-education-prioritaire.html
New policy launched for the new school year in 2006 : a new pedagogical impetus.
- L'éducation prioritaire relancée (relaunched "priority education")
http://media.education.gouv.fr/file/99/6/1996.pdf
Press release about the new school year in 2006
Press kit on 8th Feburary 2006
http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid844/index.html

2-2 - Speech by the Minister of Education Gilles de Robien to open the seminar of
the "Ambition réussite" (ambition to succed) networks: " l’excellence au service des
élèves" (to be the best), 16/01/2007
http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid4391/reseaux-ambition-reussite-l-excel.

3 - Les grandes priorités de la politique (French policy top priorities)

3-1 - Constituer un réseau (creating a network)

République française. Portail du gouvernement. Les chantiers: Les réseaux “Ambition

réussite ” (French Republic. Governement homepage. The "ambition to succed"
networks)
http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.fr/.../les_reseaux_ambitions_reu
The agreement. A new law for the school, fIGhting the school failure and promoting
equal opportunities, learning the republican values.

3-2 - Développer l'ambition scolaire pour tous (Promoting the ambition to succeed
at school for all)

Ministère délégué à la promotion de l'égalité des chances. L’égalité des chances:

missions et actions (Ministry of state for promoting equal opportunities)
http://www.egalitedeschances.gouv.fr/article.php3?id_article=11
Introduces the "objectif-stage" operation (work experience scheme). Several new
actions to fIGht discriminations and improve the school pupils at risk path.
 261

3-3 - Charte pour l'égalité des chances dans l'accès aux formations d'excellence
(Charter for equal opportunities to get to the best education)

http://media.education.gouv.fr/file/81/9/3819.pdf
This charter, signed by François Fillon, Minister of National Education, Higher
Education and Research, and Jean-Louis Borloo, Minister of Employment, Work and
Social Cohesion, aims to admit pupils in "lycées" (end of the secondary school) located
in education action zones to higher education, and to stimulate their ambition.
- Official Bulletin n°36 of 6 October 2005. Accès aux formations supérieures. Mise en
oeuvre de la charte pour l'égalité des chances dans l'accès aux formations d'excellence
(Official Bulletin: Access to higher education. Implementation of the charter for equal
opportunity to the best education)
http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2005/36/MENE0502079C.htm
Implementation decree specifying the objectives, the concerned students, the means of
implementation, the management, the financial support and the length, the assessment
and the role of the state decentralised services.
- Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la recherche.
Campagnes. Ministry of Higher Education and Research. Campaigns
http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid4049/100-000-etudiants-pour-100-000-eleves.html
Propaganda campaigns for the operation: 100 000 étudiants pour 100 000 élèves de
l'éducation prioritaire (100,000 university students for 100,000 pupils in "priority
education").
- Renforcer le partenariat entre l'éducation nationale et les entreprises au service de
l'égalité des chances. Press kit. Gilles de Robien (Minister of Education) Strengthening
the partnership between National Education and business.
http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid4303/renforcer-partenariat-entre-educa...
Press release about strengthening partneships between the national education and the
business. Introduces "la charte d'engagement" (the commitment charter) and the
initiatives already running.
- Délégation à la communication. Secrétariat général. Lettre flash 19 décembre 2006.
Une charte d'engagement des entreprises au service de l'égalité des chances dans
l'éducation.

Communication committee. News bulletin, 19 December 2006. A corporate

commitment charter for equal opportunity in education.
http://media.education.gouv.fr/file/97/5/3975.pdf
Introduces this charter of firms commitment already signed by about forty firms.
Eduscol. Education prioritaire. Egalité des chances (Priority education. Equal
opportunities): 100 000 students pour 100 000 pupils in “priority education”.
http://eduscol.education.fr/D0051/egalite_des_chances.htm
Introduces this operation by which "grandes écoles" and university students commit
themselves to accompanying secondary school students in "lycées" in education action
zones. Specifications, terms and conditions.
 262

3-4 - Programmes personnalisés de réussite éducative - PPRE (tailored programme

for academic success) See ToR 1, 2-1-4 + 2-1-3: Dispositifs de réussite éducative
(measures for education success).

3-5 - Articuler le projet éducatif hors temps scolaire avec la famille et les
partenaires de l'école (co-ordinate the education project outside school time
with families and school partners)

Relation avec les familles (relationships with the families)

- Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la recherche.

éducation prioritaire. Parents – école. Présentation (ministerial presentation)
http://www.educationprioritaire.education.fr/dossiers/parents/presentation.asp
Thematic dossier summing up the factors likely to foster efficient cooperation between
parents and school to support the academic success of pupils.
- Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la recherche.
Vie à l’école. Les parents à l'école (Ministry of Higher Education and Research. School
life. The parents at school)
http://www.education.gouv.fr/pid74/les-parents-ecole.html
File dealing with parents' rights in school, the monitoring of their children’s schooling,
their grades, exams and evaluations, the various stages through which they are
recognised as a representative of the school.
- INRP. Education prioritaire. Relations école-familles en ZEP-REP Priority education.
School-family relationships in Education Action Zones .
http://cas.inrp.fr/CAS/les-dossiers/relations-ecole-familles-en-zep-rep
A "Thema" file by the INRP (National Institute for pedagogical research) presenting a
set of resources devoted to school-family relations in the context of the "priority
education". A selection of legal framework, reports and conference proceedings.
- A school "open" (extended) to parents
http://www.ac-besancon.fr/siteaca/internet/data/docs/Thx20.pdf
The “Thema Express” issue n° 20 focuses on the work carried out with parents in the
"Regional Education Authority" (local education authorities in Besançon: concertation,
answers to needs, continuing education project led with the families.
- Resserrer les liens école-famille en ZEP-REP (zones/réseaux d'éducation prioritaire)
(strengthen the school-family links in education action zones/networks)
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/casnav/ecofam/ecofam_sommaire.htm
Very complete file about the school-family relationships: analyses the representations
and practices, partnerships, projects, experiences, exchanges of practices.
- Ecole ouverte ("Open school" = extended school)
Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la recherche. BO
n°5 - 30 January 2003. Organisation pédagogique des établissements. Charte école
ouverte (Schools teaching organisation. "Open school" charter)
http://www.education.gouv.fr/botexte/bo030130/MENE0203096C.htm
 263

Objectives; principles of implementation; eligible programme criteria.

- Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la recherche.
Eduscol - école ouverte: une opération efficace en progression (Ministry of Higher
Education and Research. "Open school": an efficient operation in progress)
http://eduscol.education.fr/D0116/accueil.htm
Presentation of this operation. National and regional resources. Implementation.
Statistical assessments.

4 - To help the achievement: documentation

4-1 - Official documentation

- Éducation prioritaire - Accueil (home page)

http://eduscol.education.fr/D0051/accueil.htm (Ministerial website)
Measures pertaining to "ambition réussite" (ambition to succeed): the main orientations
and measures for relaunching the priority.
- Priority education
http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid187/l-education-prioritaire.html (government website)
Introducing the "priority education" policy for the school year 2006: new networking,
new pedagogical approach.
- La contribution de l’éducation prioritaire à l'égalité des chances des élèves (how the
"priority education" contributes to make equal opportunities for students)
http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/rapports-publics/064000808/index.shtml
A report by the IGEN and IGAEN (Inspection générale de l'Éducation Nationale and
Inspection générale de l'Administration de l'Éducation Nationale : Chief schools
inspectorates responsible for delivering reports to the Ministry of Education both
separately, and often together (see Terms and terminology, p. 21), in October 2006,
about the content and assessment of priority education since 1982.
- Pour une école plus proche et plus équitable (for a school with more proximity and
equal opportunities)- Rapport annuel 2006 des inspections générales IGEN/IGAENR
http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/rapports-public/064000846/index.shtml
-Le bilan et les perspectives d'avenir des politiques conduites envers les quartiers en
difficulté depuis une quinzaine d'années (assessment and prospectives about policies
carried out in underprivileged areas for the last fifteen years or so)
http://www.senat.fr/rap/r06-049-1/r06-049-11.pdf
Sénat, 2006 (Senate website)
Assessment and prospects since the 1990's leading to proposals for orientations of town
policies
We have collected a large amount of information, pedagogical information and local
actions through regional and local websites.

4-2 - Practical documentation

 264

Centre Alain Savary

http://cas.inrp.fr/CAS/presentation/le-centre-alain-savary
INRP - Education prioritaire
http://cas.inrp.fr/CAS/les-dossiers/education_prioritaire
Centres académiques de ressources pour l'éducation prioritaire - CAREP (LEA : local
educational authorities documentation in the regions)
We have collected all the regional websites addresses.

TOR 5, SUPPORT MEASURES FOR TEACHERS WORKING IN SUCH

SCHOOLS

1 - Legal framework

- Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la recherche.

Official Bulletin n°15 - 13 April 2006. Personnel. Recruitment: teaching assistants.
http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2006/15/MENP0600930C.htm
A decree about the duties, recruitment and working conditions of teaching assistants in
the “ambition réussite” networks.

2 – Documentation

- La formation des personnels d’Enseignement. Expertises (Teacher training)

http://www.esen.education.fr/documentation/liste.phtml?
- CNDP. Bien ( !) lire. Accompagnement à la scolarité pour les élèves en échec scolaire
(Read carefully (!). Learning support scheme for failing pupils)
http://www.bienlire.education.fr/04-media/
Theoretical documentation for deepening one's knowledge, reflection and selected
references. Legal framework. Interviews on line.
- INRP. Education prioritaire. L'accompagnement scolaire en ZEP-REP (National
Institute for pedagogical research. "Priority Education". Learning support scheme
Education Action Zones and networks.
http://cas.inrp.fr/CAS/les-dossiers/accompagnement-scolaire-en-zep-rep
Reference documentation. Resources organisations. Theoretical reflection about
pedagogical practices. Descriptions of actions.
- Accompagnement à la scolarité (Leaning Support scheme)
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/casnav/as/as_sommaire.htm
A dossier offering numerous resources regarding accompanying schooling.
- Dossier école-familles (School family file)
 265

http://www.ac-creteil.fr/zeprep/dossiers/04_ef_somm.html
This file deals with the question of relationships between school and family and offers
many resources about innovative practices, evidence and reflections.
- “C'est plutôt à nous, l'équipe pédagogique, de faire les premiers pas” (We, the
pedagogical team, have to take the first steps…)
http://www.educationprioritaire.education.fr/dossiers/parents/fv.asp
A network co-ordinator interview about school-family relationships: what he is
expecting from the parents, his observations, examples of actions.
- Renforcement et accompagnement des équipes pédagogiques (strengthening and
accompanying the pedagogical teams)
Académie de Rouen. CAREP. L’affectation en collège “ambition réussite” (to be
posted to a “be the best” collège)
http://carep.ac-rouen.fr/article.php3?id_article=37
Creating a pupils’ success network service. How a teacher is posted to an “Ambition
Réussite” post ("ambition to succed." The creation of more posts.
- Académie d'Amiens. Le positionnement des enseignants Ambition réussite dans
l’exercice de leurs nouvelles missions (Amiens Regional Education Authority. The
"Ambition réussite" teachers’ position in the execution of their new duties)
http://www.ac-amiens.fr/pedagogie/craeemd/article.php3?id_article=1121
Account of a seminar devoted to the role of the additional teachers recruited for
"Ambition réussite" networks.

ToR 7, Support measures addresssed to pupils likely to become early

school leavers
See ToR 1 + ToR 3: 3-2

TOR 10 – THE ASSESSMENT OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE REGARDING

THESE POINTS AND INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS THAT
INFLUENCE IT

Documentation

To improve the guidance given to young people from underprivileged backgrounds at

the end of the final year of “collège,” but also when they enter higher education. Indeed
several DEP (Assessment and Forecasting Department) studies highlight these
stumbling blocks:
* fight against dropouts after general or technological first or second lycée year (about
10,000 young people) or a professional second "lycée" year (pupils 16-18 years old),
* direct more young holders of a BEP towards the professional baccalauréat, in
particular through apprenticeship (Gaussel, 2007).
* draw up an inventory of expected skills;
 266

* set up systems for information and guidance;

* encourage confrontation between the conceptions of the different people involved;
* smooth over the sudden break-off in help with personal work (help which can be
encouraged by continuous assessment, supplemental instruction (US), tutoring by other
students, etc.;
* ensure early remediation;
* develop initiation into methodology;
* encourage transparency in objectives and assessments: give preference to methods
which support in-depth learning (see above);
* give preference to open assessment;
* fight against fragmentation and inflation of curricula and examinations
* organise courses more flexibly;
* diversify courses;
* reassert the value of the teaching mission;
* provide initial and in-service teacher training for teachers (Romainville, 2000, quoted
by Gaussel, 2007).

APPENDIX 2
Legal framework relative to ToRs 4, 6 8 9

TOR 4 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS WITH LARGE

POPULATIONS OF PUPILS FROM IMMIGRANT BACKGROUNDS

www.legifrance.gouv.fr

- Loi n°2007-1631 du 20 novembre 2007 relative à la maîtrise de

l'immigration, à l'intégration et à l'asile
- Loi n°2006-911 du 24 juillet 2006 relative à l'immigration et à l'intégration
- Loi n° 2006-396 du 31 mars 2006 pour l'égalité des chances
- Loi n° 2005-32 du 18 janvier 2005 de programmation pour la cohésion sociale
 267

- Loi n° 2001-624 du 17 juillet 2001 portant diverses dispositions d'ordre social,

éducatif et culturel

TOR 6 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS TO DEAL

WITH THE PROBLEM OF HARASSMENT AND BULLYING

www.legifrance.gouv.fr

- Loi n° 2007-297 du 5 mars 2007 relative à la prévention de la délinquance

- Loi n° 98-657 du 29 juillet 1998 d'orientation relative à la lutte contre les
exclusions
- Loi n° 98-468 du 17 juin 1998 relative à la prévention et à la répression des
infractions sexuelles ainsi qu'à la protection des mineurs
- Protocole d’accord du 4 octobre 2004 conclu entre le ministère de l'Éducation
nationale et le ministère de l'Intérieur
- Circulaire interministérielle (Education nationale, Justice et Intérieur) n°06-125
du 16 août 2006 publiée au BO n°31, du 31 août 2006, relative à la «Prévention
et la lutte contre la violence en milieu scolaire» vise à apporter des réponses
concrètes à des faits et situations d'insécurité dans les établissements scolaires et
à leurs abords. Les axes de la circulaire interministérielle de 2006.

TOR 8 - SUPPORT MEASURES FOR PUPILS WITH A PHYSICAL OR

MENTAL HANDICAP, AND PUPILS IN CARE

http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid207/la-scolarisation-des-eleves-handicapes.html

- Décrets mettant en place de nouvelles instances :

• Décret n° 2005-1587 du 19 décembre 2005 : La Maison départementale
des personnes handicapées (M.D.P.H.) : Sous la responsabilité du
président du conseil général, la M.D.P.H. offre un guichet unique pour
améliorer l'accueil, l'information et l'aide apportées aux élèves
handicapés et à leur famille.
• Décret n° 2005-1589 du 19 décembre 2005 : La Commission des droits
et de l'autonomie (C.D.A.) La C.D.A. prend les décisions d'orientation et
propose des procédures de conciliation en cas de désaccord. Elle associe
étroitement les parents à la décision d'orientation de leur enfant.
- Décret n° 2005-1752 du 30 décembre 2005 sur le parcours de formation de
l'élève : Le parcours de formation de l'élève s'effectue en priorité en
milieu scolaire ordinaire. Les modalités de déroulement de sa scolarité
sont précisées dans son projet personnalisé de scolarisation
 268

- Décret n° 2005-1617 du 21 décembre 2005 sur l'aménagement des conditions

de passation des épreuves des examens et concours pour les candidats
handicapés.
- Trois décrets concernant l'enseignement scolaire :
• Le décret n°2005-1752 du 30 décembre 2005 relatif au parcours de
formation des élèves présentant un handicap (application des articles
L.112-1, L.112-2, L.112-2-1, L.351-1 du code de l'Education). Il
précise les dispositions qui permettent d'assurer la continuité du parcours
de formation de l'élève présentant un handicap, y compris lorsque ce
dernier est amené à poursuivre sa scolarité dans un établissementde santé
ou dans un établissement médico-social, ou lorsqu'il doit bénéficier d'un
enseignement à distance. Il prévoit en particulier que tout élève
handicapé a désormais un référent, chargé de réunir et d'animer les
équipes de suivi de la scolarisation prévue par la loi pour chacun des
enfants ou adolescents dont il est le référent. Sa mise en oeuvre est
complétée par un arrêté relatif aux missions et au secteur d'intervention
de l'enseignant référent et par une circulaire.
• Le décret n° 2006-509 du 3 mai 2006 relatif à l'éducation et au parcours
scolaire des jeunes sourds (application de l'article L.112-2-2 du Code
de l'éducation). Il a pour objet de préciser les conditions dans lesquelles
s'exerce, pour les jeunes sourds et leurs familles, le choix du mode de
communication retenu pour leur éducation et leur parcours scolaire.
• Le décret n°2005-1617 du 21 décembre 2005 relatif aux aménagements
des examens et concours de l'enseignement scolaire (codifié aux articles
D.351-27 à D.351-32 du Code de l'éducation) et de l'enseignement
supérieur pour les candidats présentant un handicap (application de
l'article L.112-4 du code de l'éducation). Il donne une base juridique plus
solide aux conditions d'aménagement prévues par la circulaire n° 2003-
100 du 25-6-2003. Par ailleurs, outre les aménagements explicitement
prévus dans cette circulaire et par la loi du 11 février 2005, il prévoit la
possibilité de conserver pendant cinq ans les notes des épreuves ou des
unités obtenues aux examens, ou d'étaler, sur plusieurs sessions, des
preuves d'un examen. Il est entré en vigueur au 1er janvier 2006, à
l'exception de certaines dispositions relatives à la possibilité d'étalement
des épreuves et de conservation des notes sur plusieurs sessions prévues
la session 2007 des examens et concours.
• Décret n° 2005-1754 du 30 décembre 2005 relatif à l'Institut national
supérieur de formation et de recherche pour l'éducation des jeunes
handicapés et les enseignements adaptés
• NOR MENS0502786D
J.O. du 31/12/2005 texte : n° 88(page 20815)

• (Art. 30 (3°) : Disposition de coordination - Modification de l'art. 1er du

décret n° 86-164 du 31 janvier 1986)

- Loi n° 2007-293 du 5 mars 2007 réformant la protection de l'enfance

- Loi n° 2005-102 du 11 février 2005 pour l'égalité des droits et des chances, la
participation et la citoyenneté des personnes handicapées
- Loi n° 2003-400 du 30 avril 2003 relative aux assistants d'éducation
 269

- Loi n° 2002-303 du 4 mars 2002 relative aux droits des malades et à la qualité
du système de santé
- Loi n° 98-657 du 29 juillet 1998 d'orientation relative à la lutte contre les
exclusions

TOR 9 - SUPPORT MEASURES TO FACILITATE THE EDUCATIONAL

SUCCESS OF PUPILS FROM MINORITY BACKGROUNDS: ETHNIC,
LINGUISTIC, RELIGIOUS, REGIONAL, ETC.

Sources : http://www.educasol.org
- Loi du 23 avril 2005 d'orientation et de programme pour l'avenir de l'école
- Loi de programmation pour la cohésion sociale promulguée le 18 janvier 2005
(JO du 19 janvier), titre III, intitulé " Promotion de l'égalité des chances ",
chapitre II " Accompagnement des élèves en difficulté ", article 128, indique :
- Circulaire de la DIV aux préfets du 27 avril 2005
- Circulaire de la DIV aux préfets du 14 février 2006
- Circulaire relative à l'élaboration des contrats urbains de cohésion sociale du 24
mai 2006

- Textes d’application de la loi de programmation pour la cohésion sociale

Différents textes d'application ont été publiés :
• décret du 13 septembre 2005 relatif à la mise en œuvre des dispositifs de
réussite éducative et modifiant le décret n°85-924 du 30 août 1985 relatif aux
EPLE a été publié au Journal officiel du 20 septembre et au Bulletin officiel
n°35 du 29 septembre 2005.
• décret du 30 mai 2005, relatif aux caisses des écoles et modifiant le code de
l'éducation, est paru au JO du 1er juin 2005 ;
• décret relatif aux groupements d’intérêt public (GIP) l’a été le 4 août 2005 ;
• le décret instituant une indemnité de vacation pour collaboration occasionnelle
aux dispositifs de réussite éducative et l’arrêté pris en application à la même
date.
- Textes relatifs à l’égalité des chances dans l’accès aux formations d’excellence :
Charte pour l’égalité des chances dans l’accès aux formations d’excellence,
signée le 17 janvier 2005.

APPENDIX 3
Regional and local framework

Collectivités locales et difficulté scolaire

Résumé
 270

Sélection thématique sur les collectivités locales et la difficulté scolaire. La gestion de la difficulté scolaire et
l’organisation du temps péri-scolaire constituent un véritable enjeu de société pour lequel tous les partenaires locaux se
mobilisent. L’association de l’école, des collectivités territoriales, des partenaires associatifs et des parents permet de
venir efficacement en aide aux élèves les plus fragiles. De nombreux dispositifs ont vu le jour depuis que les
collectivités locales ont en charge les établissements scolaires. Une meilleure articulation entre ces différents dispositifs
et leur organisation récente en projets éducatifs territoriaux favorisent la réussite scolaire.
URL
http://www.educasources.education.fr/selecthema.asp?ID=132241
Références documentaires

Collectivités locales et difficulté scolaire

A)Généralités
1)Historique : textes officiels
2)Politique éducative territoriale
3)Structures institutionnelles et autres organismes d'accompagnement
B)Les dispositifs mis en place contre l'échec scolaire : panorama
1)Dispositifs Ville
2)Clubs Coup de pouce
3)PRE : Programme de Réussite Educative
4)Les CEL : Contrats Educatifs Locaux
5)Les CLAS : Contrats Locaux d'Accompagnement à la Scolarité
6)Les Réseaux Ambition Réussite
7)L'Accompagnement éducatif
8)Le Plan Espoir Banlieues
C)Compte-rendus d'expériences au niveau territorial
1)Villes
2)Conseils généraux
3)Conseils régionaux

Document créé le 07/07/2008

Auteur(s) : CRDP D'Auvergne
Editeur(s) : CNDP
Notice documentaire de la sélection

Cette sélection de documents numériques présente les dispositifs actuels de lutte contre l'échec scolaire au niveau
local. Un rappel des textes et un panorama de la politique éducative territoriale précèdent différents compte rendus
d'expériences.

A)Généralités
 271

1)Historique : textes officiels

Loi constitutionnelle du 28 mars 2003

http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000601882&dateTexte
Cette loi constitue une des premières étapes de la Loi de décentralisation. Elle étend les responsabilités des
collectivités territoriales. Certaines collectivités peuvent désormais exercer des compétences...
Notice documentaire | Mémoriser la référence

Code de l’éducation : version consolidée au 1er mai 2008

http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/./affichCode.do?idAr[...]2&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006071191&dateTexte=20080514
Partie législative : dispositions générales et communes, Livre II : administration de l’éducation, titre Ier : la répartition
des compétences entre l’état et les collectivités territoriales. Les...
Notice documentaire | Mémoriser la référence

2)Politique éducative territoriale

GUIDE 2008 : pour le Contrat Educatif Local et une Politique Educative Territoriale concertée

http://www.oise.pref.gouv.fr/Site/Informations/pages_ddjs/maj191207/Guide_CEL.pdf
Guide complet à l’usage des coordinateurs définissant la politique éducative territoriale, le contrat éducatif local et les
différents dispositifs existants. Glossaire de sept pages de définitions des...
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Vers un Projet Educatif Territorial

http://www.haute-vienne.pref.gouv.fr/workspaces/po[...]ICHIERS/Services%20exterieurs/DRDJS/pet/dossier/d1
Comment élaborer un projet éducatif territorial ? Principes généraux. Démarche. Etat des lieux. Création d’un groupe
de pilotage. Coordination. Elaboration du projet. Suivi et évaluation
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De la réussite éducative au projet éducatif territorial : la place de l’Ecole

http://www.ac-creteil.fr/zeprep/dossiers/06_reussite_goepfert.pdf
Plusieurs textes relevant aussi bien du champ de la politique de la ville que de celui de l’éducation prioritaire ont été
adoptés depuis 2003 .Ils définissent un nouveau cadre de cohérence pour la mise...
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3)Structures institutionnelles et autres organismes d'accompagnement

Accompagnement et soutien scolaires : carnet d'adresses

http://www.educationprioritaire.education.fr/dossiers/soutien/Carnet.asp
Organismes impliqués dans l’accompagnement scolaire. Adresses et sites internet. Organismes institutionnels.
Mouvements d'éducation populaire et autres structures. Fédérations de parents d'élèves....
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ACSE : Agence nationale pour la cohésion sociale et l’égalité des chances

http://www.lacse.fr/dispatch.do?sid=site/politique_de_la_ville/objectifs_1/education
L’Agence nationale pour la cohésion sociale et l’égalité des chances (l’Acsé) est un établissement public national à
caractère administratif. Elle gère, entre autres, les crédits « réussite éducative »...
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AFPEE : Association pour favoriser l'Égalité des chances à l'École

http://www.apfee.asso.fr/pdf/APFEE.pdf
L’AFPEE lutte pour obtenir, pour tout enfant, le droit à un parcours de réussite scolaire. Elle travaille sur la prévention
de l’échec scolaire précoce, en particulier en agissant sur les...
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La Ligue de l'enseignement : éducation,

http://www.laligue.org/ligue/articles/index.asp?rub=edu
La Ligue de l’enseignement est une association d’éducation populaire, complémentaire du service public d’éducation,
qui aide les éducateurs à mettre la laïcité en œuvre, dans l’école comme dans la cité.
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Délégation interministérielle à la ville : D.I.V

http://www.ville.gouv.fr/article.php3?id_article=5
La Délégation Interministérielle à la Ville aide les municipalités à mettre en œuvre la politique de l’état en matière
d’éducation dans les zones urbaines sensibles
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B)Les dispositifs mis en place contre l'échec scolaire : panorama

1)Dispositifs Ville
La politique de la Ville : éducation

http://www.ville.gouv.fr/article.php3?id_article=15
Site de présentation de la politique de l’état mise en place dans les villes en faveur de l’égalité des chances dans les
zones sensibles. Réduire les inégalités en matière éducative est un enjeu essentiel...
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2)Clubs Coup de pouce

Les Clubs Coup de pouce

http://www.bienlire.education.fr/02-atelier/fiche.asp?theme=2200&id=1145
Un soutien à l’apprentissage de la lecture apporté aux élèves en difficulté et à leur famille. Dispositif piloté et financé
par les municipalités en partenariat avec le Ministère de l’Education Nationale
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 273

Rapport d’évaluation de l’action menée par l’Association pour favoriser une école efficace (apFÉE)
http://lesrapports.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/BRP/064000797/0000.pdf
Rapport approfondi sur l’activité de l’Association et le dispositif d’aide à la lecture qu’elle a mis en place : les clubs «
Coup de pouce »
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3)PRE : Programme de Réussite Educative

Le Programme de réussite éducative

http://www.ac-creteil.fr/zeprep/dossiers/05_reussite_pres.html
Le programme de "réussite éducative" est particulièrement destiné aux Zones Urbaines sensibles et aux ZEP. Il
accompagne les jeunes en difficulté pendant toute leur scolarité. Ce dossier présente...
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La réussite éducative au coeur des quartiers

http://www.lacse.fr/ressources/files/pol_ville___new/Ep_reussite_educative_BD.pdf
Le programme de réussite éducative permet de prévenir l’échec scolaire des élèves de 2 à 16 ans vivants dans les
quartiers concernés par la politique de la ville.
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4)Les CEL : Contrats Educatifs Locaux

Contrat Educatif Local (CEL)

http://www.education.gouv.fr/cel/default.htm
Ces contrats concernent les activités scolaires, périscolaires et extra scolaires. Ils concernent tous les acteurs de
l’éducation des jeunes : enseignants, associations, collectivités locales et familles
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5)Les CLAS : Contrats Locaux d'Accompagnement à la Scolarité

Dispositif d'accompagnement à la scolarité, contrat local d'accompagnement à la scolarité (CLAS)
http://nord-pas-de-calais.sante.gouv.fr/cohesion-sociale/fonction_parent/dass62/clas08/crculaire_11mai07.doc
Circulaire interministérielle du 11 mai 2007 relative à la mise en œuvre de la politique d’accompagnement à la
scolarité pour l’année scolaire 2007/2008
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CLAS, fiche technique 2008/2009

http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/casnav/as/docs_as/CLASfichetechnique2008.pdf
L’accompagnement à la scolarité est un ensemble d’actions hors temps scolaire centrées sur l’aide aux devoirs et les
apports culturels pour favoriser une meilleure réussite scolaire
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 274

6)Les Réseaux Ambition Réussite

Le dispositif "Ambition-réussite" dans l'éducation prioritaire

http://www.association-ozp.net/article.php3?id_article=2681
Les réseaux Ambition réussite sont constitués d’un collège et des écoles de son secteur auxquels ont été attribué des
moyens renforcés. Cette fiche extraite des remarquables « Fiches pour tout savoir sur...
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Principes et modalités de la politique de l'éducation prioritaire

http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2006/14/MENE0600995C.htm
Cette circulaire (B.O. du 6/04/2006), qui précise la politique de l'éducation prioritaire, préconise une diversité des
prises en charge des élèves et organise la mission des enseignants supplémentaires.
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7)L'Accompagnement éducatif
Accompagnement éducatif

http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2007/28/MENE0701447C.htm
Dès cette rentrée scolaire, un accompagnement éducatif hors temps scolaire sera proposé tout au long de l’année à tous
les élèves des collèges de l’Éducation Prioritaire et des Réseaux Ambition Réussite....
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La mise en place de l'accompagnement éducatif

http://www.association-ozp.net/article.php3?id_article=4546
Ce nouveau concept d'"accompagnement éducatif" s’inscrit dans la longue histoire des devoirs, des études surveillées
ou dirigées jusqu’à l’accompagnement scolaire puis éducatif. Au moment ou écoles et...
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8)Le Plan Espoir Banlieues

Espoir banlieues, une dynamique pour la France

http://www.espoir-banlieues.fr/article.php3?id_article=29
Le nouveau plan Espoir Banlieues en direction des zones sensibles implique les collectivités locales pour la mise en
place d’internats d’excellence, l’expérimentation de busing au CM, la démolition-reconstruction...
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C)Compte-rendus d'expériences au niveau territorial

1)Villes
Guide du projet éducatif local de Perpignan : les dispositifs contractuels

http://www.mairie-perpignan.fr/index.php?np=1494&nps=5
Différents dispositifs sont utilisés par la ville de Perpignan : le contrat éducatif local, le contrat enfance et temps libre,
le contrat d’accompagnement à la scolarité, le contrat de ville, le réseau...
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 275

Différents dispositifs sont utilisés par la ville de Perpignan : le contrat éducatif local, le contrat enfance et temps libre,
le contrat d’accompagnement à la scolarité, le contrat de ville, le réseau...
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Projet éducatif local de la Ville de Brest

http://www.pel-brest.net/rubrique1.html
Les projets éducatifs locaux sont une nouvelle approche des questions éducatives dans leurs rapports avec le tissu
économique, social et culturel local. Ils obligent à repenser l’éducation dans sa...
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Les actions de la Ville de Mulhouse

http://www.mulhouse.fr/fr/education.php?PAGEID=382
Dans le cadre du programme de réussite éducative de la ville de Mulhouse à destination des élèves de la maternelle au
collège, sont mis en place des ateliers pédagogiques d'arts plastiques, des clubs coups...
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2)Conseils généraux
L'action du département 94 en direction des collèges

http://www.cg94.fr/node/661
Pour favoriser la réussite de tous les collégiens, le département du Val de Marne intervient en subventionnant des
classes et ateliers relais, des classes d’accueil dont les objectifs sont de réinsérer...
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Dispositif "Aider à la réussite" des Hauts de Seine : ateliers pédagogiques, études encadrées, Premis, classes relais,
lecture
http://education.hauts-de-seine.net/portal/site/education
Le Conseil Général des Hauts-de-Seine met en place une aide à la réussite des élèves sous différentes formes : des
ateliers pédagogiques organisés hors du temps scolaire, une aide aux devoirs dans...
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Internat pour la réussite au collège Auguste Renoir à Asnières

http://education.hauts-de-seine.net/portal/site/ed[...]775/1675c2877fd35010VgnVCM100000860aa8c0RCRD.vhtml
L’internat pour la réussite est un internat urbain destiné à accueillir des jeunes qui ne sont pas en situation d’échec
scolaire mais dont l’environnement familial n’est pas propice à leur réussite...
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Médiateurs éducatifs

http://education.hauts-de-seine.net/portal/site/ed[...]776/61de462ed1cf1010VgnVCM100000860aa8c0RCRD.vhtml
En collaboration avec les différents acteurs du système éducatif les médiateurs mettent en œuvre des projets sur des
thèmes humanitaires , luttent contre l’échec scolaire, préviennent les incivilités,...
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 276

L'Accompagnement à la scolarité

http://actions-educatives.valdoise.fr/heading/heading25880.html
L'accompagnement à la scolarité est un instrument de partenariat indispensable permettant de favoriser la réussite
scolaire du plus grand nombre de jeunes. Le réseau départemental de l'accompagnement à...
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3)Conseils régionaux
Education scolarité : la réussite pour tous, c'est possible

http://www.iledefrance.fr/les-dossiers/education-formation/reussite-pour-tous/
Zoom sur le dispositif régional contre le décrochage scolaire... La Région Ile de France se propose de remobiliser les
lycéens en difficulté scolaire grâce au programme « Réussite pour tous ». Pour...
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Demain en main : appel à projets

http://www.rhonealpes.fr/uploads/Document/3b/WEB_CHEMIN_1487_1209456989.pdf
Dispositif mis en place pour financer les projets pédagogiques des lycées engagés dans une démarche de prévention de
l’échec scolaire, éducation à la citoyenneté, éducation à l’environnement et au...
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Notice documentaire de la sélection

métadonnées du site educasources

© SCÉRÉN - CNDP 2008
Contacts - Crédits - Mentions légales
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

(For explanations about French terms and terminology, see Research Orientations, 3-3,
p. 20 sq)

AIS : Adaptation et intégration scolaire : Education district for children considered as maladjusted or so-
called “special needs” in the UK.
ANPE : Agence nationale pour l’emploi : National Agency for Employment.
ANRU : Agence nationale pour la rénovation urbaine : National Agency for urban renovation
ANCSEC : Agence: nationale de cohésion sociale et d’égalité des chances : National Agency for
social cohesion and equal opportunities.
AVS : Auxiliaire de vie scolaire :Teaching assistant for disabled pupils.
BEP : Brevet d’études professionnelles : Professional studies certificate (at the age of 16).
 277

BO or BOEN/JO : Bulletin officiel de l’Education Nationale, Journal officiel (de la République

française) : Official Bulletins giving details of laws and official announcement (the Gazette in
UK).
BT : Brevet de technician : Vocational training certificate (at the age of 16).
BTS : Brevet de technicien supérieur : Vocational training certificate (at the age of 18).
CAP : Certificat d’aptitude professionnelle : Vocational training certificate (City and Guilds examination
in UK).
CAPEPS : Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de l’éducation physique et sportive : Secondary school
teacher’s diploma for physical training.
CAPES : Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de l’enseignement du second degré : Secondary school
teacher’s diploma.
CAPET : Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de l’enseignement technique : Technical teaching diploma.
CAPLP : Certificat d’aptitude au professorat de lycée professionnel 2ème grade : Vocational secondary
school teacher’s diploma
CAS : Centre Alain Savary (INRP).
CASNAV: Centre académique pour la scolarisation des élèves nouvellement arrivés et des enfants du
voyage : Regional (académique) centre for new immigrant pupils and children of travellers
(Roma pupils), ex CEFISEM.
CDDP : Centre départemental de documentation pédagogique : Departmental centre of teaching
documentation.
CDES : Commission départementale d’éducation spécialisée : Specialised departmental education
committee.
CDPAPH : Commission départementale des droits et de l’autonomie de la personne handicapée :
Departmental Committee for the rights and autonomy of the disabled, replaced CDES and
COTOREP.
CE2 : Cours élémentaire 2ème année : Third year of primary school (at age of 8-9).
CEBSD : Combined European Bureau for Social Development.
CEDIAS : Centre d’étude, de documentation, d’information et d’action sociales : Centre for studies,
documentation, information and social actions.
CEFISEM : Centre de formation et d’information sur la scolarisation des enfants de migrants : Centre of
training and information about immigrant children’s schooling. Now called CASNAV.
CEL : Contrat éducatif local : Local education contract.
CEMEA : Centres d’entraînement aux méthodes d’éducation actives : Training centres for active
education methods (pedagogical movement).
CEREQ : Centre d’études et de recherches sur les qualifications : Centre for studies and research into
qualifications.
CFA : Centre de formation d’apprentis : Vocational training centre for apprentices.
CIO : Centre d’information et d’orientation : Information and orientation centre.
CIPPA : Cycle d'Insertion Professionnelle par Alternance : Vocational/education sandwich programmes.
CITE : Classification internationale des types de l’éducation : International classifications of types of
education.
CLAS : Contrat local d’accompagnement scolaire : Local schoolwork support contract.
 278

CLIPA : Classe d’initiation professionnelle en alternance : Sandwich vocational induction courses.

CLIS : Classe d’intégration scolaire : Inclusion class for disabled pupils in primary school.
CNCPH : Conseil National Consultatif des Personnes Handicapées : National consultative council for
the disabled.
CODAC : Commissions d’Accès à la Citoyenneté : Commissions of Access to Citizenship.
COPEC : Commission pour la promotion de l’égalité des chances : Commission for the promotion of
equal opportunities, ex CODAC.
COTOREP : Commission technique d’orientation et de reclassement professionnel : Technical
orientation and professional placement committee.
CPGE : Classe Préparatoire aux Grandes Ecoles (“prépa.”) : Programme which prepares students for
the competitive entrance exam (concours) for the Grandes Ecoles.
DEUG : Diplôme d’études universitaires générales : Diploma taken after two years at university.
DIMA: Dispositif d’initiation aux métiers en alternance : Sandwich vocational induction schemes.
DUT : Diplôme universitaire de technologie : Two-year higher education diploma.
E2C : Ecole de la seconde chance : Second chance schools
EN : Ecole Normale : College of education for primary teachers.
ENA : Ecole Nationale d’Administration : National civil servant school for top civil servants.
ENS : Ecole Normale Supérieure : College of education training top teachers.
EPLE : Etablissement public local d’enseignement : Local state education institution.
ESEN : École supérieure de l'éducation nationale : National Education College.
ESF : European Social Fund.
ESSEC : École Supérieure de Sciences Économiques et Commerciales : College of economic and social
sciences for top managers.
FAS : Fonds d’action sociale pour les travailleurs immigrés et leur famille : Social action funds for
immigrant workers and their families.
FCPE : Fédération des Conseils de Parents d’Elèves : Parents Association.
FI : Formation Intégrée : Integrated training.
FNASEPH : Fédération Nationale des Associations au service des Elèves Présentant une situation de
Handicap : National federation of associations for disabled pupils.
GAIN : Groupe d'Aide à l'Insertion : Support group integration programmes.
HALDE : Haute autorité de lutte contre les discriminations et pour l’égalité : High Authority against
discrimination and for equality.
HEC : Ecole des Hautes Etude commerciale : Business school for top managers.
ICEM : Institut Coopératif de l’École Moderne : Cooperative Institute of the Modern School (Freinet).
IEP : Institut d’Études Politiques : Institute of Political Studies, a “grande école” often called “Sciences
Po” (Political Studies).
IME : Institut médico-éducatifs : Medico-educational institutes for disabled pupils.
INSEE : Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques/ National Institute for economic
and statistical information.
IREDU : Institut de Recherche sur l'EDUcation : Education research institute.
ISCED : International Standard Classification of Education (UNESCO)
ITAQ : Itinéraire personnalisé d'Accès à la Qualification : Tailored qualification programmes.
 279

ITEP : Institut thérapeutique éducatif et pédagogique : Therapeutic educational institutions for multi-
disability pupils.
IUFM : Institut universitaire de formation des maîtres : College of education.
IUP : Institut Universitaire Professionnel : Vocational higher education institute.
IUT : Institut Universitaire de Technologie : Technological higher education institute.
LP : Lycée professionnel : Vocational secondary school (at age of 15/16-17/18).
MDPH : Maison départementale des personnes handicapées : Departmental centre for the disabled.
MEN : Ministre/Ministère de l’Education Nationale : Education Minister/Ministry. Department for
Education and Employment in the UK..
MGI : Mission générale d’insertion : General integration mission.
MOREA : Module de Repréparation aux Examens par Alternance : Basic schooling and exam
preparation work/education sandwich programmes.
MODAL : Module d'Accueil en lycée. Special secondary school reintegration programmes.
OECD : Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
ONED : Observatoire de l’enfance en danger : Observatory for children at risk.
PE : Professeurs des écoles : Primary school teachers, ex instituteurs.
PIB : Produit intérieur brut : GDP / Gross domestic product.
PIRLS : Progress in International Reading Literacy Study.
PISA : Programme for International Student Assessment.
PJJ : Protection judicaire de la jeunesse : Youth department, special young offenders service at the
Ministry of Justice.
PPRE : Programme personnalisé de réussite éducative : Tailored educational success programme.
PRISME : Promotion des Initiatives Sociales en Milieux Educatifs : Fostering Social Initiatives in
Education circles association.
RASED : Réseau d’aides spécialisées aux élèves en difficulté : Specialised support network for
children at risk (specific needs in the UK).
REP : Réseau d’éducation prioritaire : Education Priority Network. An extended ZEP.
RMI : Revenu minimum d’insertion : Minimum income for social integration.
SCEREN : Service Culture Editions Ressources pour l’Education Nationale : Cultural Editions and
Resources Service for national education, previously named CNDP.
SEGPA : Section d’enseignement général et professionnel adapté : Adapted general and vocational
education programme (at age of 14 - 15).
SESSAD : Service d’éducation spéciale et de soins à domicile : Special education service and home care
facilities for disabled pupils.
SGEN-CFDT : Syndicat général de l’Education Nationale-Confédération Française Démocratique du
Travail : General trade union of national education-French democratic trade union of work.
SNPDEN : Syndicat national des personnels de direction de l’Education nationale : National trade
union of national education managers.
STS : Section de techniciens supérieurs : Undergraduate level technicians preparing a BTS.
Sup. de Co. : Ecole Supérieure de Commerce. Business school. See Grande Ecole p. 21-22.
UNESCO : United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
 280

UPI : Unités pédagogiques d’intégration : Education inclusion units for disabled pupils in primary
school.
VEI : Ville, Ecole, Intégration. City, school, inclusion : a CNDP/SCEREN department.
VST : Veille scientifique et technologique : Scientific and technological development monitor (an INRP
database).
ZEP : Zone d’éducation prioritaire : Education Priority Zone (EAZ: Education Action Zones in the UK).
ZUS : Zone urbaine sensible : Urban problem area.