This article compares French and Corsican middle school language policy. Above the micro-level of the classroom, and below the macro-level of the EU (or beyond), I analyze two policies sandwiched at the meso-level, national (France) and regional (Corsica) middle school curricula. Based on a content analysis of two curricular policy texts, the…

Resilience refers to the capacity of individuals to prosper despite encountering adverse circumstances. This paper defines academic resilience as the ability of 15-year-old students from disadvantaged backgrounds to perform at a certain level in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in reading, mathematics and science that…

This report describes how entrepreneurship competence is embedded in vocational education and training (VET) in France. It complements existing knowledge with examples of methods, tools and approaches that can help policy makers, VET providers and other stakeholders build better entrepreneurial learning ecosystems. The report is based on the…

Today, the Common European Framework of Reference (2009), and with it the action-based approach, underlies English Language Teaching (ELT) curricula throughout Europe. However, actual teaching practices are likely to vary according to factors such as the educational level and supra-national differences, including legal guidelines and the level of…

Apprenticeships for adults are one of the policy solutions to the need for supporting adults willing to train, while broadening the skills base of the working population across Europe. According to Cedefop estimates, there are around 128 million adults with potential for upskilling or reskilling in the European Union (EU). EU Member States have…

Since 2010, French middle schools with a high enrolment of difficult students have benefited from a compensatory policy called "Écoles Collèges et Lycées pour l'Ambition, l'Innovation et la Réussite" (ECLAIR) (Primary and Secondary Schools for Ambition, Innovation and Success). These difficult students frequently misbehave, disengage…

Recent CALL research suggests that the arrival of new technologies in the language classroom has led to an increased dominance of the socio-constructivist paradigm (Felix, 2006). Borg (2006) suggests, however, that the hegemony of this paradigm may not extend beyond well-researched university and private ESL contexts. The present study tests this…

Concise, clear and comprehensive snapshots of vocational education and training systems in EU, Iceland and Norway: this is what the Cedefop Spotlight on VET series offers. Building on individual country Spotlights, this publication provides an overview of VET systems with their distinctive qualities, such as main accession and progression routes…

Content and Language Integrated Learning has received a strong tailwind in European educational and language policies. It is on the verge of becoming a mainstream phenomenon. However, an overly speedy implementation of "CLIL for all" might bear a number of risks for all groups of stakeholders. The purpose of this book is to link the…

In this article, we address whether international student comparisons have changed the dynamics of French secondary education policy. We focus on the increasingly significant impact of the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD)'s "Programme for International Student Assessment" (PISA) on France, a country previously…

This volume contains papers submitted to the 10th Annual Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society, held in Kyustendil, Bulgaria, 12-15 June 2012. The overall goal of the 10th BCES conference is to facilitate discussion of different perspectives on international education providing a forum for scientific debate and constructive…

This volume contains papers submitted to the 12th Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES), held in Sofia and Nessebar, Bulgaria, in June 2014, and papers submitted to the 2nd International Partner Conference, organized by the International Research Centre 'Scientific Cooperation,' Rostov-on-Don,…

Germany's apprenticeship system is and has always been considered to be the major sub-system of VET. In this context, the debate circling around the European and German Qualifications Framework (EQF and DQR) has become one of the central issues of VET research and policy. Tasks take on a concrete shape if (a) a serious approach is adopted towards…

This paper examines the decisions made by French policymakers at a time when France was uncertain about which option to take. The purpose is to follow how actors chart their own course in an environment with plural justifications and how they mobilise resources in several spheres to set up ever-changing networks. The investigation will bear on all…

Access to the baccalaureate and higher education in France has become more democratic. The introduction of the vocational baccalaureate has been part of this process, but remains a modest step forward given the very low take-up of vocational baccalaureate courses. If vocational education pathways in France are to become true gateways to higher…