One of the specificities of French higher education is that there is no single higher education system but two compartmentalised and hierarchical higher education systems comprising (1) universities and (2) "grande école" higher education institutions. Competing for a place in the latter requires that students have succeeded in…

The international comparative studies on students' outcomes have initiated analyses that have had a growing influence on national and sub-national education policies in industrialised and developing countries. It is particularly the case of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which started in 2000 and has organised…

The history of education in France, with its inherited link between the Republic and the religion of knowledge, produces a specific form of educational functioning, consubstantial to a tradition of selection and a symptomatic lack of what elsewhere is called a curriculum. While the recent introduction of the "common grounding of knowledge and…

Part of the national system of grandes Ecoles, French Business schools have known radical changes since the 1980s, notably in size, and have become more attractive to students both at a national and an international level. As a consequence, the French elitist system has been questioned by the competition of foreign--especially Anglo-Saxon--models.…

The French university student strike from December 1975 to May 1976, in opposition to national higher education reform efforts, is examined in the context of a theory of student movements that sees the student as a social actor situated in the midst of conflicts inherent in a programmed, technological society. (MSE)

The increase in student numbers, resulting adaptation of the curriculum, and changes in the profile of teacher-researchers in France from 1950 to 1980 suggest the need for changes in graduate study in the 1990s, including increased interdisciplinarity, development of discipline-based research centers, and improved industry-university cooperation.…

The history of women's participation in French higher education, patterns of educational choices and qualifications, and effects on qualified women's entry into employment are examined. It is concluded that while women have better training for higher-level jobs, they also face greater competition with other women and some discrimination. (MSE)