Education In France
The number of foreign students in France has risen by 60% in six years, and stood at 250,000 in 2006. (Douste-Blazy, 2006). Around 13 million students attend school in France. The basic structure primary school, colleges were established during 1960s and 1970s. Since 1970s, Pre-school came into existence with children from 3 to 5 years attending nursery classes and school attendance became compulsory for children from 6 to 16 years of age. Primary School is from the age of 6 to 11 years, Secondary schooling starts with College or Junior High Schooling is from the age of 11 to 15 years and High Schooling is from age of 15 to 18 years. France has approximately 60,000 primary schools. The first three years are known as CP and CE1 / CE2 which inculcates basic skills. CM1 / CM2 are the next stage and takes children to the end of primary school. Even secondary schooling is divided into two stages, one after the other and is known as cycles. From the age of 11 to 15 years children attend college from form 6 to form 3. Form 3 which is the final year at college is the first stage where children make choice of some favorite subject they want to study.
In France, children undergo 16 years of education and kids start going to school very early. 52 percent of children start at age of 2 while almost 100% start going to school at the age of 3. Only 50% of children in US start going to school at such an early age. Academic year begins in September and ends in Jun. From age 3 to 4 year, children study in Petite Section (PS), from age 4 to 5 years they study in Moyenne Section(MS), age 5 to 6 years in Grande Section(GS), age 6-7 course preparatory grade (CP), age 7 to 8 in Course Elementary premiere (CE1), age 8 to 9 in Course Elementary deuxieme (CE2), age 9 to 10 in Course Moyen Premiere (CM1), age 10 to 11 in Course Moyen deuxieme (CM2), age 11 to 12 in Sixieme (6e), age 12 to 13 in Cinquieme (5e), age 13 to 14 in Quatrieme (4e), age 14 to 15 in Troisieme (3e), age 15 to 16 in Seconde (2e), age 16 to 17 in Premiere (1e) and age 17 to 18 in Terminale (Term). In primary school, French kids spend approximately 900 hours a year unlike the American kid who do not spend so many hours in primary school. An “Upper Secondary (Brevet des Colleges)” certificate or diploma is awarded after completion of College studies (15 years of completion of education successfully).
In the last year of nursery class, at the age of 5 to 6 years, children are introduced to reading. During Primary schooling, the students are introduced to subjects such as Mathematics, Science, French, etc. All French students have to study Philosophy (mandatory) in the final year of high school. The students prepare for corresponding baccalaureat examinations which they appeared at the age of 18. Baccalaureat is the end of schooling and the state when the student is ready to enter university or professional life. It is very important for French students as it gives them access to university studies. It is a rigorous examination and consists of both written as well as oral examination. It generally lasts up to 6 days and is not similar to the American style of studies. When compared to US curriculum, Baccalaureat can be compared to American SAT or ACT. Thereafter, they move onto a general, technical or vocational course. The General stream is concerned with natural science, mathematics or physical science while technical is concerned with economics, social sciences and mathematics and vocation course refers to national or foreign languages. Higher Education in France is a dual system divided into “Grandes Ecoles” and public universities. Selection to “Grandes Ecoles” is very tough and concerns science and business studies. Most of the Grandes Ecoles are very small enrolling fewer than 1,000 students. The main categories of Grandes Ecoles are MS and MBA. Tuition fees for vary from ?2,000 to ?15,000 per year. Entry requirement for both is at least 5 years HE and one degree – level qualification. For other professional streams like medical and law, France has lot of Universities instead of “Grandes Ecoles”.
Around 85 percent of total schools are public although some private schools also exist particularly in religious region of France. Education is almost free apart from the Higher education (Universities and Grandes Ecoles). Around one-fourth of students receive scholarships for higher education. In Universities in France, services and facilities offered are different than American Universities. Grandes Ecoles can be somewhat compared to the American system of education.
Even the grading system differs from American style of grading. The grading system in schools and high school in France goes from 0 to 20. On a scale of 20 points, “0” signifies worst performance and “20” signifies being perfect. Grading system is tough and getting perfect grades is not at all easy. In French school grading is strictly followed as a measure of punishment rather than suggesting improvements. American students get generally alphabetical grades with A+ being the highest grade and F stands for Fail.
The French schools do not encourage extra-curricular activities as they cannot afford to spend on it. US system encourages more of extra-curricular activities to develop the kids. Education in France stresses more on academic knowledge and does not focus on personality or physical development. It is generally observed that a French Mother would say “Be good and study hard” to her kid while an American mother would say “Have fun” to her kid at the time he leaves for school. French Schools, High Schools and Universities give priority to equality and so there is no gender, class or religion discrimination.
Processing your request, Please wait....
