The creation of the Baccalaureat Professionnel : a case study of decision making in French education

Prime Minister Fabius's announcement (May 1985) of the creation of a new baccalauréat, the baccalauréat professionnel, and of the official objective of having 80% of high school students reach the level of the baccalauréat in 2000, was the most important decision in French education since the Gaullist reforms of the early sixties. This article shows the impact of that decision on student numbers and on the morphology of the educational system, mainly its vocational track. The detailed chronology of the reform makes it possible to specify the responsibility of each agent: the teachers' unions, the executive officers of the ministry, the politicians and the employers' pressure groups. The decision was not a response to employers' demands. It was state policy based on politicians' view of the long-term needs of the economy, on their desire to upgrade the vocational track and give the educational system a new dynamic turn, and finally, on short-run political considerations of the positive impact of such a measure on public opinion in view of the legislative election of 1986.     

The French zones d’éducation prioritaire: Much ado about nothing?

We provide an assessment of the French ZEP (Zones d’Education Prioritaire), a program started in 1982 that channels additional resources to schools in disadvantaged areas and encourages the development of new teaching projects. Focusing on middle-schools, we first evaluate the impact of the ZEP status on resources, their utilization (teacher bonuses versus teaching hours) and key establishments characteristics such as class sizes, school enrolments, teachers’ qualifications and experience, and student composition and mobility. We then estimate the impact of the ZEP program on four measures of individual student achievement: obtaining at least one diploma by the end of schooling, reaching 8th grade, reaching 10th grade and success at the Baccalauréat (the national examination at the end of high school). We take into account the endogeneity of the ZEP status by using both difference in differences and instrumental variables based on political variables. The results are the same in all cases: there is no impact on student success of the ZEP program.     

Tablets as an educational tool for enhancing preschool science

Information communication technologies (ICT) is increasingly being introduced in the preschool level, but questions have been raised regarding its potential to develop content knowledge or specific skills. This quasi-experimental study looked into the impact that hand-held tablets can have on science learning outcomes in five-year-olds. Four classes from two preschool institutions in Buenos Aires, Argentina, were selected for a six-week intervention. All four classes received training and an inquiry-based science teaching sequence, with one group from each institution also receiving tablets and specific guidance on how to incorporate them into their science lessons. Post-intervention test results showed significant improvements in science outcomes for all students, but no significant difference between the tablet-enhanced classrooms and those taught without ICT. Challenges and opportunities are discussed with regard to including tablets for teaching science at the preschool level.