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Context
Schools in France have less favourable disciplinary climates in science lessons than in other OECD countries, according to students’ reports in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, with an index of disciplinary climate of -0.27 (the average index value was 0.00). However, student truancy in 2015 was below the OECD average: 10.8% of 15-year-olds reported skipping at least one day of school in the two weeks before the PISA 2015 test, compared to 19.7% on average. This being said, students in France were among those least likely to report that their science teachers adapt their instructions more frequently than the OECD average, with an index of adaptive instruction of -0.29 (the average index value was 0.01) (OECD, 2016[1]).
The PISA 2015 index of instructional educational leadership (measuring the frequency with which principals report doing leadership activities specifically related to instruction) was among the lowest in the OECD (-0.43 compared to 0.01) (OECD, 2016[1]). The proportion of lower secondary teachers in 2016 aged 50 or over in France was 30.5%, compared to an OECD average of 35.4%. In 2017, primary level teachers in France taught 900 hours, well above the OECD average of 784 hours. Conversely, lower secondary level teachers taught 684 hours, compared to an OECD average of 696 hours (OECD, 2018[2]). In PISA 2015, 73% of principals reported that the school has primary autonomy over curriculum, which was similar to the OECD average of 73.4% (OECD, 2016[1]).
In 2016, lower secondary education teachers in France earned 88% of the salary of a full-time, full-year worker with tertiary education, compared to the OECD average of 91% (OECD, 2016[1]). According to the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018, 74.4% of teachers in France said that if they could choose again, they would still become a teacher; this was lower than the OECD average of 75.6%. Furthermore, only 6.6% of teachers felt that the teaching profession was valued in society, compared to an OECD average of 25.8% in 2018 (OECD, 2019[3]).
According to school leaders’ reports in PISA 2015, school leaders in France are less likely than average to conduct self-evaluations of their schools (77.7% of students were in schools whose principal reported this, compared to the OECD average of 93.2%) and also less likely to undergo external evaluations of their schools (56.7% of students were in schools whose principal reported this, compared to the OECD average of 74.6%) (OECD, 2016[1]). However, teacher appraisal levels, as reported in the earlier cycle of TALIS 2013, were above average: 86.1% of teachers had reported then having received a teacher appraisal in the previous 12 months, compared to a TALIS average of 66.1% (OECD, 2014[4]).
The share of students enrolled in secondary schools whose principal reported in PISA 2015 that standardised tests are used to make decisions on students’ promotion or retention was 51%, compared to 31%, on average (OECD, 2016[1]). In 2017, the majority (63%) of responsibility for decisions regarding resource management (allocation and use of resources for teaching staff and principals) in France lay at the provincial or regional level and the remaining 38% at central level. In contrast, on average across OECD countries, decision making is distributed across various levels, with schools having the highest level of autonomy at 29%.
In 2015, annual expenditure per student in France at primary level was USD 7 395, which was below the OECD average of USD 8 631. At secondary level, France spent USD 11 747 per student, compared to the average of USD 10 010, and at tertiary level (including research and development), France spent USD 16 145 per student compared to USD 15 656. The proportion coming from private sources (including household expenditure, expenditure from other private entities and international sources) was below the OECD average (12.3% compared to 16.1%) (OECD, 2018[2]).
Evolution of key education policy priorities
France’s key education policy priorities have evolved in the following ways over the last decade (Table 8.10).
Institutions
Selected education policy responses
School improvement
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France has implemented several reforms to improve teacher preparation. The masterisation reform (2010) introduced the obligation for teachers to obtain a master’s degree and brought about a shift away from the prior focus on academic competencies. The reform of teacher training (2013) has aimed to strengthen professional teacher training. This reform created the Graduate Schools of Teaching and Education (Écoles Supérieures du Professorat et de l’Éducation, ÉSPÉ), which are linked to a university or a community of universities. These schools offer initial teacher training at master level, combining theoretical and practical training and provide continuous professional development training. The ÉSPÉs aimed to develop innovative teaching methods by linking with research and internationalisation. The two-year master’s degree requirement for primary and secondary school teachers (Master Métiers de l’Enseignement, de l’Education et de la Formation, MEEF) remains, as well, the obligation for teachers to pass a competitive exam to become civil servants. In 2019, the law “for a school of trust” (Loi “Pour une école de la confiance”) passed, which aims to strengthen teacher training by allowing for a more progressive entry into the profession, ensuring a more homogenous delivery of training, strengthening initial training and improving linkages to continuous training during the first years as well as throughout a teacher’s career (Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2019[224]). This is done as part of the framework of the National Institutes of Higher Education and Teaching (Instituts nationaux supérieurs du professorat et de l’éducation, INSPÉ). The INSPÉ replaced the ÉSPÉs to improve the homogeneity of teacher training and better adapt to teachers’ working conditions (Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2019[224]).
Progress or impact: Some 32 Graduate Schools of Teaching and Education (ÉSPÉs), along with 1 ENSFEA (École nationale supérieure de formation de l’enseignement agricole, which specialises in teachers’ training in the agricultural sector) were set up in 2013 to offer training. In total, 150 training centres accommodate the students of the ÉSPÉs in the French metropolitan area and overseas regions. In 2017, more than 65 000 students studied at an ÉSPÉ. In addition, over EUR 100 million were dedicated to in-service training for teachers in 2017, which is a 20% increase over 2012. The pathways, careers and remuneration protocol (Protocole parcours, carrières et rémunérations, PPCR) is part of the modernisation of the education profession. It is also the first step in the revaluation of the teaching profession.
A 2016 evaluation found that although it was still too early to declare the reform a success or failure, there had been notable achievements (Desbiolles and Ronzeau, 2016[225]). For example, an increased number of students had enrolled in the first and second year of the MEEF master programme at the start of the 2015 school year. They inferred this was most likely caused by the first results, which showed better performance in the competitive exams among MEEF master students compared to students in other master programmes. At the same time, difficulties remain, for example, due to questions on the institutional positioning of the ÉSPÉ in the wider university setting (Desbiolles and Ronzeau, 2016[225]).
The Monitoring Committee of the reform (Comité de suivi) found, among others, that the role of the ÉSPÉs should be more clearly defined and that the project budget needs to be transformed into a real piloting tool based on an activity-mapping inspection model (Comité de suivi, 2016[226]). Additional evidence puts forward that continuous professional development should be further developed, and the number of trainers and resources should also be increased (European Commission, 2017[227]). France pointed out the challenge to be tackled under the 2019 reform, which is to ensure more detailed, regular monitoring based on reliable indicators of the training provided by the new institutes, by the Ministry of National Education and Youth and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (National information reported to the OECD).
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France revised the school timetables in primary education (La réforme des rythmes à l’école primaire, 2013) at the start of the 2013/14 school year. The government extended the weekly schedule from 4 to 4.5 days with 24 hours of teaching per school week over 9 half-days. France aims to cater for extracurricular education activities and provide more personalised support for students. As a result, the number of days of schooling in primary education has risen from 144 to 180 days per year, according to national data reported to the OECD. One in four primary schools implemented the new schedule during 2013/14. The reform took effect across all schools in 2014/15.
Progress or impact: The municipal support fund for extracurricular school activities was set up in 2014, and followed up in 2015 and 2017 with a total allocation of EUR 373 million. In 2014, a complementary decree passed, which authorises school principals a certain authority to adopt the reform to local needs in an experimental period (National information provided to the OECD).
A 2015 inspection of the reform found that school time organisation varied considerably among the different municipalities (DEPP, 2013[228]). A 2017 evaluation assessing the students’, practitioners’ and families’ point of view on the different types of organisation found no significant difference between the different school time organisations put in place (DEPP, 2013[228]). As of 2017/18, public nursery and primary schools can also introduce a 4-day week school schedule instead of the 4.5 days (Blanquer, 2017[229]). This aims to allow a certain degree of flexibility for local actors to adopt the school schedules to their local contexts and better meet student needs (Blanquer, 2017[229]).
A new teacher replacement plan (2017) was put in place to better manage teacher absence and better inform students and their families, and thereby ensure learning continuity. Furthermore, a decree will be implemented to define the legal framework of the first degree with an emphasis on de-compartmentalising and improving the replacement system (National information reported to the OECD).
Additional education policies of potential interest to other countries
School improvement
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The Digital School Plan (Le plan numérique pour l’éducation, 2015), as part of a comprehensive education strategy, is designed to develop educational innovation and promote academic and student success. The total investment for public authorities is estimated at EUR 1 billion. Digital technology is now fully integrated into elementary school curricula to upper secondary education, in the form of learning how to program in lower secondary education, and optional computer and digital education at upper secondary education. In 2017/18, teacher training was delivered on site (three days per teacher per year) and on line (at least 660 000 teachers took a magister course). In 2016, the government aimed to equip at least 20% of public and private lower secondary education institutions with teaching resources and individual digital equipment for 5th graders. By 2016, some 1 668 digital lower secondary schools had been put in place, and 25% of lower secondary schools were equipped with tablets, aiming to reach 50% by 2017. In addition, the digital training plan was renewed in 2017 (three days of digital training for teachers and organised in the academies). Also, the M@gistere online training platform (2013) continued to be expanded, with new modules on digital pedagogy. As of 2017/18, around 260 000 teachers participated, and 440 training courses were offered (Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2019[230]). The Digital Resource Bank for School (Banque de ressources numériques pour l’école, BRNE) opened in 2016/17. BRNE provides free resources for teachers and students at primary and lower secondary level as part of the educational framework. As of 2019, content in French and mathematics are available that are complementary with national assessments (National information reported to the OECD).
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France has been taking several measures to improve the overall school climate for students (Climat scolaire à l’école, 2013) as well as tackling bullying and violence (Lutte contre le harcèlement et les violences à l’école, 2013). For example, the 2017-18 campaign website against bullying (Non au harcèlement) provides information on what witnesses, parents or professors can do for students who are bullied (Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2018[231]). As part of this, since 2015, annual campaigns aim to raise student awareness on the topic. Further measures are proposed on the website. The 2018-19 campaign focuses on the prevention of cyber violence and specifically on addressing “sexting” (Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2018[232]). A 2017-18 national study on school climate and victimisation found that the number of lower secondary education students who in general feel “good” at school with 94.1% in 2018 has remained stable since 2011 (Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2018[233]). The type of reported victimisation has not changed between 2013 and 2017, according to the results of the study, while forms of harassment have changed with an increase in cyber harassment. Evaluations on school climate have taken place since 2008 (Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2018[233])
Evaluation and assessment
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In the school year 2018/19, France introduced national assessments in mathematics and French in Grades 1, 2 and 6 with the aim to allow teachers to adapt their teaching to help all students succeed (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2018[234]). For first graders, the assessments take place early on in the school year and again halfway through the school year, whereas assessments in second and sixth grade take place at the beginning of the school year. The results are accessible a few days after the tests (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2018[234]). National assessments are based on four principles: 1) rigorous and scientific construction of assessment tools conducted by the Directorate of Assessment, Forecasting and Performance (DEPP), in collaboration with the Scientific Council for National Education (CSEN) and the General Directorate for School Education (DGESCO); 2) securing procedures; 3) providing results for families; 4) supporting teachers to respond effectively to the difficulties of their students (National information reported to the OECD).
Systems
Selected education policy responses
Governance
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The National Council for the Evaluation of the School System (Conseil national d’évaluation du système scolaire, CNESCO, 2013) aims to produce evaluations and evaluation summaries; provide methodological expertise on existing evaluations; and promote an evaluation culture for education professionals and the general public. In 2019, a new School Evaluation Council (Conseil d’évaluation de l’école) was set up under the “For a school of trust” law, eventually replacing CNESCO. Its mission is to develop the methodological framework and tools for regular school evaluations and thereby better comply with international recommendations.
Progress or impact: In 2017, the National Council for the Evaluation of the School System (CNESCO) published the results of the activities for the first three years of operation. To support the schools’ evaluation, the council engaged more than 200 researchers, published 21 reports, and organised 3 international comparative conferences and 3 consensus conferences. In 2017, CNESCO focused on school inequalities of territorial origin, educational differentiation and quality of life at school (CNESCO, 2017[235]).
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France recently launched a new online admissions portal for first-year students applying for higher education. The new portal, Parcoursup’ (2018), was launched as part of France’s Plan Étudiants (2017), a set of policy measures aiming to improve the transition and integration of students in their first year of tertiary education. A key goal of this reform is to reduce the number of students failing in higher education by improving student orientation through various strategies. The portal replaced the Admission Post-bac (APB, 2008) (Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur de la Recherche et de l'Innovation, 2017[236]). The APB had been created to simplify the admissions process for higher education by grouping all relevant information related to programmes and institutions on one website. A new feature of the platform was the inclusion of expected outcomes for each of the bachelor’s diplomas (National information reported to the OECD).
Progress or impact: In 2018, Parcoursup made it possible to apply for 13 000 higher education courses. The results of the Parcoursup 2018 campaign showed an increase in enrolment rates in higher education (with an increase by 26 730 of positive responses in 2018), especially for students having benefited from scholarships during upper secondary education (increased by 21%), or coming from the vocational upper secondary school strand (increased by 28%). Similarly, an additional 650 establishments offered individualised support schemes to new students to help with initial orientation. Furthermore, in 2018, France invested EUR 35 million to create an additional 30 000 student places. In 2019, around 14 000 courses were listed on Parcoursup (National information reported to the OECD).
Funding
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By 2017, after reforming its national bursary system (2013-16), France had invested EUR 550 million in financial aid for higher education students (Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur de la Recherche et de l'Innovation, 2017[236]). The reform aimed to improve the conditions of success for students from less affluent families, who may choose to take on paid employment for an excessive number of hours in order to pay tuition fees.
Progress or impact: According to a recent report from France’s Ministère de lʼEnseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de lʼInnovation, more scholarships for higher education have been awarded since the start of the reform. During 2016/17, some 700 303 students were scholarship holders, or 37% of the total number of students that year. This represented an 11% increase in the number of scholarship recipients since 2012, prior to the implementation of the reform. Also, during 2016/17, around 260 000 students benefited from an increase in their scholarship amounts, representing a total of EUR 216 million in the budget for direct student aid since 2013. The number of students enrolled in higher education continues to increase (142 000 additional students in 2016 compared to 2013) (Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur de la Recherche et de l'Innovation, 2017[237]).
According to the European Commission, France anticipates a 14% increase in the number of higher education students between 2015 and 2025, and a subsequent increase of grant requests (European Commission, 2018[238]). In addition to creating additional places in higher education (17 000 in universities and 4 000 in short-cycle institutions) by September 2018, the government committed to guaranteeing minimum percentages for needs-based grant holders (European Union, 2018[200]).
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Final implementation of France’s Priority Education Plan (2014) took place in 2017. According to the European Commission, the primary objective of the plan was to reduce by 10% the differences in basic skills between students attending priority education schools and those attending schools outside priority education (European Commission, 2015[239]). The 2014 plan focuses on three key aspects: 1) updating the map of priority networks; 2) providing additional support to improve student-learning; and 3) reforming teaching practices to include collaborative teaching (European Commission, 2015[239]). France’s Minister of Education and Youth classified priority education schools into two groups: 1) schools with more students from mixed social backgrounds than in schools outside of priority education, categorised as REP (Réseaux d’éducation prioritaire); and 2) schools in isolated neighbourhoods where the impact of social difficulties on school success is the highest, classified as REP+ (Réseaux d’éducation prioritaire renforcée) (Éduscol, 2018[240]).
Progress or impact: During 2018/19, some 1 093 schools had been identified according to the map of priority education in France: 731 middle schools with REP status, and 363 middle schools with REP+ status (Éduscol, 2018[240]). France aimed to reduce class size by 50% in first and second grades in Priority Education Networks (REP) and Enhanced Priority Education Networks (REP+), and the goal was reached at the start of the school year 2018/19. In total, nearly 190 000 first and second-grade students in REP and REP+ were in classes of about 12 students (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2018[234]).
The European Commission reported in 2017 that overall, between 2013 and 2017, some 54 000 additional teaching posts were created across primary and secondary education, and teachers in priority education were allocated extra time for collaborative teaching. France’s initial 2017 budget included EUR 814 million to increase teachers’ salaries between 2017 and 2020 to improve the attractiveness of the profession, in particular in priority education. Although the government later reduced this amount, it did announce plans to open 9 000 new teaching positions the same year in pre-schools and schools, particularly in priority education (European Commission, 2017[227]).
Additional evidence from the European Commission indicates that public funding for school education in 2018 increased by 2.6 percentage points compared to 2017. The government expects this will help raise teachers’ salaries in schools classified as REP. As of the school year 2018/19, teachers assigned to REP+ received a salary increase of EUR 1 000 net per year (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2018[234]). The overall goal is to gradually increase the remuneration of staff assigned to REP+ schools and colleges until 2020 (National information reported to the OECD). However, while some teachers may benefit from increased salaries, gaps remain in teaching resources across different types of schools and regions in France (European Commission, 2018[238]).
At the beginning of 2019, the first results of the duplication of preparatory classes in REP+ areas were published, showing overall positive results (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2019[241]). The results showed that compared to a non-treatment group with similar socio-economic profile, there had been a significant decrease in students with great difficulties by 7.8% in French and 12.5% in mathematics (60 000 students have benefited from the measure in the school year 2017/18).
Additional education policies of potential interest to other countries
Governance
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In 2015, the French government launched a new online learning portal as part of its efforts to modernise higher education through digital means (Ministère de lʼEnseignement Supérieur, de la Recherche et de lʼInnovation, 2015[242]). The previous portal, France Digital University (France Université Numérique, FUN, 2013), was part of the Numeracy Strategy for Higher Education (Stratégie numérique pour l’enseignement supérieur, 2013). For its 1.4 million registered learners, FUN offers more than 170 massive open online courses (MOOCs) provided by more than 60 French and French-speaking institutions. Along with the courses offered before, the new portal provides more than 30 000 digital educational resources, including, among others, case studies, tutorials, interactive lessons and conferences, videos and web documentaries. Data collected by the European Union indicates that most learners using the portal’s new website in 2015 were graduates; participation among current students remained low (European Commission, 2015[239]).
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By 2017, 25 clusters of higher education institutions existed in France, and 20 had established “site contracts” to become university communities (Communautés d’universités et établissements, ComUE, 2013). The ComUE aim to structure and simplify national tertiary education by aligning the quality of training provision and equity within and between different parts of the country. The objective of “site contracts”, signed by clusters in agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, is to improve the co-ordination of education offers and research strategies between public higher education institutions (universities and colleges). In 2018, the state adapted its legislative role to promote new forms of reconciliation, consolidation or mergers for university groupings. At the same time, strategic management dialogues were started for voluntary institutions to share priorities, constraints and visions for higher education institutions. Other measures have been introduced to increase the international visibility of highly-cited research, and to improve the international ranking of university groups (Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur, de la Recherche et de l'Innovation, n.d.[243]).
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From 2019, within general and technological upper secondary education, the reform of the Baccalaureate (2017) provides for the introduction of a revised examination, which will be organised around common and specialised courses selected by each student (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2019[241]). The revision aims to simplify the examination, take better account of students’ work throughout the school year, and enable the exam to function better in its role as a springboard to higher education. This revised Baccalaureate also introduces some continuous monitoring for certain subjects such as history/geography and modern languages (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2019[241]). Upper secondary education students will be able to choose three specialisation courses in the first grade of upper secondary and two in the final grade, with an increased number of hours to give them time to deepen and progress in the subjects of the specialisation courses. Furthermore, the baccalaureate reform aims to better take into account and assess the digital skills needed for the 21st century society by implementing courses on Digital Sciences and Technology (starting 2019) and Digital and Computer Sciences (starting 2019 and 2020 in the first and final grades, respectively) (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2018[234]).
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In 2018, France launched the transformation of the vocational path, which aims to improve the quality and attractiveness of vocational education and training (VET) and align its focus with future skills needed for the digital age. Collaboration between regions, the business sector and the new generation of “Campuses for Trades and Qualifications” (Campus des métiers et qualifications, CMQ) is envisaged as part of the reform efforts (Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2019[241]). Furthermore, regional authorities will increase collaboration with training institutions, companies, start-ups, apprenticeship centres, research laboratories and universities. Changes to content and pedagogy are also planned in order to strengthen VET programmes and increase enrolment rates (National information reported to the OECD).
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The secondary school reform (La réforme du collège, 2016) aims to improve the success of all students by reinforcing language learning, creating personalised learning time and interdisciplinary practical leaning, as well as giving some autonomy to the teaching teams (three additional hours starting as of the school year 2017/18). The school time (l’Organisation du temps scolaire) has been reorganised to better reflect the rhythm of life and learning of students. In addition, the government has promoted new teaching methods (les nouvelles modalités d’enseignement), which make up 20% of teachers’ time. These include interdisciplinary practical lessons, personalised support and work in small groups. It is the teachers’ responsibility to organise it (as part of a conseil pédagogique), based on their assessment of their students’ needs. The new methods of the constitution of the pedagogical council favour the implementation duties of: dialogue, reflection and pedagogic discussion.
Funding
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France introduced a new secondary school scholarship scheme (2016) to simplify the application process for families and overall consistency of award procedures (European Commission, 2016[245]). The amount of social funds in schools increased by 85% since 2012, representing a total of EUR 65 million in 2017. France also reported that at the beginning of the 2016 academic year, the scholarships awarded to high school students were upgraded by 10% (on average EUR 697 per high school student each year). Scholarships awarded to middle school students increased by 25% from the start of the 2017/18 academic year (a total investment of EUR 45 million).
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