The new developments in education have successfully opened the door for colleges and then lycees in the vast majority of children in France. It has allowed for new catorgories of pupils, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds to reach levels of education and training from which they were formally excluded. As with anything new in education it has posted new challenges for the teaching community; to ensure a common education and with the same chances of success to all the young people regardless of their circumstances at home.
These huge increases in the number of successful students must not mask the "hard core" children who will ultimatley fail at school which usually comes to light in the first few years of schooling. Under France's new education system, such children would normally have been punished by making them repeat the grade and given the label of "slow learners"(discover France.net) Early investigations were carried out in the first year of college and revealed that 15% were bad readers and 4% were nearly illiterate. (discover France.net) Most of these children will find it difficult to overcome such a handicap and a few years later will be amongst the population of individuals leaving school and entering the work force without qualifications.
National tests are now given in French and mathematics of all children 8 years of age and 11 years of age and they are designed precisely to identify children who are struggling in school. These tests were created to ensure equality of access to colleges as well as give the students an equal chance of achieving success at each level. and requiring that more support be given to children experiencing learning difficulties and not to let them "fall by the wayside."(discover France.net)
At the primary level, where the emphasis must be on language, the organization of cycles has brought about greater flexibility and allows for an accounting to be taken at the different speeds at which children learn and an extra two hours a week is reserved for supplemental tutoring to benefit individual children in need for extra help and a network of specialists will be available to provide help to individuals with learning difficulties (RASED) and will cater to those students who are specifically at high risk for underachievement.
All the children who reside in the same local area will attend the same college , the schools will be faced with the task of providing the same standard of education for all of the students while adapting to the needs of children who may be at different levels which is only a direct result of the achievement at primary schools. Colleges now are required to have available extra resources with at least two hours a week to provide children who are lagging behind supervised tutoring . Teaching methods that are capable of arousing interests and making studies more meaningful are now being used to develop new curriculum which will help to address the needs of children who have been struggling with the existing compartmentalized teaching system. (discover France.net)
In general, in efforts to help the most disadvantaged children France has developed a policy of positive discrimination within their education system which allocates additional funds to schools in the so-called "priority education area" (ZEP's)(discover France.net) where disadvantaged social and cultural environment makes educating children especially difficult.
Going beyond the basic knowledge neccessary for any responsible adult, schools must prepare individuals for a successful working life. Better education and more prepared individuals protects France from high unemployment rates and helps more individuals in finding a stable job and starting a career.
Reference:
Education in France, Part 4 Retrieved from http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Education/DF_education4.shtml
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