Chapitre 6. Enseigner la bioéthique dans le secondaire en France

Abstract

Bioethics is not a subject in the French school curriculum but it can be taught in secondary schools. I will first raise the problems I encountered in order to teach it and some possible solutions for teaching it within the French educational system. An experimental approach often appears irrefutable to students and this can be an obstacle or slow down their acceptance of an ethical approach which leads to questioning result sor exploring more than one answer. The study of an ethical problem requires an interdisciplinary approach which is not always easy to put in place in schools, but which has been helped by the latest reform of the lycle curriculum. Nevertheless, who will be responsible for it? And how? The experiment which I have led over the past 9 years in my school, the Lycle International of St. Germain en Laye, has led me to try to work alongside at least one colleague who is a teacher of Philosophy. A group of students made up of volunteers from the classes of lère and Tie (the last two years of high school),from all three options of the baccalauréat (Scientific, Economic and Literary) and from all the international sections to be found in the school (13 in all) was formed. Firstly they became acquainted with ethical questioning and then took greater control by debating these issues after doing individual research. They spoke for themselves and I gained much from their own ideas and reflections. Arranging contacts and debates with specialists in the field and with witnesses with experiences of these situations enabled the students to be confronted with concrete examples and to understand the human dimension and the daily life of those concerned. Giving their thoughts in written form or translating ethical questioning in other ways proceeded the sharing of these ideas and thoughts with others: either in their own school through debates and other media or from French specialists during the days of reflections organized by the CCNE. In my opinion, this sort of learning is essential for the development of tomorrow's adults.