The Links between Secondary and Higher Education in France

Abstract

In France, the term 'higher education' applies to all courses taking place after the Baccalaureat, which is usually presented after three years in upper secondary education. By contrast with many other countries, the Baccalaureat year is considered as the first year of higher education. Following the decree of March 17th 1808, this examination gives entry to post-secondary education, though since the 1950s its standing has somewhat diminished. Holders of this certificate also have the right to sit for competitive examinations for entry to the civil service. Though there are alternative means of access to higher education, some universities and the University Institutes of Technology have the right to dispense with it entirely; such opportunities are rarely taken up. The past few years have seen a 'deflation' in the value of the Baccalaureat due, in part, to the development of mass higher education. The proportion of the relevant age cohort passing this certificate rose from 6% in 1950, passed 12% in 1966 and stands at some 25% today. One notable development has been the very rapid growth in the number of school leavers sitting the Baccalaureat in technical subjects. If in 1968-69 when the technical option was first introduced they represented some 10.5% of all Baccalaureat candidates, recent figures suggest this proportion has reached just under four in ten (39.31%) in 1980. One immediate consequence of the spiralling numbers of students sitting the school leaving certificate in France is that greater emphasis is placed upon that process of selection which takes place during secondary education, and more particularly during the last two years of upper secondary schooling in the classe de seconde and the classe de terminale. Particularly important in this selection is the curricula track (serie) or the subject combination the individual chooses since this choice in turn affects the type of Baccalaureat he will sit and thus the type of course embarked upon in higher education. The Baccalaureat in France is divided into two, the General Baccalaureat and the so called 'technical Baccalaureats'. The former consists of five subject areas or options: option A in which the emphasis is upon literature; B, economics and social studies; C, mathematics and physical sciences; D, mathematics with biological sciences or combined with technical studies or agronomics and option E, mathematics and technology. The 'technical Baccalaureats' are option F, subdivided into industrial studies, Social and medical sciences and music and dance, option G, consisting of mathematically based economics and option H, computer science. Since 1970, a considerable shift has taken place in the subject-choice of students in upper secondary education. Amongst those successfully passing the Baccalaureat