Higher Education In France Research Articles

ABSTRACT This study provides descriptive evidence on how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced secondary school students’ application patterns to higher education in France, offering insights into the reallocation of preferences across academic fields and degree types. Using detailed administrative data, we document significant shifts in application shares during 2021, with increased interest in competitive tracks and concurrent declines in applications to bachelor’s and vocational programs. These findings suggest that students responded to the pandemic by favouring structured and selective pathways with clear labour market prospects, moving away from generalist degrees. Students’ share of applications to STEM degrees increased, while applications to health and business programs remained stable. We then analyse the probability of applying to at least one program in a given field or degree and find a decline in application diversification: students narrowed their choices to fewer fields, reflecting a more risk-averse and selective approach in response to the pandemic. Our analysis highlights substantial heterogeneity in these effects across demographic groups.

Despite growing awareness of the social and psychological issues linked with animal abuse, there is a lack of large-scale research on the multidimensional factors at play in relation to such abuse in the adult population. In this first survey on animal abuse carried out in higher education in France and based on a highly powered sample (N = 55,040 participants), we investigated the relative weight of risk factors pertaining to major criminological dimensions in a multivariate model controlling for relevant demographics: General Strain Theory (GST), Social Bond Theory (SBT), and Generalized Deviance Theory (GDT), as well as three key psychological dimensions: Callousness, Sensation seeking, and Impulse control difficulties. We observed that 6.4% of the participants declared having perpetrated animal abuse in the past, with males having done so about three times more often than females. Animal abuse was linked with callousness, difficulties in impulse control and sensation seeking. Participants who reported a climate of violence in their family, or who had witnessed acts of violence by their father against their mother, were particularly prone to abuse animals, which supported GST predictions. To a lesser extent, in line with SBT, animal abuse was higher among students with lower attachment to their mother, and who had a weaker belief in justice. Finally, animal abuse was perpetrated significantly more often by participants reporting higher alcohol consumption, as predicted by GDT. In summary, animal harm is related to a combination of risk factors pertaining to major criminological and psychological perspectives on aggression and violence, knowledge of which is useful in prioritizing future research directions and prevention strategies.

Importance of tacit knowledge in online synchronous courses: case of higher education in France

In this article we consider the assumption that representative institutions within the workplace, like such as those existing in France, allow for a sustainable opposition to the employer. The article draws on data from a comparative employment relations project exploring variants of the institutionalisation of labour and the space for alternative forms of engagement with capital. We draw on data and casework in higher education institutions in France and the UK (2017–22). The article elaborates Ross and Savage’s (2021) thesis regarding the formation and trajectory of the neoliberal university, while adding to their prognosis reflections on the consequences of marketisation, especially with regard to social partner institutions and the scope and potential of collective forms of action in a neoliberal environment. Of particular note is Ross and Savage’s argument that the neoliberal university is characterised by varying patterns of work fragmentation, labour intensification and actor-internalised pressure to conform. Ironically, what seems possible is that the closer regulatory employment relations environment in the French context provides a warmer, less unstable, environment for neoliberal educational practices than is the case in the UK. In a story that also addresses labour domination and opposition, we frame the experience of labour in France as inclusionary-subordination/exclusionary-incorporation and in the UK, exclusionary-subordination/inclusionary-incorporation.

The paper deals the issue of training future specialists in gardening and park management in higher education institutions in France. It is established that the training of these specialists is carried out in institutions of various types, which are integrated into the general system of educational institutions. The main features of training of future specialists in landscape gardening in French higher education institutions are determined: constant development of an extensive and differentiated system of educational institutions; practical and constant interconnection and mutual influence between all levels of education, including professional development; autonomy of educational institutions within the framework of national, regional and local educational programmes; innovation in the educational process and professionalisation of future specialists. Higher education in France is aimed at shaping a new vision of the nation and the worldview of young people: innovation and scientific research; environmental protection and agro-ecological development of national territories; highly professional, multidisciplinary and demanded young specialists in the labour market; integration of scientific and educational achievements into the development of local territories; use of regional potential by combining the efforts of scientific, educational and industrial institutions to develop the country's bioeconomy. Higher agricultural education in France provides training, education of engineers, specialists in landscape architecture and design, specialised personnel, teachers, scientists and veterinarians in 26 higher education institutions: 19 institutions are public and 7 are private. To date, new types of educational institutions have been established and are successfully operating in France, providing multi-level and multi-functional professional training of agricultural engineers that optimally meet the interests of the individual and the staffing needs of enterprises and territorial communities. This helps to increase the competitiveness of their graduates, expand their career opportunities, and ensure stability in their professional activities. As a rule, these are professionals of a polyvalent nature who speak two foreign languages. The trend of improving and expanding the short cycle of professional higher education, as well as alternative (non-formal) agricultural education, which is represented by: apprenticeship (formation par apprentissage); continuing education (formation continue); distance education (formation ouverte et à distance); alternative system of assessment (certification) of professional experience (la Validation des Acquis de l'Expérience, VAE), is quite effective for agricultural education in France.

“I just need a little more support”: A thematic analysis of autistic students’ experience of university in France

Abstract One of the specificities of French higher education is that there is no single higher education system but two compartmentalised and hierarchical higher education systems comprising (1) universities and (2) grande école higher education institutions. Competing for a place in the latter requires that students have succeeded in classe préparatoire studies at the undergraduate level (an intensive foundation degree). While access to university is open to all students, access to classe préparatoire is very selective and remains the source of many inequalities. Thus, in 2018, only 7% of students studying in classe préparatoire programmes had a working‐class father, compared with 50% whose father was a manager, and less than 43% were women, 30% of whom were in the science stream (RERS, 2018). Numerous reforms have been implemented over the past thirty years to mitigate inequalities associated with gender, social and cultural status, as well as geographical location. This study analysed the impact of reforms on the evolution of inequalities. With focus on social and gender inequalities, I use a dual approach to analyse questions pertaining to access and the impact of reforms; specifically, (1) a cliometric approach, based on a quantitative historical analysis of long time series, and (2) a microeconomic approach that relies on individual series. I show that despite measures aimed at opening access to students of different gender and social backgrounds, the grandes écoles higher education institutions remain a relatively compartmentalised system that perpetuates the reproduction of social and gender inequalities.

The article looks into the history of the French library and information higher education system's origin and its current state of functioning. The study pays attention to its place in the world system of library and information training, and determines the features of cognitive and organizational components. It is noted the French model of higher education in information traditionally to train specialists for libraries, archives and documentation centers within one specialty. The specifics of the librarian-documentary specialist's degree training in French universities is considered, as well as the profiles of their master's programs are characterized. The article analyses the current vectors of library and information specialists' training in the most authoritative specialized institution of higher education in France — the National School of Library and Information Sciences (ENSSIB — École nationale supérieure des sciences de l'information et des bibliothèques). The latter offers double degree programs focused on conjuncture specializations in demand in the information market. The study determines the peculiarities of the master educational programs' cognitive component and characterizes the key competencies that students acquire during their mastering. For Ukraine, the emphasis is placed on promising innovations of the French model of library and information specialists training, which should be implemented within a single integrated 029 "Information, Library and Archival Studies specialty".

Comparative analysis of the features of professional training of future translators in institutions of higher education in France and Ukraine

Comparative characteristics of the process of teaching (training) instrumentalists-performers at all levels of higher education in France and Russia

The article presents the quality assurance of higher education in France and reveals the system structure peculiar features. The authors characterize the activity of national agencies for external and internal quality assessment. We show that the formation of French quality assurance in higher education has lasted for three decades. The periodization of the quality assurance shaping in higher education is determined based on reforming the principal national agency for quality. The article illustrates the national legislative documents that regulate external and internal French quality assurance. We believe that a specific feature of the French system of quality assurance in higher education is its subordination to agencies (ENQA and EQAR) at the EU level. The article reveals that the French system of quality assurance in higher education is regulated by legal documents («Standards and recommendations for quality assurance in the EHEA»(ESG)) at the European level; a number of national laws, including the Law on Finance (2001), the Law on Freedom and Responsibility of Universities (2007), the Law on Higher Education and Research (2013); national recommendations and handbooks that form the norms and procedures for assessing the quality of universities. Higher education quality assurance is provided through external assessment and internal self-assessment by universities at the national level. The specificity of the French external quality assessment system’s structure lies in the variety of external agencies and their powers. The High Council for Evaluation in Research and Higher Education (Hcéres) is an independent body. The others external agencies are the Inspectorate General for Public Administration of Education and Training (IGAENR), the Commission of Chartered Engineers (CTI), the Commission for the Evaluation of Management Training and Diplomas (CEFDG) and the Advisory National Commission of University Institutes of Technology (CCN-IUT). National external assessment agencies have a sectoral focus and work in a specific segment, relying on internal quality control procedures. Internal self-assessment is mandatory for all French universities that issue state-recognized diplomas.

Abstract Written by an anonymous collective of academics as well as an alliance of academic journals on strike, “Why French Academic Journals are Protesting” firstly operates as an archive of struggles unfolding in the world and on the future of research and higher education in France. Documenting a wave of transformations, from the bureaucratization of student-teacher relations and the commodification of university diplomas to the contractualisation of academic labor and cuts to employee benefits, the article exposes the loss of autonomisation and the diffusion of precarity in French academia. More than merely chronicling devastating legislative and administrative reforms, it acts as a testament of a unique form of scholarly disobedience or scholar-activism. In doing so, the author-activists open up a space of hope for alternative futures or perhaps even a sanctuary, wherein the university-as-it-were might be salvaged from or imagined beyond neoliberalism.

Les classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles, filière sélective et élitiste de l’enseignement supérieur en France, font l’objet d’un quasi-marché, où se rencontrent l’offre des lycées qui en sont dotés et la demande des candidats, analysé ici sur la base d’entretiens, d’observations et de statistiques publiques. Ce quasi-marché, au financement public, est très concurrentiel, segmenté, au produit singulier. Dès lors, l’incertitude y est forte, ce qui implique des stratégies de recrutement complexes pour la réduire.

Исторический анализ возникновения и развития систем обеспечения качества высшего образования во Франции

For the first time in Russian-language historiography on the basis of an analysis of the most important components of Franco-German cooperation in the field of higher education the evolution of cooperation between higher education institutions of France and Germany in the post-war period is presented. The prerequisites for Franco-German cooperation after the Second World War are determined. The evolution of academic mobility between these countries is considered. The results of activities to create equivalents of documents on higher education in France and Germany are revealed. The Franco-German joint institutions of higher education are characterized. The aim of this work is to consider the evolution of cooperation between France and Germany in the field of higher education in the post-war period of time through the prism of its key aspects. The relevance of this study is due to the lack of research on this issue in Russian-language historiography. In addition, the study of Franco-German relations in the field of science and higher education in the post-war period is also of practical importance, since the experience of this cooperation, or its individual aspects, can be used in the field of higher education and science of our state. As a result of the analysis of key aspects of the Franco-German university cooperation, the following stages were identified in bilateral cooperation. 1. Establishment of Franco-German educational cooperation (1949–1963) – a period of post-war contradictions and the emergence of academic mobility between universities in France and Germany. The intensification of Franco-German cooperation in higher education was due to the unfolding Cold War and the ongoing process of European integration: the cultural sphere acted as a means of overcoming Franco-German antagonism. 2. Franco-German cooperation after the conclusion of the Treaty of Elysee (1963 – the end of the 1970s) – a period of expansion of academic mobility and the creation of new tools for its implementation; at the same time, this period of cooperation was marked by a shift in the attention of the governments of France and Germany towards national education issues. 3. The beginning of the process of institutionalization of Franco-German cooperation (late 1970s – 1993). The transition to the third stage of cooperation is due to the emergence of new trends in bilateral educational partnerships: the creation of coordinating institutes and joint educational institutions and the beginning of solving the problem of equivalence of diplomas. 4. The cooperation of France and Germany after the formation of the EU in 1993 – the Franco-German partnership at the present stage and within the European Higher Education Area. The implementation of the provisions of the Bologna Agreement in practice significantly unified the higher education systems of France and Germany, which facilitated bilateral academic exchanges, and the two countries’ participation in European educational programs became an additional incentive for their intensification.

This article considers models of the professional arrangement of North Caucasian émigrés in France in the 1920s and 1930s. Using new archival and field ethnographic materials, we explore the social and political activities of North Caucasians as a profession and as a view of life; and the activities of the Caucasian group of oil owners (leader — Nobel), who before the Revolution were engaged in oil production in the Caucasus or owned shares of oil firms. France had the most cars in Europe for the 1920s and 1930s. Therefore, it was not surprising that many emigrants from Russia, including North Caucasians, began working as chauffeurs, taxi drivers, and auto mechanics. In addition, they often became employees of auto factories (e. g. as specialists and laborers). Since there were many military people among North Caucasian émigrés, many they decided to join the French Foreign Legion. Emigrants from the North Caucasus pursued publishing, literary, journalistic, scientific, and teaching activities. In Russia many North Caucasians received a legal education but could not work as lawyers in France. Medical activity was also rare. In emigration there were several North Caucasians who became artists, singers, and dancers who performed in restaurants opened by North Caucasians. The children of the first wave of North Caucasian emigrants, as a rule, received higher education in France, and many of them managed to obtain excellent careers.

The article deals with the current state of development of higher education in the French Republic. The higher educa-tion quality in France in the light of the European tendencies has been highlighted; the French model for assessing the quality of higher education has been analysed. The concept of higher education quality has been stated; the structure of France’s higher education has been provided. The effectiveness, innovation and productivity which are expected from higher education in Europe today, have been emphasized. The significance of the continuing assessment in the French education system has been stressed. The historical background for the development of the French model for assessing the quality of higher education has been considered. The bodies participating in evaluating higher education in France have been analysed, and their roles and tasks have been stated. The possibility of the use of the positive French experience in higher education quality evaluation in Ukraine has been stated.

MODERN TUNUS ROMANINA BİR BAKIŞ

This article is dedicated to the crisis situation in the French system of higher education of the 1960-ies. In particular, main grounds for students’ protests in 1968 have been considered: opposition to political regimes, strikes against the war in Vietnam, demonstrations against improper conditions for study and censor. The attention is focused on the background of the May Revolution in France. The novel by R. Merle “Behind the Glass” (1970) within the curriculum of the higher educational institution has been studied. It has been determined that the author distinguishes a number of typical characters of the students’ and teachers’ media. The cause and effect course of social events within the archaic teaching tradition in the system of higher education in France in XX century has been defined. It has been traced that the necessity of еру emergency renovation of curricula, lectures and tutorials caused rebellious mood among the students. The investigation shows that financial instability, conservative scientific and technical opportunities of education, expressive conflicts between the assistants and professors of the University of Nantes, unfavorable conditions for the students’ education and existence, lack of creative cooperation with the teachers, unwillingness to come to an understanding with the students in Paris resulted in the rebellious mood among the students. Under the analysis results it has been found that еру students’ rebellions in 1968 not only changed social and economic sector of the French society, but also significantly renewed higher education system of teaching.

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on the interplay between institutional arrangements, family strategies, and market devices in the transition to higher education (HE) in France with a view to documenting both persistent features of the French ‘conservative’ educational regime and recent changes, in particular those related to neo-liberal influences. Using a theoretical model inspired by research on welfare regimes and integrating key elements of the sociology of networks, institutions, and markets, as well as data from a comprehensive qualitative study, the article focuses on three main topics: the impact of both institutional stratification and family choices on segregation and channelling into HE; the framing of students’ choices generated by impersonal policy instruments and personal human guidance; the role of private providers and agencies, as well as the devices they use to influence students’ transition to HE. The conclusion emphasises the impact of these different processes on the perpetuation of educational inequalities.