Secular Body Research Articles

Education et société dans la première moitié du XVIIIe siècle: de Vallange et ses projets de réforme complète de l'éducation 1710–1740

At the beginning of the 18th century, M. de Vallange proposed a wide‐ranging programme to reform education in France. He intended to introduce teaching methods based on John Locke's works and to create a full‐scale system of new educational institutions. The royal institutions called “collèges” were to be abolished and a secular body of academics in charge of the new ones was to be appointed. The new curriculum proposed by M. de Vallange responded better than the former to the requirements of society, the children's capacity for work, and the new intellectual attainments brought about by the scientific progress of the 17th century. This project formed part of a larger educational trend that, between 1710 and 1740, brought the notion of education closer to the concept of society.