Georges-Louis Baron

Computer Science Education in French Secondary Schools: Historical and Didactical Perspectives

Computer science as a school subject in France is characterized by a succession of promising starts that have not yet been transformed into perennial solutions. The main goal of this article is to analyze this complex situation from a historical perspective, and describe the current rebirth of an optional Computer Science course in the last year of secondary education, together with other initiatives that might contribute to introducing Computer Science as a school subject. We also aim at discussing some perspectives for the future to support a better informatics education for all students. The sources we have used are mainly historical and administrative, however we have also drawn on empirical research and surveys conducted since the seventies. This article therefore takes both retrospective and perspective viewpoints.