Géraldine Farges

The long-term outcomes of early educational differentiation in France

The French school system has long been divided clearly into two distinct tracks (Baudelot and Establet 1971). Since the end of the nineteenth century, primary-level school was designed to provide a common republican culture to all the pupils of the French nation, thereby leading to a long tradition of centralized education. In contrast, secondary education was designed to teach children from the elites rather than favouring social mobility for all children (Prost 1992). As in many European countries, education in France experienced a long process of democratization during the second half of the twentieth century resulting in a progressive unification of secondary education and in a wider participation on all levels (Duru-Bellat and Kieffer 2000). For example, whereas the share of those passing the upper secondary school diploma [baccalaureat ] in a cohort was 5 per cent in 1950, it reached 20 per cent in 1970 and 74 per cent in 2013. In 1980, 40 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds dropped out after completing lower secondary education (college ) compared to 11.4 per cent in 2012 (DEPP 2014).