Week 7: French Education System II
This week we will examine the Higher Education system in France, building on our examination of the French pre-university education system in week 5. In the lecture, I'll outline the history of the French university and Higher Education system and in the seminar we'll ask why the French Higher Education system is so different from its British counterpart and investigate some of the arguments around the need for change and reform to French universities and the grandes écoles.
Key questions:
- What is the history of the French Higher Education system?
- What has influenced the history of the French Higher Education system?
- Why do French students tend to go to their local university?
- Why are universities apparently so different from the grandes écoles?
Reading
In advance of the seminars this week, you should read this article which gives a thorough overview of life for French students:
We will base some of our seminar discussion on this text, so please come along with the main themes of the article in mind.
Lecture resources
Download the lecture handout; lecture PowerPoint