L’Enseignement

Abstract

The received wisdom about French education, that the system was set up by Napoleon and has hardly changed since, no longer has even a shred of truth to justify it. The pressures of les événements of 1968 accelerated reforms in Higher Education, and the process of moving towards a system of comprehensive secondary schools was begun in the 1960s, and pushed through finally by the Haby reforms of 1975. Since then, the report of 1983, produced under the direction of Professeur Legrand, has brought new proposals, referred to in one of the following articles, whereas a recent survey in L’Express conveys some of the flavour of the current university scene. We begin, however, with a historical document, Victor Hugo’s plea of 1850 for compulsory, free education for all children; a plea which was finally granted by the law of 1881, brought in by the Minister, Jules Ferry.