Abstract
France and England have many similarities in terms of their polity, economy, welfare systems, and as former colonial powers with sizeable immigrant populations. Yet there are important differences between them which are manifested in their education systems. Social equality in education is used here to frame this difference and the distinctive ideological legacy at the heart of both systems i.e. republicanism in France and liberalism in England, is key to understanding this. The period between 1789 and 1939 is selected as the optimum time-period for demonstrating this variation. A comparative methodology is used to explain the variation between both education systems and three explanatory factors are identified: persistence of ideology, social class alliances, and, the nature of the state.
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Notes
- 1.
England is taken here as the unit of comparison. However, it is unavoidable that Britain and the UK (United Kingdom) will be referred to in the comparative analysis especially when referring to the unitary nation state which, depending on the period following the respective Acts of Union, will refer to England and Wales (after 1536) or England, Scotland and Wales (after 1707) or England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (after 1801), or England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (after 1922). Responsibility for education has also been devolved to the separate countries.
- 2.
On this point it is important to note the distinction between English and continental liberalism. The liberal monarchy of Louis Philippe, 1830–1848, in France, espoused the values of liberalism while at the same time upholding state control of education. Continental European liberals were involved in setting up national state systems in education and some favoured free common schooling, for example, in Scandinavia.
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Doyle, A.M. (2018). Introduction. In: Social Equality in Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94721-1_1
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