prenticeship centers specifically, a code to guide teachers characterizes the program as follows: 33 ... It is necessary not to forget that the majority of them [the students] are young people . . . who, for various reasons, have not been able to contemplate taking up purely intellectual studies. The limited time available for general education, the aptitudes of these young people, and the practical work which they will perform in life, all these prevent us from envisaging, save in exceptional cases, studies which are too abstract or theoretical, too heavy or complicated. Indeed, these would only prove to be futile, and possibly turn away the pupils forever from intellectual activities. It is vital, therefore, in the time which is available for general studies, to go straight to the essential point, and to strive above all to be useful, simple, concrete, living and interesting. An effort is made to relate the academic studies to the practical orientation of the students; thus, history, for example, becomes a history of labor starting with slavery in ancient Egypt. Similarly, the study of civics includes an analysis of the rights of workers.34 The 40-hour week apparently makes homework out of the question, and written work in a class, such as history, is kept to a minimum.35 The Table 31.-Curriculum in apprenticeship centers (industrial): by subject, year, and class hours per week1 p. 85. 1 France. Ministère de l'Education Nationale. Annuaire de l'Education Nationale 1960. Paris: 1960. 23 Quoted in Dobinson, Educational Forum, January 1957, op. cit., p. 163. teachers seek to use the available time to awaken the students to reflection on matters relating to their work and their life as citizens. All girl students, regardless of their specialized trade, are given some home economics training "to prepare them for their future role as homemakers." 36 At the end of the 3-year program in an apprenticeship center the students must pass an examination in order to receive a certificate of vocational aptitude (certificat d'aptitude professionnelle—C.A.P.). The C.A.P. has been described by French authorities as certifying "merely that the holder is competent to start work in a trade for which he has completed the elementary apprenticeship but which he can learn thoroughly only through practice." 37 Some of those with a C.A.P. get a higher certificate, brevet professionnel, after working in an occupation for 2 or 3 years and taking a part-time improvement A written examination must be passed to obtain the brevet course. professionnel. The apprenticeship centers vary considerably in quality. Many have well-equipped shops, several mechanical drawing rooms and suitable facilities, while some of the small centers away from urban areas have only a few sewing machines and a few stoves and washing machines to demonstrate the household arts. Some of the centers benefit by being connected with a technical secondary school and sharing some of its facilities. The young boys and girls in a typical center, however, are cut off from others of their age who will grow up to be the doctors, lawyers, teachers, and businessmen of French society. Some parents are suggesting that children enter the apprenticeship centers at a later age, namely 15.38 A foreign observer of French education, in noting that apprenticeship training is still popular in France, asserted that methods of work do not change or improve much under such a system; hence, such trades as woodworking, masonry, and plumbing do not change much from one generation to the next. On the other hand, he suggested that a French youth working under a craftsman receives an excellent training in such hand skills as ceramics, wood carving, jewelry making, and cabinet work.39 The limitations ascribed to apprenticeship training would apply less to those programs which devote a sizeable portion of time to theoretical classroom instruction. 30 Education in France, No. 12, December 1960. p. 11. 37 "France." World Survey of Education, III: Secondary Education. Paris UNESCO. 1961. p. 487. Text prepared by French National Commission for UNESCO. 38 Mallinson. An Introduction to the Study of Comparative Education. Second edition. op. cit., p. 226. Hollinshead, Byron S. "Some Differences Between American and European Education." Third Workshop of Educational Organizations (Condensed Report) April 28-30, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Office of Education, 1959. p. 4. 1959. Trade Schools (Ecoles de Métiers) 40 The trade schools are often established by a chamber of commerce or some occupational group in order to provide specialized training for one type of industry or area of work. The most important part of the curriculum is given over to practical work. Students are accepted at age 13 for a 3-year program to prepare for such occupations as plumbing, masonry, carpentry, painting and photography. National Vocational Schools In 1960 there were 33 national vocational schools and 14 in the process of being established. While some admit students at the age of 11 after 5 years of elementary education, the usual procedure is to accept students at the age of 13 after completion of 7 years of schooling. Admission is by a national competitive examination held at several different centers in France. The examination covers the work of the sixth and seventh grades. Students enroll in one of three sections, either industrial, commercial or hotel work. Some students in the industrial and commercial Table 32.-Curriculum, industrial section, national vocational secondary schools (ecoles nationales professionnelles), by subjects and class hours per week: grades 8-121 France. Ministère de l'Education Nationale. Annuaire de l'Education Nationale 1960. Paris: 1960. p. 101. 40 Annuaire de l'Education Nationale, 1960, op. cit., p. 97. Table 33.-Curriculum, commercial section, national vocational secondary schools, by subjects and class hours per week: grades 8–12 1 1 France. Ministère de l'Education Nationale. Annuaire de l'Education National 1960. Paris: 1960. p. 102. Table 34.-Curriculum, theoretical section, national vocational secondary schools, by subjects and class hours per week: grades 10-121 1 France. Ministère de l'Education Nationale. Annuaire de l'Education Nationale 1960. Paris: 1960. p. 102. sections stay to complete a 5-year program and receive the diploma called diplôme d'élève breveté. Others, after sufficient work experience, may become foremen. The hotel course is 4 years in length. In all the sections vocational specialization becomes pronounced from the third year on. In the third year (10th grade) two additional sections are offered, the academic for those who hope to go on to the technical baccalauréat, and a social work section as a subdivision of the commercial section. Technical Secondary School (Collège Technique) This school has been characterized as one offering training for "highly skilled manual and non-manual workers who, with age and Table 35.-Curriculum, vocational secondary schools (commercial), collèges techniques, by subjects, sections, and class hours per week: grades 8–10, ages 13-161 1 France. Ministère de l'Education Nationale. Annuaire de l'Education Nationale 1960. Paris: 1960. p. 93. 99 41 experience, will be capable of becoming foremen and supervisors.' In 1960 it was reported that the number of technical secondary schools was insufficient to meet the needs of France; at that time there were 225 of these schools, located mostly in industrial regions.42 A technical secondary school can be established by a commune or a department. There is a trend toward local governments withdrawing from the field of vocational and technical education, with the result that special occupational and business groups tend to establish narrow vocational schools where economic motives mix with educational criteria. The technical secondary schools operated by local governments can be taken over by the national government upon request from the local authorities. Normally, students enter the collège technique at the age of 13 after completion of 7 years of academic schooling. As in the case of other 41 "France." World Survey of Education III, op. cit., p. 487. |