France
STRUCTURE OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM
Source: Eurydice 2022/23
France has a centrally controlled curriculum. Some local variation is permitted, although this is limited. State schools are free, co-educational and secular. Education is compulsory between the ages of 3 and 16, and is organised into four cycles. At age 15 pupils must take the national school-leaving diploma, the brevet (DNB). They can then continue to upper secondary level (lycée) or to professional or technological education, and then take the respective baccalaureate. The state also partially funds most private schools, which are attended by around 20% of pupils. The funded private schools are under contract with the state, and follow the state curriculum. Home schooling is permitted under strict conditions. Private publishers rely on authors (mostly teachers) to design, publish and distribute textbooks. The French state has no control over these schools (Bruillard 2011).*
For more information on the national education system in France, please visit:
Ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de la Jeunesse et des Sports
*OHTE Thematic report on "Pandemics and natural disasters as reflected in history teaching"
HISTORY IN SCHOOL
Data are currently being collected for the OHTE general report.
History at junior primary level (ages 6-8) is not a separate subject but forms part of the topic “Questioning the world”. It is always banded with geography at secondary level; textbooks are published as history/geography, frequently with moral and civic education (EMC).
History first appears formally in the school curriculum for pupils aged 9 and continues to be a compulsory subject in lower secondary school (ages 11-15). The lycée comprises the final three years of school, for students aged 15-18. During this stage, pupils choose several routes with core curriculum subjects towards the baccalaureate. In their final two years, pupils can choose from a range of specialisations, while the number of hours dedicated to core subjects such as history are reduced.*
Plateforme Eduscol (information on the discipline)
*OHTE Thematic report on "Pandemics and natural disasters as reflected in history teaching"
HISTORY CURRICULUM
Data are currently being collected for the OHTE general report.
This section will provide an overview of available guidelines and curricula for history lessons, as well as information on the roles and responsibilities of different authorities and institutions in developing the curricula. It will also present data on the curricula profile, structure, aims, periodisation, content and the levels of historical analysis.
Curricula workstation by GEI (History curricula search by country)
National curriculum (website of the Ministry of Education)
LEARNING OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT
Data are currently being collected for the OHTE general report.
This section will contain information on the learning outcomes set for history lessons within the different levels of education and on the methods of testing and assessment used in history examinations.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND PEDAGOGY USED IN THE HISTORY CLASSROOM
Data are currently being collected for the OHTE general report.
This section will host data on the study material and teaching practices used for history teaching within the different levels of education.
International TextbookCat (GEI collection of Textbooks and Educational Media)
HISTORY TEACHERS
Data are currently being collected for the OHTE general report.
The curriculum allows for teacher autonomy within the national curricular structure. Teachers can take advantage of this curricular flexibility to teach about pandemics and natural disasters from a historical perspective; this can take place within the history curriculum, in the geography curriculum or in other subjects where lessons could include a historical element. Teacher autonomy in France is particularly developed in regard to teaching methods, which can be chosen by the teachers. The state does, however, provide pedagogical advice.*
French History and Geography Teachers’ Association (presentation by EuroClio)
Association des Professeurs d’Histoire et de Géographie (official website)
*OHTE Thematic report on "Pandemics and natural disasters as reflected in history teaching"
THEMATIC DATA
The Observatory on History Teaching in Europe also provides thematic studies on given topics.
2022: Pandemics and natural disasters as reflected in history teaching
