Search

The transfer of population from the rural areas to the cities was one of the central features of the period known as the Industrial Revolution. Previous work on the topic has emphasized the changes in migration patterns which occurred during this period. This Paper examines the factors underlying regional variations in rates of migration to the largest cities in England and France and concludes that the extent of change in migration patterns has been overestimated. The majority of migrants to London and Paris during the last half of the nineteenth century continued to come from the immediate hinterlands of the two cities or from traditional sources. The impact of distance overwhelmed the effects of most other social and economic factors commonly cited as responsible for regional variations in migration patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes English and French modes of regulation of the educational system, stressing the contrast between them (regulation by process versus regulation by outcomes), while their goals and organisation prove rather more convergent over the last 30 years. It tries to assess the correspondence between those two ways of operating and what we know about the functioning of organisations like schools. From that point of view, the French system fits the economic theory of organisation less well than the English one, so that some contradictions and tensions are predictable. Last, it looks for some relationship with indicators of effectiveness, equity and social satisfaction towards school in the two countries. No clear relationship emerges at the present time, but the analysis may help predict some problems that lie ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses Pierre Bourdieu's multi-faceted understanding of the higher education process by considering the evolution of this domain since the end of the 1970s both in France and England. Following a brief review of Bourdieu's main interpretations of higher education, several theoretical shifts in his thought and practice over time are identified that have sought to accommodate the rapid changes that have occurred in the higher education sector in recent years. This theoretical repositioning is used to reflect on ideas of homological reasoning advanced by Bourdieu and others, and their limitations in the cross-national comparative exercise. Using the findings of her own comparative study of the evolution of the French and English higher education sectors, the author tests some of the conceptual tools developed by Bourdieu mainly during the 1960s and 1970s, and discusses claims for their universal validity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper examines and compares recent citizenship education policy documents from France and England and explores the extent to which they encourage inclusive or exclusive concepts of national identity and citizenship. Current policies are being developed in a context of perceived disillusionment and political apathy amongst the young. Whilst citizenship education has traditionally aimed to prepare young people to take their place in adult society and a national community, today the notion of a single national identity is increasingly questioned. Using framing questions from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) survey of civic education, we examine programmes of study in each country to determine the extent to which they promote human rights as shared values, make positive references to cultural diversity, and conceptualise minorities. We consider the potential of citizenship education thus defined to contribute towards the development of justice and equality in society and challenge racism and xenophobia. We note the strengths and limitations of each approach to education for citizenship and suggest what each might gain from the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses key issues concerning changes in the patterns of educational values, legitimation and accountability in France and England in 1985. Key issues discussed include the emergence of a common legitimating ideology that is used as a basis for educational policy-making and administration, the national policy manifestations of the common economic, political and social pressures being experienced by advanced capitalist societies and the issues' implications for the comparative sociology of education.

This article reviews the policies for disadvantaged children in western countries since the mid-sixties. First, it analyses the design and results of the ‘classic programmes’ of positive discrimination such as the American Title I programme, and the English, Dutch, Flemish and French priority areas policies. It discusses the differences and similarities in approach and the disappointing results. Second, the article explores some of the ‘alternatives’ such as pre-schooling, reducing class size, restructuring the school year, and teacher incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a comparative study of primary school teachers in England and France prior to the introduction of the National Curriculum. Differences observed in pedagogy; Classroom organization and teacher control comparison; Teacher-pupil relations differences in both countries; Teacher's relationship with parents and colleagues; Conclusion.

The article presents a comparison of the perception of teachers from France and England of their professional responsibility. The research involves questionnaires, intensive interviews and observation of a small sub-sample of teachers. The study shows that French teachers' primary goal is curricular while English teachers hold a "child centered" ideology. English teachers are less certain about their professional goals than French teachers. English teachers try to provide children with social, personal and academic skills while French teachers focus on academic skills.

The article addresses the issue of the downgrading of the subject of the Humanities in French and English secondary education. The author discusses the reasons behind the downgrading of the subject in the two countries. The author also illustrates that a change in the social exclusiveness of secondary education has created new forms of status differentiation which are themselves related to, and based in, changes in economic life as a whole. The author also gives the reason why this process seems rather more advanced in England than in France.

The article compares the degrees and levels of formalized parent participation in education in France, Wales, England and West Germany. Key issues discussed include the emergence of formal parental involvement in the control and management of schools as a key trend in education in Western Europe, the administrative structures designed to encourage parental participation that are indicative of changes in social relations, the key role of parent associations in school management and the issues' implications for comparative education.

This article discusses some of the findings pertaining to how teachers see their work which were produced by a comparative study of 360 French and 360 English primary school teachers. The sample was drawn from schools in four different types of matched catchment areas-rural, inner-city, average suburban and affluent suburban-in Avon, UK and Bouches du Rh&oˆne, France four major dimensions of difference between the two national contexts are identified in terms of the range of professional activities undertaken, the ambiguity of the teacher's task, the style of pedagogy and the relative importance to teachers of the process as against the products of learning. Against a background of contemporary policy changes which seem likely to render the teaching context increasingly similar in the two countries, the article argues that attempts to change teacher's practice without due regard to those conceptions of professional responsibility which are deeply rooted in particular national traditions as well as more general classroom realities, will result in a lowering of morale and decreased effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents findings about English, French, and Swedish mobility tables from the early 1970s. The reanalysis shows that the vertical dimension of mobility is stronger and more autonomous than one would conclude from earlier analyses. It is necessary to introduce several parameters for class inheritance in order to fit the data, and such parameters account for more of the association between class origins and destinations than does the vertical aspect of mobility, but income and occupational prestige do not help to explain it. The findings suggest complementarities between vertical and non-vertical models of class mobility. The data for England and Wales and Sweden were rendered comparable in terms of a nine-category class schema developed by the classification of English occupations. Social Fluidity in Industrial Nations developed models of class mobility that assumed nominal measurement, while Vertical and Nonvertical Class Mobility combined a model of vertical mobility. The constriction of the English, French, and Swedish classifications initiated a round of comparative mobility analysis, based upon national surveys of the early 1970s. Such tables were constructed from unit record data, yielding greater detail and stronger claims to comparability than many cross-national comparisons.