CURRICULUM PLACEMENT AND EDUCATIONAL STRATIFICATION IN FRANCE.

Curriculum placement is the keystone of educational stratification in France. Curricular boundaries are firmer than in the United States. and previous research has shown the effect of curriculum placement on subsequent educational attainment to be stronger in France. In this paper we report findings of strong effects of father's occupation, academic performance. parents expectations. and teachers' expectations on curriculum placement upon: the completion of primary school. Furthermore, we report significantly stronger effects for the socializing influences of parents' and teachers' expectations among the young women in our sample. We conclude that curriculum tracking in France (1) increases the variance of educational outcomes, (2) assists in the transmission of socioeconomic advantage from one generation to the next. and (3) is only tangentially involved in sexual stratification in France despite sexual segregation in the schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]