Compare and contrast the working conditions, aspirations and prospects of French students entering higher education in the 1960s and those entering higher education since the 1990s

Résumé du document

Students entering the French higher education system in 1960 and since the 1990s will have undergone quite different experiences. However, so will the students entering higher education in France at the beginning of the 1960s compared to those entering towards the end of that very same decade. This is due to two main reforms, one of them culminating in the failed political revolution of May 1968.
Universities and students were not a priority for French governments until the end of the 1960s. The higher education institutions, such as the “grandes écoles” and universities, simply had to survive with little or no input from the government, “A vrai dire, ils [les universités et les étudiants] n'en avaient que faire.”1. The failed political revolution in May 1968 gave rise to form and structure to the university system. This had knock-on effects dramatically changing working conditions, aspirations and prospects of French students from the beginning of the 1960s until the present day. At the beginning of the 1960s, French university students were still “héritiers”. These are students selected from the social elite of the nation and the universities were set-up with the intent on cultivating this elite. The “héritiers” are described as “les lycéens et les étudiants qui ont reçu une éducation familiale leur donnant précocement les codes de la réussite scolaire, bénéficiant du capital culturel et d'une connaissance des codes scolaires implicites.”2. Therefore the working conditions at this particular time were fairly good as the students were all from similar backgrounds and there were not really that many students, “il y en avait 200,000 [étudiants] en 1960.”1.

Extraits

[...] They take in an amorphous mass of students, (not the elites because they go to the “grandes écoles” and not the failures as they have the “baccalaureat”), and sorts them out. This means that the working conditions are still crowded and there are not enough facilities for students. In particular things like “travaux dirigés” where there are “cent [étudiants] sur un ordinateur”4. Not only were there still too many people in lectures but there weren't even adequate numbers of teaching rooms available, salles sont aussi en nombre insuffisant.” 4. [...]

[...] France, the link between qualifications and social status is relatively close. Right from the beginning of a career qualifications seem to determine promotion possibilities in a clear and precise manner”6. Students in higher education now have to work tremendously hard meaning that they do not have a social life, as they understand this important tie between career success and education. “L'étudiant ne fait plus figure de privilégié culturel, il n'est pas promis à un avenir assuré dans les classes supérieures et la compétition est telle qu'il y a moins en moins de temps à consacrer à sa vie personnelle.”6. [...]

[...] In conclusion, the university system changed from that of “héritiers” to one where students were picked by merit, les “boursiers”, although not exclusively. There were a number of main factors leading to the waves of massification namely government policies and social demands which lead to an incredible rise in the number of students at the level of higher education. This gave way for worsening working conditions as facilities could not be created quickly enough and there was no real help at hand for the students as there were too many for there to be any contact between students and lecturers. [...]

[...] The lecture theatres and seminar groups are still overburdened, with students encountering trouble finding seats on a daily basis. There is still no way of knowing your teachers and the teachers have no contact with students which means that the students are really left to work independently as it were, with no guidance. The students aspirations since the 1990s are really the same as before, they hope to go into graduate jobs but they realise that this may take longer than expected, as one student says, reste à l'université, car des fois, ça fait peur. [...]

[...] Another condition adversely affecting the students' working conditions was that they did not know anyone and there was no personal contact with lecturers or seminar tutors because it was simply impossible due to the sheer amount of students, point de reconnaissance et de relations personnelles”4. Also, now that the “héritiers” system had been abolished and the “boursiers” system incorporated, there was a clash of cultures. Now students from all sorts of backgrounds were staying on for higher education and mixing with the elite of the nation. [...]