Abstract

The Bologna process: a new challenge for teacher education in France.

Marina Sacilotto-Vasylenko, CREF University Pais Ouest Nanterre, France

France has used the Bologna process to develop a new branch of higher education, that of teacher education. This reform, called in French educational community “la masterisation”, consists in extension of teacher education to the Master degree. The first effects of this reform are particularly visible this year. They are often described as a “disaster” because of a low quality pre-service education and a reduced time for practice. Indeed, according to the teacher trade union’s study 8 % of newly qualified teachers are envisaging to quit their posts at the end of the school year because they feel incompetent and exhausted.

The objective of this communication is to question the current teacher education reform using the concept of “universitarisation” and its three dimensions: structures; knowledge and curriculum; actors (Bourdoncle, 2009). In conclusion, the conditions for better articulation of “universitarisation” and “professionalization” processes will be discussed to improve teacher education. It appears that building links between Bachelor and Master cycles and cooperation of different actors (academics, trainers, school authorities) are the major challenges of the coming decade. The same is true for the content of programmes, where the balance between theory and practice must be found and the purpose of a university teacher education must be better determined.