Dr. Pauline David - Vocational Preparation in Schools and Colleges in France: What Does It Look Like and How Does It All Fit Together?
Are there diplomas and advanced diplomas in France? How does vocational education work in France? What kinds of educational pathways are available to students who take vocationally oriented education? Can vocational education students go to higher education? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the French system? What types of institutions offer vocational preparation? In this session, Dr. Pauline David will discuss the structure of vocational preparation in France, and she will consider the different types of institutions that offer this provision. She will explore vocational high schools, apprenticeship centres, and production schools (on-campus applied education that provide an alternative training path for young people aged between 14-18 years), as well as post-school institutions such as university institutes of technology (IUTS) that offer the diploma in technological studies (called a Diplôme universitaire de technologie in France), which are two-year diplomas leading to occupational outcomes.
About the speaker
Dr. Pauline David
Dr. Pauline David from the Nantes Université recently completed her PhD on vocational education in France, where she compared three models of vocational preparation and their institutional settings - vocational high school, apprenticeship centres, and production schools. She researched the impact of these different types of schooling on young people with learning difficulties. She has worked as a French teacher in a vocational education high school, and as a research officer at the Center of Research in Education of Nantes (University of Nantes - France).