The subject of co-education in schools or its corollaries (inequality, segregation, etc.) awakens memories of the ill-fated attempt to create a large, unified public education service in 1984. By discouraging politicians from formulating overly ambitious proposals, it limits a debate that nevertheless calls for boldness. Because it is urgent. International comparisons are clear: despite its promise to guarantee equal opportunities to all children and despite nearly 160 billion euros spent on education, higher education and training, French schools are one of the most unequal.
As Elisabeth Moreno points out in this contribution, social diversity is one of the answers to this problem. Preparing young people to live in a diverse society, teaching them to value differences… In many countries, gender diversity is becoming a key aspect of education reforms. Yet, whether we think of the territorial segregations that compartmentalize our society or the attempts of parents to escape the school map, the roots of this French evil are numerous.
Faced with the urgency to act, Elisabeth Moreno outlines her proposals. Reforming school sectorization to create more diverse areas, making subsidies for private schools conditional on social diversity criteria, engaging parents in this work… Six ideas that will fuel the debate.
Impose social mixing at school?
Every year, the national community spends around €160 billion on national education, higher education and vocational training, in the hope that it will deliver on its promises of republican education. It thus offers access to academic knowledge and skills to 12 million young people in our country and transmits to them the values and attitudes necessary for their development.
As an institution, the school is supposed to give every child, regardless of their social or cultural background and living conditions, the same opportunities for success and the hope of access to social, societal and economic status.
But, in 2019, the PISA ranking, which analyzes the educational level of 15-year-old students in 76 countries around the world, indicated that France is the country where inequalities between students from privileged and disadvantaged backgrounds are the most marked. In other words, in our country more than anywhere else, social background determines academic success.
Educational inequalities begin in primary school and are perpetuated or even worsened in higher education. According to an OECD study, 20% of our young students from disadvantaged backgrounds do not plan for higher education – compared to 7% of good students from privileged backgrounds. After obtaining the baccalaureate, a child from a family of managers would be 8 times more likely to have access to a preparatory class for the grandes écoles than a child of employees or workers and 15 times more likely to go to a top management school.
It is therefore not surprising that by the age of 21, half of them drop out of school and that in 2022, 12.8% of young people in our country aged 15 to 29 left school without a job, education or training. Financial constraints, educational attainment and lack of information on educational guidance and career opportunities are the main factors limiting the ambitions of these young people.
These figures have been constant for a decade and their economic and social consequences are disastrous. Despite all the reforms undertaken from primary to tertiary education, the reproduction of inequalities between generations is said to be stronger in the country of human rights than in other developed countries. The country in which equality is at the heart of republican principles struggles to give all its children the same opportunities to succeed. One can therefore legitimately ask whether France, the country of the Enlightenment, really keeps its educational promises.
In a post-COVID-19 context where the economic crisis and its effects have exacerbated existing social inequalities, social diversity in education is back at the heart of the news. It appears to be one of the solutions to guarantee equal opportunities for all our children, especially those from the poorest families in France.
In our country, we are not at war, there is no famine, no dictatorship, and we should rejoice in that. However, according to an IFOP survey published in April 2023, 72% of French people say they are pessimistic about the future of France. This prevailing pessimism creates a phobic society that is increasingly inward-looking, even though our success is based on our ability to capitalize on all our vital forces and invest in our youth, overflowing with youth, to move forward confidently into the future.
The subject of co-education is complex, it gives rise to many controversies and inflames the nation. Yet education plays an important role in France’s collective success. It can be a force for change because it has the power to open people’s minds, deconstruct prejudices and foster understanding and empathy between people from different backgrounds. It is through education that we can learn to value the multiple diversities of individuals and to build a society that is more united because it is fairer, more inclusive and therefore more resilient.
Social diversity implies the cohabitation and interaction of people from different socio-economic backgrounds in the same space. I am aware of the difficulties that this implies, and it is not a question of being naïve or of making anyone feel guilty about the realities of an increasingly complex and divided society.
It is a question of finding lasting solutions to our contemporary ills, of giving substance to our republican principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, inscribed on the pediment of each school. In this way, we will respond to several challenges: equal opportunities, meritocracy, the fight against discrimination and living well together through the sharing of values. We will give meaning to the rules of community life and respect for the difference of each individual.
Education is often seen as the ultimate tool for equal opportunities. One of the only tools capable of levelling out inequalities, fighting against social determinism and restoring hope. However, reality shows that our education system reproduces existing social inequities.
This begs the question: can education really help break down social barriers and promote greater equality? Or, on the contrary, will it continue to tirelessly reproduce existing disparities?
The School is a reflection of our society. The weakening of our school system and the constant decline in parents’ confidence, combined with the lack of diversity, contribute to the weakening of our social ties and confidence in the future. In a context where crises are multiplying and intertwined, and where the despair of young people from all socio-economic backgrounds is palpable, it is imperative to find solutions to restore hope.
This concerns the whole of society. Not only our young people and their parents, but also the teachers and the professional world that will welcome these young adults in a few years’ time. Not only is our nation’s resilience and economic performance at stake, but also a better balance and harmony in our society.
More generally, these are issues of social justice, equity and national cohesion.
Why has this topic emerged in the public debate in recent months?
Education is not immune to the changes of our time. Whether economic, political, social, environmental or geopolitical, the current transformations have a direct or indirect impact on our schools. Against the backdrop of the global climate crisis, accelerated technological transformation, erosion of democratic values, intolerance and hate speech, current learning systems are no longer able to meet the needs of children, youth and learners of all ages.
The Challenges of Social Integration
In France, school is free and education is compulsory. However, educational inequalities persist and the social ladder is rusty. Despite significant financial investments, the levels of territorial inequalities remain the same as those in countries where studies are mostly paid. It is therefore necessary to develop alternatives for people who remain on the side of the road or outside the conventional education system, so that they can acquire essential skills for their development and seize opportunities for upskilling and reskilling with lifelong learning.
Education systems must adapt to the changes of our time by responding to the quest for meaning that is increasingly present in people’s minds. They must meet the new skills needs of the professional world, with learning that is more student-centred, more connected, more dynamic, more inclusive and more collaborative, to allow the creativity of our youth to be expressed.
How can we hope for a prosperous future for our country if its education system is no longer capable of training, in quality and quantity, the women and men who will have the necessary skills to guarantee its sustainable growth and respond to the challenges, particularly technological and environmental, that the generations of tomorrow will inevitably face?
Recognition of the importance of diversity
Society is increasingly recognizing the value of diversity and the importance of inclusion. Social diversity in education is seen as a way to prepare young people to live in a diverse society and to teach them to respect and value differences. Co-education presupposes that towns and villages allow for the human and social diversity of its individuals and the mixing of populations. However, urban policies and territorial segregation are increasingly becoming more and more compartmentalized, even enclosed.
Educational Reforms
Several countries facing the same challenges as France are considering or implementing educational reforms to improve equity and quality of education. Social diversity is often a key aspect of these reforms, which can lead to debates on how best to promote it. Tyranny of the diploma, reproduction of elites, social segregation, children on scholarships based on financial criteria, status of private schools, selection of students by artificial intelligence, etc… These are all subjects that are now at the heart of political and societal debates.
Disparities between public and private education systems
They must also be seen as a challenge to our school system. In France, 1 in 5 pupils on average is enrolled in a private school under contract. 73% of these schools are financed by public money and are not subject to any social mix or school card conditions. Parents who want to offer a “quality school” in a “safe environment”, and sometimes deliberately “single-sex” turn to these schools as soon as they can afford it. For example, private charter schools have twice as many pupils from CSP+ backgrounds and half as many pupils from manual or white-collar workers. This phenomenon is even more pronounced in large urban areas.
These findings contribute to making education and social diversity important and sensitive topics of discussion.
Public policies have put in place many solutions such as boarding schools of excellence, assisted homework or ropes for success, the promotion of skills other than those of school, recruitment on the basis of applications, etc. which will still take some time to bear fruit. These subjects today generate a significant level of anxiety not only among parents and children but also among teachers who are sometimes overwhelmed by the accelerated transformations of our society, which require in-depth work. These changes concern the whole of society and must include all the actors concerned, including companies that deplore a significant tension in recruitment and the adequacy between professional needs, a decline in the level of knowledge and a crisis in the vocation of young people.
This is why this theme is so present in public debates and will remain so in the coming months, as the work to be done is so important and its impact on society is crucial.
What are the solutions?
A more balanced representation of the different social classes in the schools of our towns and villages, in France as well as in the overseas territories, reflecting in each school the diversity of society, in terms of income, professions, cultures, etc. would not only allow for the equal development of our children but also for the construction of a fairer and more resilient society.
Contrary to popular belief, social mixing does not lower the level of education. On the contrary, it fosters the expansion of the number of good students and excellence, as well as the understanding of difference and therefore our ability to live together. In fact, in today’s reality, school remains the only collective space where individuals from very different backgrounds can meet, cohabit and co-construct. The digital revolution, among other things, tends to accentuate individualism and even social isolation, while promoting belonging to closed communities. This pushes us to rethink our relationship with others, as well as to envisage a profound transformation of the school, by exploiting the opportunities offered by digital technology.
To advance social diversity in education, it is necessary to demonstrate consultation and commitment on the part of all relevant actors, including policy-makers, teachers, professors, students and parents. Here are some suggestions for moving in this direction:
Recognise that schools alone cannot build social diversity
The current school system is based on a society of orders, with highly segmented places of education: the Grandes Écoles, the Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles (CPGE), the Lycée Professionnel (LP), etc.
Being a parent today requires a real understanding of the system to be able to guide children in their choices and journeys. Meeting the requirements of Parcoursup can sometimes be an obstacle course. Faced with so much complexity, how can parents who have had little or no school attendance, or who have a poor command of the French language, effectively help their children?
Particular attention should also be paid to the training of professionals who supervise and support students in their choice of orientation. They must allow them to enjoy studying and learning, while disinhibiting them and trusting themselves.
Carry out a reform of the school sector
The current sectorization, which assigns students to schools based on where they live, can reinforce socio-economic segregation. A reform aimed at creating more socio-economically diverse areas could encourage greater social diversity in schools.
Making subsidies to private schools conditional on social diversity
In 20 years, the percentage of secondary school students attending private schools has risen from 29% to 35%. There is an urgent need for a constructive dialogue with private schools to encourage them to participate in reducing social inequalities, while protecting what works for students and reassures parents.
Training Teachers
Teachers play a key role in promoting social diversity. Proper training can help them understand and manage diversity in their classrooms, combat stereotypes and prejudices, and promote mutual respect and understanding among students.
Engaging Parents and the Community
Their participation is essential to support social diversity. Some parents implement workaround strategies to avoid it. They need to be reassured by guaranteeing the quality of education in schools with mixed education. They can be encouraged to actively participate in school life and build relationships with other parents from different backgrounds. Raising awareness of their individual responsibilities on the subject can be beneficial for families and for society.
Teaching civics and diversity
Students should learn to understand and respect socio-economic and cultural differences, and to recognize the value of social diversity.
Conclusion
Fighting social inequalities is a collective effort. Every effort, no matter how small, counts. Every teacher who strives to promote co-education in his or her classroom, every parent who instills in his or her child the value of diversity, every student who learns to respect and appreciate differences among his or her classmates, contributes to the achievement of social diversity in education and to the unity of our nation.
Social diversity cannot be decreed. It is built within the framework of a common and shared political project, which aims to bring together, appease and mitigate social inequalities. For decades, many things have been tried to promote equal opportunities in the school environment, but it is clear that we have a system that still operates at several speeds and that considerably reduces the chances of success of a large part of our young people.
To keep up with the changes of our time, we need all kinds of talent, a lot of new skills, interpersonal skills and know-how. There is room for all our young people to participate in the construction of this world in the making. Therefore, we, the adults who make the decisions that will necessarily impact the future of these young people, must ask ourselves the right questions. What kind of society do we want to live in? An increasingly fractured and divided society, where only a small minority will have the chance to succeed? A society where social determinism defines our entire life as a fatality that gives rise to a feeling of injustice that is less and less bearable? Or do we choose a society where equality of opportunity can positively transform our country? A society where academic meritocracy still makes sense? A society where our differences enrich us, where everyone finds their place?
A society where being the 7th largest economy in the world benefits each of these citizens and gives meaning to the hope of emancipation. Social diversity in education, a complex and sensitive subject, faces major challenges, but there are many reasons to be optimistic. Initiatives and policies to promote social diversity are already in place in various education systems. These efforts demonstrate that change is possible, even if the road to an inclusive and equal education system is still long.
I will conclude by using the words of Albert Jacquard, “the educational system can be defined as the place where the art of encounter is taught and practiced”. This observation invites us to reflect deeply on our commitment to a more desirable, inclusive and equitable education. An education that is not seen as a problem but as a solution to the ills of our time.