Dr Pradeep Kumar Misra
email: pradeepkmisra@yahoo.com

The State of Teacher Education in France: A Critique

Keywords: teacher education, France, education systems, education formation des enseignants, France, systèmes éducatifs, éducation

The study of teacher education systems of different countries working in different conditions and following different patterns holds great promise to improve teacher education system in general. The analysis of different systems of teacher education helps to understand that what works well and what not in different systems and conditions and this ultimately paves the way for improvement of teacher education systems across the globe. The French teacher education system that is going through a process of change and radical reforms seems an interesting case in this regard. The study of teacher education system of France becomes more significant in a sense that it is unique in many terms and was a topic of debate and policy reforms between previous and present government. In this backdrop, present research analyzes the on-going efforts, policies and practices of teacher education in France; makes a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, threat) analysis of French teacher education system; and identifies best adoptable teacher education policies and practices from France.

Background "I nstitutions of teacher education fulfill vital roles in the global education community; they have the potential to bring changes within educational systems that will shape the knowledge and skills of future generations. Often, education is described as the great hope for creating a more sustainable future; teacher-education institutions serve as key change agents in transforming education and society, so such a future is possible. Not only do teacher-education institutions educate new teachers, they update the knowledge and skills of in-service teachers, create teacher-education curriculum, provide professional development for practicing teachers, contribute to textbooks, consult with local schools, and often provide expert opinion to regional and national ministries of education" (UNESCO, 2005, p.11).

Echoing the same sentiments, a report from OECD (2005, p.96) also underlines, "Teacher education is high on the policy agenda in many countries. Countries are seeking to ensure that teacher education is attractive to high-quality entrants, and that it adequately prepares teachers for the demands of modern schooling." Beside these expectations, the teacher education systems have to also take into account the ever emerging changes and challenges emancipating from society, economy and technology.

We are living in an era of change that brings new demands and promises before teacher education at regular intervals. Today, we are confronted with the more radical and in many ways disturbing but seeming to be very promising prospect of excellence in an age where innovation is indeed the keyword to gaining access to all the promises and perils of a new world order. By wide consensus, a dramatic societal shift is underway, and the gradual emergence of a new technologically textured, knowledge-based form of social existence and organization is becoming apparent. These changes in society place teachers, as well as school policy and teacher education, before new demands and challenges (Green, 2004, p.187). Talking about these new demands and challenges, a document of European Commission (2007, p.4) illustrates, "As well as imparting basic knowledge, teachers are also increasingly called upon to help young people become fully autonomous learners by acquiring key skills, rather than memorising information; they are asked to develop more collaborative and constructive approaches to learning and expected to be facilitators and classroom managers rather than ex-cathedra trainers." Teacher education systems across the globe are expected to deliver in backdrop of all these expectations, changes and challenges.

Teacher education systems of today are expected to nurture a teacher fit for all purposes, as indicated by Darling-Hammond (2006, p.1), "Teachers need not only to be able to keep order and provide useful information to students but also to be increasingly effective in enabling a diverse group of students to learn ever more complex material. In previous decades, they were expected to prepare only a small minority for ambitious intellectual work, whereas they are now expected to prepare virtually all students for higher order thinking and performance skills once reserved to only a few." Furthermore, classrooms now contain a more heterogeneous mix of young people from different backgrounds and with different levels of ability and disability. Besides, ICT provide new tools and resources for teaching and learning; they change the knowledge itself, the ways for accessing knowledge, and they bring new concepts to our Societies. They give information and knowledge a new status [START_REF] Cornu | Teacher training: the context of the knowledge society and lifelong learning, the European dimension and the main trends in France[END_REF]. From all these observations, it is clear that teacher education needs a change in vision and action to cater to varying demands of changing societies.

There is great diversity in teacher preparation programmes internationally depending in large part on the economic, political, and social contexts that exist within each country (Cooper and Alvarado, 2006, p.13). In this context, the study of teacher education systems of different countries working in different conditions and following different patterns hold great promise to improve teacher education system in general, as suggested by Krek (2011, p.8), "A familiarity with the systems in various countries enables us to undertake professional reflection on individual good solutions and transfer these to practice in such a way that we either adopt that which is feasible in our own environment or adapt the solutions to the characteristics of the concrete situation." The analysis of different systems of teacher education helps to understand that what works well and what not in different systems and conditions and this ultimately paves the way for improvement of teacher education systems across the globe. The French teacher education system that is going through a process of change and radical reforms seems an interesting case in this regard. The study of teacher education . Their professional identity is strongly marked by a sense of belonging to their subject: the competitive examination they pass principally certifies their competencies in this subject matter. By contrast, primary teachers have to be polyvalent and pedagogy is at the core of their professional identity (Baron and Harrari, 2003, p.36).

During the past two decades, France has experienced a major change in teacher education institutional structures. The new orientations tend to promote the competency approach in teacher education and training. In other side, teacher education in France remains more regulated than the other sectors of higher education. The Ministry of Education feels a strong responsibility towards teacher education because it influences the quality of primary and secondary education in general [START_REF] Sacilotto-Vasylenko | Teacher education in France: Persistent tensions[END_REF]. Keeping these and many more characteristics in view, the present research was conducted to:

• Analyze the on-going efforts, policies and practices of teacher education in France.

• Make a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, threat) analysis of French teacher education system.

• Identify best adoptable teacher education policies and practices from France.

Methodology

The methodological approach to conduct this research included two main phases: documentary work (desk research) and interviews in the field. The documentary work was mainly based on the review of existing policies and practices, as well as other available literature and statistics related to teacher education in France. The field research was conducted mainly in Paris, France. The researcher visited teacher training institutions (IUFMs) and University departments and conducted semi-structured interviews with teacher educators and would be teachers.

Besides, policymakers at the government level, and teacher education researchers and experts were also contacted via email to complete a survey (developed by the researcher) about teacher education in France. In all, 15 people responded and answered different questions about teacher education in France. The researcher would like to clarify that at this moment teacher education in France is going through a transition phase (new system is expected to take place from September 2013) and this have a bearing on the readiness of people to provide information, collected data and its analysis. The researcher would further like to add that data collection and analyses for this research are mainly qualitative in nature and based on a limited sample of profiles. These issues have of course some implications on the validity of the results, but the conclusions of the study should be seen in the context of the scope of the analyses and the objectives of highlighting issues.

School and Higher Education in France: An Overview

It is a well-known fact that teacher education takes inputs (students) from higher education and its outputs (trained teachers) goes to serve in primary and secondary education sector. Therefore, it seems logical that any attempt to understand the teacher education system of any country must begin from the study of school and higher education of that country. Keeping this in view, it will be worthy to understand the school and higher education system of France. Talking about the specificity of French education system, Baron and Bruillard (2003, p.178) buildings and materials and normally decide about the amount of funding they will invest in educational reforms and the kind of infrastructure they will install [START_REF] Baron | Information and communication technology: models of evaluation in France[END_REF].

France spends more per capita on education than many other European countries (About-France. com, 2012). Presently it spends nearly 6% of its GDP in education including schooling (World Bank, 2013).

France has 26 regions, 101 district (departments), 36,851 municipalities and 30 local authorities (academies). According to Baron and Harrari (2003, p.35-36), "A key feature of the French system is the existence, at the regional level, of an important education administration, named académie. The education at lycées lasts for 3 years. The year of lycée, the seconde, is known as the cycle de détermination; students take the same core curriculum of some eight subjects but are offered three electives and an artistic workshop.

At the end of this year, the key decision is made as to which baccalaureat the student will pursue.

There are three types of baccalauréat general: literature and language (L), science and maths (S), and economics and social sciences (ES). There is a system of national exams for baccalauréat at the end of upper secondary education. Passing it gives a right to undertake higher education in Universities or other institutions [START_REF] Baron | Potential for dramatic change-France, ICT and decentralization[END_REF]. , 2012). In words of Baron and Harrari (2003, p. 36), "France has a strongly controlled school system. Several bodies of inspectors are in charge of overseeing how the system is functioning: general inspectors, depend directly from the minister.

Teacher Education in France: From Past to Present

When one traces about the history of teacher education, it appears that teaching existed long before teacher education came in place. In earlier times, the assumption was that anyone who had completed a given level of education could turn around and teach it. Teachers needed no special preparation in the art of teaching; they just needed modest familiarity with the subject matter to teach. The simple rule for teachers wastake the class, teach the class [START_REF] Labaree | The education system in France[END_REF]. [START_REF] Edwards | Theory, history, and practice of education: Fin de siècle and a new beginning[END_REF].

(i) History

The legal use of the term école normale in France first appeared in a law of October 30, 1794, approved by the National Convention (1792-1795). Educational historians have inferred the existence of the idea of teacher education in Rolland's Theory, History, and Practice of Education 239 Report (1768) which "proposed a national system of education to replace both the schools of the Jesuits and those of the Brothers of the Christian Schools," and "a higher normal school to train teachers for the Colleges (secondary schools) (Cubberley, 1920a, p. 510). Incorporated with these ideas has been the proposition of Condorcet (1791) that teachers for each grade of school should be prepared in the school above (Cubberley, 1920b, p. 512). This proposition paved the way for a school higher than the lycées to prepare teachers for the lycée, and saw its fulfilment in Lakanal's bill submitted to the National Convention for the creation of a national normal school (école normale), where citizens of the Republic already schooled in the useful sciences should be taught to teach. These schools engaged distinguished teachers such as Laplace, Lagrange and Berthollet (Edwards,.

The Since its inception in 1990, the IFUMs have gone through three phases so far. The first phase starts from 1991. During this phase (1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010), IFUMs were isolated from Universities and worked as an independent institution. In this phase, students were given "concours" at the end of the first year, and have to complete second year with part time in schools. This situation changed in 2010, when as per the law for priorities and curriculum in the future of school, IUFMs became schools within universities. This second phase existed during 2010-2013 and called as Masterisation and integration of IUFM in Universities. During this phase, there was no more second year and it was necessary for students to pass the exam and join the schools as full time teacher. In 2012, the labour government came into power in France and keeping the promise of electoral manifesto, decided to restructure the teacher education system. As first step in this direction, the government has decided to rename and restructure the existing IUFMs. communication, May 30, 2013). As per the law, these ESPEs will be in charge of initial teacher education for primary and secondary education and will also take care of continuing professional development for primary and secondary teachers [START_REF] Sarre | Teacher education programmes at the IUFM Paris[END_REF]. These institutes will be affiliated to nearby Universities and are supposed to function from September 2013.

(ii) Entry Routes 2013).

The students have to study for two years to complete their masters and qualify a national competitive examination. The students having obtained credits corresponding to a first-year Masters (M1), or 60 ECTS credits after the first year of Masters are allowed to sit in competitive examinations for the recruitment of primary school teachers (Professeurs des Écoles) [START_REF] Eurypedia | Higher education Universities, Grandes Écoles & Ecoles Supérieures[END_REF]IUFM, 2005). Afterwards, students go for completion of second year of Masters (M2). Being recruited as a teacher, which means entering the State civil service (with the status of trainee teacher in the first year of work), implies both passing the competitive examination and successfully completing a Masters. For those, who wish to become secondary school teachers the path is almost similar with minor variations. The main difference is that those wishing to become secondary school teachers have to go to Universities to complete Masters, whereas, primary teachers were required to complete their Masters from IUFMs. The other requirements remain same. At the end of first year of their Masters (M1), students have to take one of the following competitive examinations, as per their field of specialization:

• the certificat d'aptitude au professorat du deuxième degré (certificate for teaching one particular subject -foreign language/ mathematics/ sciences/etc. -at secondary level) (CAPES)

• the certificat d'aptitude for technical school teaching (CAPET)

• the certificat d'aptitude for physical and sport education (CAPEPS)

• the certificat d'aptitude for vocational lycée teaching (CAPLP)

• the Agrégation

The competitive exams are same in nature but differ in terms of curriculum for primary and

(iii) Categorisation of Teachers

In France, the teaching profession was fragmented into many different categories before its structures were unified. Several parliamentary and ministerial reports ( Joxe in 1972, Prost in 1983 and Ribot in 1899) underlined the adverse consequences of this extreme diversity of status, workload and wages for teachers who sometimes do the same job in front of the same pupils. The process of enhancing the teaching profession launched in 1989 by Minister of Education Jospin unified the status of all teaching staff (whether in primary or secondary or in general, technological or professional education), the same minimal recruitment level (at least a three year university degree, the licence), two years of initial professional training at one of the University Institutes of Teacher Training (IUFM) and strictly comparable career opportunities. Yet, there are still three categories of professors who share in common the same recruitment, compensation and career conditions: school professors (at pre-primary and primary schools), certified professors (at collèges and lycées) and professional lycée professors. In addition, the traditional agrégation, a higher and more prestigious concours requiring the higher university degree of the maîtrise has been kept for the recruitment of about 10% of secondary education professors (Cros and Obin, 2003, p.15).

(iv) Teaching and Training

The main aim of initial teacher education to primary as well secondary school teacher in France is to help them to become profession-oriented; recruitment-oriented; and research-oriented. But their curriculum and training patterns differ. Primary school teachers have to complete 2 semesters (12 course units) in first year, and 2 semesters (12 course units) in second year of Masters. During these 2 years, they have to go through various subjects and activities like-Humanities: academic and didactic approach; Sciences: academic and didactic approach; knowledge, tools and methods in teaching; teaching practice and reflective analysis; Research in education, seminars, project, and dissertation. As practical activity, during first years (semester 1 &2) they go for class observation and supervised teaching practice. The supervised teaching practice continues in second year of masters (semester 3). In the last semester, the students go for independent practice teaching. During their teaching practice, student teachers are observed by a mentor and a teacher educator. These observers give a report (observation sheet with feedback and advice) after each observational visit. [START_REF] Picard | Neopass@ction: a training tool for beginning teachers[END_REF].

(v) Professional and Societal Expectations

As per the law of 22 July 2010, a core of ten teacher competences defines the new professional model (Ministry of Higher Education and Research, 2010). Every teacher in France is expected to acquire following ten skills:

• Being able to behave as a civil servant and in an ethical and responsible way Teachers are expected to play a vital role to fulfil these expectations. Talking about the societal expectations from teachers, Baron suggests that teachers are respected as professional of childhood and there is awareness that teachers have been well trained and selected under the supervision of the national state. Teachers traditionally have a large pedagogical freedom. Expectations are probably traditional that their children should be taken care of in a good way (G.L. Baron, personal communication, June 22, 2013). While, Thanh comments, "Parents expect the teachers to have full or exceptional command of their topic(s), to prepare their children for exams, to be fair and neutral yet to take into account their child's difficulties and take some time to address them. I feel parents also expect the school system to educate their children on various topics as well (e.g. how to behave in group, not to steal...), not only school related subjects (e.g. math). So double expectations: academic content + "social" content'' ( J.T. Thanah, personal communication, July 30, 2013). The other big issue for teachers is social differences and diverse population in classes. School teachers are expected to deal with pupils from all social categories, whether working in a secluded rural area or in the suburbs of a city populated mainly by families of immigrant workers [START_REF] Cros | Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers country background report for France[END_REF]. Reffay aptly summarizes the expectations from teachers in these words, "To make them study in the best possible way whatever their skin colour, origin, or religion and to adapt their teaching methods to find the best capacities of the children list of courses offered, following up on the implementation of the PAF courses by the various actors (Universities, IUFMs, inspectors, external consultants, etc.), setting up more individualized training pathways for certain staff, and evaluating the PAF courses. According to the Law for the future of schools when a teacher seeks training for the purpose of personal advancement and receives approval from the recteur, it will be arranged in priority, outside of the required teaching hours and may qualify for an indemnity [START_REF] Eurypedia | Higher education Universities, Grandes Écoles & Ecoles Supérieures[END_REF].

Teacher Education in France: A SWOT Analysis

Above observations clearly reveals that France has a well placed and well defined teacher education system. This system has worked well and served education system of France from more than 200 years. But at this juncture, all is not well with teacher education in France. A closer look reveals that France is witnessing progressive development as well experiencing persistent tensions in the path of revamping and reorganizing teacher education. The main points of concerns and debates about teacher education are: impact of "masterisation" of teacher education to improve the quality of teacher preparation, proper use of ICT cultures for the networking and teachers' involvement in formal and informal learning, building links between Licence and Master cycles, cooperation of different actors (academics, trainers, school authorities), maintaining balance between theory and practice, bridging the gap between the world of university focusing on research and the world of school focusing on practice, evolving new models of teacher preparation, retention of central control over the qualification process and teacher recruitment, and the development of partnership and professional learning approaches (Sacilotto-Vasylenko and Fave-Bonnet, 2011, p.190). Before delving further on these issues, it will be beneficial to talk about the core objectives of teacher education in France. The teacher education in France is mainly guided by following objectives (Sacilotto-Vasylenko and Fave-Bonnet, 2011, p.179):

• To prepare all the candidates for the competitive examinations of the recruitment (concours)

Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme -190 avenue de France -75013 Paris -France http://www.fmsh.fr -FMSH-WP-2014-58

• To provide the professional preparation for the teacher trainees who have passed the concours

• To organize and offer in-service training for all teachers

• To develop research in the field of education A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of French teacher education system with reference to these objectives will help us to discuss about the system in a more objective way.

(i) Strengths

Strengths of any system is usually defined in terms of those factors that are likely to have a positive effect on (or be an enabler to) achieving the laid down objectives. An analysis of French teacher education system in reference to above mentioned objectives reveal that its biggest strengths lie in preparation and recruitment of teachers for teaching profession. After passing the competitive examinations (concours), the future teachers get the status of civil servants. This is a unique feature in itself. In other parts of the world, students prepare them to get the degree first, and then look for a job of teacher. While in France, they get the job first and then go for completion of second year of their Masters. More interestingly, teacher training institutions/Universities help them to prepare and qualify the concours. After passing the examination, the students have a job security and are expected to learn their lessons of teaching with confidence and purpose. The other feature of this system is that there is hardly any 'trained teachers unemployment', as system produces only the required number of teachers (M. Artigue, personal communication, June 3, 2013).

The other notable feature of French teacher education system is a good balance between theory and practice. During professional preparation phase, system gives good emphasis to both theory and practice, and maintains a good balance between subject knowledge and its practical implications in classroom conditions. Although, its priorities differ: for primary teachers more emphasis about pedagogy and for secondary school teachers more emphasis about subject knowledge. In French system, students have enough chances to field test their subject knowledge in classroom conditions and apply various pedagogical principles training (E. Bruillard, personal communication, May 30, 2013). The other aspect is multi-disciplinary approach of teacher education. Following this approach, teacher trainers of different subjects learn from each other, and incorporate this new found wisdom into their classroom. For example, a teacher of science learns from a teacher of history, and uses this knowledge to teach about different topics like history of science, history of scientific inventions, and so on (Cécile de Hosson, personal communication, June 5, 2013). Indicating about another unique feature of teacher education in France, Baron states, "Perhaps, the main unique feature is that public teaching is very tightly linked with the emergence of the secular republic, toward the end of the XIXth century and that there has long been a general trust regarding the teaching profession, which may be fading away" (G.L. Baron, personal communication, June 22, 2013).

In France, new models and methodologies have also been evolved to bring professional orientations among future teachers, like the model of "alternance" that includes theoretical preparation at the institute and supervised practice in schools during the two years of pre-service professional training (Sacilotto-Vasylenko and Fave-Bonnet, 2011, p. 183); preparation of portfolios for evaluation purposes; and sessions for reflections on different issues and classroom problems. The earlier system of teacher education, before 2010, was also known for its intensive internship programme. The new reforms would like to bring back this system in practice again. It has also been observed that masterization of teacher education has helped the teachers to come better prepared to develop research in the field of education. The system also offer good opportunities for students to establish a link between knowledge gained in Universities and its use in classroom conditions (M. Artigue, personal communication, June 3, 2013). In nutshell, one can say that French teacher education system is unique in some ways and best among them is that it offers excellent opportunities for acquisition of both subject-specific knowledge and didactic skills for teacher trainees during the same period of study.

(ii) Weaknesses

Weaknesses are usually defined as factors that are likely to have a negative effect on (or be a barrier to) achieving the objectives. It is an old saying that often your strengths become your weaknesses, and this applies on French teacher

Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme -190 avenue de France -75013 Paris -France http://www.fmsh.fr -FMSH-WP-2014-58

education system as well. The competitive examination system for entry into teaching profession is often hailed as its strengths, but critics see this examination system as a weakness of system itself.

Commenting on this issue, Picard and Ria (2011, p.122) national, 2012).

According to the OECD, France is at the bottom of the league of member countries, when it comes to the ratio of staff to students (five to 100), far behind Portugal, Greece and Spain, but also Sweden, Belgium and Austria, countries where the rate fluctuates between six and 10. In 2011, the OECD also indicated that the country invested 14 per cent less than the average in OECD member countries, and that the statutory salary of primary and secondary school teachers with at least 15 years of experience declined in France between 1995 and 2009 [START_REF] Carroue | Enhancing teachers' status in France is the long-eroded status of teachers about to improve[END_REF]. This issue is certainly has a negative impact on those wishing to join teaching profession in future. The participation of teachers in CPD is also an issue in France. In spite of expectations from government and local authorities only few teachers' volunteer to attend these programmes.

(iv) Threats

Threats are defined as those external factors and conditions that are likely to have a negative effect on achieving the objectives, or making the objective redundant or un-achievable. Bonnet (2011, p.182), "The demands of the State, the "teachers' employer", towards the teacher qualifications has considerably increased but the amount of hours for their preparation is unchanged and sometimes it is diminished."

It has been observed that from 2007 to 2012, some 80,000 teaching posts were eliminated in France while, at the same time, the number of pupils remained virtually stable. Education was seen only in its financial dimension, and, therefore, potentially as a way of saving costs to the national budget, and not considered as a universal right. This led to deterioration in working conditions for teachers, reduction in the quality of initial training, undermining of the status of the teaching profession in society, and low pay, which has resulted in a lack of interest in the teaching profession among today's students [START_REF] Carroue | Enhancing teachers' status in France is the long-eroded status of teachers about to improve[END_REF]. Discussing about the concerns of teacher trainees, a survey from National Union of Independent Trade Unions-Education reports, "Qualifications in foreign languages and IT can now be demanded for gaining tenure in all disciplines is causing trainees extra anxiety. Almost half of all those who have passed the competitive examinations to enter the profession do not have these qualifications. The results show that the trainee year is not a year of training and even discourages some trainees from taking up careers in teaching and education" (SNES, 2012).

The other threat comes from the fact that teacher education system in France is facing a gender imbalance, as observed by Cros and Obin (2003, p.27), "The proportion of female teachers keeps growing, to such an extent that a gender-balanced approach to education becomes difficult. Since it has become unconstitutional to recruit separately for men Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme -190 avenue de France -75013 Paris -France http://www.fmsh.fr -FMSH-WP-2014-58

and women, the question of how to attract more male teachers no longer finds an answer, all the more that until recently the teaching profession has been seen as an easy job suitable for women seeking a topup income compatible with raising a family." The educational divide among teachers belonging to different categories (primary, secondary and professional education) is another issue. The other point of concern is that whether universities who are known for their academic orientations would be able to offer a real professional preparation to the future teachers (M.S. Claude, personal communication, June 14, 2013). There is another belief that presence of so many actors in teacher education is rather a problem than solution, while Reffay views this from another angle and comments that major threat to teacher education in France is its disorganization (C. Reffay, personal communication, June 19, 2013).

Teacher Education in France: Best Adoptable Practices

Above analysis reveals that French teacher education system boasts a number of good practices that can be adopted for betterment of teacher education in other countries. In this context, some of the best adoptable practices from teacher education system of France may be:

• Its system of picking would be teachers first and then preparing them for the real job. This system helps both trainees and educators to carryout their tasks in a better way. After knowing that they got the job, trainees are supposed to try their best to learn about the profession. In other side, teacher educators feel more committed to train these selected teachers.

• Its system of intensive internship. During internship students understand the tricks of profession in real life situations. This helps them to prepare in a better way for world of teaching.

• Its system of research orientation to future teachers. The research orientation of would be teachers helps them to deal with educational problems in a better and organized way. This orientation helps them to conduct useful action researches on different educational issues.

• Its system of minimal competency standard for ICT to enter the profession and acquisition of further ICT skills during teacher training phase. These competencies help the teachers to use emerging technologies for betterment of teaching learning process in best possible way.

• Its system of ten competencies and expectations from teachers. These guidelines help teachers to realize that what to do and what not to do to become a professionally committed and socially responsible teacher.

• Its system of interdisciplinary approach of teaching, training and learning. This helps both teachers and trainees to learn from their colleagues and develop new insights and perspectives about their disciplines.

Conclusion

In view of Calderhead (1997, p.2), "Teacher education in Europe offers a fascinating natural laboratory for educational researchers to explore different ideas and programmes, and the effects of different forms of training." This observation is equally applicable for teacher education system of France. A critical analysis of the system reveals that:

• Teacher education in France has a unique history and played pioneering role to develop teacher education discipline at global level

• Teacher education has a steady past and served well to French society by producing qualified teachers

• Teacher education in France is undergoing a turbulent present with waves of different and frequent reforms

• Teacher education receives due consideration at social and political level and is part of electoral promises and debates

The good news is that teacher education is on the agenda of current government with a promise that new Teacher Training Colleges (ESPEs) will be opened at the start of the school year in 2013 and they will address the "professionalisation of both content and method" [START_REF] Carroue | Enhancing teachers' status in France is the long-eroded status of teachers about to improve[END_REF]. The academicians, practitioners and experts of teacher education view the present situation of teacher education from two different angles. One view is that present reforms will make it more significant and productive in terms of teacher preparation and serving the society, and opposing voices

LesFondation

  Working Papers et les Position Papers de la Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme ont pour objectif la diffusion ouverte des travaux en train de se faire dans le cadre des diverses activités scientifiques de la Fondation : Le Collège d' études mondiales, Bourses Fernand Braudel-IFER, Programmes scientifiques, hébergement à la Maison Suger, Séminaires et Centres associés, Directeurs d'études associés... Les opinions exprimées dans cet article n' engagent que leur auteur et ne reflètent pas nécessairement les positions institutionnelles de la Fondation MSH. The Working Papers and Position Papers of the FMSH are produced in the course of the scientific activities of the FMSH: the chairs of the Institute for Global Studies, Fernand Braudel-IFER grants, the Foundation's scientific programmes, or the scholars hosted at the Maison Suger or as associate research directors. Working Papers may also be produced in partnership with affiliated institutions. The views expressed in this paper are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect institutional positions from the Foundation MSH. Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme -190 avenue de France -75013 Paris -France http://www.fmsh.fr -FMSH-WP-2014Maison des sciences de l'homme -190 avenue de France -75013 Paris -France http://www.fmsh.fr -FMSH-WP-2014-58

  France becomes more significant in a sense that it is unique in many ways and was a topic of debate and policy reforms between previous and present government.

	The link between teacher recruitment and training is a core French specificity. Teachers are recruited by the State through national competitive exami-nations open to students having passed a bachelor degree, and then they are provided with a post in a school as civil servant. Secondary teachers usu-ally teach what is commonly perceived as only one school subject, even if it is composite (like his-tory and geography, biology and geology, physics and chemistry)

Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme -190 avenue de France -75013 Paris -France http://www.fmsh.fr -FMSH-WP-2014-58 system of

  In France majority of the schools are state schools with few private schools that have a contract with the state to coexist within the system. As fact, 83% of pupils are schooled in the state system and 17% in private schools. Following the directives of French constitution that 'it is the duty of the state to provide free, compulsory, secular education at all levels', state offers free school-

	Brevet d'Etudes professionnelles (BEP) in two years and then, for those who want to continue, there is Baccalauréat professionnel which lasts for two more years (Expatica, 2011; Ministry of National	Education, 2012). The schooling structure of France and students enrolled in different types of schools is discussed as Table-1 and Table-2.
		Table-1: Structure of School Education in France
	Level Primary Lower Upper Secondary Secondary ing (no fee, free text books) at primary and lower Type of School Age Level Length of Schooling (Years) Ecole Primaire 6 to 11 5 Lycée d'Enseignement general / technologique et professionnel 15 to 18 3 Collège 11 to 15 4 secondary education level (Ministry of National Education, 2012). The average number of chil-dren per class is currently around 25.9 (nursery school), 22.7 (primary school), 23.7 (collège) and 27.6 (lycée) (France Guide, 2013). The French educational philosophy emphasizes: the authority of the teacher; individual competition including an absolute grading system; stress on analytical	Certificate/Diploma Awarded --Baccalauréat professionnel calauréat technologique / Baccalauréat général / Bac-Brevet des Collèges
	Vocational	Lycée professionnel	15 to 17	2	Certificat d'Aptitude pro-fessionnelle (CAP)/ Brevet d'Etudes professionnelles (BEP)/
	Type of Schools		Number	Pupils Enrolled
	Primary Schools		53,798	6, 620,000
	Lower Secondary Schools (Collèges)		7,018	3, 126,400
	General and Technological Upper		2,640	1, 425,700
	Secondary Schools (lycées)
	Vocational Schools (lycées)		1,637	705,500
	Special Schools		80	44,300
	Adapted secondary schooling: referral units	--	95,600
	Total			65,173	12,017,500
				At lycées, students can also opt for tech-nical/vocational education, preparing first for the Certificat d'Aptitude professionnelle (CAP) or the
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Source: EuroEducation.net Table-2: Number of Schools in France and Pupils Enrolled Source: Repères et références statistiques 2011 -The State of schools 2011 -Direction de l'évaluation, de la prospective et de la performance (Assessment, Forward-Planning and Performance Directorate), -Ministry of National Education, Ministry for Higher Education and Research) Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme -190 avenue de France -75013 Paris -France http://www.fmsh.fr -FMSH-WP-2014-58 thought; and generally high academic expectations. The schools more or less follow same syllabus and textbooks at the same level throughout France. In general, French schools place a great emphasis on the French language (particularly grammar), arithmetic and the sciences. The Outline Act of 23 April 2005 for the future of French schools, entail ensuring equal opportunities and success for all students by establishing a common knowledge base and integrating more young people into the working world (Ministère des Affaires étrangères, 2007).

Besides, schools in France try to help pupils to acquire the Common Core of Knowledge and Skills that are based on the recommendation of the European Parliament and the European Council on 'key competences for education and lifelong learning'. These key competencies include: command of the French language; proficiency in a modern foreign language; key elements of mathematics, scientific culture and technology; mastery of ordinary information and communication skills; humanist culture; social and civic skills; autonomy and initiative. Since 2011, command of the seven skills -as certified by the head teacher at the end of troisième -is a compulsory prerequisite for the Diplôme National du Brevet (DNB), the end of lower-secondary school exam. The other notable feature of French education system is that about 80 per cent of children continue their schooling beyond the age of 16 (Ministry of National Education

  Higher education in France is characterized by a dual system: it is provided in Universities (including Instituts nationaux polytechniques) open to a large number of students and in Grandes Ecoles and other professional higher education institutions with selective admission policies. The education in Universities is divided into three cycles in accordance with the common European sys-

	supérieures are university colleges specializing in professional training. Often termed as elitist higher education system in the world, grandes écoles are heavily funded and equipped. The state spends around €40,000 educating a student at a grande école, compared with just €12,000 at a university ( Justlanded.com, 2013). Grandes écoles comprises both public and private institutions, such as schools of engineering, the four écoles normales supérieures (ENS), institutes of political studies (IEP), schools of business and manage-ment, and schools of veterinary medicine, agron-omy, and other specialized subjects. Admission is highly selective in grandes écoles. Students are admitted after 2 years of preparatory study at a special preparatory school (Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles/CPGE), and the passing of a very selective competitive entrance examina-

Regional inspectors working in close relation with the General Inspection and the rector have authority upon pedagogy in subject matters or school life in secondary education. "Primary education inspectors (named National

Education inspectors)

, have in charge smaller units, called "circonscriptions"."

(ii) Higher Education tem: Licence (Bachelor), Master and Doctorate (LMD). The number of semesters of postsecondary study and their equivalent in ECTS credits are counted toward the award of degrees. The credits required for different degrees are: Licence (L) = 6 semesters = 180 ECTS credits; Master (M) = 4 additional semesters = 120 ECTS credits; and Doctorate (D) = minimum of 3 years after the Master (not expressed in ECTS credits). Currently, France has 83 public universities enrolling 1.4 million students, including 70,000 doctoral candidates. Universities in France offer curricula in academic fields and of various institutes and schools -such as the IUT -offering courses in Engineering and Technology and special programmes in Management, Political Science, Languages and Physical Education, the IUFM (Instituts Universitaires de Formation des Maîtres) which offer training courses for primary and secondary schools teachers, the IUP (Instituts Universitaires Professionalisés) which offer technological courses and practical training with an introduction to research and foreign languages (EuroEducation.net; Campus France. Org). Universities in France come under the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche). In comparison to other parts of the French higher education system, tuition fee is lower in Universities (about €400 a year) as government pays much of the true remaining cost of each student's education (which ranges from €8,000 to €14,000 per year).

The other unique feature of higher education in France is the Grand Schools (grandes écoles The State of Teacher Education in France: A Critique 10/24 Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme -190 avenue de France -75013 Paris -France http://www.fmsh.fr -FMSH-WP-2014-58 and écoles supérieures). Grandes écoles and écoles tion. Grandes écoles offer a high standard of professional education that ranges from 3 to 7 years of study. The other notable feature is that these prestigious schools (ecoles normales supérieures, Polytechnique) pay the students during their studies. Beside Universities and grandes écoles, there are more than 3,000 other public and private institutions that offer programs in specific areas like health professions, paramedical services, audiovisual arts, communication, journalism, social work, fashion, design, tourism, culinary arts, military studies, agriculture, agronomy, and political science. Normally these programs last for 2 to 5 years (EuroEducation.net; Campus France. org). The number of different types of higher education institutions in France is given in Table-3.

  The credit to change this situation and evolving the concept of teacher education mainly goes to Europe and North America. France played a pioneer role in bringing the concept of teacher training in reality. This is evident from the fact that way back in 1685, John Baptist de La Salle founded the first teachers' training college (école

normale) in Reims (city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France). According to French text and Encyclopaedia, the exact English version of the French term école normale ('en Angleterre, les écoles normales d'instituteurs et d'institutrices sont appelées') is 'training colleges'

Table - 3

 - : Number of Higher Education Institutions in France

	Type of Higher Education Institutions	Number
	Universities and Equivalent institutions	83
	Schools of Engineering	224
	Schools of Business and Management	220
	Schools of Art	120
	Other Schools and Institutes	3000

Source: Campus France. org The State of Teacher Education in France: A Critique 11/24 Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme -190 avenue de France -75013 Paris -France http://www.fmsh.fr -FMSH-WP-2014-58

  The teacher education system in France is going through a wave of reforms, as observed byBaron, "Education is traditionally rather high on French decision makers' agenda. Teacher education has been undergoing a series of reforms for more than 20 years" (G.L.Baron, personal communication, June 22, 2013). The system was changed in year 2010, and new government has completed his homework to change it again from September 2013. Therefore, it will be justified to discuss the existing as well proposed entry routes to teacher education in France. According to the existing norms, Master is an essential qualification for the recruitment of primary and secondary school teachers. Till last academic session, initial training of teachers was conducted by IUFMs and from September 2013 onwards it will be the responsibility of ESPEs. decides where the teachers go to work(and live). There are two competitive exams: the CAPES and the AGREGATION. The first one allows you to teach at the secondary and higher secondary levels, the second the secondary, higher secondary and university level. Basically the AGREG is harder to get, the persons who graduate from this exam get a higher salary and less hours of teaching, and sometimes they teach in nicer schools too. It is kind of a hierarchy thing" ( J.T. Thanah, personal communication, July 30,

	As part of the autonomy that has been granted by law No. 2007-1199 of 10 August 2007 relating to university freedoms and responsibilities, the IUFMs were responsible the Masters programme as well as the preparation of competitive recruit-ing examinations for entry to the profession of primary-or secondary-school teacher. Now this responsibility will be entrusted to ESPEs.
	A future teacher in France has to meet two cri-teria to become a fully qualified teacher: hold-ing a Masters degree and passing the competi-tive recruitment examination organized by the French Ministry of Education. Once these cri-teria are met, newly qualified teachers become civil servants after one probation year. Teachers recruited by private schools must also pass com-petitive examinations and are paid by the State if they are part of grant-aided schools. However, they are not civil servants (Picard and Ria, 2011). Explaining further about this system, Thanh underlines, "Teachers have to undergo a Masters'

degree in a specific field (e.g. Physics) then pass a national competitive exam. If they get it, they become "fonctionnaires" meaning they work for the state, they have their job for life but are at the disposal of the state: it

  that present reforms are merely eyewash and will not bring any significant changes in the vision and action of teacher education. France is in middle of new teacher education reforms. The new teacher training institutions (ESPEs) with new teacher training modalities will come into existence from current academic session that will begin from September 2013. What shapes these reforms will take and what impact they will have, only time and future researches will tell.

	The State of Teacher Education in France: A Critique	20/24

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Acknowledgements

I am extremely grateful to the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (FMSH), France and University Grants Commission (UGC), India for offering me a scholarship to carry out this study. The kind hospitality, support and guidance provided by Prof. Eric Bruillard and his team, from the ENS Cachan is also gratefully acknowledged. I would also like to gratefully acknowledge the support and recommendations for this research from Prof. Max Jean Zins, Prof. Pierre Léna and Prof. Georges-Louis Baron. I would also like to express my gratitude to all those who have responded to my survey and given their valuable inputs for this research. Finally, I am thankful to my dear wife and lovely daughter who has given me unconditional support and needed motivation to complete this research.

Dr. Misra has received a number of prestigious awards that includes Commonwealth Academic Fellowship of CSC, UK; Indo-French Exchange Scholarship of FMSH, Paris; Erasmus Mundus Visiting Scholar Scholarship of European Commission; Senior Researcher and Doctoral Scholarship of DAAD, Germany and Postdoctoral Research Award of UGC, India. Dr. Misra was visiting scholar in the Danish School of Education, Copenhagen in 2009 for International Masters in Lifelong Learning: Policy and Management Programme. He has to his credit a number of international and national publications, authored a book 'Educational Television in Germany' and completed different Research and Development Projects. Dr. ://www.fmsh.fr -FMSH-WP-2014