From the <i>Baccalauréat</i> to Higher Education in France: Shifting Inequalities

Abstract

The extent to which education in France has been democratized is subject to debate: although school enrolment rates have continued to rise, does this trend reflect a true reduction in the social inequality of access to the various levels and courses of school and university education? Following an article published in Population in 2000, whose title evoked this controversial issue, Marie Duru-Bellat and annick kieffer conduct a detailed analysis of the mechanisms by which inequalities are reproduced in higher education in France. Their results bring clear critical evidence to the debate by showing that the quantitative opening-up of the education system is still accompanied by a marked social differentiation of students enrolled in different courses and subjects.