The thesis: brings out the educational experience of the 800,000 French children children who, at the age of about eleven, every year transfer from their primary school into secondary education; follows the pupils for seven years when about one in three sits the Baccalaureate examination. Some 24 per cent, of the age group qualify, which entitles them to a university place; consists of a sociological appraisal of the bureaucratic French educational system, with particular reference to the post-1959 reforms; confirms that the educational reforms of the methods that France has devised to deal with the education of its children have been for some considerable time in turn contradictory, inconsistent, ineffective, and inefficient; looks into the debate on the "relative homogenisation" theory, in an attempt to find out whether there is evidence to warrant the assumption that educational systems are becoming more alike. In PART I, we examine the development of French secondary education. As soon as we are familiarized with the educational scene (chapter 1), we shall then be able to figure out the importance given to "culture" in French Secondary education (chapter 2). Next we shall question the validity of some of the claims made in favour of "classical culture" (chapter 3). Chapter 4 provides a historical account of the far-reaching ideal of an "Ecole unique", a concept which caught the eye of the post-World War II reformers (chapter 5). PART I ends with a chapter on the teaching profession (chapter 6). PART II, which deals with contemporary reforms, is divided into three sections. Section A is devoted to secondary education. The 1959 reform (chapter 7) was soon followed by complementary measures (chapter 8), which imposed a strain on the government service with regard to their implementation (chapter 9). Economic expansion is tied up with education (chapter 10) and in particular with an ever-growing percentage of people reaching a high Terminal Education Age (chapter 11). As this is influenced by social class (chapter 12), it has implications for the democratization of education (chapter 13). In Section B, after being acquainted with the university faculties (chapter 14) and the student unrest (chapter 15), we shall see how the old structures were deftly replaced by new ones (chapter 16) and the setup peculiar to Paris (chapter 17) with regard to the educational challenge (chapter 18). In Section C, Chapter 19 brings out the reasons why further reforms are deemed necessary, whilst chapter 20 provides some indications of the value attached to "training throughout life" and how the French Government sets out to give "a second chance" to every French worker in the course of the nineteen seventies. PART III starts by probing policy making on educational matters in France (chapter 21), which is followed by a critical appraisal of the efficiency of the government service with regard to the educational system (chapter 22). Finally, the thesis ends on a discussion of the "convergence theory".

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Afin d'identifier finement les facteurs de vulnérabilité et de protection face au risque d'illettrisme, nous avons choisi une méthode de recherche qualitative, fondée sur la théorisation ancrée, le complémentarisme et la triangulation. Nous avons rencontré vingt-trois adolescents en situation d'illettrisme, scolarisés dans six lycées professionnels parisiens, leurs parents et leurs enseignants, dans le cadre d'entretiens semi-directifs. Ce processus de recherche nous a peu à peu permis d'élaborer les guides d'analyse T.FAME et T.FAME sco, qui permettent une analyse fine de processus de filiation, affiliations et métissage, concernant les cultures ethniques - y compris sociales et régionales - et les cultures scolaires respectivement. L'analyse transversale du matériel recueilli fait ressortir une importante altération de la fonction parentale dans la migration, qui entrave la transmission transgénérationnelle des savoirs familiaux à l'enfant et entraîne pour l'enfant un important sentiment d'insécurité et d'illégitimité dans le cadre scolaire, qui se traduit par des difficultés d'apprentissage, notamment au moment de l'entrée dans l'écrit, et une difficulté à tirer profit des aides extérieures proposées. Cependant, le désengagement scolaire qui en découle semble avant tout constituer une stratégie de sauvegarde narcissique face à l'échec mais aussi une stratégie de sauvegarde des savoirs autres que scolaires. L'orientation en filière professionnelle offre une possibilité de reprise dans l'après-coup et de réinvestissement scolaire, que les enseignants de lycées professionnels sont susceptibles de favoriser. Ainsi, nos résultats nous amènent à poser l'hypothèse de l'illettrisme comme stratégie de résistance face à une école vécue comme coloniale. Nous avons de ce fait mis en œuvre le dispositif Métisco, premier dispositif de médiation scolaire transculturelle, pour accompagner les professionnels scolaires, leurs élèves et les parents d'élèves dans l'élaboration de ces enjeux collectifs et favoriser l'instauration d'une nécessaire alliance éducative. / In order to identify vulnerability and protection factors regarding the risk of illiteracy, we chose a qualitative research methodology, based on the grounded theory, complementarism and triangulation. We interviewed twenty-three illiterate teenagers in six Parisian Vocational high-schools, their parents and teachers. This process allowed us to develop the two guides T.FAME and T.FAME sco, in order to analyze transcultural processes such as filiations, affiliations and metissage, regarding ethnic cultures - including regional and social ones - and school cultures respectively. Transversal analyses show the importance of the maternal function alteration in the migration process, which hinders the transgenerational transmission of familial knowledge to children. This leads to children feeling insecure and illegitimate within the school environment, which causes learning difficulties, notably when it comes to reading and writing. It also leads to difficulties to benefit medical help. However, the resulting school disengagement appears to mainly constitute a strategy to preserve one's self esteem when facing failure, as well as to preserve knowledge other than the school one. Streaming towards vocational studies offers a possibility to reinvest school learning. Vocational teachers are an asset for such reconciliation. Thus, our results lead to the hypothesis of illiteracy as a resistance strategy against a school system which is experienced as a colonial one. We then developed Metisco, the first transcultural school mediation design. It aims at accompanying school professionals, their students and the students' parents to elaborate such conflicts and at promoting the instauration of a necessary educative alliance.