Ethnic Segregation and its Effects in Middle School in France
Type de matériel :
18
This article examines de facto ethnic segregation in middle school [collège] in France on the basis of an analysis of the distribution of more than 144,000 pupils among the 333 middle schools of the Bordeaux educational area. An indicator is constructed that defines the ethnicity variable using the criterion of pupil first name and allows for distinguishing between “native” and “non-native” pupils. Pupil distribution among the area’s middle schools by this variable is then observed, bringing to light considerable dispersion, and evidence that a small proportion of area schools educate a high proportion of non-native pupils. Lastly, the article examines the effects of the observed ethnic segregation on scholastic performance and post-middle school path.
Ethnic categories have only come to be used gradually in sociology in France, and debate on the issue has been quite heated, primarily because such categories are extremely remote from French intellectual tradition. However, they have gained scientific legitimacy by their clear sociological relevance, though the matter of how to define and develop them empirically remains uncertain and complex. In his overview of the debate, Georges Felouzis probes the role of ethnic categories in French sociology from both theoretical and empirical standpoints. Dominique Schnapper takes up what is at issue and at stake for democracy and society in the use of ethnic categories, and Patrick Simon reflects on possible ways of describing and accounting for “ethnic” social relations in French society.
Réseaux sociaux