55

This paper questions economists’ theoretical characterizations of education as a product. A conceptual assessment criterion borrowed from Piore’s works (1975) is helpful in examining differences in terms of professional achievement. It allows for the relatively better achievement of technological bacheliers (pupils who have passed the baccalauréat) compared with vocational bacheliers for the same tertiary courses. This finding links the definition of educational outputs to the content of previous training courses. It calls for a critical examination of the categories used to decide on the contents of vocational courses, and of the pursuit of operational legitimacy, especially for tertiary degrees, over the last two decades.