Music Education in France

I. Political Framework. 2

II. School System and Structure. 3

III. Music Education in Schools. 7

IV. Music Curricula. 8

V. Critical Comment and Future Development 9

I. Political Framework

France is a democracy that is organised as a unitary semi-presidential republic. Its main ideals are expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France is divided into 26 administrative regions. 22 are in metropolitan France (21 are in the continental part of metropolitan France; one is the territorial collectivity of Corsica), and four are overseas regions. The regions are further subdivided into 100 departments which are numbered.[1]

II. School System and Structure

The French educational system is highly centralised, organised and ramified. It is divided into three different stages [2]:

·      Primary education (enseignement primaire),

·      Secondary education (enseignement secondaire),

·      Higher education (enseignement supérieur).

Primary and secondary education is predominantly public (private schools also exist, in particular a strong nationwide network of primary and secondary Catholic education), while higher education has both public and private elements. The school year in France has 36 weeks at least, which are divided into five work periods of approximately the same duration. Between these periods there are four holidays. At kindergarten and primary school there are 26 hours per week and no more than six hours a day. At collège (secondary school), the pupils have from 25 to 28 hours a week. The amount of hours at lycée (secondary school) depends on the non-compulsory subjects the pupil chooses. It can vary between 30-40 hours a week.

At the primary and secondary levels, the curriculum is the same for all French students in any given grade, which includes public, semi-public and subsidised institutions. However, there exist specialised sections and a variety of options that students can choose. The reference for all French educators is the Bulletin officiel de l'éducation nationale, de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche (B.O.) which lists all current syllabuses and teaching directives. It is amended many times every year.

Primary school

Schooling in France is required and mandatory as of age six, the first year of primary school. Many parents start sending their children earlier though, around age three, as kindergarten classes (maternelle) are usually affiliated to a borough's primary school. The last year of maternelle, grande section is an important step in the educational process as it is the year in which pupils are introduced to reading.

The syllabuses for the different subjects are valid for the whole country and compulsory for all the teachers and all the pupils – as is the system of assessment. Two main objectives lines underpin education at primary school in France: acquisition of the French language and education as citizens in a democratic country.

From the 2^nd cycle onward (fundamental learning), foreign or regional languages, maths, activities aim at discovering the world around us, artistic education (visual arts and music education) and physical education are taught. In the 3^rd cycle, subjects such as literature, history, geography, science and technology become more important. Information and communication technology (including internet) are important tools for the different activities at school. The national assessments for ascertaining the skills of each child take place at the beginning of the 2^nd cycle and at the beginning of the collège. These assessments make it possible to draw conclusions for the whole country.

School education takes into account the plurality and diversity of the aptitudes of each particular pupil. Apart from intellectual reflection, observation, experimentation, sensibility, motor skills and creativity are also developed.

From kindergarten to the end of primary school the class teacher is responsible for all subjects including music. The teacher can, however, enlist the assistance of a CPEM (Conseiller pédagogique en éducation musicale[3]). This teacher is a holder of the CAFIPEMF certificate (Certificat d'Aptitude aux Fonctions d'Instituteur ou de Professeur des Écoles Maître Formateur) and a specialist in music education. He or she advises the class teacher in the weekly practical music lessons but can also provide assistance with specific music or arts projects (theatre, concerts, musicals etc.)

Secondary school: the collège

French secondary education is divided into two schools: the collège for the first four years directly following primary school and the lycée for the next three years. The completion of secondary studies leads to the baccalauréat.

At the end of primary school, all children go on to collège without needing to pass any examination. The educational content is the same for all pupils at this institution. The four years at collège (the so called 6^th, 5^th, 4^th and 3^rd grades) are compulsory.

In every collège pupils from Year 6 to Year 3 have one music lesson per week. This lesson is taken by a specialised music teacher. The new curricula require that the principal activities consist of practical musical activities along with listening to music in an active manner in combination with other subjects, especially art history. In addition, one optional hour of choral singing a week can be added in all four school years. The music teacher may also form an instrumental ensemble, in which participation is always voluntary. Every unit (five per year) must also touch on a transversal skill and consists of at least one interpretation project, one creative activity and the study and analysis of a musical work. The playing of a musical instrument is not obligatory and is never an end in itself; it always serves the listening to music in an active way and/or the music project.

Secondary school: the lycée

After finishing the collège, pupils can continue their education at a general and technological lycée or at a vocational lycée. The brevet is the first official diploma examination a pupil has to sit. It is not required to enter high school (lycée). The baccalauréat (also known as bac) is the end-of-lycée diploma students sit for in order to enter university, a classe préparatoire, or professional life. The term baccalauréat refers to the diploma and the examinations themselves. It is comparable to British A-Levels, the Irish Leaving Certificate, the German Abitur and the Spanish selectividad. Most students sit for the baccalauréat général which is divided into three streams of study, called séries.

It is currently very difficult to discuss the situation of music teachers at lycées because a major reform will be taking place at this level over the next few years.

a) Non-compulsory Optional Subjects

The option of taking non-compulsory subjects is aimed at pupils who have completed Year 3. There are normally three hours of music per week and level. This makes it possible for the pupils to continue this optional subject to school-leaving level; irrespective of the main subjects they have chosen (literature, science, economics, social sciences, technology). Collective and individual practice of music is arranged as follows: the work and its internal organisation, the work and its context, the work and its prevalence, the work and its coding, the work and its historical references, the work and its influence, the work and its interpretation.

b) The Literature-Arts-Music Option

At the end of Year 2 the pupil can either continue with the chosen non-compulsory subject or switch to the literature-arts-music option. It is even possible to take both options. In Year 1 and the final year, five periods a week are available for these options. The syllabus focuses principally on the topic of musical culture and the practice of music, both in combination with technical aspects. Although it contains special requirements, this option nevertheless provides solid general training so that pupils can go on to take degree courses in any subject.

c) The TMD Option (Technique de la Musique et de la Danse[4])

This option is aimed at pupils who have solid musical training, i.e. who have completed at least the second cycle at a conservatoire. Most of the students who take this course go on to become professional musicians. In 2007, 303 candidates from 26 different lycées[5] sat the final TMD examination (baccalauréat TMD). Entrance to these specific classes requires passing an entrance examination. The lycée is responsible for providing general education in French, philosophy (in the final year), a foreign language, mathematics, science, history, geography, history and analysis of music and an introduction to contemporary art. The conservatoire takes over responsibility for the teaching of musical instrumentals, ear and vocal training, solfège, ensemble playing, harmony, sound technique and organology.

III. Music Education in Schools

In the cycle of basic education at primary level (CP and CE1) 81 hours are allocated to arts subjects. That makes about two hours ten minutes per week. This time must be divided up between music, the plastic arts and art history. In the cycle in which subjects are covered in greater depth (CE2, CM1, CM2) 78 hours are allocated to arts subjects per year, which makes approximately two hours a week.

The main activities taught in music lessons at school are musical activities (especially singing) and listening to music. The teacher is provided with a repertoire of around ten songs. Special attention is paid to vocal training, rhythmic and melodic accuracy and breathing and articulation. The most important musical parameters to be developed when the pupils listen to music are rhythm, tempo, tone and instrumentology.

In the cycles CE2, CM1 and CM2 terms from history, geography and art history are taught at the same time as musical activities. Vocal competence is increased by means of rhythmic games. At the end of the CM2 cycle, pupils are capable of performing a song from memory and taking part in rhythmic games. Among the most important skills that pupils must have acquired by the end of primary school are finding musical elements, using the correct specific vocabulary, recognising musical works they have heard and analysed and being able to place them in their correct historical and stylistic context.  

From primary school to collège there are so-called CHAM classes[6] with adapted lesson content. These make it possible for the pupils to follow the general syllabus while at the same time taking specialised music lessons in close cooperation with partner institutions such as music academies, music schools and conservatoires. A board examines candidates to determine their suitability for entrance to this course. In the school year 2005/06 there were 111 schools in France offering such CHAM classes: 68 primary schools and 104 collèges; these were attended by a total of 16,209 pupils (6,513 at primary school and 9,696 at the collèges). ^[7]

IV. Music Curricula

The final examinations at the lycées (non-compulsory optional subjects) consist of two parts. The first part comprises a comparative comment on the set work: the candidate hears an extract from two set works, each one three times, and presents his or her personal considered comment. Through discussion with the jury and the jury members’ questions a more precise and thorough analysis is achieved. In the second part, the pupil is expected to perform a piece of music from the repertoire either on a musical instrument or vocally; he or she may be accompanied by a second person. The jury consists of music teachers from the lycée and music conservatoires.

The final examination in the literature-arts-music option (baccalaureat “L” arts-musique) begins with a two-part written examination. The first part consists of a piece of music that the candidate has listened to and involves reading the music and answering questions posed by the jury. In the second part the pupil analyses a short extract and presents a critique of it. The examination has a coefficient of 3, and lasts three and a half hours (two and one and a half). In the practical music examination the candidate must perform a piece of music he or she has selected, either vocally or on an instrument. In the ensuing discussion, he or she must then defend the chosen approach to and interpretation of the piece. To finish, the candidate chooses a work from a list of suggested pieces (see appendix), listens to it, comments on it and answers questions on it asked by the jury.

For the final examination in the TMD option (Technique de la musique et de la danse), 10 points of a coefficient of 20 are reserved for special music lessons. The candidate sits a four-hour examination in music theory (dictation and analysis, coefficient 3), a 20-minute musical performance (coefficient 4) and a four-hour examination in music history (coefficient 3).

V. Critical Comment and Future Development

New courses are currently being prepared. From the school year 2009/10 new curricula come into effect that are moulded on the primary school curriculum and are based around the two main competences there, which are production and perception. The aim is to combine musical activities and creativity with musical listening to develop critical perception.