Jean-Claude Guillemard. The Handbook of International School Psychology. Editor: Shane R Jimerson, Thomas D Oakland, Peter T Farrell. Sage Publications. 2007.
The French Republic, with a population of more than 60 million inhabitants, is one of the 25 countries that constitute the European Union. With a surface of 550,000 square kilometres, it is bordered on the west by the North Sea, the English Channel, and the Atlantic Ocean and on the south by the Mediterranean Sea. In the southwest, the Pyrenean mountains form the border with Spain, and the Alps form the eastern border with Italy and Switzerland. To the north, the tunnel under the English Channel offers direct access by train or by car to the United Kingdom. There are three other countries forming the border to the north: Belgium, Luxemburg, and Germany.
Despite its membership in the G8 (i.e., the Group of 8 wealthier countries in the world) and its gross domestic product of US$1.737 trillion, US$28,700 per capita in 2004, France, like other developed countries, experiences many economic and social problems. With an unemployment level of more than 10% and a very low level of economic growth (less than 2% in 2005), 6% of the population (3.5 million people, including 1 million children younger than age 15) live under the threshold of poverty according to French criteria (i.e., less than 50% of average income; average income in 2003 was 1,200 per month). In 2003, the cost of educating a child of pre-elementary age was 4,240 (equivalent to 2,620 in 1986); 4,540 for a child in a primary school (equivalent to θ,230 in 1986); 7,150 for a collège (junior high school) student (5,040 in 1986); 9,750 for a general or technical lycée (high school) student (6,440 in 1986); and 10,130 for a student in a professional lycée (6,400 in 1986; Ministry of National Education, 2005). The French educational system, under the responsibility of the Ministry of National Education, is divided into three levels. The primary level includes pre-elementary (kindergarten) and elementary school for children ages 2 to 11 years. The secondary level includes collèges (junior high schools) for students ages 12 to 15 years as well as professional, technical, and general lycées (senior high schools) for students ages 16 to 18 years. The tertiary level includes preparatory classes, schools for engineers (Grandes Ecoles), teacher training schools, military schools, and universities. In 2000, the average class size in pre-elementary schools was 25.4 pupils; in elementary schools (Grades 1-5), 23.8; in secondary schools (collèges), 24.2; and in secondary schools (lycées), 27.6 (Ministry of National Education, 2005).
The number of handicapped children (i.e., children identified by a local special education commission as sensory, physically, or men-tally/developmentally disabled) who benefit from an individual inclusion program in ordinary classrooms is about 52,000. There are about 115,000 children in special schools run by the Ministry of Health and special private schools that have an arrangement with state or local authorities. Also, 12,000 children are placed in classrooms that are integrated into hospitals, 3,000 are schooled in prison, and 4,500 are in specific classes for pupils who have been expelled from ordinary school for disruptive behaviour (classes-relais). In 1987, the number of children in special classes in elementary schools was 73,000 (Guillemard, 1989). The inclusive policy developed by the Ministry of National Education in 1990 explains the decrease in this number, down to 50,000 (Ministry of National Education, 2005).
Origin, History, and Current Status of School Psychology
The need for preparing qualified psychologists for service in French schools appeared at the end of World War II. After a successful trial period in Grenoble in 1945, involving the appointment of Bernard Andrey as the first school psychologist, a team of school psychologists began work in Paris in 1947 with Professor Henri Wallon (1869-1962). However, the application of psychology in schools actually began years before. As early as 1894, Alfred Binet, who was rightly considered to be the “grandfather of French school psychology,” created the Free Society for the Psychological Study of the Child. In 1897, he wrote a paper describing psychology in primary schools (Binet & Vaschide, 1897). In 1899, along with teacher Pierre Vaney, he opened a pedagogical and psychological laboratory in a Parisian primary school. In 1905, Binet was asked by the Ministry of Public Instruction (later renamed the Ministry of National Education) to study problems exhibited by children who could not follow the normal school curriculum. The Binet-Simon test was used to detect mentally retarded children and to direct them toward special classes. The first special classes for mentally retarded children opened in Lyon in 1906, and, in the following year, five special classes opened in Paris. In 1909, Marcel Foucault opened a laboratory of school psychology in Montpellier (in the south of France), and, in the same year, the first vocational guidance service was created (Foucault, 1923).
Although Wallon first opened a laboratory of child psychology in a primary school near Paris in 1923, he was not able to expand the project and develop school psychological services linked to a new democratic system of education until after World War II. According to Wallon (1952), school psychology’s mission was to help all children. Its aim was not to discriminate or, by selection, to deny children the benefits of a culture that must belong to everybody. Instead, school psychologists were to study methods and techniques so as to promote the growth of the child and to promote high-quality education throughout the country.
In 1948, some school psychologists were appointed in secondary schools, and the number of practitioners was large enough to warrant holding the first national convention at Sèvres (near Paris) in 1949 and the second in Grenoble the following year. In 1951, the Ministry of National Education described the functions of school psychologists, and this text (Wall, 1958) was used as the basis for discussion at the First International School Psychology Colloquium organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Hamburg in November-December 1952 and at the Second International School Psychology Colloquium in April 1954, also in Hamburg (Wall, 1958). Despite these developments at the very moment when French school psychologists seemed to have an important part to play in the future development of the discipline on the international stage, their training and employment as a separate professional group ended, and they were sent back to primary schools as teachers. The official reason for this change was the need to fill vacant posts in primary schools after the postwar baby boom. However, the political reason was that the school psychology project was a part of the “Democratic Reform of the French School System” written in 1944 by Wallon and Langevin for the National Council of Resistance (the clandestine French government during German occupation), both authors being members of the French Communist Party.
Despite this development, the need for school psychologists increased substantially during the 1950s, chiefly due to an increase in the birth rate and the associated increase in the number of “maladjusted” children. For these reasons, the Ministry of National Education resumed training school psychologists with the main aim of using them to identify handicapped children in order to educate them in special classes and schools. As a result, the training initially focused on the use of psychometric tests and on theories of psychopathology.
During the late 1960s, much attention was focused on the significance of the school failure rate, affecting about 50% of all pupils between the first and fifth grades at the primary school level. The general belief held that, in relation to school failure, it was better to place the emphasis on prevention efforts rather than intervention. The subsequent success of a number of educational programs supported this belief. Thus, in 1970, the first prevention teams were established, called Groupes d’Aide Psycho-Pédagogique (Psychopedagogic Aid Groups). They were, in theory, teams, each consisting of one specialist in school psychology, one in psychoeducation, and one in psychomotor development. Each Psychopedagogic Aid Group was intended to serve between 800 and 1,000 pupils, and, though based in one school, a particular group often had to work in several schools within a prescribed area. Moreover, school psychologists had to devote one third of their time outside the Psychopedagogic Aid Group area in assessing “maladjusted” children for special classes and schools.
The Psychopedagogic Aid Group system worked for 20 years without any change but also without important developments. The idea that every pupil could find support from a system based on a philosophy of prevention was actually never reached, and this strong republican French principle of equal opportunity for all was not applied in the schools. It was not surprising, therefore, that during the period 1980-1985, the Ministry of National Education ordered a national survey aiming to evaluate the effects of Psychopedagogic Aid Group action on pupils who had benefited from the support. The results were rather disappointing. A large proportion of pupils with learning difficulties, who had been registered in a Psychopedagogic Aid Group program, still had difficulties when beginning collège (junior high school) and still needed support from the Psychopedagogic Aid Group system, which was not available in secondary schools. However, the national survey acknowledged that all of the pupils who had benefited from Psychopedagogic Aid Group action were generally better integrated in the classroom and their self-esteem had improved. In other words, the members of the Psychopedagogic Aid Group had been effective in the area of emotional behaviour but not in areas related to their first mission: to improve learning skills.
The Réseau d’Aides Spécialisées aux Elèves en Difficulté (Special Support Network for Pupils With Difficulties) was designed to replace the Psychopedagogic Aid Group system and to maintain preventative actions within the schools, but more generally it was incorporated into a major policy initiative aimed at providing inclusive education for all the children with specific educational needs (either moderate learning disabilities or severe handicaps). The Special Support Network for Pupils With Difficulties staff (always one school psychologist and two special education teachers) had to help teachers in their task to develop education for all, and, when necessary, they were expected to help pupils either in small groups or individually. Special classes were maintained for various categories of pupils who could not be included in mainstream classes.
The role and function of the Special Support Network for Pupils With Difficulties did not change until 2002, when an important circular was published in the Official Bulletin of the Ministry of National Education (Ministry of National Education, 2002b) reorganizing the system of special education within the general frame of inclusive education and meeting the specific needs of all children. In this text, the role of schools was reinforced, and they were given prescribed roles in relation to the assessment, provision, and monitoring of pupils who may require special help. The role of the school psychologist in this process was also clearly defined, although there are important differences from one Special Support Network for Pupils With Difficulties to another, according to geographical, historical, political, and economic factors.
The period from 1980 to 1990 was important for school psychology in France. The National Coalition of Psychologists’ Organizations (in which the French School Psychologists Association was very much involved) had taken the important step of lobbying for the legal recognition of the title “psychologist.” This action was successful, and, in 1985, a law was passed, legally recognizing the profession (French Government, 1985). Under this law, the title “psychologist” for professional use is exclusively reserved for persons who have earned a university degree in psychology. These include degrees involving academic and professional courses in a 5-year-minimum program. Persons who illegally use the title “psychologist” professionally can be prosecuted (French Penal Code art. 259). The law encompasses all categories of psychologists and had many consequences for the profession of school psychology, including the following: (a) It obliged the employer of school psychologists (i.e., the Ministry of National Education) to modify and improve the selection and the professional training of its future employees. (b) It increased the recognition of school psychologists within the psychological profession, by associated professions, and among the public at large. It helped school psychologists build a professional identity and raise their professional self-esteem.
In France, there are three categories of psychologists working in schools: (1) school psychologists working in public primary schools (around 3,000), including a very small number who also work in child guidance centres and some who have a part-time private practice (in addition to their regular work in the public service); (2) vocational counsellor-psychologists working in secondary schools and universities (around 4,000), who are organized in Orientation and Information Centres that operate as a School Psychology Service; and (3) psychologists working in private Catholic schools (approximately 250).
With fewer than 3,000 school psychologists for 6,500,000 pupils in primary schools, the ratio is about 1 to 2,200. With about 4,000 vocational counsellor-psychologists for 5,000,000 students in secondary schools (not including university students), the ratio is about 1 to 1,250. With about 250 psychologists for 2,000,000 pupils in private Catholic schools, the ratio is about 1 to 8,000. According to the Association Française des Psychologues Scolaires (French School Psychologists Association), the number of vacant positions for school psychologists is between 200 and 400 (Association Française des Psychologues Scolaires, 2003).
School psychologists working in primary public schools are selected exclusively from among the teachers, and they keep this administrative status of teacher with the same salary scale when they become a school psychologist. In 2005, a new schoolteacher working in a primary school (elementary or pre-elementary) started at a salary of 1,100 per month. At the end of his or her career (following age 60), he or she may expect a (maximum) salary of ©,000 per month. Teachers who become school psychologists usually have at least 3 years of professional experience, which means their salary starts at about 1,500 per month, to which they can add a specific subsidy (as do all the special education teachers), which is approximately 1,000 a year (80 per month). Teachers in secondary schools (and vocational counsellor-psychologists as well) have a similar salary scale, but they may expect various subsidies for specific work, which raises their salary significantly.
In the French school system, all the primary schools have, at least in theory, access to a school psychologist. The principal may request support from the school psychologist and from the Special Support Network for Pupils With Difficulties team. A pupil in a small school of the mountainous region of Grenoble or on an island of Brittany should also benefit from the support of a school psychologist. The reality is slightly different, and it is easier in Paris (or in any big city) than it is in a remote village of central France, for example, for a teacher (or a family) to call a school psychologist for help. There is a Centre for Orientation and Information in all medium-size towns where students can meet a vocational counsellor-psychologist or freely consult information on school and professional guidance. In each high school, there is usually a room where a student can meet with a vocational counsellor-psychologist once a week.
From informal enquiries made among school psychologists, it appears that the degree of job satisfaction is generally low. School psychologists often indicate that they are not recognized as psychologists by their employer, and the lack of a specific status of psychologist (rather than teacher) are the reasons given most often for this lack of satisfaction. They also indicate that they are overburdened by administrative tasks. They regret the lack of time to make in-depth assessments or to offer long-term psychological support. Some of them consider that they could be better used than they are and that their employer ignores their competencies.
Infrastructure of School Psychology
There are three associations for school psychologists:
- Association Française des Psychologues Scolaires (French School Psychologists Association)
- Association des Conseillers d’Orientation-Psychologues de France (French Association of Vocational Counsellor-Psychologists)
- Association Nationale des Psychologues de l’Enseignement Catholique (National Association of Psychologists in Catholic Schools)
These three associations have frequent contacts and meet together in a coalition of six psychologists organizations. The Association Nationale des Psychologues de l’Enseignement Catholique was co-organizer, with the Association Française des Psychologues Scolaires, of the International School Psychology Association colloquium in 2001 in Dinan. Both associations are affiliated with the International School Psychology Association. The Association des Conseillers d’Orientation-Psychologues de France is a member of the International School and Professional Counselling Organization.
The Association Française des Psychologues Scolaires publishes a quarterly journal, Psychologie & Education, and a newsletter, Echanges, which includes a biannual international supplement, La Lettre Internationale de l’AFPS. The Association des Conseillers d’Orientation-Psychologues de France publishes a journal, Questions d’Orientation, and a newsletter, La Lettre de l’ACOPF. The oldest psychological association in France, Societé Française de Psychologie (French Psychological Society), publishes two quarterly journals: Psychologie Française and Pratiques Psychologiques. The Syndicat National des Psychologues (National Union of Psychologists) publishes a newsletter, Psychologues & Psychologies. There is also a monthly private journal, Le Journal des Psychologues, which has many readers among school psychologists. The first manual in French describing the organization and the practices of psychologists working in the educational system was edited by the Association Française des Psychologues Scolaires (Guillemard & Guillard, 1997).
The law recognizing the title “psychologist” and defining the conditions (diplomas) was passed into law after a vote of the French Parliament in July 1985. All professional psychologists (including school psychologists) have to be registered on an official regional list Automatisation des listes professionnelles (Computerization of professional lists). psychologists, but also nurses, social workers, and psychiatrists, must be registered on these lists. They have to renew their registration when they move to another region. In theory, only school psychologists (or vocational counsellor-psychologists in secondary schools) are allowed to practice psychological work in public schools. The Association Française des Psychologues Scolaires monitors the situation through its local delegates and informs the Ministry of National Education when nonqualified persons are illegally appointed.
Since the 1985 law recognizing the title “psychologist” and the circular defining the missions of school psychologists (Ministry of National Education, 1990), there have been no other official documents that refer exclusively to school psychologists. There are other circulars, for example, on special education and school inclusion, which give precise information about the school psychologist’s work, his or her contribution to the integration process, and his or her working timetable. Another circular, on the identification and prevention of language difficulties (Ministry of National Education, 2002a), is strongly influenced by current theories in neuropsychology and has given the school doctors a central position in the identification and follow-up of children with oral or written language disorders. This circular indicates that the school psychologist may be required by the school doctor to assess cognitive skills using the Wechsler intelligence scales.
In addition to the law and circulars mentioned in the previous paragraph, several official documents have been published recently, all of which stipulate ways in which education services for children could be improved and all referring to the role of the school psychologist in this process. In particular, these documents make recommendations on how to build a more cohesive education system based on equality of opportunity and the reduction of school failure. They also introduce measures to empower people with disabilities and to give them more independence in how they organize their lives.
Preparation of School Psychologists
Following completion of the baccalaureat (end of secondary studies), psychologists are required to complete university training to obtain a degree. There are two different training routes for psychologists working in schools: one for school psychologists who work in primary schools and one for vocational counsellor-psychologists employed in secondary schools and universities. School psychologists working in public primary schools complete teacher training (2 years), then obtain teaching experience (minimum of 3 years), and subsequently complete studies at a school psychology training centre (1 year) to receive the school psychology diploma. Vocational counsellor-psychologists (those working in secondary schools) complete studies at a training centre (2 years) to receive a vocational counselling-psychology diploma. Vocational counsellor-psychologists are not required to be qualified and experienced teachers, though many are. Some work in public administration before beginning their professional training program (2 years). Psychologists working in the Catholic schools can enter the profession after having trained in the regular university system and completed a 2-year master’s degree in psychology; these professionals hold the title “educational psychologist.”
The general outline of all the programs in primary school psychology, delivered in six universities over one school year, is as follows:
Academic and practical courses (300 hours), covering the following content: psychology of cognitive and social learning; sociocognitive and socioemotional development of the child; cognitive, sociocognitive, and emotional functioning in real-life situations; theories and methods of psychological assessment (individual child assessment, groups in classrooms, institutional functioning); school integration; psychology of handicapped persons; psychopathology of children, youths, and adults (focusing on teachers); psychology and sociology of relationships in groups and organizations; school ergonomics; and professional ethics
Practicum (240 hours) in a psychological service, under the supervision of a school psychologist
Thesis (minimum 160 hours)
Training vocational counsellor-psychologists lasts 2 years, and an overview of the content is as follows:
Psychology of school and vocational counselling (500 hours), covering the following content: psychological theories and applications; theories, practices, and methodology of school and vocational counselling; theories, practices, and methodology of counselling directed toward groups and organizations (assessment, collecting information, communication and cooperation with partners)
Sociological, economical, and organizational approaches of vocational counselling (350 hours), including sociology and economy of education; sociocultural aspects of school integration; structures and functioning of European educational systems, including historical and geographical, social and administrative aspects; sociology and economy of work (work environments, job description and sectors of activities; a perspective for counselors); relationship between professional preparation and employment; issues on social and professional inclusion; and professional ethics
Data collection and statistical treatment applied to vocational counselling (140 hours)
Practicum (20 weeks)
Thesis (50 hours)
Roles, Functions, and Responsibilities of Psychologists Working in French Schools
The mission of school psychologists in primary schools is described in a circular from the Ministry of National Education (1990). Through teamwork and partnership with teachers and families, the school psychologist’s duties are to (1) prevent school difficulties (through teamwork with the Special Support Network for Pupils With Difficulties staff); (2) contribute to the conception and implementation of school projects; (3) conceive, implement, and evaluate programs of individual and collective support for pupils experiencing learning and behaviour difficulties; and (4) contribute to the inclusion of handicapped children in regular schools.
In all of their work, school psychologists undertake assessment and observation and give psychological support to pupils while working closely with teachers and families. They aim to provide information after analysing the child’s difficulties, to propose relevant strategies of support, and to facilitate the implementation of these strategies. School psychologists use testing in a rather moderate way; however, when a psychometric evaluation is needed (for special education provision), commonly used tests include, for cognitive skills, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III (the fourth edition was adapted for use in France in 2005), the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children-II, the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence III, and the McCarthy Scales for Children. A French test, Echelles Différentielles d’Efficience Intel-lectuelle (Cognitive Skills Differential Scales), created by Perron-Borelli, is also used. Personality and projective tests used include the Thematic Apperception Test (Murray), Children Apperception Test (Bellak), Draw-A-Person Test (Goodenough), Draw-A-Family Test (Ionescu & Lachance), Tell a Story Test (Royer), and Patte Noire (Corman), a French adaptation of Blacky Pictures, in which the main character is a baby pig with a black leg instead of a dog. Tests of behaviour and questionnaires are not commonly used. School psychologists prefer to collect data through direct observation in the school setting and interviews with the child, the family, and the teacher. Many school psychologists are reluctant to use academic achievement tests. They collect data from teachers or from the Special Support Network for Pupils With Difficulties team members.
In their day-to-day work, vocational counsellor-psychologists’ interventions concern mainly (1) psychological guidance, vocational advice and counselling, and interviews with students about orientation choices; (2) individual psychological and emotional assessment, through intelligence aptitudes and projective tests and interest questionnaires for students with learning difficulties and special needs before guiding them toward special education classes available in collèges and lycées; (3) group testing, offered for groups of students for vocational guidance; and (4) teamwork, that is, working with educational staff teams to follow up on educational projects.
The missions of educational psychologists working in Catholic schools, in partnership with others in the school community, contribute to the quality of the educational services offered to students in the French Catholic schools. The way they work is related to the needs of the schools and to their own competencies. They work with children, parents, and teachers with a particular focus on academic integration and guidance in the upper grades.
Current Issues Impacting School Psychology
Guillemard (1989) suggested that the major changes expected in the organization of school psychology in France were the following:
- The unification of the two separate professions; school psychologists and vocational counsellor-psychologists
- Government recognition of a specific status for school psychologists
- A level of training for school psychologists in line with the requirement needed by other applied psychologists (5 years of study at a university)
- A decline in the influence of psychoanalysis on professional practice with more importance being given to other theoretical approaches (e.g., cognitive, systemic, neuropsychological, organizational, and environmental)
- A decrease in individual casework and an increase in organizational work and project planning
Unfortunately, in 2006, the situation for school psychology remains almost unchanged in spite of the publication of an important circular in 1990 defining the missions expected from school psychologists and a proposal, in 2004 (never implemented), to decentralize some public services, including vocational counsellor-psychologists.
In spite of numerous meetings between school psychologists’ organizations and representatives of the Ministry of National Education—under either socialist governments or conservative governments—no meaningful government legislation has been passed to promote the development of unified psychological services for children. There are a number of possible explanations for this lack of progress. The first is historical. The origins of the vocational counselling system in secondary schools and the development of school psychologists in primary schools are different, and each had a different mission. Second, the idea that vocational counsellors have psychological tasks to fulfill is not always recognized by administrators, by users (e.g., families and teachers), and even by some counsellors themselves. Therefore, many school psychologists (especially those who consider or define themselves as clinical psychologists) are reluctant to consider vocational counselling as a psychological practice similar to theirs. Third, some school psychologists are afraid to lose professional freedom through being included in Orientation and Information Services under the leadership of a “chief psychologist.”
The influence of psychoanalysis on school psychology has declined significantly since the 1990s. Cognitive psychology has become the major trend in the domain, and this is reflected in the training programs as is the rising influence of neuropsychology, although some are concerned that this approach is too close to the medical model of working.
Unfortunately, other approaches have still not attained the importance they deserve, in particular those with a systemic, environmental, and organizational orientation. These approaches would give school psychologists alternative tools and procedures to accomplish their mission (i.e., to contribute to school projects and to cooperate with professionals working in the school and local community; Guillemard, 2001).
A further problem has been the difficulty in establishing unified professional associations representing academic and applied psychologists across the country. Despite numerous attempts, very little has been achieved so far. This inability of French psychologists to establish a powerful national organization is the main obstacle that prevents the profession from reaching goals on which they all agree (e.g., on training, status, professional identity, and national and international recognition).
In conclusion, there are three main challenges that have to be faced in the coming years. The first concerns personnel: As long as school psychologists in primary schools are not recognized by their employer, namely the Ministry of National Education, as psychologists who are not, or who are no longer, teachers, their status will remain uncertain in the school community and in the local community. In addition, the ambiguous mission of vocational counsellor-psychologists, as part counsellor and part psychologist, does not facilitate the recognition of psychologists as a separate professional group in the eyes of the public or even among other applied psychologists.
The second concerns the organization of the profession. A political-governmental willingness, which has never occurred over the past 60 years, is needed to unify the profession of psychologist in the school from the kindergarten to the university. The psychologists’ employer, namely the Ministry of National Education, which is responsible for the preparation of all psychologists through university programs, must prescribe a standardized route for training, recruitment, and employment. European regulations—especially the harmonization of professional degrees (the licence/master/doctorate system that is now available in most French universities) and the free circulation of professionals within the European Union—may help to speed this up.
The third challenge concerns school psychologists as individuals and their professional organizations. As long as psychologists remain unable to act collectively by forming an organization in which a majority of them could become members, their ability to influence their future is in jeopardy. There is a need for a cultural revolution within the profession in which individualism should be considered as a barrier to overcome in order to face the major challenges faced by the profession. In this respect, a cross-cultural vision of applied psychology and an international openness to different ways of thinking, through participation in International School Psychology Association colloquia, European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations conventions, and other international professional events, are values that deserve to be cultivated within the community of French psychologists.