Teaching practices in mass universities: do the first 2 years of a higher education educate?

The practices of faculty members who teach courses during the freshman and sophomore years in universities are described at a time when the French system of higher education is becoming more dualistic and when we increasingly hear that the indicators of academic failure-especially high during these...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociologie du travail (Paris) 2011-01, Vol.53 (1), p.93-108
Main Author: Bourgin, J
Format: Article
Language:eng ; fre
Subjects:
College Faculty
Education systems
Educational sociology
France
Higher Education
Knowledge
Pedagogy
Teachers
Teaching
Tertiary education
Universities
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Summary:The practices of faculty members who teach courses during the freshman and sophomore years in universities are described at a time when the French system of higher education is becoming more dualistic and when we increasingly hear that the indicators of academic failure-especially high during these 2years-must be brought down. After presenting the concepts of a ''scholastic'' and an ''academic'' transmission of knowledge and teacher-student relationship, a survey in the field is used to test the hypothesis of a ''scholarization'' of the diploma (DEUG) obtained after these 2 years. There are, indeed, trends toward this ''scholarization'', which is described: both its generalized expressions (for instance, the psychologization of practices) and its variations by discipline. However, they are still superficial and not very effective. They are superposed on a strong orientation toward research and the reproduction of researchers. Ultimately, members of the faculty teach while considering that the first 2 years of higher education correspond to a phase of latency. All rights reserved, Elsevier
ISSN:0038-0296
DOI:10.1016/j.soctra.2010.12.005