Education in France

 French education stresses academic knowledge and does not focus on the development of the "whole person". When an American kid leaves home for school, his1her mother says "Have fun" : in France, she says "Be good and work hard". French education produces theorists, analysts, people capable of dealing with abstract situations-but does not focus on professional or pragmatic training.

Primary and secondary education are predominantly public (private schools also exist, in particular a strong nationwide network of primary and secondary Catholic education). Education has both public and private elements. The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks France's education as the 25th best in the world, being neither significantly higher nor lower than the OECD average.

 The French educational system is highly centralized, organized, and ramified. It is divided into three different stages:

• primary education (enseignement primaire);

• secondary education (enseignement secondaire);

• higher education (enseignement supérieur).