Les écoles alternatives en France dans la décennie 1968-78 Loin du mythe, un foisonnement d’expériences riches et variées

Abstract

In a social and political context favorable to pedagogical innovations, many alternative school initiatives were set up in France during the 1968-78 decade. This article will give a quick overview of them.Outside of private school education, schools founded in the countryside by parents or teachers with a very small numbers of students flourished, as well as denominational establishments which brought together a large number of students from all walks of life who were "converted" by their principal or teachers to practicing innovative education.The national education system was not left out, with its restructuring of pedagogical organization and the creation of experimental middle schools, as well as open schools guided by popular education movements. The influence that teachers following the Freinet pedagogy had on their colleagues also became more pronounced during this decade, and we see several examples of self-run classes being set up across the country.This decade thus distinguished itself from previous ones with the appearance of new players in a pedagogical field that had previously been exclusively in the hands of professionals. The participation of Catholic colleges and institutions in creating new pedagogies is also noteworthy, as well as the importance given to teams of teachers in decision-making.