School vocational counselling is not (always) synonymous with educational demotion

School vocational counselling is not (always) synonymous with educational demotion
8/21/12

Unless the teenager in question has ‘skills’ for such or such manual profession. Artistic talent is valorised in their eyes and could possibly justify this demotion process.

But if certain schools seem less inclined to direct pupils towards technical or professional programmes, it is also so...out of personal interest. Having had lower pupil numbers for several years they cannot afford to ‘lose’ a pupil because in francophone Belgian the amount of funding accorded is proportional to the number of enrolments.

‘Graded: AOB!’

On reading the accounts of Board of Studies recounted by Géraldine André it is moreover striking to note the extent to which the teachers are also determined by ideological representations, this time linked to the middle classes. The researcher for example describes a Board of Studies meeting Council in which two similar files are examined. In the first case the young girl – with working class origins – has an overall average of 52%. In the second, the young boy – who comes from a relatively well-off family – has for his part finished the year with an average of 53%.

[…] A French teacher: ‘this is a girl we don’t see here. Since the beginning of the year she has not been seen here!’ The maths teacher has similar impressions and lingers on the pupil’s behaviour in class. He offers details about the family context with little connection to the educational skills to be evaluated: ‘The same goes for me. Not interested nor motivated to work! And her parents do the salsa and have been on television.’ A general outburst of laughter! Everybody has comments to make about the parents. The religion teacher [...] suggests a certificate in once again characterising the pupil’s behaviour: ‘right, I don’t need to have to remind you of her attitude in class! I think for her we have to automatically give her technical or vocational.’ The assistant director attributes the certification: ‘Graded: AOB!’ The homeroom teacher moves onto the following pupil [...] [His] social origins and even more the child’s attitude, more receptive to the school’s values, will play in his favour. The homeroom teacher explains as regards the pupil: ‘Well, it’s true that 53% is not an exceptional average, but I think he is a pupil who can come through. He is a very interested and cultivated pupil [...] The maths teacher also stresses his previous appreciable educational precedents: ‘Yes, he also had good results in primary education [in a very good institution].’ The assistant director concludes by suggesting that the year be repeated […] (3)

This extract shows to what extent the orientation is not based solely on educational criteria but also on the presence (or not) of social and symbolic affinities between the pupil, his or her family and the teacher. ‘In certain Board of Studies, it even happened that reorientation decisions were already implicitly taken at the beginning of the year,’ she comments. ‘It is worrying that things which have nothing to do with the school file are taken into account. But careful: it is not because you come from the working classes that you are excluded. But if you have a poor average score and you do not match the school’s values, then you do not get the school’s support.’

Géraldine André had the opportunity to discuss her results with teachers. ‘And it was a disaster. We did not see eye to eye at all.’ The most internalised practices seem to be the most difficult to render objective...

(3) Géraldine André, op.cit., pp. 116-117

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