Au-delà de Bologne, la question du « comment » financer l'enseignement supérieur européen persiste
The implementation of the Bologna reform, synonymous with degrees and programs harmonization, is now well advanced in most EU countries. However, beyond Bologna, numerous problems continue to haunt higher education. How to share the cost of higher education is one of them. In most European countries, public financing is dominant and is still perceived by many observers as the most legitimate model despite the fact that access remains largely inequitable, and in spite of the model’s growing inability to provide the financial resources needed to preserve quality and maintain Europe’s position in the world league. In this paper, we review the arguments traditionally set forth by economic theory to justify public funding. We try to assess their relevance given the early 21st century context characterizing French-Speaking Belgium and the EU.
Does the school composition effect matter ? Some methodological and conceptual considerations
In recent years, several authors have described the school composition effect as a methodological artefact, suggesting that it results from two major categories of methodological bias: model underspecification and predictor unreliability. The main purpose of this article is to discuss these methodological considerations and test empirically the impact of model specification on the magnitude of the school composition effect, based on reading performance at primary school in French-speaking Belgium. The results show that the school composition effect remains significant even after controlling for pupils' initial performance, sociocultural capital and non-cognitive dispositions, although the effect size vary greatly when these individual parameters are successively introduced. The second objective is to examine covariance between school composition and several organizational variables and their joint effect on school performance. The second set of analyses is intended to question the conceptual nature of the school composition effect, establishing whether it is direct or indirect.
Etat des lieux de la mobilité des élèves en cours de scolarité primaire en Communauté française Wallonie-Bruxelles : Une analyse économique et quantitative
La recherche dont il est question ici a ete developpee suite a une commande du cabinet du Ministre de l’Enseignement fondamental. Elle vise a combler a contribuer a ameliorer l’etat de la reflexion et du debat sur la question de l'etat des lieux de la mobilite des eleves en cours de scolarite primaire en Communaute francaise Wallonie – Bruxelles. Elle a ete menee par des sociologiques et des economistes, ayant travaille en etroite collaboration. Les uns et les autres ont eu recours a diverses methodes pour developper chacune des facettes de la mobilite scolaire dans l’enseignement primaire.