France’s Social Mix as a Way to Fight School Segregation and Its Implications

Abstract

One of the main goals of France’s education policy is to reduce the social inequalities that individuals face in life due to their social backgrounds. School segregation, whether within or between schools, where students are divided based on their socioeconomic status, has long been viewed as hindering equal educational opportunities, exacerbating social inequality, and, as a result, weakening social cohesion. In response, France’s education policy came to take as its goal “social mix” as opposed to school segregation. Since 2016, the French education ministry has experimented with various projects with a view to promoting social mix across middle schools. This year, France is embarking on a 3-year Social Mix Plan, established based on the outcome of these projects and research findings. This article explores social segregation within and between schools in France, as well as the issues and implications surrounding the promotion of social mix as a proposed solution.