National framing and local reframing of students’ transition to higher education in France

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the policy processes concerning the transition between secondary and higher education (HE) in France and, more precisely, on policy decisions at the national level and their reception at the local level. It uses the concepts of ‘framing’ and ‘reframing’ to describe the different ways in which national and local actors bind ideological and axiological messages and materialise them into organisational and technical tools. The empirical evidence is drawn from a comprehensive study on the role of institutions, markets, and networks in guidance and access to HE. The chapter is organised in three sections. The first presents the theoretical framework and the objects and methods of the empirical study. The second examines the ideas, instruments, and institutional arrangements launched at the national level, while the third focuses on the ways in which local actors working in different contexts interpret and react to these frames. The conclusion points out some of the main limitations and negatives consequences of these processes.