Mutations de l’institution « Éducation nationale » et inégalités à l’école : une perspective historique

The problem of civic cohesion and the role of the state school in France and Italy: historical, religious and secular comparisons

“…And, finally, laïcité allowed the bourgeoisie in power to transmit educational aims in harmony with its ideals to pupils. With its universal reach 'laïcité' fights, at the same time, the universality of Catholicism and the universality of Socialism; with its flexible, and sometimes vague, 3 character and its clear ancillary function vis-à-vis state demands, it could be utilised, paradoxically, more as a means of 'reproducing' the class in power than of 'producing' greater social mobility (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1970;Chapoulie, 2006). This ambiguity between a liberating ideology and, in practice, a degree of moderating control also explains the different impact of secularisation between the primary and secondary stages of schooling.…”