Qualifications required for teachers in France versus the United States and their Impact.

The French state is responsible for the training and certification of French elementary and secondary school teachers. Each academie, responsible for a particular geographic area and supported by the universities in that area, runs an Instituts Universitaires de Formation des Maîtres (IUFM). IUFMs provide two years of post-graduate teacher training for nursery and primary school teachers in France. The curriculum of each IUFM is carefully regulated by the state to conform to specific standards. The curriculum for each IUFM includes training in French, mathematics, a foreign language, and physical education during the two year; the skills each teacher trainee is expected to master are specifically listed in a national standard skills reference book. Additionally, approximately one-third the training is devoted to actual work experience including in school placements…more