ABSTRACT
The training of teachers during the Fifth Republic has been carried out in two institutions: the Ecole Normale and the Centre pedagogique regional. Each department in France has an Ecole Normale and it has been continuous government policy to offer higher education in all parts of the country. In order to train as a primary school teacher candidates have had to sit a competitive examination at the Ecole Normale of their choice. The competitive examination comprises three parts. The first consists of two written comprehension tests each lasting three hours. The second is a text of a scientific nature which demands an ability to understand and explain material presented in a variety of ways. The third is an oral examination in which the candidate has forty-five minutes to prepare a general passage and half an hour to persuade the examiners that he/she is worthy of featuring among the small band of successful candidates who will train to be primary teachers.
