ABSTRACT
The law on National Education of 10 July 1989 set out the guidelines for reforms in the French education system for the years ahead. In respect of the subject to hand, the main point of this law was the creation, under the National Education Ministry, of a National Curriculum Council. The Council has 21 members chosen by the Education Minister for their special qualifications; they are appointed by decree for a five-year term which can be renewed once. The Council issues opinions and puts proposals to the Education Minister relating to the general development and main aims of education. It ensures that the curricula are relevant to these aims and to the way knowledge is developing. Knowledge of teaching methods produced in this way is a powerful tool for analysing many educational phenomena observed inside and outside the classroom, although the processes of transposition occur completely upstream of teaching itself.
