영국, 미국, 일본의 교육에 대해서는 한국의 교육계에 많이 소개가 되었지만 프랑스 교육은 아직까지 매우 생소하게 남아있다. 그런 이유로 이 글에서는 그 나라의 초등교육에 초점을 맞추어 초등교육의 발달, 현대 초등교육의 개혁, 초등학교 교육의 전반적인 특징, 학교에서의 수업 관찰사례를 순서적으로 알아보고자 한다. 프랑스 초등교육은 융통성과 다양성을 특징으로 하면서 유치원 교육과의 연계성을 강조하고, 초등학교 수준에서 습득해야 할 학습태도, 시·공간적 개념 확립, 학습방법 면에서 강조되는 능력 및 기능을 제시하고 있다. 현지의 관찰내용을 세 가지의 수업사례(학교 박물관 수업, 국어수업, 학생 중심의 수업)로 구분하여 보여 주고 이를 바탕으로 한국의 초등학교에 영향을 줄만한 시사점을 제안하였다.

This study is about French education, which is not well-known in Korea, espeaally historical background, educational characteristics in elementary education and some teaching method in elementary school. The real establishment of French elementary education was made in 1886, with its basic foundation, but the origin of substantial development came from the French revolution in late 18th century. Participants in the revolution claimed on the necessity of popular education that everybody should be provided with common public education, and most of all, for free. However, an educational solution for this idea was made by Jules Ferry, the minister of educational ministry in late 19th century. The basic reason why it took about 100 years to make educational ideology in the French revolution is attributed to French society itself. French society was divided into two classes involved in manual labor and mental labor. These division caused a dualistic social structure in France. Reform of elementary education in late 19th century was a great fuming point of French education, and it is characterized by the three distinction : "gratuite", "obligation" and "laicite". Despite this epoch-making change, French education still followed the rule of social class. Thereafter in the 20th century, efforts to simplify education system abolishing divided education was made through several education reform, but it was 1975`s Haby reform that finally all the students benefited by the same education regardless of their class. "Ecole unique", which is connected from 6 to 16, was a real stepping -stone of realizing the democratization. Starting to be modernized in the 19th century, French elementary school education had a vague scope in its involvement, but today it includes both kindergarten(The French call it "Ecole maternelle") and elementary school. The basic direction of elementary education is toward the way to improve each student`s learning level considering their diversity - To realize this student - oriented education, the organization of grades is divided into three big grades including kindergarten. It is composed of "cycle des apprentissages premiers" (three years in Kindergarten), "cycle des apprentissages fondamentaux" (supper class of kindergarten and the first and second grades) and "cycle des approfondissements" (third to fifth grades). The unique thing in this composition is that they make an attempt for flexible and organic operation between kindergarten and elementary school by realizing the connection of learning. Only the children interested in reading and counting are separately educated for entering elementary school. Another interesting thing in french elementary education is flexibility and autonomy. They practice the flexibility of teaching through intergrated education, teacher`s autonomy in subject choice. The quantity of learning is controlled in respect to student`s autonomy. Especially, the educational climate that lessons for strengthening mother tongue ability and emphasis not on the acquistion of a lot of knowledge but on the process and method of learning is observed. The case of the 4th grade teaching in elementary school includes observing the contents for 2 weeks and it allows us to examine the flow of a lesson, progressing way, and teaching method under the permission of the teaching showing the will of reforming French elementary school. Through this opportunity, I suggested some plans for Korean elementary education which a few "open" schools are already practicing by drawing some points from this study.