Parcoursup: According to social origin of high school students, an orientation with unequal arms

The national registration platform in higher education opened its doors on Wednesday, January 18. If it provides broad access to information for all candidates, students are far from being on an equal footing.

by Natacha Lefauconnier

“With a baccalaureate delivered massively, the real challenge of the final year is to” succeed in your Parcoursup “.” For sociologists Cédric Hugrée and Tristan Poullaouec, co -authors of the university. A new school selection regime (reasons of acting, 2022), the national platform is a “sorting grip”. The process is essential very early: from the class of 1 re , “high school students joined that they must behave as candidates, that they will be selected and passed in a reel far from be uniform in the territory “.

Since Wednesday, January 18, students can freely formulate their wishes on Parcoursup. Ostensibly. Because their choices of postbac studies are conditioned by several factors, including their social origin. “The Ministry of Higher Education postulates that the students opt for a rational orientation, that they take into consideration their notes, the success rates in the various sectors to determine the type of studies that corresponds to them, explains Leïla Frouillou, Sociologist and lecturer at Paris-Nanterre University. In reality, orientation is a complex phenomenon involving not only arbitrations aware of candidates, but also unconscious elements. “

Postbac wishes do not emerge in terminal. School aspirations are refined during the years college and high school, by dint of advice from teachers, psychologists of national education, the attendance of orientation salons, without forgetting the role of the family, more pre -pre -shed in The wealthiest social classes.

“self -election” of popular classes

The prerequisites indicated by training on their Parcoursup sheet are more or less taken into account by the students. In his work at the end of the year of 3 e , the sociologist Ugo Palheta shows that the “self -election” of the popular classes goes hand in hand with an autopromotion of the dominant classes. This is also the case in terminal: in average school file, the latter will feel more legitimate to apply in certain sectors, in preparatory class for example, confirms Leïla Frouillou.

Especially since the offer of training is as rich as it is complex: difficult to find your way around the jungle of the sectors. The ministry insists that Parcoursup gives access to the same information to everyone, but “it is more discreet on the public orientation service which is deteriorating, between the drop in budgets of information and guidance centers ( CIO) and the number of positions of national education psychologists, underlines Cédric Hugrée, researcher in sociology at the CNRS. However, there is still a lot of inequalities in relation to digital, access and interpretation of data that can be found on the platform. Personalized support is necessary “. Everyone is therefore equal to the stress of Parcoursup, but not in front of the possibilities of responding, the easier families that can use private coaching.

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