The French elite educational system is characterized by a Europe-wide incomparable rigor in the selection of students admitted to the elite colleges, the so-called grandes écoles. At the same time, it is marked by strong social closure. During the last decade in particular, the field of higher education and research in France has been characterized by transformations that put into question the system of elite education, strongly anchored in a national logic, and its traditional admission procedures (concours). The authors first describe these processes of transformation in general and then present the initial results of a research project on the processes of internationalization at the Écoles normales supérieures and their effects on the selection procedures from the perspective of college lecturers.

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Elite Education,Selection,Internationalization,Écoles normales supérieures,Expert Interviews

• Educational Sciences - Social Sciences