“VYou will show that the action of the public authorities in favor of social justice can have perverse effects”, that “the approach in terms of social classes to account for French society can be called into question” and that “the innovation can help push the ecological limits of growth”. Interpreted as pro-liberal by some teachers, students and commentators, these subjects of the 2022 baccalaureate economics and social sciences specialty test, presented on May 12, sparked controversy, especially on social networks. A professor of philosophy (@trineor) qualifying them, in particular, on Twitter as “outrageously politically oriented”.
“These subjects are however consistent with all those who fall each year! says Solène Pichardie, president of APSES (the first association of economic and social science teachers) and SES teacher at the Paimpol academy. But these “controversies come up very regularly,” she recalls. And for a simple reason: the format of the event. The candidate who chooses the subject of the composite test (and not of the dissertation) is expected to “present a single argument”, “which inevitably leaves less room for nuance”, she specifies. Thus, explains the professor: “If one of the questions evokes the ‘perverse effects’ of the action of the public authorities, it could just as well have mentioned its ‘positive effects’, which are also on the programme. »
“symmetrical” question
“We forget to say that it is only one of the twelve subjects of economic and social sciences which fell to the baccalaureate [en métropole, outre-mer et dans les lycées de l’étranger, NDLR] recalls Christophe Lavialle, dean of the general inspection of economic and social sciences, who also specifies that the subjects – no more than the programs – are not written by the Ministry of Education, but “by commissions of dozens of professors chaired by the Inspector General and working independently”. What “the people conveying these controversies know, in general, very well”, he laments.
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“There is no right or left orientation”, thus assures the inspector, who cites as proof of this a “symmetrical” question appearing in another subject of SES (which fell the day before the controversial test, i.e. May 11) evoking “taxation and social protection as reducing inequalities in the standard of living”.
The objective of learning economics and social sciences (a multidisciplinary subject calling on economics, sociology and political science), he assures us, is “precisely to put ideological debate at a distance in order to build knowledge theoretical and to be able to return to the debate in a reasoned way, more intellectually armed”. Thus, if this discipline is itself “a place of debate”, it first requires pupils (who familiarize themselves with it in second) that they “master a certain amount of knowledge”, so that they “do not not fall into a form of relativism, where all opinions are equal,” he says.
Tensions
“It is precisely because this subject touches on representations of the functioning of society that it crystallizes tensions so much”, specifies Claude Lelièvre, historian of education, about this latest controversy. And to recall that the attempts at inflection have always emanated from several backgrounds and political sensitivities: “This year, it is the teachers who are stepping up to the plate. Already in 2018, they criticized the new program for its very “market economy” axis. But we also regularly witness offensives from employers’ circles wishing to change the line deemed too macro-economic and closely related to the social issues of SES programs,” observes the specialist.
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“The claims of the APSES [qui a rédigé plusieurs communiqués au sujet du programme de première, qu’elle estime précisément trop largement consacré au marché, NDLR] are purely scientific”, assures Solène Pichardie, who defends herself from any “political approach”: “The vast majority of professors and scientists are attached to ensuring that our subject does not become a field of ideological confrontations, assures- she. Especially since these controversies could suggest the opposite and are not to give a very good image of our discipline. »
Beware of the “magnifying glass effect” abounds Christophe Lavialle: “The programs are partly designed by SES teachers, he recalls. As for these controversies, they are only the fact of a few…”