Background / Organisation

Primary School

Music teaching training takes place at universities. The responsible department for this is known as CFMI (Centre de Formation de Musiciens Intervenent à l’école élémentaire et pré-élémentaire).

The CFMIs have existed in France since 1984. There are nine CFMI in all over the country. In these centres, instrumentalists and singers study for two or three years to acquire the DUMI (Diplôme d'Université de Musicien Intervenant). With this title, one can work as a musicien intervenant at kindergarten and, at primary school, as an important member of the school team. The task of a musicien intervenant is to offer all children a music education of quality. So the musicien intervenant is

·      a well trained musician,

·      an educationist,

·      a participant in local cultural life,

·      able to work as part of a team.

And the main tasks s/he has are:

·      developing musical projects in schools or in music schools in cooperation with pedagogical teams,

·      carrying out evaluations of concerts, performances and other work,

·      organising, preparing and being active in involving young people in music,

·      conceiving and translating pedagogical tasks into action,

·      making links between kindergarten, primary schools and music schools.

So the musicien intervenant can work in kindergarten and primary schools, music schools, cultural associations, hospitals, old people’s homes, in jails, as part of a team for music and arts, introducing students to concerts, musical performances, the work of orchestras, theatres and social and cultural centres, etc.

Secondary School

During 2008, as stipulated by the law for “priorities and curriculum in the future of school”, the Institutes Universitaires de Formation de Maîtres (IUFMs) became “schools within universities”. The State defines specifications for professional teacher training within a national framework. The IUFMs meet a dual requirement: they reassert the place of teacher training courses within higher education and they define teacher training courses as alternate programmes of taught and work experience components. So the IUFMs, in line with government guidelines on education, are responsible for initial teacher training. They also implement in-service training programmes and take part in research on education. The IUFMs provide prospective teachers with appropriate training, supporting them to become successful candidates for the recruitment exams and to fulfil their role as education professionals.

The “Conférence des Directeurs d’IUFM” (CDIUFM) is a committee that brings together the directors of the 31 post-graduate teacher training institutes in France. The CDIUFM is a place for dialogue and consistency; it ensures the representation of the IUFMs in relation to their national and international institutional partners.

At the end of their training, music teachers are awarded the CAPES (Certificat d'Aptitude de l'Enseignement Secondaire[1]). This certificate was introduced at the IUFM (Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres[2]) in 1991. In order to be admitted to the programme, candidates must have a university entrance qualification (baccalauréat) and they must have completed three years of study at university after the school leaving certificate.