Social, Economic, and Structural Developments of the League of Education

Abstract

The League of Education is one of the most important French education confederations, with about 1.5 million members. Over the course of its 150 years of existence, it has been through many economic, ideological, and governance crises. But these crises have multiplied. The organization faces financial difficulties, a decrease in membership, a grassroots distrust of management and difficulty in ideologically positioning itself. This article draws from sociology and political science research about civic service policy within the League of Education and the transformations carried out by the organization under the French Fifth Republic. The authors deliver an analysis of the League of Education in light of new relations between the State and the associations, and considering transformations specific to the League of Education, its identity, its governance and its structure. The article illustrates why this crisis tends to last and analyses the resources mobilized by the League to overcome them.