Inclusion for French low cultural background students: programs and activities in CDIs

Abstract

The CDI, Centre of Documentation and Information, must be a place open to all types of students, especially students with academic difficulties that is to say the ones who don't have access to cultural resources and a low attendance of the places of culture. This question must be included by a school library global policy with a focus on programs and activities in order to include these students in the school library space. This inclusive dimension is enshrined in most of the French educational acts, in particular the upper council of the programs within the French Ministry of Education. This paper, divided into three parts, aims to show how programs and activities, in the French CDIs, can include students with academic difficulties. An overall policy to attract all students: it is about making the CDI an attractive place for students who are not willing to spend their free time in a school library. Not only the activities but also the resources proposed in the CDI will allow them to enjoy developing their general knowledge. A systematic approach of pedagogical instruction: as resources and activities are not fulfilling enough to reach all students, a systematic approach of pedagogical instruction will be proposed, particularly in the information and documentation field. This proposal is supported by the APDEN (ex-FADBEN), the Federation of French Teacher-Librarians. Towards a pedagogy of projects allowing inclusion for every students: systematic approaches must be carried by the teacher-librarian in collaboration with classroom teachers by co-teaching and using a pedagogy of projects. Working by projects in which every student has a role to play, can enhance the inclusion of students with academic difficulties.