LUXEMBOURG

HISTORY & BACKGROUND

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, bordered by France, Germany, and Belgium in Western Europe, became an independent country in 1890. Although a relatively new nation, Luxembourg has a very ancient history that can be traced back to the time of Julius Caesar when the Romans in 54 and 51 B.C.E defeated the Treveri people, the original inhabitants of modern Luxembourg. The country's history was influenced by the competing needs of the Roman Catholic Church and the ruling dynasties of the Holy Roman Empire and Imperial Germany with those of royal and republican France for the population's souls and land.

Christianity was introduced into Luxembourg in the seventh century B.C.E., when the Roman Catholic Church founded a group of Benedictine monasteries between 633 and 721. The feudal County of Luxembourg was awarded in 963, to Siegfried, a relative of Wigerik, a Palace Count serving Charles the Simple, a member of the Carolingian Dynasty that governed France. For two centuries the descendants of Wigerik and Siegfried of the House of Ardennes, governed the region that would become modern Luxembourg in fealty to Saxon and Salian Holy Roman Emperors. The first dynasty Luxembourg counts became extinct in 1136. The title and lands were awarded to Henry IV of Namur, who founded Luxembourg's second dynasty. With the arrival of political stability Luxembourg became home to the Benedictine, Cistercian, Dominican, Franciscan, and the Penitents monastic orders and the Knights Templar and the Teutonic Knights.

In the fourteenth century, the Counts of Luxembourg increased the dynasty's international prestige by advantageous political marriages and battlefield heroics as allies of France's kings in territorial and religious wars in Europe and Africa. The feudal alliances paid off with the election of Henry of Luxembourg as Holy Roman Emperor in 1308. Although reigning only five years before succumbing to a fever, Henry represented the highest ideals of feudal Europe's chivalric code. For the next four generations, Henry's male descendants ruled as Kings of Bohemia. Two great-grandsons, Wenceslas and Sigismund, were elected Holy Roman Emperors. Henry's bloodline entered the royal houses of France and Burgundy when his granddaughter Bonne married King John the Good of France. In the sixteenth century the County of Luxembourg was incorporated into the Burgundy inheritance awarded Charles V, King of Spain, Holy Roman Emperor, and Duke of Luxembourg, as the Spanish Netherlands.

During the Middle Ages education in Luxembourg was under the clerical control of the Benedictine Order at Munster Abbey, founded in 1083. Educational authority was temporarily transferred to the suburb of Grund during the Counterreformation period, but was restored to the Roman Catholic Church in the seventeenth century when a Jesuit College was built in Luxembourg in 1603. The Capuchin Fathers came to Luxembourg in 1621 and offered education to garrisoned soldiers. In 1627, the Congregation of Notre Dame from Lorraine founded a chapter in Luxembourg and assumed responsibility for the education of girls. The Sisters of Notre Dame continue to staff and administer Luxembourg's private girls schools.

From the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, Luxembourg was fought over in dynastic wars by either the French Bourbon or Bonaparte dynasties with the Austrian Habsburgs. French King Louis XIV won Luxembourg on the battlefield and governed it until 1713, when the Treaty of Utrecht awarded Luxembourg to the Habsburgs as part of the Austrian Netherlands. During the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, Luxembourg was once again incorporated into France. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 ceded the Duchy of Luxembourg in personal union to the King of the Netherlands, the head of the House of Nassau-Orange. The United Netherlands of Catholics and Calvinists barely lasted fifteen years before Catholic Flemish-speaking and Walloon (Frenchspeaking) citizens in the southern part of the country rebelled against the Calvinist Dutch in the north, gaining independence in 1830 as the new country of Belgium. By treaty in 1830, Luxembourg was split into a Walloon section that merged with modern Belgium, while the predominately German-speaking section remained a sovereign grand duchy in personal union with the King of the Netherlands, but a member state within German economic and political organizations.

CONSTITUTIONAL & LEGAL FOUNDATIONS

Luxembourg became an independent grand duchy in 1890 when the male line of the royal house of Nassau-Orange came to an end with the death Dutch King William III, leaving only his daughter, Wilhelmina, to succeed him. In accordance with Article Three of the Luxembourg Constitution, the Crown was hereditary in the Nassau Family in the male line and excluded female descent. The Crown of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg passed to the senior branch of the Nassau family, Adolphe of Nassau-Weilbourg, who became Grand Duke Adolphe I of Luxembourg. Ironically, the male line of the Weilbourg branch of the Nassau family ended in 1912, with the death of Grand Duke William IV. Anticipating this political crisis, the Constitution of Luxembourg was changed in 1907, to permit one of William IV's six daughters to succeed him.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a constitutional monarchy with executive authority placed in the hands of the Grand Duke Henri since 2000, ensuring the laws of the nation are carried into effect and order maintained. Legislative power is shared between the Grand Duke and an elected Chamber of Deputies. All legislation must be signed by the Grand Duke to become law. Judicial authority is invested in the courts of law. The Constitution of Luxembourg guarantees the rights of citizens. Among these public rights as stated in Article Twenty-Three of the Constitution is the right that education be compulsory and provided free of charge by the state. The Constitution further stipulates that the state must organize free vocational training courses, secondary educational establishments, and the necessary courses in higher education. The law requires the state to finance education and share supervisory authority with the communes (municipalities). The Government is responsible for regulating all educational matters and creating a fund to educate the exceptionally gifted. Each Luxembourger is free to pursue studies in the Grand Duchy or abroad and to attend universities of choice subject to the provisions of the law relating to admission to employment and career choice.

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM—OVERVIEW

The Luxembourg State organizes and controls the educational system. Compulsory education covers a total of eleven years, two years of preprimary education, six years of primary education, and three years of secondary education. Public education in Luxembourg is free. The costs are paid by the public budget making education one of the largest expenditures in the state budget. Municipalities pay for textbooks and equipment at the primary level. By the Act of 14 July 1986, school children are now paid an allowance. School transport is free. Financial assistance and scholarships are granted to students in higher education based on parental income and academic success.

Private schools are usually Catholic. There are few private schools at the primary and post-primary education levels. They are strictly regulated by the Ministry of Education, which must approve a private school's charter, curricula, graduation certificates, teaching methods, the professional qualifications of the private school's director and staff, and the overall educational environment. Private schools are free to select their director and staff and to determine their fee structure.

Luxembourg is a multilingual nation with three official languages: French, German, and Letzeburgesch (Luxemburgish). The cabinet level Ministry of Education makes the important decisions regarding education in the Grand Duchy. The curricula for the different types of schools are decided by the Ministry, as are the budgets for education and educational institutions, and the management and the survey of all secondary schools. Financial responsibility for preprimary and primary education is divided between the municipal governments and the national government. Vocational education, private education, school inspections, textbook selection, and curricula are the exclusive domain of the Ministry of Education. The Service de Coordination de la Recherche et de l'Innovation Pédagogiques et Technologiques (SCRIPT), a department within the Ministry of Education, has jurisdiction over research and innovation in the various teaching fields, including the integration of information and communication technologies in teaching and analysis and evaluation of the entire educational system in Luxembourg. The Centre de Psychologie et d'Orientation Scolaires (CPOS) has the obligation to provide students and parents with information about the school system in Luxembourg, career and professional options, and psycho-pedagogic guidance. This department informs students about higher education choices within Luxembourg and abroad, guides graduates into the work place, provides financial assistance, and works with public and private institutions as students make the transition from school to the work place. Public research is regulated by the Act of March 9, 1987, which organizes and encourages technological development and the transfer of technology between public and private sectors through one of three public centers, Centre de Recherché Publics (CRP): Centre Universitaire de Luxembourg for literature, history, natural sciences, mathematics, and physics, the CRP "Henri Tudor," Institut Supérieur de Technologie for automation in industrial production, and the CRP Santé (Health), Laboratoire National de Santé for health research. The Recherché and Développement Department within the Ministry of Education coordinates the activities of the CRPs and offers financial assistance to people undertaking research. Additional departments within the Ministry of Education include Administrative Organization and Staff, Preschool Education and Primary Education, Secondary Education, Technical Secondary Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education, Adult Training, Special Education, Statistics, Publications, Budget, School Buildings, School Sports, the Department of European and International Affairs, the Eurydice Information Unit, and Scientific research.

Educational responsibility for preschool and primary school education rests with the municipalities and is confined to the financial and administrative management of the schools. Local political authority for education is delegated to the Commission Scolaire, which includes the mayor or his delegate, a church representative, and three to five members from the community chosen by the town council.

PREPRIMARY & PRIMARY EDUCATION

Preprimary education is compulsory at the age of four by the Grand Ducal Regulation of September 2, 1992. The Ministry of Education, which provides twothirds of the financial expenses, controls preprimary schools. Administration and maintenance of preprimary institutions is the responsibility of the municipality. No more than one percent of preprimary schools are private and those that are, are usually attached to a private primary school. Two years of preprimary school is compulsory, but no formal teaching is given to the children. Preprimary schooling fosters physical, intellectual, and social development of the children and prepares the children for entrance into a primary school. For the academic years 1998-1999, there were 10,349 students enrolled in Luxembourg's public preprimary schools. Of these, 62.5 percent were native Luxembourg citizens. The rest were Portuguese (20.2 percent), Yugoslavian (3.8 percent), Italian (3 percent), French (2.9 percent), Belgian (2 percent), and German (1 percent), with the remaining 4.6 percent distributed among a variety of nationalities. There were 654 students enrolled in private preprimary institutions in 1998-1999.

Primary schooling is mandated by the law of August 10, 1912, and covers a period of six years. Fees are charged only by private primary schools. Primary curricula are determined by the Ministry of Education and standardized throughout the country. Students are taught reading, writing, arithmetic, artistic and physical activities, local environment, development of social behavior, and computer sciences. All three national languages are used for instructional purposes. Letzeburgesch is usually the language of the home and is the one first used in primary school. German becomes the second teaching language for all subjects in the primary school with French introduced during the second primary year. All three languages are in common use in primary school instruction. Students are given thirty lessons per week. Promotion is teacher judged based on grades, homework, and oral participation. Special classes are offered for students with unique learning needs and for children of immigrants. The public school student population at the primary grade levels for the years 1998-1999, totaled 29,533 pupils of whom 65 percent were Luxembourgers, 18.6 percent Portuguese, 3.2 percent Yugoslavian, 3.2 percent Italian, 2.5 percent French, 1.7 percent Belgian, 1.2 percent German, and 4.7 percent from among other nationalities. The number of Luxembourg students enrolled in private Catholic and private non-Catholic schools was 2,096.

SECONDARY EDUCATION

Students are required to attend secondary school for at least three years after completing six years of primary education. This covers the years when a student is twelve to fifteen years of age. There are two secondary education tracks available for vocational education and a separate track for university entrance. The régime préparatoire is designed to provide a broader qualification for young people interested in a technical secondary education who are academically weak, but could become eligible for further training at a technical secondary school or vocational training center. The second track is Technical Secondary Education offered at fifteen schools called lycée techniques, in specialized programs of study that include hotel catering and management and agriculture. The first stage (cycle inférieur) lasts three years and completes the mandatory state requirement of three years of secondary education. The curriculum includes languages, mathematics, natural sciences, human sciences, artistic, and musical and physical education. Qualified graduates of the technical secondary education can pursue additional postsecondary education at intermediate and upper stages in either a vocational section offering an apprenticeship, technician's training, or a technical section.

At the apprenticeship vocational section students study one program from among agriculture, arts and crafts, commerce, tourism and hotel catering, industry, and domestic sciences. Training at this level is a partnership between the school and a business with the student workweek divided between an on-the-job apprenticeship while simultaneously learning theoretical principles in the classroom. This program of study can last from two to four years with graduates earning a Certificat d'Initiation Technique et Professionnelle (CITP). The Technician Training Program is designed to educate students for highly skilled jobs in industry and it may also last from two to four years. Graduates receive a diplome de technicien (technical degree at the end of the secondary education program), which grants either a professional career or entrance into higher education. Programs of study include administration and commerce, agriculture, electronics, mechanics, art and crafts, chemistry, building science, hotel catering and tourism, and computer science. The Technical Section lasts four years and graduates earn a technical secondary completion diploma. This course of study centers on theoretical and general subjects. Graduates can either enter a university or are qualified for entry into the job market in the fields of administration, commerce and business management, ancillary medical and social studies, or general technology. Enrolled students in Secondary Technical Schools are more than double the number of students in college preparatory programs. For the academic years 1998-1999, 20,763 students were enrolled at 21 Secondary Technical Schools ethnically distributed among Luxembourgers (63.3 percent), Portuguese (22.8 percent), Italians (4.1 percent), French (1.5 percent), Belgians (0.8 percent), Germans (0.8 percent), Yugoslavians (0.4 percent), and the remaining 4.4 percent distributed among other nationalities. Three Catholic private schools and four non-Catholic private schools enrolled 2,742 students in 1998-1999.

General Secondary Education was reorganized in 1968 by lycées (general secondary schools) and is for students planning to attend a university. The lower stage covers three years of education and completes the state requirement for secondary education. There is an upper stage divided into two, two-year segments. The first year is called the classe d'orientation, which allows students to adjust to secondary education environment. At the end of the first year students must select from either the classical education program that mandates Latin as a third language or the modern education program with English as the third language. The basic program is the same and a year later students in the classical program must also learn English. At the upper stage students must again select from two programs of study, literary or scientific. Mathematical difficulty is the primary distinction between the two programs. Specialization comes in the final two years and includes two optional courses of study in either languages and human sciences, human and social sciences, fine arts and crafts, music for the literary program and mathematics and physics, natural sciences and mathematics, or economics and mathematics for the scientific orientation. Graduates earn the diplome de fin d'études secondaires (high school diploma) and are qualified for university entrance provided they pass the final examination. Students enrolled in nine General Secondary Schools and three schools exclusively for the lower stages of General Secondary Education with college-based curricula totaled 9,471 students of whom 87.4 percent were Luxembourgers, 4.5 percent Portuguese, 1.7 percent Italian, 1.2 percent Belgian, 1.2 percent German, 1.1 percent French, 0.4 percent Yugoslavian, and the remaining 2.6 percent were distributed among other nationalities. The number of students enrolled in two private Catholic General Secondary Schools earning a degree leading to a university education was 2,948.

HIGHER EDUCATION

A recent act for higher education reform has three main objectives, to qualify educational institutions within Luxembourg to teach higher education, designate greater autonomy to the Centre Universitaire and the Institut Supérieur de Technologie for administrative and financial management and in pedagogy, and the right of the Centre Universitaire to organize final university degrees in cooperation with foreign universities. The reforms do not create a complete university within Luxembourg but work for closer integration with university systems in other countries.

Higher education options in Luxembourg include the (1) Cours Universitaires offered at the Centre Universitaire for the first year of university study, (2) the Institut Universitaire International which organizes seminars at postgraduate levels, (3) an accelerated two-year course of study called the cycle court d'études supérieur engestion, (4) a four-year course for industrial engineers, (5) the training of preprimary and primary school teachers, (6) the training for graduated educators for secondary levels, and (7) higher technical training courses at lycées techniques (technical secondary schools).

Enrollment at the Centre Universitaire de Luxembourg is a one-year program of study in law and economics, arts and humanities, or the sciences. Successful graduates are awarded a certificate of graduation, which qualifies them for admission to a second year of studies at universities in Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, or France. Third-year students of law must go to a Belgian university. The Institut Universitaire International offers post-graduate degrees and diplomas in law, political economy, or political science. The Cycle Court d'études Supérieures en Gestion enrolls graduates from the Centre Universitaire who plan to enter private firms in banking, insurance, and industry. The curriculum specializes in computer science applied to economics and business management and administration. The Institut Supérieur de Technologie offers programs of study in mechanics, electrical engineering, civil engineering, and computer science. The Institut Supérieur d'études et de Recherches Pédagogiques is a teacher's college for primary and elementary school teachers. The three-year program of study is centered on practical study and theory. The Institut d'études Educatives et Sociales trains educators for higher education, vocational training, and the instruction of handicapped students. It is a three-year program of study. The Higher Technicien Training offers programs of study in secretarial studies, accounting and business management, marketing and international commerce, and creating motion pictures.

NONFORMAL EDUCATION

Adult education in Luxembourg is primarily vocational and is supervised by the Ministry of Education for adult workers who desire to increase knowledge or to learn the new technology in their field of specialty. Vocational education allows both unemployed and employed residents the opportunity to earn a diploma in secondary education. Most courses are taught in the evening. Specialized adult education courses focus on technology, economics, the fine arts, and handicrafts.

SUMMARY

Education is Luxembourg's number one priority. The largest expenditure in the national budget is for education. Luxembourg's emphasis on education directs students to a variety of careers with more students graduating from Secondary Technical Schools than from General Secondary Schools. Students seeking higher education are subsidized by the national government, which regulates most aspects of education including curricula, teacher qualifications, salaries, school budgets, and textbook selection. The Ministry of Education strictly governs private education, except for the selection of headmaster and teachers and the types of fees charged. Luxembourg is a small country. The country's future depends on a well-educated population to survive. Luxembourg's population, regardless of nationality, is educationally thriving in a technology and information driven era.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Facts about Luxembourg. Luxembourg: Luxembourg Press and Information Service, 1975.

Harsch, Raymond. Education in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Luxembourg: Ministère de l'Education Nationale et de la Formation Professionnelle, 1997.

Levy, Jerome. L'Enseignement Secondaire General 1998/1999, Statistiques Globales & Analyse des Resultats Scolaires. Luxembourg: Ministère de l'Education Nationale, 2000.

——. L'Enseignement Secondaire Technique, 1998/1999, Statistiques Generales & Analyse de la Promotion des Eleves. Luxembourg: Ministère de l'Education Nationale et de la Formation Professsionnelle, 2000.

——. Examen de Fin d'Etudes Secondaires, Comparisons et Analyse. Luxembourg: Ministère de L'Education, 2000.

The Luxembourg Grand Ducal Family. Luxembourg: Press and Information Service, 1975.

Majerus, Pierre. The Institutions of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Luxembourg: Press and Information Service, 1973.

Margue, Paul. A Short History of Luxembourg. Luxembourg: Information and Press Department, 1974.

—William A. Paquette