Résumé
Since the beginning of the XIXth century, the overcoming of depressive phases are characterised by significant transformations of work and population. These last were in particular marked by the rise of expenditure on education during the long wave's B phase. This recurrent growth, which was originally driven by the evolution of schooling time over life, relates from now on to working time. In order to test such an assumption of the construction of continuity of learning times over the life cycle, this article presents a dialectical relationship being unbalanced over time. The increase of educational time taking place mainly during depressive phases of the long wave in order to correct blockades of the economic growth produces a lengthening of educational time which tends to organised itself from cycle to cycle. This process is historically rationalised until it reaches a volume likely to drive the growth. In this article, the analysis of the development of training according to a life cycle continuum rests on a long-term longitudinal approach of schooling.