This paper will show how, in the context of the end of the 1960s when a demand for different modes of education and training emerge, the different professions involved in education were led to change or evolve. This is the case for the “surveillants généraux” (“general supervisors”) who had been responsible since 1847 for enforcing a discipline judged constraining and coercive and had to take on education- oriented responsibilities, becoming in 1970 “conseillers principaux d’éducation” or “educational counsellors”. The defensiveness or downright refusal of this latter category of personnel in assuming this historical filiation has led us to explore the creation of the category of “surveillant général” in the 19th century, then its evolution in comparison with that of “maître d’études” - study master, “répétiteur” - study tutors, “censeur” - administrative head, and finally its professional aspirations in terms of status, responsibilities and educational ideals, in the face of changing mentalities and the new position of pupils at the heart of schools.