Education within a Changing Linguistic Dynamic in Quebec A brief backdrop to set the stage

1. Patricia Lamarre Faculté des Sciences de l’Éducation Centre d’études ethniques des universités montréalaises Education within a ChangingLinguisticDynamic in QuebecA briefbackdrop to set the stage

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWmv35iJglMgo Go publique video – Annakin Slayd Education within a ChangingLinguisticDynamic in Quebec«The very nature of the communitiesserved by Quebec’s English schoolsischanging »QuebecAdvisory Council, 2006

3. « The very nature of the communitiesserved by Quebec’s English schoolsischanging » QuebecAdvisory Council, 2006 • English-speaking communities in transition since post-révolution tranquille Québec • English-language schools, their role in supporting English-speaking communities now and into the future

4. English-speakingcommunities in transition • From majority group to official language minority • Coming to terms with a changing language dynamic • Time for some rethinking? Or even a paradigm shift (Bourhis et Foucher, 2012)?

5. Traits of English-speakingcommunitiestoday • A changing demographic : multiracial, multicultural, multilingual, multifaith, immigrant and aboriginal, often in « mixed » English-French mariages • High rate of bilingualism • Living in very diverse contexts – from suburban West Island to remote Lower North Shore to urban immigrant neighborhoods • Economic status: poverty and disadvantage within English speaking population on the increase – « getting over the image of enfiroupé » • In the regions, an ageing and often isolated population • High rate of outmigration of young adults • At the community level, only recently are different assocations and stakeholders learning how to pull together to meet common goals

6. A diverse multilingual and multiculturalcommunity • An important trait of the Anglophone community today is its high degree of ethnic and religious diversity, with over 30% born outside of Canada and almost 21% declaring that they belong to a visible minority (Floch, 2006). • Explanation: A multicultural AngloQuebec andhistory of immigration to Quebec pre Charte de la langue française (Norris,1999; Floch, 2005). • Almost 10% of Anglophones provide multiple answers when asked to identify mother tongue. Furthermore, roughly 40% report mixed language practices in the home (English and French, English and other).

7. Background to English Education in Quebec: Some Key Points • Schools are the only constitutionally protected institution under community management in the province • In some cases the only local public institution devoted to providing services to the English-speaking community • English schools increasingly perceived as critical sites in ensuring community vitality (QESBA, 2002). In some cases, the key remaining link to the community (QESBA, 2008). • Since the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (1968), schools in minority contexts perceived as the basic agency for maintaining language and culture. A role further strengthened by the Official Languages Acts and through the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982).

8. Governance of official minoritylanguageschooling in Quebec • Schools and school boards are under management of community • Governance strengthened by creation of linguistic school boards in 1998. Nine school boards covering, in some cases, large geographic territories and multiple administrative regions. Plus one special status school board – the Littoral (English andFrench schooling). • Schools and school boards are administered under a common educational program and Quebec’s Education Act • At the Ministry level, an Assistant Deputy Minister in consultation with an Advisory Board on English Education oversees English education sector (Services à la communauté anglophone et affaires autochtones). Manages funding provided through the Canada-Quebec Agreement for Minority Language Education and Second Language Instruction

9. English schooling in Quebec takes place in very diverse sociolinguistic, socioeconomic, geographic settings • English schools are found in a wide range of realities from urban poor, to suburban middle class on the island of Montreal to remote isolated schools in the Lower North Shore. • A number of schools with less than 200 students or even 100 students (QESBA, 2002). Requires creative solutions if quality education is to be provided. • Growing number of schools considered disadvantaged (1 in 10 schools)

10. Current challenges within English languageschoolsector • Student population decline (a number of factors including « crossover » to French sector) much more important than the decline experienced in French sector • Students’ need for bilingualism and biliteracy • Increasing linguistic, cultural, religious diversity in student population • Urban challenges (such as racial discrimination), regional challenges (such as lack of local ressources), vast territories to cover within school boards, very varied sociolingistuic contexts • Countering poverty and disadvantage in urban, rural and remote settings

11. Impact of student population decline • School closures • Reduced funding/resources to meet educational needs • Increased need to ensure bilingualism and biliteracy through school programs to keep English language schools attractive to families, countering crossover to French shools, continuing to draw « ayants droit »

12. Quest for bilingualism in English schools • « In many English schools today (…) French is now considered a core subject on a plane with English Arts and Mathematics. » (ABEE, 1995: 8) • « Of all the factors that differentiate English and French Education in Quebec, the imperative for biliteracy for Anglophone high school graduates is the most important. Anglophone parents expect proficiency in both languages and they will demand it more and more » (ABEE, 1995: 6)

13. Anglophone crossover to French schools • French immersion no longer considered sufficient by some Anglophone parents to meet language needs in Quebec’s workworld (Laperrière and Lamarre, 2007; Lamarre, 1997) • Roughly 10,000 Anglophone ayants-droit students currently in French schools by choice (Béland, 2006) – mostly at the primary level (McAndrew and Eid, 2003) • In past, most of these students would choose English sector at high school level. Question currently raised: These students leave French sector with the language skills of grade six students. Is this enough for workworld? Does this trend persist? • What level of French is needed for Quebec’s workworld? (GM Community Development Initiative, 2007)

14. Francophone crossover to English schools • Francophone mother tongue students (ayants-droit) represent more than 20% of population in English schools. This number represents only 2.5% of total Francophone student population (Béland, 2006). • A different set of language needs/complexifing the provision of bilingualism and biliteracy in English sector. • Their presence challenges traditional role of minority schooling - the reproduction of a linguistic community. (Jedwab, 2004). It also, however, has helped counter decline. • Over the 1990s, enrollment of Francophone mother tongue students increased by about 35% in English schools in Montreal, while in the regions it increased by about 115% (Jedwab, 2004).

15. Looking for a Comfort Zone in Quebec : Outreach • “The path to a vibrant and strengthened English public school system, and thus, to greater English-speaking community vitality, will best be set through the active pursuit of new and mutually productive partnerships with the francophone majority community.” (QAC to QESBA, 2006, p.8)

16. Looking for a comfort zone in Quebec:counteringoutmigration • “this is HOME, this isn’t like (…) not passing through, this is it.” • How to feel an integral part of Quebec society? How to feel a sense of belonging and commitment to Quebec? (QCGN, 2006) • In the past, parents hoped that French skills would make this possible. But is language learning enough? • Proposal for outreach to Francophone sector (QAC tp QESBA, 2006)

17. Persistence of OldRepresentations of AngloQuebecer:A challenge of a different sort • The myth of AngloQuebec as Wasp and as a fake  minority. • School’s mandate of « savoir vivre ensemble » and countering representations on both side of the educational fence. • New initiatives partnering English and French schools • And what does English sector have to offer French sector ? Opportunities to learn English (QAC to QESBA, 2006)

18. How to meetsuch a range of challenges in such diverse contexts • « No one-size, one curriculum, one model will fit all… Issues have to be resolved in different ways for different schools. » Quebec Advisory Council for Quebec English School Boards Association, 2006

19. Rethinking English schools to bettermeeteducationalneeds and better support English speakingcommunitydevelopment and vitality: an initiative alreadyunderway • Community Learning Centers – a new and potentially viable solution launched in 2006 • CLCs are to serve as « hubs » for education and community development in their respective communities • 37 CLCs actually in English sector, roughly one in ten. Located in a wide range of contexts and built on a model or framework with the flexibility to meet local needs and find local solutions.

20. In lieu of conclusion, two questions…. • What place for the Anglophone « other » in the Quebec de demain? • What place for youth with a « double/multiple appartenance » in the traditional politics of language in Canada and Quebec? Going au-delà des « cases » anglophone, francophone, allophone….

21. Notre home:http://www.notrehome.ca/ And yes, maybe we are talking time for a paradigm shift …. getting over the mindset of une francophone menacée