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The Decline of the English School System in Quebec
and What Can Be Done About It.
Richard Y. Bourhis,
Département de psychologie,
Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
[email protected]
Keynote to the Research Forum on Prospects for the English
School System in Québec
Faculty of Education, McGill University, March 15, 2016
Background document: The Decline of the English School System in Québec
Richard Bourhis & Pierre Foucher (2012)
Institut canadien de recherche sur les minorités linguistiques (ICRML)
Moncton, New Brunswick. www.icrml.ca
1
This presentation is dedicated to Dr. Victor Goldbloom: 1924 – 2016
« We are not the enemy and its time we stopped being perceived as such »
The Gazette citation of the week, Sunday, March 2nd , 2008
The Decline of the English School system in Quebec
Plan of the presentation
1. Vitality of language communities in Quebec
2. Language laws eroding access to English schools in Quebec
3. Decline of the English language School System in Quebec
4. What can be done ?
3
Part1: The vitality of Linguistic Communities
• The vitality of a language community is defined as: « that
which makes a group likely to behave as a distinctive and
active collective entity in intergroup settings» (Giles, Bourhis &
Taylor, 1977, pp 308)
• The more vitality a language community enjoys, the more
likely it is that it will survive and thrive as a collective entity
in the given intergroup context.
• Language communities that have little vitality are more
likely to eventually cease to exist as distinctive language
groups within the intergroup setting.
4
1.Three dimensions of Linguistic Community vitality:
Demography, Institutional Support & Status
Giles, Bourhis & Taylor (1977); Bourhis, Giles & Rosenthal (1981); Bourhis & Landry, (2012)
5
1.Mother tongue (L1) population in Quebec by number & %. Canadian Census, 1971- 2011
Mother tongue is used by Quebec government rather than FOL to craft its language laws
%
100
90
80.7
82
81.5
81.4
79.6
80
78.9
70
60
Langue maternelle française
50
Langue maternelle anglaise
40
Allophone
30
20
13
8.8
9.7
11.9
10.3
12.8
10
6.3
%0
Année du
recensement
1971
8.3
9.2
1991
8.8
1996
8.2
8.3
2001
2006
2011
L1 français
4 860 410
5 585 645
5 741 435
5 802 020
5 916 840
6 164 745
L1 anglais
788 830
626 195
621 865
591 380
607 165
647 655
Allophone
390 415
598 445
681 285
732 180
866 000
1 003 545
Langue maternelle (L1): Première langue apprise à la maison durant l’enfance et encore comprise au moment du
recensement
6
Perte nette (en milliers, k
1.Net interprovincial migration of Anglophones, Francophones & Allophones in Québec: Arrivals –
Departures = Net Loss in thousands (k). Canadian Census: 1966-2011 (Bourhis, 2012)
-110
-106
Langue maternelle anglaise
-100
Langue maternelle française
-90
Allophone (autre langue maternelle que l'anglais ou le français)
-80
-70
-60
-52.2
-50.2
-50
-41.6
-40
-29.2
-30
-20
-10
-24.5
-22.2
-18 -17.4
-13.5
-9.8
-14.1
˗-8.9
-8.6
-8.7
-5.7
-4.1
-19.1
-12.9
-8.7
-8
-12.3
-5.7
-2.3
0
Gain
net
1.2
+10
Recensement
5
5.2
1966-71
1971-76
1969 Loi 63
1970 FLQ
1974
Loi 22
1976-81
1976 PQ
1977 Loi 101
1er Référendum
1981-86
1986-91
1982
Constitution
canadienne
1991-96
1990
1995
Meech
Lake
2e
1996-01
Référendum
Qc
2001-06
Enfants Loi 101
à 20-25 ans
2006-11
Enfants Loi 101
à 25-30 ans
1.Quebec anglophones are losing their demographic, economic & political weight. Feeling
marginalised, half of them are thinking of leaving Quebec. (Actualité, nov. 1984)
8
1.Bilinguisme anglais-français au Québec selon la langue maternelle (L1) des Francophones,
Anglophones et Allophones. Recensements du Canada: 1971 – 2011.
Source: Équipe de recherche, Secrétariat des langues officielles, Patrimoine canadien
% 100
90
80
Langue maternelle française
Langue maternelle anglaise
Allophone: autre langue maternelle que le français ou
l'anglais
66.8
70
58.6
53.3
60
50
50%
37.1
40
30
20
69%
44.3
50.4
36.7
33.0
25.5
46.6
28.2
38,6%
31.6
10
%
0
Année du
recensement
1971
1981
1991
2001
2011
L1 français
1 238 500
1 499 200
1 765 215
2 126 596
2 379 935
L1 anglais
292 800
375 500
361 183
385 825
446 595
Allophone
122 900
188 800
285 200
379 630
502 205
9
Bilingue: Capacité de soutenir une conversation dans les deux langue officielle. Statistique Canada
Part 2: Language laws eroding the institutional vitality
of linguistic communities
• Institutional support is defined as the degree of control one
group has over its own fate and that of outgroups.
•
It can be seen as the degree of social power enjoyed by one language group relative to
co-existing linguistic outgroups
• Institutional support is the dimension of vitality ‘par excellence’
needed by language groups to maintain and assert their presence
within state and private institutions such as: education, health
care, municipal government, the judicial system, business and
mass media
• Language groups need to achieve and maintain a favorable
position on the institutional support front if they wish to survive
as distinctive collective entities within multilingual states
•
(Bourhis & Landry, 2012)
10
2. Language laws eroding the status & institutional vitality of the
English-speaking communities of Quebec (ESCQ)
•
Anglophones and Allophones minorities who stayed in Quebec
have proven they accept the imperative of maintaining the status
and use of French in Quebec and are French/English bilinguals.
•
The English speaking communities of Quebec are not responsible
for the substantial status and spread of the English language in
the world including within Quebec
•
Quebec laws eroding the institutional vitality of the English
speaking minority in Quebec will never be sufficient to
neutralise the international drawing power of the English
language in Quebec
•
11
2. Language laws eroding the status & institutional vitality of the
English-speaking communities of Quebec (ESCQ)
•
Though the English language is not threatened in
Quebec, there is strong evidence that the vitality of the
English speaking communities of Quebec (ESCQ) is
declining demographically & on institutional front
•
So far we have not heard or read a single statement from the
Québécois Francophone establishment that has acknowledged this
decline of the English-speaking communities of Quebec …WHY?
•
Bourhis, R.Y. (2012)(Ed.) Déclin & enjeux des communautés de langue anglaise au Québec.
Ottawa: Patrimoine canadien
12
2. Language laws eroding access to English schools in Quebec
1.
Up to 1960s, Francophones, Anglophones, Allophones & Immigrants had
freedom of choice to attend English or French public schools. However,
only Catholics could attend French Catholic schools. Most non-Catholic
Anglophones & Allophones were assigned to English Protestant schools.
2.
The Québec Union Nationale government adopted Bill 63 (1969) and the
Liberal Party government adopted Bill 22 (1974) to partially limit access to
English schooling. These laws did not satisfy Francophone nationalists and
alienated Anglophone & Allophone minorities (ex. St Leonard school crisis)
3.
In 1977 the Parti Québécois Government adopted Bill 101 ruling that the
Francophone majority and international immigrants had no right to
attend English schools at primary & secondary level (grand-father clauses applied
to siblings; Mallae 1984)
4.
Bill 101 stipulated that Anglophone pupils could attend English schools if
one parent had spent most of its primary schooling in English within
Quebec and later within Canada (‘Canada clause’ following court challenges).
13
2. Language laws eroding access to English schools in Quebec
1.
In 2002 Parti Québécois Government adopted Bill 104 to close the
‘loophole’ allowing Allophone and Francophone pupils to attend full fee
paying English ‘bridging schools’ (écoles passerelles) for a year, to then
gain access to free English public schools. It was estimated that 4000
pupils used ‘bridging schools’ from 1997 to 2002.
2.
In 2007 Allophone and Francophone parents challenged Bill 104 in Quebec
Court of Appeal. In 2008 they won their case on grounds of Article 23 of
Canadian Constitution
3.
In 2008, Liberal Government challenged the Quebec ruling in the
Canadian Supreme Court. The Québec Attorney General submited its Brief
to the Supreme Court defending Bill 104 on grounds that the French
language was threatened in Quebec.
14
2. Language laws eroding access to English schools in Quebec
1. In October 2009 Canadian Supreme Court ruled that Quebec
had a right to preserve French language but gave the Province
one year to craft a new law to limit access to English Schools
without violating Article 23 of Canadian Constitution.
2. Bill 103 was proposed by Liberal Government & held
Parliamentary Commission during 2010.
3. Leger poll in May 2010 showed that 61% of Francophones
& 87% of Allophones & Anglophones want their children to
have more access to English Schools (Hubert Bauch, Montreal
Gazette, May 11, 2010; Ariane Lacoursière, La Presse, 12 mai, 2010
http://www.pressreader.com/canada/montreal-gazette/20100511/textview
15
2. Language laws eroding access to English schools in Quebec
Based on Bill 103, the Liberal Government adopted Bill 115 on time for
the October 2010 Supreme court deadline.
Bill 115 allows Allophones & Francophones to attend English public
schools after studying 3 consecutive years in private non-funded English
schools. Four public servants from Quebec Education Ministry (MELS)
use a point system to determine if pupil was engaged in « legitimate
educational pathway »
Bill 115 makes it almost impossible for an Allophone or Francophone
« non rights holder » pupils to attend English schools.
Liberal Minister of Education Michèle Courchesne stated on June 3rd
2010 « I won’t deny that the objective is to have as few as possible
(approved) » 2010 to 2015: only 424 approved for English school; Le Devoir 5 jan, 2016
16
2013: Parti Québécois Government proposed Bill 14 to further
reduce access to English schools
2. Language laws eroding access to English schools in Quebec
• In 2012, Minister Diane de Courcy of the Parti Québécois
Government proposed Bill 14 to bolster Bill 101 by further
reducing access to English schools
• Under Bill 14, Anglophone rights holders pupils who attended
most of their primary & secondary school in French would lose
the right to send their own progeny to English schools.
•
Such Anglophone having attended French schooling would lose
their ‘rights holders’ status and be forced to send their own
children to French schools
• Bill 14 also excluded Francophones and Allophones from attending
English Language CEGEPS. Only Anglophone ‘rights holders’ would
have access to English CEGEPS
18
2012: Parti Québécois government proposed Bill 14 to further
reduce access to English schools & CEGEPS
Quebec Anglophones demonstrate against Bill 14, 2013
2. Bill 14 had goal of further eroding English School System in Quebec
• Quebec Anglophones were against Bill 14.
• Negative Consequences of Bill 14 for Quebec Anglophones :
• fewer pupils in English primary, secondary school system :
• fewer jobs for Anglophone teachers
• fewer jobs for Anglophone principals & support staff
• fewer jobs for Anglophone school board administrators
• Decline of the English language CEGEP system
• Minority PQ Government could not adopt Bill 14 in 2013 as
Liberals and CAQ did not support Bill 14.
• With defeat of PQ Government in April 2014 election, Bill 14 could
not be adopted. Defeated PQ Premier Marois most regretted
NOT having adopted Bill 14 on her watch.
20
2. Language laws eroding access to English schools in Quebec
•
In 2013, the PQ government used the CAQ platform to propose
the abolition of both French and English School boards to
reduce Quebec Government debt
• By abolishing school boards the PQ Government could kill two
birds with one stone:
• 1. Eliminate one of few institutions still in control of English
speaking communities (ESCQ) across Quebec: English school
boards
• 2. Win Québécois francophone voters from CAQ* to gain PQ
majority rule in 2014 election. PQ failed as they lost April 2014
elections
•
*CAQ: coalition avenir Québec
21
2. Language laws eroding access to English schools in Quebec
• In 2014 the Liberal Government proposed to reduce the Education
budget by forcing mergers of English school boards, and also French
ones...
• English school board mergers would:
• 1. Reduce the number of elected Anglophones available on school
boards to promote local needs of English schools & their pupils
• 2. Reduce the size of English school system and the institutional
vitality of English school boards
• Could Liberal Government go as far as abolish French and English
School boards ? … YES!
22
2. Language laws eroding access to English schools in Quebec
• Selon Julie Barlow dans l’Actualité du 15 novembre 2014 (p 42):
• « … Toute tentative d’abolir les commissions scolaires se heurtera au
noyau dur de la communauté anglo-québécoise, dont les taux de
participation aux élections scolaires s’élève à 17%. »
• « Si on les abolit, ça va être le tollé! » prévient David Daoust , président
de l’Association des commissions scolaires anglophones du Québec.
• « Car la gouvernance scolaire est le dernier bastion politique de la
communauté anglophone, qui y tient au même titre et pour les même
raisons que les francophones minoritaires des autres provinces. »
•
Selon David Daoust, « les anglophones contesteront l’abolition des
commissions scolaires sur la base de l’article 23 de la Charte des droits
et libertés, qui garantit à la minorité le droit de faire instruire ses enfants
en anglais. »
• « C’est l’arguments qu’ont fait valoir les francophones du Nouveau
Brunswick après l’abolition des commissions scolaires, en 1996. Et ils
ont eu gain de cause »
23
2. Language laws eroding access to English schools in Quebec
• In November 2015, 17.2% of elligible Anglophones voted on English
School board elections, while voting rate for French School board
elections was only 4.8%.
• Anglophones want school board elections at same time as Municipal
Elections to bolster voter turnout, while also favouring e-mail voting.
• « Depuis 1998, des associations anglophones implorent les ministres
de l’Éducation de changer la réglementation qui stipule que tout les
Anglophones du Québec sont inscrit automatiquement dans les listes
scolaires francophones. L’exception étant les parents anglophones dont
les enfants sont présentement inscrits dans les écoles des commissions
scolaires anglophones » (Bourhis, La Presse, p. A15, 9 novembre 2015)
• Jennings Report (2015) advocated that all Anglophone rights holders
must have the right to be automatically included as voters on English
School Board elections, regardless of whether or not they have
children.
24
2. Community vitality and Language laws in Quebec
•
Québécois Francophones invoke threat to French language from
the presence of the English language in Quebec and North
America.
•
Québécois Francophones invoke this threat to French language as
ideological justification to erode the institutional vitality of the
English speaking minorities of Quebec
•
Quebec Government laws to reduce access to English schools
illustrates how the Francophone majority at the Provincial level
can use its minority status at the Canadian level, to justify
undermining the minority English school system in Quebec
25
2. Community vitality and Language laws in Quebec
December 4, 2015: Bill 86
Liberal Education Minister Blais proposed Bill 86 which
abolishes School Board elections to be replaced by
nomination procedures for School Councils with greater
parent representation but more control by Minister of
Education of both French & English school systems
Stakeholders in the English school system oppose Bill
86 as it undermines their governance of the last
institution they fully control in Quebec society
26
Cumulative effect of Quebec Government laws eroding access to
English Schools :
Part 3. Decline of the English School System in Quebec
27
Number & % of students in pre-school, primary & secondary school systems in
Quebec by French & English school systems (public & private): 1971-2012
(Ministère de l’Éducation: MELS/MESSR, 2013) Indicateur linguistiques: secteur de l’éducation, Édition 2013)
(Bourhis, 2014)
100
French
100
90
100
74
80
75
English
72
70
64
60
%
50
61
40
43
47
41
30
20
10
0
1971-1972
1981-1982
1991-1992
2001-2002
2011-2012
French
1,378,788
1,026,951
1,035,358
997,358
888,906
English
256,251
155,585
111,391
121,225
105,205
Percentage of students in pre-school, primary and secondary schools by French &
English language of schooling (public & private) on Island of Montreal: 1971-2012
(Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, MELS/MEESR, 2013) (Bourhis, 2014)
%
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
100
French
English
100
65
64
67
66
59
1971-1972
1981-1982
40
41
1991-1992
2001-2002
34
2011-2012
French
271,753
177,704
172,762
181,713
178,600
English
154,338
90,898
61,955
63,812
52,609
3.Decline of the English language School System in Quebec
• 1. Both French and English schools systems declined from 1971 to
2012
• 2. Drop in fertility rate & low immigration to Quebec help account
for school enrollment decline in Province.
•
3. Bill 63, Bill 22 & Bill 101 contributed to steeper enrollment
decline in English school system
• 4. Departure of Anglophones from Quebec to Rest of Canada (ROC)
also account for decline of English school system
• 5. From 100% baseline of 256,000 pupils in English schools in 1971
there are only 105,205 pupils left in the system by 2012 : or only 41%
of original baseline (i.e. 59% drop). This is largest drop in an English
medium school system in Canada
•
Further enrollment decline in 2014: 83,424 pupils in English school system (MEESR:2014)
30
Number & % of students in English pre-school, primary and secondary
schools in Quebec by mother tongue: 1971 to 2012.
(Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, MELS/MEESR, 2013) (Bourhis, 2015)
French Mother Tongue
%
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
English Mother Tongue
90.5
Allophone
82.8
85.4
84.5
81.4
74.5
56.6
23.6
21.3
13.7
2.1
1971-1972
1.4
1.1
2.1
1981-1982
1991-1992
2001-2002
2.7
2011-2012
French
28,700
13,839
10,361
19,505
20,451
English
171,175
101,695
79,004
76,818
63,946
Allophones
56,376
37,264
19,508
22,199
18,853
PS: Mother Tongue (MT): First language learned at home as a child and still understood at census time
Number & % of students in English pre-school, primary and secondary
schools on Island of Montreal by mother tongue: 1971 to 2012
(Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, MELS/MEESR, 2013) (Bourhis, 2014)
%
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
French Mother Tongue
English Mother Tongue
Allophone
90.5
84.5
84.1
89.9
81.8
74.2
59.8
25.2
21.9
15
4.8
3.2
2.3
3.6
1971-1972
1981-1982
1991-1992
2001-2002
3.9
2011-2012
French
12,180
4,811
2,814
4,087
3,563
English
92,911
54,691
43,161
42,079
34,888
Allophones
48,617
31,172
15,908
17,572
13,890
PS: Mother Tongue (MT): First language learned at home as a child and still understood at census time
3. Decline of the English language School System in Quebec
1.In Province, the number and % of Allophones in English school
system dropped from 85.4% in 1971 (56,376) to only 13.7% in
2012 (18,853). Bill 101 succeeded in limiting Allophone access
to English school system.
2. The few Allophones & Francophones pupils in English school
system are mostly due to progeny of mixed marriages with
Anglophone spouses whose children become rights holders’
to English schools (Canadian constitution, article 23)
3. Anglophone pupils in English school system dropped in
absolute and % term from 90.5% in 1971 (171,175) to only
74.5% in 2012 (63,946).
Where are the missing Anglophone pupils?
33
Number & % of students in French pre-school, primary and secondary
schools in Quebec by mother tongue: 1971-2012
(Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, MELS/MEESR, 2013) (Bourhis, 2014)
%
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
97.9
98.6
98.9
97.3
97.9
86.3
78.7
76.4
French mother tongue
43.4
English mother tongue
Allophone
14.6
25.5
15.5
9.5
1971-1972
1981-1982
17.2
1991-1992
18.6
2001-2002
2011-2012
French
1,351,212
975,897
951,220
893,105
742,669
English
17,924
18,708
16,414
17,585
21,835
Allophone
9,652
28,595
62,995
81,831
119,060
Number & % of students in French pre-school, primary and secondary
schools on Island of Montreal by mother tongue: 1971- 2012
(Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, MELS/MEESR, 2013) (Bourhis, 2014)
100
95.2
96.4
97.7
96.8
74.8
80
French mother tongue
40.2
English mother tongue
40
20
0
85
78.1
60
%
96.1
Allophone
10.1
9.5
1971-1972
15.5
1981-1982
1991-1992
25.8
18.2
15.9
2001-2002
2011-2012
French
256,535
146,632
117,233
109,712
87,458
English
9,783
10,051
8,153
9,384
12,141
5,435
20,929
47,323
62,556
78,909
Allophones
3. Decline of the English language School System in Quebec
• 1. Decline in number of French pupils in French School system due
mostly to fertility decline in Quebec. But % of Francophone pupils
in French school system is stable: 97.9% in 1971 and 97.3% in
2012. Bill 101 succeeded in keeping most Francophone pupils
within French school system
• 2. Allophones in French school system increased in absolute and %
term: from only 14.6% Allophones in 1971 at 9,652 pupils to
81.5% Allophones in 2012 at 119,060 pupils !
• 3. Bill 101 succeeded in shifting Allophones from English to
French school system. But Allophone input does not offset impact
of Francophone student decline of 608,543 pupils from 1971 to
2012 due mainly to low fertility.
36
3. Decline of the English language School System in Quebec
• 4. Anglophones in French school system increases in absolute
and % term. Anglophones in French school system increases
from 9.5% in 1971 to 25.5% in 2012.
• 5. Many Anglophone parents choose to send their children to
French school system to improve their mastery of French
despite French immersion in 80% of English school system .
• 6. This shift undermines the institutional vitality of the
English school system.
• 7. With proposed Bill 86 abolition of elected English School
boards, will Anglophone minority loses another key domain
of institutional control in Quebec?
37
3. Dr Victor Goldbloom about the decline of the
English school system in Quebec
« Quebec’s English-speaking communities have
been prevented from reinforcing their numbers by
the channeling of students from elsewhere to the
French-Language school system. Efforts to obtain
more equitable balance have had virtually no
success. A small shift would have helped the
Anglophone side considerably while making a very
small dent in Francophone enrolments. The painful
closing of schools has become inevitable »
Dr Victor Goldbloom. In: R.Y. Bourhis (2012). « Decline and prospects of
the English-speaking Communities of Quebec. Canadian Heritage. pp 381
38
4. What Can be Done
about the decline of the English school system in Quebec ?
• Many Anglophone parents choose to send their children to French
schools to improve their mastery of French
• In 1971: 17,924 Anglo pupils (9.5%) in French schools
• In 2012: 21,835 Anglo pupils (25.5%) in French schools
• 1. This trend reflects willingness of English speaking parent right
holders to integrate their progeny in Québécois society hoping
own children will stay in Quebec with satisfying job prospects.
• 2. This steady shift of Anglophone pupils to French schools also
reflects concern for potential private individual gain at real cost of
collective institutional vitality suffered by English school system
39
4. What can be done
about the decline of the English school system in Quebec ?
• WHY Anglophone shift to French schools despite available
French immersion in 80% of English school system ?
• 1.Parents feel French schools provide not just bilingual language
proficiency in French for their children but also:
•
Sociolinguistic skills in French: Québécois accent, style, words &
expressions.
• Bi-Cultural skills in Québécois francophone majority culture in
addition to own Anglophone and Allophone cultures
40
4. What can be done
about the decline of the English school system in Quebec ?
• WHY Anglophone shift to French schools despite available French
immersion in 80% of English school system ?
• 2. Parents feel that if own children learn Québécois French and
culture they will have better chances of staying in Quebec with
good job & career rather than migrate to ROC
• 3. But studies shows that all being equal, Anglophones and
Allophones are less likely to get jobs & promotions in Quebec
government & private firms than Québécois francophones.
•
• Anglophone & Allophone bilinguals also have lower wages than
unilingual Québécois francophone (Vaillancourt, Lemay &
Vaillancourt, 2007, Laggards no more. No 103, C.D. Howe Institute.)
41
Income differential of male unilingual and bilingual Anglophones and
Allophones relative to unilingual Francophones baseline in Québec:
1971 vs 2001 (Vaillancourt, Lemay, & Vaillancourt, 2007; p.5 Table 3)
20%
17%
12,6% 12,2%
10,1%
10%
6%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1971 2001
1971 2001
1971 2001 1971 2001 1971 2001 1971 2001
-10%
-11,8%
-20%
-30%
-40%
-18,1%
LEGEND:
Unilingual Anglophone
Bilingual Anglophone
Allophone + English
Allophone + French
Allophones: French/English
bilinguals
Bilingual Francophone
-30%
-34%
Controlling for level of education, years of experience in Quebec. Horizontal line is French unilingual salary
42
4. What can be done
about the decline of the English school system in Quebec ?
• Quebec Anglophones must seek to reclaim English ‘right holders’
currently in French schools back to English schools
• Need power of attraction measures to maintain ALL English right
holders in English schools
• English teachers, School Board Administrators and parents must BRAG
about the success of English Schools in Quebec!
• English school boards are often BEST: 6 of top 10 performing School
boards in Quebec are English (2013)
• English schools have lower drop out rates than French schools
• Provincial exam scores in French show that English school pupils score
9.4% better than French school pupils !
43
Quebec graduation rate of high school students (before age 20 ) is higher
in English School Boards (9 School Commissions) than in French School
Boards (60 School Commissions) MELS, 2013
French school boards
English school boards
100%
90%
80%
70%
80%
71%
85%
82%
73%
75%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2009
2011
2013
Quebec Education Ministry Standardized High School Final test scores in French
language and in Mathematics for : 2 largest French School boards in Montreal
(Commission Scolaire: de Montreal; Marguerite–Bourgeoys) have lower scores than
two largest English School boards in Montreal (Lester B. Pearson; English Montreal).
MELS, 2013
F. Montreal
100%
90%
84%
88%
F. Bourgeoys
93%
E. Pearson
E. Montreal
92%
80%
88%
80%
81%
83%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
French test scores
Math test scores
4. What can be done
about the decline of the English school system in Quebec
• YES students in English School boards achieve BETTER test scores in FRENCH
than do students in French School boards . Shows that English school boards
do contribute to Knowledge and Quality of French in Quebec!
• 1.Continue making English schools more fun, dynamic and efficient than
French schools . Keep Anglophone pupils and recruit Francophone &
Allophone right holders to English schools through power of attraction of
fun & excellence!
• 2.Develop yet more innovative French Immersion programs that teach
strong proficiency in French while ALSO teaching sociolinguistic & cultural
skills in Québécois French
• 3.English schools could teach its students about history of vital role of
English speaking communities within Quebec society not just that of
Québécois French.
• 4.Teach the right of English speaking communities to stay and thrive in
Quebec as legitimate historical minority since 18th century
46
4.What can be done
about the decline of the English school system in Quebec ?
• Could Quebec Governments help the English school system thrive rather
than seek its demise via laws that reduce access to primary & secondary
schools and reduce institutional support of English schools?
• Increasing access to English schools is a key measure needed to limit the
continuing decline of the excellent English school system in Quebec !
• Jennings (2015) report proposes following students to enter English school
system:
1. English speakers from other provinces of Canada
2. English speaking immigrants from countries where
English is an official, national or majority language (US, UK, India)
• The English school system needs more pupils from Canada and abroad to
survive as a dynamic contributor to Quebec society economically and
culturally. The English school system produces pupils that score better on
Quebec French exams than pupils in the French school system ! So why see
the development of the English school system as a threat to the French
majority in Quebec?
47
Concluding notes
• The goal of Bill 101 was to improve the status of French relative to
English in Québec while respecting minorities
• Loi 101, 1977: Préambule:
• « Langue distinctive d’un peuple majoritairement francophone,
la langue française permet au peuple québécois d’exprimer son
identité … L’assemblée nationale entend poursuivre cet objectif
dans un esprit de justice et d’ouverture, dans le respect des
institutions de la communauté québécoise d’expression anglaise
(1984, G. Godin, PQ) et celui des minorités ethniques, dont elle
reconnait l’apport précieux au développement du Québec. »
• Quebec laws reducing access to English schools do not respect
the Institutions of English speaking communities as promised in
Bill 101
48
Concluding notes
• « Leaders of ‘besieged communities’ such as the Anglophones
of Quebec have an interest in developing organizations and
leadership styles that promote coherent and consistent
approaches to the defence and development of their
institutional vitality. This is especially important in settings
where the newly dominant Québécois majority controls all the
tools of the state but whose current leaders & elites remain
imbued with the psychology of a threatened linguistic
minority in North America »
•
Bourhis (2012) Decline and prospects of the English-Speaking Communities of Quebec. Ottawa:
Canadian Heritage & ICRLM, CEETUM . http//www.pch.gc.ca
49
MERCI
THANK YOU
GRACIAS
‫להודות‬
DANK U
GRAZIE
‫ش ُُكور‬
ُ
Bibliography
• Bourhis, R.Y. (2012) Déclin et enjeux des communautés de langue anglaise
au Québec. Ottawa: Patrimoine canadien. CIRLM, CEETUM. www.pch.gc.ca
• Bourhis, R.Y. & Landry, R. (2012). Vitalité communautaire, autonomie
culturelle et bien être des minorités linguistique. Dans R.Y. Bourhis (dir.)
Déclin et enjeux des communautés de langue anglaise au Québec. (pp 2373). Ottawa: Patrimoine canadien. CIRLM, CEETUM. www.pch.gc.ca
• Giles, H., Bourhis, R.Y. & Taylor, D.M. (1977). Towards a theory of
language in ethnic group relations. Dans H.Giles (dir.) Language Ethnicity
and Intergroup Relations. (p. 307-348).London, Academic Press.
• Jennings, M. (2015) Report: English school boards election system study
panel. Montreal. Quebec English School Board Association (QESBA).
• Mallea, J. (1984). Minority language education in Quebec and Anglophone
Canada. In R.Y. Bourhis (Ed.) Conflict and Language Planning in Quebec.
(pp. 222-260). Bristol, England. Multilingual Matters.
• Vaillancourt, , F., Lemay, D., Vaillancourt, L. (2007). Laggards No More:
The changed socioeconomic Status of Francophones in Quebec. Toronto.
C.D. Howe Institute Backgrounder. 103. www.cdhowe.org
51
1.Connaissance du français et de l’anglais au sein de la population du Québec.
Recensements du Canada: 1991- 2011
%
%
Année du
recensement
52
1.Langue la plus souvent utilisée à la maison au Québec
au moment du recensement
Recensements du Canada: 1991- 2011
%
100
90
83
82.8
83.1
81.8
81.2
80
70
60
Français
50
Anglais
40
Autres langues
30
20
11.2
10.8
10.5
10.6
10.7
10
8.1
6.4
6.5
1991
1996
2001
2006
2011
Français
5 651 790
5 830 085
5 918 390
6 085 155
6 344 793
Anglais
761 805
762 460
746 895
787 885
834 950
Autres langues
396 690
452 540
460 295
562 860 53
636 213
%
0
Année du
recensement
5.8
7.6