Action Plan for Official Languages

3. EDUCATION

3.1 Where we are now

3.1.1 Minority French-language education: huge strides, huge challenges
3.1.2 Minority English-language education: the challenge of diversity
3.1.3 Second language learning: slowdown following real progress
3.1.4 Existing programs: federal-provincial-territorial agreements are our lever

3.2 Our plan

3.2.1 Minority-language education: Francophone communities
3.2.2 Minority-language education: Anglophone communities
3.2.3 Second-language instruction
3.2.4 Beyond the classroom

In the area of education, the official languages policy includes two components: minority-language education and second-language education. The Action Plan will strengthen the Government of Canada’s ability to act in these two crucial areas.

Our plan was developed on the basis of an analysis of the current situation. Education is the cornerstone of the official languages policy. So our starting point is a solid one. Let’s take a look at where we are.

3.1 Where we are now

We will begin by taking a look at minority-language education, both for Anglophones and Francophones, and then focus on where we are in terms of second-language instruction. We will then examine the Government of Canada’s existing programs in these areas.

3.1.1 Minority French-language education: huge strides, huge challenges

If there is one area in the promotion of official languages where the results have been impressive, it is the area of French-language educational institutions in minority Francophone communities.

There were no French schools in half the provinces in 1982 when section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force giving parents in minority-language groups the right to manage their own educational institutions. In 1990, French-speaking minorities were running some French schools in Ontario and all French schools in New Brunswick. Today, minority-language groups manage schools in all provinces and territories.

Today, there are 150,000 Francophone students in 674 French schools, and a network of 19 Francophone colleges and universities outside Quebec. Recent years have also seen the emergence of a virtual network offering post-secondary distance learning in French to overcome the problems of small numbers of Francophone students and scattered clientele.

Enrolment in Francophone schools in minority communities has risen from 56% of students eligible under the Charter in 1986, to 68% at the time of the 2001 Census.¹⁸

Progress in this area has been quite impressive and is due in large part to the entrenchment of the right to manage and control educational institutions. In cases like Mahe¹⁹ and Arsenault-Cameron²⁰, the courts have ensured that the “numbers warrant” provisions affecting these management rights have not been overly demanding.

Despite these successes, minority French-language education is facing major challenges. The problems highlighted by Francophone minorities during consultations fall into two broad categories: recruitment and retention of eligible school populations, and the quality of instruction in French in the face of increasing needs.

Funding and student recruitment, however, continue to pose challenges and to threaten the survival of small schools. When a French school is not nearby, there is often a tendency to enroll in an English or immersion school. Without sufficient students and funding, primary schools serving a small Francophone community or neighbourhood will have difficulty continuing to contribute to the life of the community. In some regions, there are few well-established secondary schools, and limited access to post-secondary education in French discourages students from completing their secondary school education in that language.

Parents are concerned about the quality of instruction and how their children are being equipped for the future. They want programs, courses and options that match those available to the majority. The results achieved by Francophone students in standardized tests seem to justify those concerns. Such tests invariably show deficiencies in reading and writing when compared with Canadian averages. In science, the Anglophone sector has a significant lead in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba.²¹ It is not known to what extent variations in teaching methods and environmental factors — in particular, the dominance of English in the home — contributes to this situation.

It will not be easy to recruit more students and at the same time improve the quality of education. Reconciling these two objectives presents a special challenge. Students now registered in French schools are either children whose parents are both Francophones or children of exogamous families who already have a good knowledge of French. Since a third of those eligible to be educated in French say they cannot speak French well enough to sustain a conversation²², convincing them of the advantages of French schools will inevitably demand extra effort. Moreover, new resources will be needed to offer special assistance to all students to address the wide variance of abilities in French, as some of them have very little French to begin with.

Another factor to consider is that an increasing number of young Francophones are marrying Anglophones and starting families with them. Such couples are called exogamous couples.

Exogamy is especially prevalent among young couples, who are precisely the most likely to have school-age children. In fact, more than two thirds of children are now part of families where only one parent has French as the mother tongue.

No solution can be found to the problem of improving the quality of education, and hence academic performance, when the lack of available teachers threatens to become more acute. For example, the proportion of teachers who will be retiring within 10 years in Ontario is estimated at nearly 50% by Ontario’s College of Teachers²³ and nearly two thirds by 2011 in Newfoundland, according to a study done by Memorial University.²⁴

Finally, more assistance is required by parents even at the preschool level, because from the moment a child is born, parents are thinking about the choice of the language of instruction. Moreover, as indicated by the Commission nationale des parents francophones in its national early childhood development support plan, “it is important to interest parents very early in the Francophone system, since the birth of a child, particularly the first, marks a moment of long-term determining choices with regard to family life. For those in minority communities, it represents the window of opportunity for providing active support and services in French.”²⁵

3.1.2 Minority English-language education: the challenge of diversity

Quebec’s public school system has 360 English-language primary and secondary institutions, and eight English-language CEGEPs and universities. Together they have an enrolment of 102,000 students. In addition, there are 13,650 students enrolled in private primary and secondary institutions. These young Quebec Anglophones and their parents and teachers are facing challenges that differ from those of Francophones in other parts of Canada.

Almost all of the eligible population of English students (94%) are enrolled in English-language schools in Quebec, compared with 68% of eligible students enrolled in French schools outside Quebec.

It is clear that English-language instruction is attracting Quebec’s non-Anglophone population. Up to 74% of eligible²⁶ young Francophones opted to attend English-language schools in 2000-2001, as did 94% of Allophones in the same category.

Regarding the quality of education, those in English-language schools performed as well as those in the French-language system in reading, math and sciences. No significant gaps were found between Quebec’s two school systems in any of the areas studied.²⁷

But this does not mean that Anglophones do not face their own challenges.

Three issues in particular have been identified in our consultations with the communities, found in the brief presented by the Quebec Community Groups Network and in the available data.²⁸ The first challenge is adapting to a group that is becoming increasingly heterogeneous.

For example, in a recent study of the school population, the Missisquoi Institute found that the number of Francophones in English schools almost doubled within a 10-year period, from 10,362 in 1991 to 19,235 in 2002.²⁹ But this phenomenon occurs mainly outside Montreal, where Francophones make up 25% of students in English public schools, compared with 6.2% in Montreal.

The same diversity of situations can be observed with regard to the number of Allophones. In Montreal, the mother tongue of 28% of students in English schools is neither English nor French. Outside Montreal, this percentage is only 11.7%.

The second challenge stems from problems associated with the small schools (under 200 students³⁰) being scattered throughout certain regions of Quebec. This situation requires the development of English-language distance education for students who would otherwise not have access to specialized courses.

The third challenge is learning French as a second language. The Missisquoi Institute notes that only 36% of Anglophone respondents felt that the education they had received in French had equipped them to succeed in Quebec society.

3.1.3 Second-language learning: slowdown following real progress

Half of students enrolled in primary and secondary schools — 2.6 million young Canadians — are learning English or French as a second language. Of this number, 324,000 are in French immersion. This is the current situation. Let us look more closely at this trend.

In 30 years, the percentage of bilingual Canadians has gone from 12% to 18%. These figures, modest as they are, conceal some more encouraging progress among young people. In actual fact, the rate of bilingualism has increased both among Anglophones aged 15 to 24 outside Quebec and among Francophones in the same age bracket living in Quebec.³¹

In core programs in either language or in French immersion, however, enrolment has not risen over the last 10 years. After rising at the end of the 1970s and 1980s, enrolment in second-language programs is no longer increasing.

A recent report by Canadian Parents for French³² notes that the quality of French second language instruction is threatened by inadequate teaching materials, a lack of qualified teachers, and the high drop-out rate among students in the secondary program, often due to the impression that they will not be able to obtain post-secondary education in French.

The Government is concerned about the possible impact of this slowdown on the ability of young Canadians to master a second language. However, according to the annual Environics poll conducted in the fall of 2001³³ for the Centre for Research and Information on Canada, 86% of all Canadians (and 82% of Anglophones) think it is important for their children to learn a second language. Moreover, 75% believe this second language should be French. By comparison, 90% of Francophones who want their children to be bilingual favour English as their second language. It seems inconceivable to the Government that we should be unable to respond to this demand, which is apparent in every part of Canada.

Increased bilingualism among our young people is an even more important issue, given that interest in foreign languages is on the rise in other parts of the world, particularly in the United States³⁴ and Europe. Currently, Canada has fewer bilingual people than does Britain, which ranks lowest among the European³⁵ countries for second-language skills.

Finally, it is important to stress the positive link between learning the other official language by the majority and the vitality of minority language communities. This link is clearly visible in the case of exogamous couples. When, for example, a Francophone in a minority language situation marries an Anglophone, the likelihood that the children will learn French is only 32% if this spouse is unilingual, but jumps to 70% if the spouse speaks French fluently.

The learning of a second official language by the majority is increasingly an asset for the future of minority communities. This is a critical issue, which we will come back to in Chapter 4 on community development.

3.1.4 Existing programs: federal-provincial-territorial agreements are our lever

In addition to court decisions, there is no doubt that action by the Government of Canada has played an important role in minority-language education and second-language instruction.

Because education is a provincial responsibility, the Government of Canada’s official languages policy in this area mainly takes the form of a partnership with the provinces and territories. Since 1971, the Official Languages in Education Program has been a key instrument in this partnership. It governs minority-language education and second-language instruction.

Within this program, federal transfers are effected through a five-year memorandum of understanding with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada on general objectives, and bilateral agreements with each province and territory. This procedure is designed to respect areas of responsibility and to take into account the various situations in each region of the country. Each provincial or territorial government developed a multi-year action plan that includes minority-language education activities, second-language instruction, and awareness of the culture of the other official-language community. The agreements expire in 2003 and will be renegotiated.

In addition, in 1993, the Government undertook special education measures to provide ad hoc support through bilateral agreements, but outside the memorandum of understanding. These measures strengthened management of French schools and led to the creation or consolidation of post-secondary institutions in various provinces. They gave rise to Ontario’s network of community colleges and consolidated institutions in Alberta, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In 1999, the Investment in Education Measures succeeded this initiative, with agreements that expire in 2004.

Two programs by the Department of Canadian Heritage promote federal-provincial-territorial co-operation to help youth throughout the country improve their proficiency in the other official language. They give participants an opportunity to travel in Canada and to forge ties with citizens of the other official language while improving their language skills or helping others to do so. The Summer Language Bursary Program enables young people with at least grade 11 to learn their second language or enables minority Francophones to improve their own language. The Official Language Monitor Program gives young people the opportunity to work full time or part time with one teacher in the classroom. These initiatives both come out of the Official Languages in Education Program and are governed by the same memorandum of understanding with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada.

Over the last several years, programs funded by the federal government to foster interest in bilingualism on the part of young people have been weakened by insufficient resources. The Summer Language Bursary Program, for example, has seen 200,000 young people take part in exchanges since 1973. It currently gives 7,500 young Canadians the chance to improve their second language at a post-secondary institution, but receives twice as many applications as it can accommodate. Created in the same year, the Official Languages Monitor Program has benefited 30,000 young people at the post-secondary level. For reasons that have nothing to do with its quality, the program is no longer recruiting enough candidates to meet the demand from educational institutions. Provincial and territorial managers of the program attribute this decrease to the low pay received by monitors ($12,500 for nine months of full-time work and $4,000 for part-time work), at a time when the job market can offer more.

It is crucial to act now to help communities overcome challenges in education, revitalize second-language instruction in Canada, and ensure that Canada remains a leader in the field.

3.2 Our plan

The Government of Canada is reinvesting in minority-language education and second-language instruction. It is devoting the necessary funds to that end. It is adding to the existing $929 million over five years an additional amount of $381.5 million.

In addition to increased funding, more stringent objectives are required to meet the challenges we are facing. That is why this additional funding will be split into two new funds, one for Francophone or Anglophone minority-language education ($209 million), and one for second-language instruction ($137 million). With its partners, and fully respecting their constitutional jurisdiction, Canadian Heritage will seek to fund projects with clear objectives designed to achieve the results outlined below for Canadians.

In addition to these two funds, the Minister of Canadian Heritage will renew the Framework Agreement and federal-provincial-territorial agreements under the Official Languages in Education Program at current funding levels. These agreements will be accompanied by action plans that will specify the objectives and agreed upon results. The Minister will also increase the budgets for the associated Official Language Monitors Program and Summer Language Bursary Program ($35.5 million in all by 2007-2008).

3.2.1 Minority-language education: Francophone communities

INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN FRANCOPHONE MINORITY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OUTSIDE QUEBEC

The proportion of eligible students enrolled in French schools rose from 56% in 1986 to 68% in 2001.³⁶ The objective in our Action Plan is to bring this percentage up to 80% within 10 years. To achieve this goal, the Government intends to:

1. Improve student recruitment and retention

With the help of the new support fund for minority language education, the Government will seek to provide educational institutions with quality programs that are comparable to those available to the majority. Francization measures and special support for students at risk will receive the closest attention. Retention will also be a priority: young people must be encouraged to stay in the French school system, particularly as they move on to the secondary level.

Francization begins in early childhood, and the Government will be encouraging provinces and territories to suggest measures for providing access to day cares and kindergartens in community schools. In addition, it will seek to create school community centres as the focal point for community activities in French.

2. Increase the number of qualified teachers

The Government will assist provinces and territories in teacher recruitment, training and development. Specific objectives will be established with each province and territory.

IMPROVE ACCESS TO POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION

The new investments will also seek to facilitate the transition to the Francophone post-secondary level. To improve access to education, the Government will expand the range of French-language programs in Francophone or bilingual colleges and universities. In some regions, for example, it might encourage linkages through agreements with Francophone institutions in other regions, but physically located in Anglophone colleges and universities. Canadian Heritage is examining serious proposals to this end.

Finally, the Government will consider distance learning projects submitted by provinces and territories.

3.2.2 Minority-language education: Anglophone communities

SUPPORT FRENCH-LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION FOR ANGLOPHONES AND EXPAND OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS OUTSIDE MONTREAL

Through its longstanding partnership with the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada will offer support for enhanced French-language instruction in Anglophone minority schools.

Being conscious of the concerns of Anglophone parents, particularly as expressed by the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), the Government will pay special attention to distance learning program proposals that extend the range of options for students in small secondary schools in outlying areas and increase the educational opportunities for post-secondary students outside Montreal. To revitalize Anglophone schools in smaller centres, some priority requirements like the establishment of community education centres could also be the subject of bilateral discussions. Experience in minority Francophone environments has demonstrated that using school buildings and providing additional areas for community use provides the vital space in which the community can build its identity and shape its contribution to society as a whole.

3.2.3 Second-language instruction

DOUBLE THE PROPORTION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL GRADUATES WITH A FUNCTIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

Today, the proportion of bilingual Francophones and Anglophones in the 15 to 19 age group is around 24%. The objective of the Action Plan is to raise this proportion to 50% by 2013. The federal government will provide assistance to the provinces and territories to achieve this objective, which is quite realistic.

Experience shows it is possible to increase bilingualism among young people. Half of Anglophone Quebecers between 15 and 24 had mastered French in 1971, while eight out of 10 had done so in 2001. The proportion of Francophone Quebecers the same age with a command of English rose from 30% to 38% between 1981 and 1991. In 15 years, between 1981 and 1996, the proportion of Anglophones outside Quebec able to express themselves effectively in French rose from 8% to 15%.

Today, we have learned from these experiences: teaching methods have been enhanced, we now know how to teach languages more effectively. In addition, this is the first time such an objective has been proposed to Canadians, which is in itself a motivation to succeed. Yes, it is possible to ensure that in 10 years one young Canadian out of two will master both official languages.

Funds for second-language instruction will make it possible to agree with the provinces on targeted action to:

1. Improve core English and French

Improving second-language instruction means in part renewing teaching approaches and tools used in regular English and French classes. The Government will encourage the examination of innovative methods, such as teaching physical education and art courses in the second language; the compact or block scheduling already tested in Ontario; and the intensive English instruction tried in a number of schools in Quebec, based on the condensed French courses provided to young immigrants.

2. Revitalize immersion

A number of strong measures provided for in the Action Plan will help to revitalize this form of instruction. With more teachers, better quality instruction, more accessible and better-quality teaching materials, more summer jobs, more exchange programs, a great opportunity for students to consider post-secondary education in their second language, it will thus be possible to much more effectively respond to the desires of parents and students for access to high-quality immersion. Funding will be injected into promoting this type of instruction, and inform young people and parents of its advantages, and indeed of its existence.

The Government of Canada will work closely with the provinces and territories to achieve this goal. They are the governments with the constitutional jurisdiction. They have let us know they are willing and ready to strengthen our partnership in support of immersion. The Government of Canada will help them open additional classrooms and modernize their teaching methods.

3. Increase the number of qualified teachers

In order to increase the number of second-language teachers, the Government will support initiatives that the provinces and territories could present to recruit future specialists, train them, and provide them with professional development opportunities.

4. Provide bilingual graduates the opportunity to put their skills to good use

Through summer jobs and exchange programs, young Canadians will get the chance to experience the practical benefits of their knowledge of both official languages.

3.2.4 Beyond the classroom

IMPROVE BURSARY AND MONITOR PROGRAMS

Young people for whom the programs were intended still like the Official Language Monitor and Summer Bursary Programs; they have remained in favour with the provincial and territorial managers who administer them. However, they need a little push to maintain their momentum.

The Government has therefore decided to open the monitor program to a greater number of young people, with a 10% to 15% increase in the number of participants in relation to their current number (from 889 in 2000-2001 to over 1,000). In addition, the annual salary for monitors will be raised by 10%. In total, the Government will be investing up to $10.8 million annually in the program, compared with $6.8 million previously, a gradual increase that will reach 59% in the plan’s fifth year.

Investment in the Summer Language Bursary Program will total $19.4 million in 2007-2008, an increase of 70% in comparison with the current budget of $11.4 million. These funds will bring the amount of individual bursaries up by 10% ($1,635 in 2001-2002). By 2007-2008, nearly 10,000 participants will be accepted into the program, an increase of almost 2,000.

HELP PROMOTE RESEARCH

The situation of minority official language communities, like the questions posed in connection with second-language instruction, have long sparked the interest of Canadian university researchers. Indeed, these researchers are recognized as global leaders in the field of second-language instruction. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) contributes some $1.7 million a year for these areas. Such an investment helps expand knowledge about the challenges facing minority official language communities and provides avenues for public policymaking. Despite these efforts, much remains to be done to identify problems and consequences.

The new strategic research thrust recently adopted by the Council — Citizenship, Culture and Identity — provides a promising framework for funding new studies on these questions. While continuing the support provided through its regular programs, SSHRC will explore the possibility of partnerships in the new field of strategic research, and in so doing, will help renew relevant research.

* * *

Nothing is possible in the field of education without the provinces and territories. The two new funds will provide them the opportunity to propose initiatives they feel are best suited to their specific contexts. In addition, the Action Plan will support programs that have proven themselves and require resources to continue. If we meet our objectives, for example, if eight out of 10 eligible Francophones receive an education in their own language, and if half of our high school graduates master both our official languages, all of Canada will benefit. To achieve our goals, we will all need to work together as a team. This includes students, teachers, parents, educational institutions, school boards and governments.

18. Data from the Census of Canada, 2001. In 1986, there were 152,225 children in francophone minority schools and 271,914 children eligible to these schools under section 23(1). The student/eligible population ratio was 56%. In 2001, there were 149,042 children in francophone minority schools and 219,860 children eligible to these schools, for a ratio of 68%. This percentage indicates the extent to which the francophone minority school system succeeds in attracting its target population.

19. Mahe v. Alberta, [1990] 1 S.C.R. 342.

20. Arsenault-Cameron et al. v. Prince Edward Island, [2000] 1 S.C.R. 3.

21. Measuring up, the performance of Canada’s youth in reading, mathematics and science, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, PISA study — First results for Canadians aged 15, p. 25.

22. Angéline Martel, Rights, schools and communities in minority contexts, 1986-2002, Study conducted for the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, 2002.

23. “Teacher Supply Report”, published in the quarterly magazine of the Ontario College of Teachers entitled Professionally Speaking, December 1998.

24. Dr. Robert Crocker, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland, “Teacher Supply/Demand in Newfoundland and Labrador: 1998-2010", November 1998.

25. La Commission nationale des parents francophones, “Plan national d’appui à la petite enfance”, unpublished, January 2002.

26. Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canadian citizens have the right to have their children educated in English: if they received their own primary instruction in Canada in English, or if they have a child who has received or is receiving his or her education in English in Canada.

27. OECD, Measuring up, PISA study. (Note 21).

28. Jack Jedwab, The Chambers Report, Ten Years After: The State of English Language Education in Quebec 1992-2002, Missisquoi Institute, January 2002.

29. Missisquoi Institute – CROP, Survey 2000.

30. English School Boards Association, unpublished survey, 2002.

31. Census of Canada, 1971-2001.

32. Canadian Parents for French, The State of French Second Language Education in Canada, 2001.

33. Centre for Research and Information on Canada, Portraits of Canada 2001, January 2002.

34. Gallup Poll, April 2001.

35. Commission of the European communities, Eurobarometer (note 5).

36. Census of Canada, 2001.

[Previous chapter][Table of Contents][Next chapter]