Educational Issues and Identity Positioning among Students Enrolled in an English School Board in Québec : A Case Study of Three Regions

A study of identity and academic trajectories of youths attending English-language secondary schools in three regions of Quebec (Gaspésie-Îles-de-la Madeleine-Côte-Nord, l’Outaouais and l’Estrie). Research assistants spent a week in each of the schools conducting up to fourteen interviews per site: seven or eight interviews with Grades 9, 10 and 11 students, three to five interviews with parents, one or two interviews with teachers, and an interview with the school administration. The authors found that the students strongly value English, which they consider a prestigious and international language that they associate with mobility. The students have a rather contradictory relationship with French: they recognize its utility and value as a public language in Quebec, but young people have feelings and representations that are often negative because of their language experiences. However, the authors conclude, this ambivalence does not prevent them from considering English-French bilingualism an important resource for entry into the labour market. The authors found that parents place an importance on French-English bilingualism in the three study regions. They consider the French- and English-language skills developed by their children will further facilitate their future professional integration as well as their retention by or return to Quebec.

Faculté des sciences de l'éducation – Travaux et publications 37

Montréal

Université de Montréal

2018

iv-183p.

en