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THE EDUCATION REFORMPublished in The Gazette, Saturday, November 29, 1997.
After the Commission for the Estates General on Education submitted its report, we agreed that it was time for us to roll up our sleeves and renovate our education system from top to bottom. In the sixties, after the Parent Report, we did what it took to provide as many young people as possible with access to education, as was needed then. The time has now come to focus on success for as many young people as possible. We will be able to measure this success in terms of the greater number of students leaving school with a diploma, of course, but also in terms of what they will have learned. As we all know, success is a combination of hard work, creativity and an inquisitive mind. We will achieve all of this only if all participants in the educational process—teachers, school staff, parents and students—expect of themselves, no less than of others, a commitment to quality, intellectual discipline, and high standards. In the plan of action I announced at the beginning of 1997, seven lines of action were defined. They involved:
All of these lines of action are important, but I have decided to start with those that will have an impact on preschoolers and elementary and secondary school students. The education reform is already under way: schools are running full-day kindergartens; school boards are in the process of merging and reorganizing themselves on the basis of language of instruction; the new programs for the first years of elementary school will be ready by September 1999; and the bill amending the Education Act, if it is passed, will empower each school to better meet the needs of the children it serves, as of September 1998. With everyone’s cooperation, hard work and enthusiasm, day by day, we will be able to steer education in Québec in a new direction for success. Pauline Marois We are shaping our future as a society by giving our children a head start. Full-Day Kindergarten for Five-Year-Olds In September 1997, over 98 percent of some 97 000 eligible children had been enrolled by their parents in full-day kindergarten classes for five-year-olds. This fact clearly shows that, in spite of the normal questions this new policy raised, the government’s decision to offer full-day kindergarten meets the needs expressed by many parents during the Estates General on Education. It also addresses the recommendations made by several organizations such as the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation, the Association des directeurs généraux de commissions scolaires and the Centrale de l’enseignement du Québec. While full-day kindergarten is not compulsory, it is already evident that, by offering educational services which promote early childhood development, the government has embarked on a promising road. Research has shown that attending kindergarten at an early age helps to prevent dropping out, a problem which we all know takes root in the first years of elementary school. Several studies conducted in Québec indicate that 50 percent of secondary school dropouts were children who had started falling behind in elementary school and had repeated at least one grade. By choosing, as a society, to give our young children access to a warm and stimulating learning environment that will better prepare them for school, whatever their parents’ situation, we are giving them the opportunity to learn skills that will position them to succeed in school. In other words, we are giving them equal chances for success. We are also taking an important step that will finally put us on an equal standing with countries that are acknowledged leaders in the field of early childhood education. In these countries—the United States, France, Sweden, Spain, New Zealand and Belgium—full-day kindergarten has long since proved its worth. In other words, we are shaping our future as a society by giving our children a head start. Thanks to a $105 million investment by the government, over 1 600 additional classrooms were made available for kindergarten classes and some 2 000 schools had the facilities they needed to accommodate preschool-age children last September. In keeping with the Education Minister’s wishes, school board administrators worked together closely to quickly put in place this new formula so that five-year-olds could fully benefit from the preschool education program. This eased parents’ concerns about whether their school board would have adequate facilities. There have been full-day kindergarten classes in the Estrie, Montréal, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Outaouais and Québec City regions since 1992 and these have been attended by close to 10 000 students. The parents and teachers of these children most often note their progress in the areas of language skills, social skills, independence, motivation to learn and the feeling of belonging to the school. They also feel that full-day kindergarten is more compatible with the children’s pace and that it gives teachers more time to observe the children and thus to better understand what kind of activities and support they need, as well as to develop the building blocks of success in school: attention-to-task and concentration, an interest in reading and writing, language skills, self-esteem and perseverance. These are just a few of the main objectives of the preschool education program, which is aimed at the overall harmonious development of children, based on their needs and interests. The Preschool Education Program By emphasizing the role of play in learning and by adapting learning activities to preschoolers’ abilities, the main objective of the program is to enable the children:
How?
The preschool education program is balanced and flexible in that it respects five-year-olds’ learning abilities. It was developed in consultation with experienced kindergarten and Grade 1 teachers, early childhood education specialists, education consultants, educational support staff, and university professors with extensive knowledge of research in the field. The program, which is aimed at preparing children for elementary school, will be evaluated over the current school year and adjusted where necessary. Kindergarten for Four-Year-Olds Since last September, preschool education services have been offered free of charge to thousands of four-year-olds from disadvantaged areas in the Montréal region, either through existing half-day kindergarten classes or at early childhood centres. These services will be made available gradually in other disadvantaged areas and finally, throughout Québec. By the year 2001, there will be 73 000 places in early childhood centres for children four years of age and under. These early childhood centres will be created through existing daycare centres. Parents will pay $5 per day per child (except for parents from disadvantaged areas, who are entitled to these services free of charge). Again, this tremendous effort in the area of early childhood education will bring us one step closer to our goal of building a better future for all Quebecers. Giving students equal chances for success. Although, overall, students on the island of Montréal do as well as students in other regions of Québec, several schools are faced with the double challenge of dealing with poverty and helping recent immigrants to integrate. It has been noted that some children from disadvantaged backgrounds and cultural communities, who experience greater difficulties, fall farther behind in their schooling. One out of three students attending a school in a disadvantaged area has fallen behind by the time he or she reaches Grade 6, compared with one out of six students in other schools on the island. In the first year of secondary school, two students out of three have fallen behind, compared with one out of three in other schools on the island. Many students from immigrant families who started their schooling elsewhere have significant academic delays. The current education reform has addressed this situation by targeting the schools which serve the greatest number of these students in order to support them in a special way. The target schools include 96 elementary schools and 23 secondary schools, mainly in the centre and east of the island, which are attended by 50 000 students. Although they are receiving special help, these schools are responsible for determining which actions are needed. They are doing this in partnership with parents and their local communities. An amount of $10 million has been earmarked for the various measures planned to support Montréal schools. These measures are a spin-off of the plan of action announced in January by Education Minister Pauline Marois and are grouped under nine headings: early childhood education services; elementary and secondary education; assistance to students from immigrant families; immediate preparation for employment; vocational education; cooperation between schools and communities; complementary efforts by the education and health and social services networks; access to cultural resources; and professional support for school staff. The $10 million earmarked for Montréal schools is in addition to the $6.7 million granted to the Conseil scolaire de l’île de Montréal to help disadvantaged areas, the $10 million invested in the development of services for four-year-olds under the new family policy, and the $25 million set aside for the improvement and renovation of school buildings, and more specifically, the target schools on the island of Montréal. The word curriculum refers to all of the elements that determine what students learn in school. These elements include the list of subjects to be taught, the content of each program, the types of examinations to be administered, the requirements for obtaining a diploma, and so on. At the elementary and secondary levels, most of these elements have not been reviewed to any substantial degree in the last 15 years. Starting this year and in the coming years, the Ministère will gradually review all of them in order to better adapt the curriculum to social, economic and cultural change. The curriculum will also take into account the increasingly diverse mix of students in our schools and the urgent need for these students, whether in general education or vocational education, to be better prepared to meet the challenges of the next century. If we are to help all students achieve success, we must remove from the programs all of the extras that have been added on over the years in order to keep and consolidate the essential part of what students need to learn, because this is pivotal to their success. This way of looking at the curriculum is in keeping with the recommendations made by the task force on curriculum reform created by Education Minister Pauline Marois. But it also largely addresses the demands made by parents in recent years for more emphasis on certain subjects such as the language of instruction, the second language, a third language, history, mathematics and science. Furthermore, cultural awareness will be highlighted in the choice of subjects to be taught, in the way they will be taught, and in the relative emphasis they will be given. For example, a greater number of hours will be allotted for the teaching of the language of instruction, including literature, and the second language. History courses will have a broader scope in order to allow students to study not only the facts and events of a given period, but also the lifestyles and institutions associated with it. Moral education courses will include segments on religions so that students not taking religious education will have some knowledge of this major aspect of human civilization. As will be explained later on, schools will also help students to learn certain skills (such as how to organize their work) and attitudes (such as respect for differences) which do not fall exclusively within a given subject area but cut across all of the educational activities offered in a school. These skills and attitudes will be a priority for all schools, right from Grade 1. Changes to the List of Subjects Taught Enriching the content of the programs of study meant taking a hard look at the list of subjects taught in school in order to prevent overcrowding and eliminate redundancy and overlap. And so, home economics will no longer be taught; career choice education will be replaced by career information and guidance activities; biology, ecology and introduction to technology will be combined into a new series of science and technology courses. The basic content of the personal and social education program will be covered in the programs for other subjects, where appropriate. The elementary level will be broken down into three two-year cycles in order to better distribute learning content and prevent students from repeating grades. In the first cycle, there will be greater emphasis on the language of instruction (particularly reading and writing) and mathematics. French as a second language will continue to be taught as of Grade 1. English schools will be encouraged to continue using the immersion approach several of them have already adopted. In French schools, students will start taking English as a second language in Grade 3—earlier than in the past. The Ministère and educational institutions are invited to adopt innovative teaching methods so that courses better meet public expectations. New emphasis will be placed on the teaching of history from Grade 3 onward. History will include citizenship education to prepare students for their role as members of society. Arts education will continue to be compulsory starting in Grade 1 and will focus mainly on music and the visual arts. At the secondary level, fewer subjects and more time for the basic subjects will mean that a greater number of teachers will work with a smaller number of students, and will therefore be able to give them more individual attention. The first three years of secondary school will focus on a common core of learning while the last two years will allow for greater diversity in the choice of subjects. The First Cycle of Secondary SchoolThe first cycle, or first three years, of secondary school will be the same for all students as they will be taking a common core of subjects. More time will be devoted to French as the language of instruction. In English schools, more time will be spent on French as a second language in each of the three years of the first cycle. In Secondary III, more time will be devoted to mathematics. History will receive more emphasis: it will be taught each year and will include content related to citizenship education. A new series of science courses will be introduced. It will span the three years of the first cycle and will introduce students to technology. A third language will be formally introduced as an optional subject starting in Secondary III. However, students who complete the second-language requirements for a secondary school diploma earlier than is normally the case will be allowed to take a third-language course as of Secondary I or II. There will be a significant increase in the number of hours set aside for optional subjects in Secondary III. Students will be allowed to choose optional courses in no more than two of four categories: arts education, technology, modern languages or a program developed by the school. The Second Cycle of Secondary SchoolThe second cycle of secondary school covers the last two years, Secondary IV and V. At this stage, students will take a broader range of courses, whether they are enrolled in the general education or the vocational education sector. The total number of credits allotted for optional subjects will be increased by half. Each year, students will be allowed to choose optional courses in no more than two of the following areas: languages; social sciences; science, mathematics and technology; arts education; personal development; and vocational education. As is already the case in mathematics and science, programs at two levels of difficulty will be offered in both French and English as the language of instruction. The higher number of credits allotted for the advanced program will be taken from the credits reserved for optional subjects. In Secondary IV, more time will be devoted to mathematics in order to balance the courses offered at the secondary level. An intermediate-level mathematics course will be introduced in Secondary IV and V. The prerequisites for certain college programs may be adjusted accordingly. In Secondary V, a new course called Understanding the Contemporary World will replace the current economics course. The purpose of this new course, which will cover essential content in the field of economics, will be to correct the weaknesses often noted among secondary school graduates with respect to knowledge of geography and particularly of contemporary world history. The basic school regulation for vocational education will specify the conditions under which students will be allowed to take general education and vocational education courses at the same time, the requirements for obtaining a diploma and, where applicable, the requirements for admission to college-level programs.
During the Estates General on Education, a great number of individuals and groups criticized the education system for focusing too exclusively on getting subject matter across while neglecting to encourage intellectual curiosity, pride in work well done, attention to detail, the ability to think for oneself, and love of learning. That is why, as we touched on earlier, all of the programs taught and all of the activities held in our schools will from now on be designed to help students acquire those skills they absolutely need in order to succeed. To foster the development of intellectual discipline, students will be required to exercise their memory, undertake projects and follow them through to completion, and develop their critical sense, their independence and their leadership skills. They will also learn to work with others and to make the most of the tools available to them, especially those offered by new information and communications technologies. In the same vein, our students need to learn certain attitudes and behaviours such as respect for differences, initiative, a mindfulness for their own health and well-being, and so on. Special emphasis will also be placed, across all of the subjects and in all situations, on the mastery of language skills, both verbal and written. The new programs will be phased in starting in September 1999. At the elementary level, the operation should be completed by the end of the 2002-3 school year, and at the secondary level, by the end of the 2005-6 school year. We will use this time to rethink everything that has to do with student evaluation. For example, there could be some kind of in-depth, all-round assessment at the end of Secondary III. Report cards should contain more information, but be easier to understand. And efforts will be made to strike a better balance between “objective” examinations and more rigorous examinations where students are expected to use their writing skills. The Minister of Education has started making major changes to other aspects of the education system. These include the setting up of linguistic school boards, the reduction of the number of school boards, and the redistribution of the powers exercised at the various levels of the education system. Last spring, in light of the consensus on this point among Quebecers and at the National Assembly, the Minister of Education launched a process to organize Québec school boards on the basis of language rather than religion. In other words, instead of Catholic and Protestant school boards, we will have French-language and English-language school boards. The law allowing the government to make this change was passed last June and it sets out all of the steps involved in setting up the new school boards. Given that the Canadian Constitution grants special rights to Catholics and Protestants, it was necessary to include in the law certain religion-related bodies to protect these rights: the confessional councils, in Montréal and Québec City; and the dissentient school boards, elsewhere in the province. The National Assembly has asked the Parliament of Canada to amend the Constitution in order to remove this obligation to have religion-related bodies. As soon as this amendment is made, most likely within a few weeks, the confessional councils and dissentient school boards will no longer be necessary. The main goals of the language-based or linguistic school boards are to give the English-speaking community the power to manage its schools, and to favour immigrants’ integration into the French-speaking community. There are currently 156 school boards in Québec. In July 1998, there will be 72, including:
During the 1997-98 school year, the current school boards will continue to manage the same schools but will not do any planning for the following school year (budget, student admission, etc.). The provisional councils created by the government will do all of the planning involved in setting up the new school boards. The provisional councils (there is one for each new linguistic school board) are generally made up of commissioners from the current school boards whose territories overlap those of the new school boards, and two parents. The provisional councils have two jobs to do. First, they must make sure the new school boards are ready to start operating in their respective territories on July 1, 1998, and second, they must plan for the first school year (1998-99). In addition to adopting the operating budget of the new school boards, each provisional council will set the school tax rate for 1998-99. It will also choose the headquarters of the new school board, submit a proposal to the government as to the new school board’s name, admit and enrol students for the 1998-99 school year, reassign personnel and redistribute the resources (such as buildings) of the current school boards. It will also organize the other services and hold school elections to elect the commissioners of the new school board. The school elections will be held in June 1998 to form the councils of the new school boards which will take over once the provisional councils are abolished. An Important Message on Student Admission The French- and English-language school boards that have jurisdiction over your area will soon be admitting students. You will be asked to provide the information needed in order to enrol your child in school, and to determine where you will be voting, and to which school board you will be paying school taxes. You will soon be getting details from the new school boards. Confessional Schools and Services The change from religion-based to language-based school boards does not mean that all Québec schools will become secular. Each institution will have the option of maintaining or reviewing its current status as a Catholic or Protestant school. Students will continue to take religion courses and to receive pastoral animation or religious care and guidance services if they so desire. Before the end of the third year after the linguistic school boards are in place, the schools will be asked to consult the parents and decide whether or not they wish to maintain their confessional status.
Schools would have the flexibility of adapting their services to their students’ needs and profile, in keeping with a provincial educational project. A governing board would be created in each school to define its broad policies, such as the student supervision policy. This governing board would make more room for students’ parents and school staff, as well as members of the community and, where appropriate, students in the second cycle of secondary school. Users of the school’s services (parents and second-cycle secondary students) would have the same number of seats on the board as the suppliers of these services. These new powers would be granted to the governing boards so that each school could become an educational community where decisions are made in a collegial manner, drawing on the ideas, skills and experience of all of the partners involved. Teachers would continue to enjoy full latitude in their classrooms and would, with the school principal, have a say in the choice of textbooks and teaching materials as well as in student evaluation and grade advancement. Principals would act as the academic and administrative directors of their schools, would draft all of the proposals to be submitted to the governing board, and would be responsible for carrying out the board’s decisions on these proposals. Parents would still have the option of forming a parent participation organization if they so decide at their general meeting. The governing board would always be chaired by a parent. Parents on the governing board would be protected from prosecution for actions performed in good faith in the performance of their duties. The school boards would be maintained, although their number would be reduced, and they would continue to hold jurisdiction over planning, supervision, evaluation and support to their schools. They would be in charge of allocating resources equitably among their schools, taking into account social and economic inequalities. Further public debate on this point is necessary and greater accountability will be required. The ministère de l’Éducation would continue to determine broad guidelines for the education system, to allocate resources to the school boards, to set the standard curriculum, and to guarantee the validity of the diplomas it issues. The bill also establishes the principle according to which students must attend the school nearest their place of residence and thereby confirms the concept of neighbourhood schools, which already exist in reality. Under the bill, the school and the Minister will make sure that this proximity principle is not broken in cases where a building is to be used for a special purpose. Also, the governing boards will see to it that fund-raising activities are not incompatible with the mission of their schools. The bill would thus maintain a balance between providing students with the same basic education and giving schools the leeway to meet their students’ particular needs. REGIONAL OFFICES OF THE MINISTÈRE DE L’ÉDUCATION
General inquiries: (418) 643-7095 For further information on the education reform in all its aspects, go to the MEQ Internet site, which is updated on an ongoing basis. Why not bookmark the site? You will find us at the following address: http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca |
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