French-language education in a minority language context in Canada. Today's challenges and tomorrow's issues
Comparative perspectives on French-language education in minority contexts in Canada. Today's challenges and tomorrow's issues
Nov 10, 2022 — All day
This symposium is part of the activities of the new Observatoire sur l鈥櫭ヾucation en contexte linguistique minoritaire. The O脡CLM creates space for disseminating research and mobilizing knowledge for the benefit of those working in minority language contexts.This conference is supported by the University of Ottawa's Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, the Faculty of Education and the Coll猫ge des Chaires de recherches sur le monde francophone (CCRMF).

Description
Education is vital to the sustainability of minority language communities around the world. The same can be said for French-speaking communities in Canada. The demand for French-language education is growing and new schools are being built in many places, even though the demographic weight of these communities is declining in some regions of Ontario and elsewhere in the country, while the federal target for Francophone immigration has still not been met. In this context, the teaching profession needs to be better understood, given the minority language situation, the socio-demographic changes mentioned above, the evolution of labour markets and the transformation of the profession.
These new realities of the teaching profession are not unrelated to the shortages and retention problems that affect many parts of Canada. The situation is further exacerbated by the pandemic and new conditions of practice. The causes of these shortages and retention problems are more complex than they appear. While in many jurisdictions salary and professional conditions are cited, the causes are often also deeper and relate to the day-to-day work of teachers and the relationships with their student groups that are central to their practice. The accumulation of different factors can contribute to and explain the loss of appeal of the profession as a whole.
In minority language contexts, the causes and impacts of recruitment and retention problems deserve to be examined more closely and better understood so that valid solutions can be found. They particularly affect minority language settings because the pool of people trained to teach in this context and ready to join a school is smaller, despite a contingent of candidates from immigrant backgrounds who are available and trained to teach, but who all too often still struggle to fit in because of the exclusion they experience.
In order to better understand today's challenges, this colloquium opts for comparative perspectives by bringing together speakers from different backgrounds who will answer the following questions in their own way and from different angles: What will education in a minority language context look like in the future? What are the anticipated developments? What are the most pressing challenges? How do socio-demographic changes in the population affect schools and the actors who embody them? Why is a percentage of teaching staff leaving the profession? What are the causes? How can we think about and respond to the recruitment and retention needs of teachers in these schools? What are the major challenges of tomorrow?
Program
The three discussion panels will be moderated by Nathalie B茅langer, Director of the O脡CLM.
9:45 a.m.: Welcome, coffee and pastries
10:00 a.m.: Opening of the conference
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Panel discussion on the challenges and issues of the future of education in a minority language context with Isabelle Levert-Chiasson (CCUNESCO), Peter Hominuk (AFO) and Brigitte Bergeron (FCE)
Panel moderated by: Nathalie B茅langer, Director of the O脡CLM.
12:00 pm: Lunch served on site
1:00 - 2:30 p.m.: Panel discussion on the challenges of teaching in a minority language context with Alice Fomen (CIRA), Mirela Moldoveanu (Faculty of Education, UO), Phyllis Dalley (Faculty of Education, UO) and Rapha毛l Gani (Universit茅 Laval)
Panel moderated by: Martin Meunier, Director of the Coll猫ge des Chaires de recherches sur le monde francophone (CCRMF).
Break and snack
3:00 - 4:30 p.m.: Panel discussion on data for a better understanding of the challenges and issues specific to education and teaching in a minority language context in Canada with Val茅rie Morand (FNCSF) and Brigitte Cyr (CLE)
Panel moderated by: Nathalie B茅langer, Director of the O脡CLM.
4:30 pm: Closing remarks
5:00 to 7:00 p.m.: Cocktail

Nathalie B茅langer
Full Professor and director of the Observatory on education in minority language contexts
Nathalie B茅langer directs theObservatoire sur l鈥櫭ヾucation en contexte linguistique minoritaire and is a full professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. From 2005 to 2020, she held the role of Research Chair on Education and the Francophonie affiliated with the Coll猫ge des Chaires de recherche sur le monde francophone. Her research interests include la Francophonie, inclusion/exclusion processes in schools, minority studies, public policy in education, the sociology of education and ethnography.

Martin Meunier
Director of the Coll猫ge des Chaires de recherches sur le monde francophone (CCRMF)
In addition to being a full professor at the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies of the University of Ottawa, E.-Martin Meunier holds the chair Qu茅bec, francophonie canadienne et mutations culturelles and is director of the Coll猫ge des chaires de recherches sur le monde francophone (CCRMF). His research interests range from the sociology of Quebec society to the sociology of religion, including the social and historical analysis of French Canada. Author of more than fifty scientific contributions, he has notably published Le pari personnaliste (Fides 2007), with S. Lefebvre and C. B茅raud, Catholicisme et cultures. Regards crois茅s Qu茅bec-France (P.U.L. / P.U.R, 2015) and, recently, Le Qu茅bec et ses mutations culturelles (P.U.O, 2016). He directs the 21e - Soci茅t茅, histoire et cultures collection at the University of Ottawa Press.

Peter Hominuk
Executive Director at Assembl茅e de la Francophonie de l'Ontario
Peter Hominuk can be considered one of those people who, throughout his career and his community involvement, has defended Ontario's Francophone community and worked for its development. His professional career and his volunteer activities bear witness to his attachment to his language, his pride in his Franco-Ontarian origins and his contributions to Francophone community development. He has made an exemplary contribution through his work with community organizations to foster their development. Mr. Hominuk transformed the Francophone community organization La Cl茅 d'la Baie into a dynamic social enterprise that has enlivened the Francophone community in this region by offering French-language services in the arts, culture, community radio, tourism, employment and training, daycare services and summer camps.

Isabelle LeVert-Chiasson
Programme Officer in Education at the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO)
Isabelle LeVert-Chiasson is a Programme Officer in Education at the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO). Prior to joining the CCUNESCO, she worked in education in Canada and abroad with organizations such as World University Service of Canada (WUSC), Heartwood Centre for Community Youth Development, Katimavik and Canada World Youth. Ms. LeVert-Chiasson holds a Master of Arts in Education and Community Development from St. Francis University (Canada). She has extensive experience in youth engagement, partnership development, monitoring and evaluation and project management in education and related fields. At UNESCO-CC, she is responsible for the national coordination of the UNESCO Schools Network, the participation of Canadians in UNESCO's education programs in Canada and abroad, the provision of advice to various levels of government related to UNESCO's Education Sector, and the support to Canada's permanent delegation to UNESCO.

Alice Fomen
Doctoral student at Laval University
Alice Fomen was a teacher for ten years in a French language school board in Ontario and is now a doctoral student in educational technology at Universit茅 Laval. She Her research interests include the use of ICT in schools and digital inclusion. Ms. Fomen holds a Bachelor's degree in Education and a Master's degree in Human Rights. In 2017, she founded the Alliance for an Inclusive Educational Community (CIRA), an Ontario-based organization of ethnocultural minority teachers. CIRA develops programs and resources to promote equity and inclusion in schools, as well as resources to ensure effective transition for teachers from recent immigrant backgrounds.鈥 Ms. Fomen has co-authored four books on supporting recent immigrants, equity and inclusion in schools.

Mirela Moldoveanu
Associate Professor and Director of the Formation 脿 l'enseignement program
Mirela Moldoveanu holds a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Education.鈥疨rofessor Moldoveanu has taught at several Quebec universities and her research focuses on issues related to the management of diversity in education, from an equity and social justice perspective. Professor Moldoveanu's research interests include the support of professional development of teachers from the perspective of the mobilization of research knowledge in teaching practice, and the integration of theoretical and experiential learning.

Phyllis Dalley
Professor and researcher at the Faculty of Education 电车无码
Phyllis Dalley is a professor and researcher at the University of Ottawa. Since the beginning of her career, she has worked for the recognition of linguistic variations in French in educational contexts. She is one of the first researchers to have taken an interest in the question of how French-language schools in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada welcome immigrants and refugees from Africa. Among her many publications, she recently co-authored a report for the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) entitled Le d茅crochage du personnel enseignant au Canada : une revue de litt茅rature. She is also the founding director of the Action Group Against Black Racism in Education (GaCran).

Val茅rie Morand鈥
Executive Director of the F茅d茅ration nationale des conseils scolaires francophones (FNCSF)
Val茅rie Morand is the Executive Director of the F茅d茅ration nationale des conseils scolaires francophones (FNCSF) and the Regroupement national des directions g茅n茅rales de l'茅ducation (RNDGE) since 2018. She sits on the board of directors of the pan-Canadian education network EdCan. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of School Board Administrators (CASBA). She studied literature and communications at the Universit茅 du Qu茅bec 脿 Montr茅al and electronic journalism at Metropolitan Toronto University, formerly Ryerson. A journalist for 20 years at Radio-Canada in the French and English networks of the Soci茅t茅 d'脡tat and internationally (RCI), she was a parliamentary correspondent in Ottawa. In 1995, she founded the Guignol茅e des medias in the National Capital Region, which over the years has raised more than a million dollars for the underprivileged.

Brigitte Cyr
Consultant in education and evaluation
Brigitte Cyr has nearly 35 years of experience in the field of education. She works through the Centre for Leadership and Evaluation (CL脡), and with other organizations, on the continuous improvement of education in Canada.鈥 She has extensive experience not only in education, but also in program evaluation and the use of evidence to inform decision-making.鈥 She holds a Bachelor of Psychology, a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education.

Rapha毛l Gani
Assistant professor
Rapha毛l Gani is an assistant professor of education at L'Universit茅 Laval. He is interested in curricular activism, a transformative phenomenon which reflects the educational demands of Francophone minorities. His recent work, including his doctoral dissertation published in 2022, focuses on educational rights, curricular reforms, and the inclusion of Francophone and Anglophone minority perspectives in social studies and history programs.
Photographs, audio or video recordings may be taken during the event which identify you. By attending the event, you therefore agree to be included in such photographs, audio or video recordings, and consent to the University's use of them in its activities and events and in its print and electronic promotional material, including on its own website or social media. If you have any questions, comments or accommodation needs, please contact us at [email protected].