THE ROLE OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND PARENTS'
COMMITTEES IN EDUCATION IN QUEBEC

Dissertation for the Degree of Ph. D.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
ISABELLE L. SHANNON
1977

 

 

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

THE ROLE OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND PARENTS'
COMMITTEES IN EDUCATION IN QUEBEC

presented by

Isabelle L. Shannon

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph ° D ' degree in WEducation &

Curriculum

 

Major professor

4-20-197
Date 7

 

0-7 639

 

———"

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310439 3115

 

 

ABSTRACT

THE ROLE OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND PARENTS'
COMMITTEES IN EDUCATION IN QUEBEC

BY

Isabelle L. Shannon

This study concentrates on one of the manifes-
tations of the new democratic spirit in the educational
system of Quebec. It explores the implementation of a
mandated structure for parent participation designed to
reinforce the idea of the school as part of the community
and to help make that institution more democratic and
humanistic. Thus it is a local phenomenon needing some
measure of local autonomy to be effective. However, it
is advanced that this local control is difficult to
achieve under the extreme centralization of education
which has been imposed by the Ministry of Education.

It is expected that an innovation imposed uniformly on
each school throughout the province will bring about dif-
ferent results in each locale. This innovation of school
committees and parents' committees is really quite start-
ling considering the rural and clerical tradition in the

history of Quebec.

Isabelle L. Shannon

The introductory chapters of this study provide
necessary background information on the history of Quebec
and on the Parent Commission Report which provided the
basis for the educational reforms begun in the 19605.

The Parent Report was quite unique in that it recommended
a total change in the philosophy and structure of the
school system, disturbing the complacency of many Que-
beckers. This study makes some comparisons between the
old and the new system.

One of the interesting, innovative measures
brought about by the Parent Report is the involvement of
parents in the educational system. While this is common
in the United States, it has not been the tradition in
Quebec. This study describes the story of the mandate
for this innovation along with a description of the
history of school committees and parents' committees
from their implementation in 1972 to the present time.
Since these committees had only been in existence for
four and a half years, the writer was dependent upon
newspaper and magazine articles as well as personal
interviews for much of the data for the study.

Educators realize that change occurs slowly.

It is tremendously significant that Quebeckers recognized
the importance of parent participation, developed the
structure, and implemented it in the schools. The

accomplishments noted in this study are considerable.

Isabelle L. Shannon

The problems hindering its effectiveness in no way
diminish the importance of the achievement. It is a
dramatic indication of the changes which are finally
coming to the formerly tradition-bound province of Quebec.

In conclusion, it is submitted that parent par-
ticipation is in a state of evolution resulting in con-
siderable variance throughout the province in the degree
of participation, effectiveness of operation, and accep-
tance. The concept of the school as part of the community
has not been totally accepted by all the partners in the
educational system. The innovation of school committees
and parents' committees has not been successfully adopted
on a province-wide basis, although the committees are
functioning effectively in some areas.

Because the participation of parents in the edu-
cation of their children is assumed to be a democratic
right, recommendations are made to facilitate more effec-
tive operation of school committees and parents' com-
mittees until such time as this particular structure is

no longer needed.

THE ROLE OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND PARENTS'

COMMITTEES IN EDUCATION IN QUEBEC

BY

Isabelle L? Shannon

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Secondary Education and Curriculum

1977

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special recognition and tremendous appreciation
are expressed to Dr. Carl Gross for his inspiration,
scholarly advice, and unlimited help and encouragement.
Much appreciation is also expressed:

To Dr. Victor Howard for sharing his knowledge of
Quebec and his expertise in writing.

To Dr. David Stephenson, whose inspiration and
suggestions were of immeasurable value.

To Dr. Yvonne Waskin for her encouragement and
expertise in writing.

To Dr. Peggy Riethmiller, whose encouragement was
responsible for much professional and personal growth.

To Dr. Ronald Sutherland of Sherbrooke for his
scholarly help and to him and his family for their warm
welcome and practical assistance.

To Mme Alice Barsetti, Quebec, who was indefati-
gable in searching out material and making suggestions.

To those Quebeckers listed in the Sources Con-
sulted who were willing to share their knowledge and
experience.

And to Dr. Albert M. Shannon, without whose cooper-

ation achieving this goal would not have been possible.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
I 0 INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O O O 1
II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . 13
The 18605 I O O O O O O O O O O 15
Factors Working Toward Confederation. . 15
British North America Act of 1867. . . 22
The Riel Rebellion. . . . . . . . 24
Philosophical Considerations . . . . 26
The 19605 . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Political Events in Quebec . . . . . 32
Federal Politics . . . . . . . . 41
Economics. . . . . . . . . . . 45
Education. . . . . . . . . . . 48

III. THE PARENT COMMISSION REPORT AND ITS EFFECT
UPON THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM . . . . . 53
Summary of the Parent Report . . . . . 57
Changes in Philosophy . . . . . . . 65
Changes in Structure. . . . . . . . 69
IV. MANDATE FOR PARENT PARTICIPATION . . . . 85
The Recommendation of the Parent Report . 85
Bill 27 O I O I C O O O O O O O 88
Document VI B . . . . . . . . . . 91
Press Reaction. . . . . . . . . . 101

V. THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES

AND PARENTS' COMMITTEES. . . . . . . 105
The Structure of the Committees . . . . 107
The Role of the Committee . . . . . . 108
Participation . . . . . . . . . . 114
The Function of the Committees . . . . 128

iii

Page

VI. PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE FUNCTION OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND PARENTS'

COMMITTEES . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Financing . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Lack of Training . . . . . . . . . 153
Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Communication . . . . . . . . . . 159
Provincial Federation of Parents'

Committees . . . . . . . . . . 161

VII. THE PERCEPTION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND
PARENTS' COMMITTEES BY MEMBERS OF THE

EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY . . . . . . . 166
Interview Procedure . . . . . 167
Perception of the Role of the School
Committee. . . . . . . . . . . 169
Participation of Parents on School
Committees . . . . . . 172
The Function of the School Committee . . 176
Problems Affecting the Work of School
Committees . . . . . . . . . . 186
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
VIII. CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 194
Concluding Observations. . . . . . . 195
Recommendations . . . . . . . . . 205
APPENDIX 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O 212
SELECTED SOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

iv

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page
1. PERCEIVED ROLE OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE . . . 170
2. PARTICIPATION OF PARENTS . . . . . . . 174
3. FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE . . . . . 177

4. PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL
COMMITTEE . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The joint borderline shared by the United States
and Canada extends for approximately 3,000 miles. This
important neighbor is often overlooked or passed off as
a carbon copy of the United States. This is unfortunate,
for its vast expanse of territory offers a nation with
even more contrasts than are found in the United States.
Canada is a federation made up of ten provinces. The
people of French and English heritage who coexist there
give it its bilingual, bicultural flavor. Numerous immi-
grants representing other cultures provide further enrich-
ment.

The educational system of any country or society
reflects the culture of that society. It prepares the
young people to take their place in the society that
exists. When that society changes, its educational sys-
tem changes. In Canada each province exercises the power
of establishing and regulating its own educational system.
The province of Quebec affords a great deal of interest
in that its leaders have made sweeping educational

reforms in the last twelve years.

1

2

Some of the history of Quebec, including the
political, social, and economic events leading up to
the educational reforms, will be described in Chapter II
of this study. The most important event was the "Quiet
Revolution" which took place in the 19605. At this
time, Quebeckers broke away from the old traditions and
began making the economic and social advances which were
necessary to enter the technological age.

As part of this revolution, Premier Jean Lesage
commissioned a study of the current educational system.
This study, called the Parent Report after Monsignor
Alphonse Parent who headed the group directing it, was
a five volume report which contained a thorough descrip-
tion of the educational system as it was at that writing
and made numerous recommendations for improving it.

This report will be described more fully in Chapter III
of this dissertation.

In the report, an entirely new philosophy was
prescribed for Quebec's educational system based on the
concepts of democracy, participation, and humanism.

From this philosophy new goals were developed. To
implement this new philosophy and the resulting goals,

a number of radical changes were made to bring education
in Quebec from its tradition-bound elitism into modern
democratic society. The new philosophy and goals will
be described in Chapter III, and the most important edu-

cational innovations will be explained and discussed.

A chart is provided on the following page to
acquaint the reader with the total structure of the edu-
cational system of Quebec. The decision-making bodies
are marked with rectangles; the advisory bodies are
marked with elongated hexagons. The Ministry of Education
and the Superior Council of Education will be described
in Chapter III.

The school board is the body which has charge of
the kindergarten and elementary education for those
children who live in its district. It is either Catholic
or Protestant. It is composed of a Trustee's Council,
elected by the population of the district, and an admin-
istrative body of permanent personnel who implement the
policies of the council. The term ”school board" is
often used interchangeably with "school commission."

Several school boards are grouped together in a
given geographical area and are placed under the juris-
diction of a regional school board. This regional school
board is responsible for providing secondary education
in that area. The Trustee's Council of this board is
formed from members elected by the individual school
boards. Since the law of 1971, which reorganized school
boards, some districts have chosen to combine elementary
and secondary education under a single control. The
power of taxation resides with the local school boards,
but each must contribute to the expenses of the regional

school board.

DECISION-MAKING AND ADVISORY BODIES ESTABLISHED BY
LEGISLATION RELATIVE TO THE EDUCATION SYSTEM OF QUEBEC

MINISTRY

OF EDUCATION
l
SUPERIOR COUNCIL _} l ___ COUNCIL or
OF EDUCATION 1" UNIVERSITIES
I
L_- PRIVATE EDUCATION
COMMISSION
SCHOOL REGIONAL CLGEP UNIVLRSLTY
BOARD SCHOOL BOARD (5°3fd 0f (Boa d of
Directors) Governors)
L...
I I I
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PARENTS' PARENTS' ACADEMIC : ' ACADLMIC
COMMITTEE COMMITTEE COUNCIL I COUNCI
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COMMI: LE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CECE? UNIVERSITY
ELSUEEOLRY EEEESSEESSIVE (EDUCATIONAL (EDUCATIONAL
scNoCL INSTITUTION; INSTITUTION)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I SCHOOL SCHOOL I DEPARTMENT
COMMITTEE COMMITTEE COUNCIL ‘

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COUNCIL

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1--

ELEMENTARY SECONDARY COLLEGE UNIVERS ZTY
LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL LEVEL

 

E Decision-making body
(2 Advisory body

 

lQuebec, Ministry of Education, Planning Branch,
Review of Educational Policies in Canada, Quebec Report
(Quebec, MarEh 1975), p. 66.

 

The school committee and the parents' committee
are made up of parents and serve as an advisory body to
the local school and to the school board respectively.
The school council is composed of teachers and serves
as an advisory body, also.

The comprehensive secondary school and the CEGBP
are described in Chapter III. The rest of the structure
is not essential to this dissertation but has been
included in the chart to complete the picture.

If a system is to be democratic, there must be
broad-based participation on the part of the populace.
Therefore, when the Parent Commission was compiling its
report, it invited people from all over the province to
submit briefs on any educational topic that concerned
them. However, when the resulting reforms were ready
to be implemented, it was necessary_to set up a strong
central control under the new Ministry of Education to
insure that reforms were effected uniformly throughout
Quebec. When the effects of this centralization were
felt, people thought that all control had been taken
away from the local level. It was important to re-
establish some feeling of local input.

The Parent Report contained a recommendation to
develop parent participation in the school system at
the local level. In 1971, the Legislature passed Law 27,

which gave parents the right to elect school board

members in their district and also the right to form
committees of parents to work with principals and
teachers. Until this time parents had been told that
their duty lay in getting their children to the school.
They had nothing to say once the children entered the
doors. Therefore, parent participation was a tremendous
innovation in Quebec schools. This innovation has been
singled out to form the focus of this dissertation.

The historical development of this innovation
will be discussed in Chapter IV. The Parent Report
stressed the importance of involving parents in the edu-
cation of their children. After all, parents are the
first and primary interpreters of the rights and needs
of their children from birth through maturity. It is
the parents who provide the original value system for
that child. The years of schooling are an important
influence and should be a complement to the values of
the home. This idea of parent participation in the edu-
cational system was considered so important that it was
not to be voluntary for the schools but mandatory. In
1971, the Legislature passed a law requiring each school
to establish a "school committee" on or before October 15
of each school year. A school committee is composed of
from five to twenty-three parents, depending on the size
of the school, and the principal and one teacher. The

school committee is to serve as an advisory body to the

local school. The presidents of each school committee
in a district form a “parents' committee” which serves
as an advisory body to the school board.

After the law was passed, the Ministry of Edu-
cation drew up guidelines, school boards were informed,
newspaper articles were printed, and the innovation of
school committees and parents' committees was introduced
into the school system.

In this dissertation, these committees will be
studied from their beginning in the fall of 1972 through
the end of 1976. During the four and a half years of
their existence, parents and educators have been struggling
to define the role of these committees. Since it is a
local phenomenon, each school and school district has
had to determine the role of its own committees. There
has been resistance on the part of administrators and
teachers coupled with lack of competence and knowledge
on the part of parents. Parents had to begin by familiar-
izing themselves with the schools before being in a
position to fulfill their consultative function. For
this reason, the development of these committees can
best be described as evolutionary. Chapter V discusses
the role and function of school committees and parents'
committees, describes the degree of parent participation,
and gives examples of the matters handled by various

committees in three main areas of the province.

The evolution of school committees and parents'
committees in Quebec has not been smooth. Many problems
have hindered their development. Chapter VI details some
of the more important problems and discusses the solutions
that have been found, if any.

When an innovation is introduced and its role
is vaguely defined, there is a difference in the per-
ception of the innovation by the individuals and groups
involved. Therefore, a questionnaire was formulated and
used in interviews with a number of people directly con-
cerned with the implementation of this innovation to
ascertain how they saw these committees. The methodology
employed is described in Chapter VII, and the results of
the questionnaire are discussed.

The final chapter contains the writer's evaluation
of school committees and parents' committees. Comments
are made on the success and failure of this innovation.
Benefits, if any, to schools, parents, children, teachers,
and administrators are noted. Recommendations are made
concerning the continuance, modification, or discon—
tinuance of these committees.

The idea for this study evolved from a consider-
ation of the changes made in the educational system of
Quebec after the acceptance of the Parent Report. The
goal of democratization is being achieved in a number

of ways. However, encouraging parents to participate

is making the school a better place for the development
of the child. In addition, the educators are developing
a broad base of support for the total school program.
The community has been bewildered by the scope and
rapidity of the reforms; this provides an opportunity
for parents to obtain first-hand information on what is
going on in the schools and share it with others.
Informed, involved parents are usually supportive of
administrative efforts and encourage rather than resist
needed change.

This study seeks to determine the success or
failure of parent participation in school life through
the work of school committees and parents' committees.
It also deals with the extent to which local control is
derived from parent participation. The hypothesis is
advanced that local control is difficult to achieve
under the extreme centralization which currently exists
in Quebec. It is further hypothesized that an innovation
which is uniformly imposed on each school in the province
will bring about different results in each locale. The
conditions in each local school district will determine
the extent of parent participation in that place.

Before embarking on the work for this disser-

tation, the writer determined by checking Dissertation

 

Abstracts International that no previous research had

 

been completed. After a study of relevant history and

10

background information, the writer spent time in Quebec
in intense investigation of the topic.

Since a large part of the population of Quebec is
concentrated in the valley of the St. Lawrence River,
the major portion of the research was done in this area.
Quebec City has considerable importance as the capital
and the location of the Ministry of Education. The second
city visited was Montreal; the city and its metropolitan
region contain 45 percent of the total population of the
province. The triangle was completed by a visit to
Sherbrooke which is important as an urban area and which
also provides access to certain rural towns. Knowledge
of other areas was obtained from annual reports of
school committees and parents' committees.

The Ministry of Education, through its Infor-
mation Officer in the Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education, was an important source of docu—
ments, articles, and personal contacts bearing on the
committees and other aspects of the educational reforms.
The Superior Council of Education provided more infor-
mation complementing that received from the Ministry of
Education. Contacts were made at universities and
school boards. Information was gathered on both the
Catholic and the Protestant school systems. Parents
were contacted from current lists of school and parents'

committee members. Forty persons were interviewed

11

on various aspects of the school system as well as on
school committees and parents' committees.

Gradually an accurate picture emerged as infor-
mants repeated the same information that had been heard
elsewhere. There was some divergence of information on
certain questions, but this was expected since it reflected
differences occurring in various localities.

A knowledge of the French language proved to be
invaluable in this research. A large portion of the
written material on the subject was available only in
French. All of the interviews were conducted in French
except for those with people from the English schools.
Even though a number of respondents spoke English, they
were more receptive and felt more comfortable conversing
in French. Several informants spoke no English at all;
some spoke a little. On several occasions when one
informant was setting up an interview for the writer
with an associate, he was able to obtain the meeting
only after he assured the associate that the visitor
spoke fluent French. This leads the writer to believe
that the research accomplished is more accurate and
more complete than could have been produced by a non-
speaker of French.

This study provides some historical background,
an account of the most important educational reforms,

some comparison with the previous situation in Quebec,

12

and a detailed accounting of school committees and
parents' committees and their function.

Parent participation is in a state of evolution.
Most parents need to become acquainted with the schools
and the educational process before they can make a con-
tribution. In some areas parents have made an important
contribution and must await decentralization before
making further progress. In other areas little is
happening and apathy exists.

The participation of parents can be beneficial
to the schools, the children, and themselves. It should
facilitate decentralization and help in restoring some
local control to the schools. The participation of
parents is one indication that the people of Quebec

have moved a long way from the traditions of the past.

CHAPTER II

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In Quebec City in front of the Legislature there
is a rotary in Dufferin Avenue. In the circle is a floral
display which is planted to form the words ”Je me souviens”
(I remember). It is a reminder that life in French Canada
is firmly rooted in the traditions of the past. It
reminds the French-Canadian of the founding of New France
and the early days of the French in North America.

When the original French settlements were estab-
lished along the St. Lawrence River, they were governed
in a manner similar to that of the Ancien Regime in 18th
Century France. There was a governor who was in charge
of military affairs and an "intendant" who controlled
economic, financial, and judicial matters. The people
did not have a voice in anything. The French Revolution,
which ended despotic rule in France, did not have any
impact on life in French Canada. Therefore, there has
always been a lack of understanding and belief in

democratic principles and institutions in Quebec.

13

14

When the British began introducing democratic
institutions, the French-Canadians did not understand
them fully, but they accepted them because they thought
it was a means of preserving their cultural heritage.

The primary concern of French-Canadians has always been
the preservation of their language and their cultural
traditions. This, coupled with the long-term domination
of the Roman Catholic Church, has hindered their develop-
ment and slowed their emergence into our present.day
industrial, technological society.

The Church shared the authoritarian role with
the French civil authority until the time when theEnglish
gained control of Canada. Since the French-Canadians did
not accept the English colonial government as the ulti-
mate authority over them, they turned completely to the
Church in order to preserve their French language and,
customs. Thus the Church was able to enforce its values
more strictly. I

The Church decreed that spiritual values were
more important than material concerns. The ideal
Christian society preserved the family as a strong
patriarchal economic and social unit whose basic
function was reproduction. The parish was the center
of life beyond the family unit. The parish priest was

the authority for all matters of everyday life.

15

The school served to extend the work of the home
and parish in indoctrinating the children with the value
system of the Roman Catholic Church. This included
instruction in the importance of their agricultural
mission. They were taught that their faith and religious
values could only be preserved by leading a rural life.
It was not until after World War 2 that the Church changed
its position on this matter.

Most children at this time had only an elementary
school education or less. Higher education was reserved
for the elite.

The Catholic Church stifled democratic ideology
because it instilled the idea that power flows from the
top down. Democracy holds the opposite view.

With all of this in mind we can see more clearly
how and why the French-Canadians often differed in their

position from the English speaking population in Canada.

The 18603

 

Factors Working Toward
Confederation

 

 

Recently in Canada, people, especially French-
Canadians, have questioned the workability of the con-
stitution under which they have lived since the formation
of the Canadian nation in 1867. Therefore, it seems
necessary to go back to the 18605 when Confederation

took place and try to understand this event. The idea

16

of Confederation had been discussed widely for a number
of years, but it did not become a priority until the
18603.

At the time, the colonies of British America
consisted of a number of scattered settlements. There
were Vancouver and British Columbia in the far west, the
Red River settlement in northern Manitoba, Upper Canada
(Ontario), Lower Canada (the St. Lawrence settlements
of Quebec), and the Maritime provinces. These colonies
were so divided by land and by interests that only the
most far-sighted believed that one government would
suffice.

However, more people became caught up in the idea
of Confederation when they felt threatened by events in
the United States. In 1861 the American Civil War broke
out. At first, Canadian support was on the side of the
North as a result of their dislike of slavery. Later
they saw the South as a separate new nation and tended
to support that area. The situation was further compli-
cated by United States-British conflicts such as the
Trent Affair. Two Confederate commissioners to France
were removed from a British Steamer by a United States
warship. Great Britain demanded their release; war was
threatened. The British sent 10,000 reinforcement troops
to Canada. It became obvious that war between Great

Britain and the United States might be waged in Canadian

17

territory. This caused Canadians to look at strengthen-
ing their government in order to provide more effective
defense and a larger army.

Further trouble resulted from the St. Alban's
Affair in 1864. A group of twenty-five United States
Southerners who had taken refuge in Canada crossed the
border and raided the town of St. Albans, Vermont.
Although captured on their return to Canada, they were
soon released. The United States strengthened their
border patrols and discussed the possibility of rearming
the Great Lakes.

The Fenian Brotherhood, a group of Irishmen from
New York who wanted to revive the struggle for Irish
independence, staged a number of raids across the
Canadian border over a period of more than ten years.
American authorities, resentful over the lack of
Canadian action in the St. Albans Affair were slow in
restraining the Fenians. This was another contributing

factor to Canada's need to defend herself.

Economic Situation

About this time the economic situation in Canada
worsened. Canada had enjoyed a Reciprocity Treaty with
the United States which had facilitated trade and
provided an outlet for its products. However, there
was also a need to encourage interprovincial trade.

Some of the measures that Canada employed to implement

18

this generated American hostility. Additional resentment
was created by American groups who wanted to diminish
competition in certain product areas. In 1865 the

United States Congress gave notice that it planned to
terminate the Reciprocity Treaty in 1866. Since Quebec
had been marketing agricultural and forest products, the
French-Canadians were concerned (as were the English)
about the loss of their United States markets.

The expiration of the Reciprocity Treaty would
cause further financial problems for the Grand Trunk
Railroad as Canadian exporters would no longer be using
its services to send goods to the United States. The
railroad had been completed from Sarnia to Montreal with
extensions to Quebec and to Portland, Maine. Building
had been costly, and by the mid 18603 it was in financial
difficulty. In order to save it, they needed to expand
toward the Pacific. Therefore, backers of railway
expansion began to push for Confederation.

Along with sentiment for railway expansion came
the desire to colonize the North-West. A number of
Americans had already settled there. Canadians were
concerned over a possible takeover by the United States.
It quickly became a priority for Canada to acquire this
territory.

Meanwhile the French had been developing settle-

ments in the North-West since the early days of the fur

19

trade. The most notable, the Red River colony in Mani-
toba, had become known as a "little Quebec.” There was
an ethnic mix, but the majority of the population was
Métis, a group of half-breeds who were French-Indian or
English-Indian.1 They gradually became unified. The
success of this colony raised French hopes of having a
new Quebec develop in the West. Therefore, French-
Canadians were just as concerned as the English-Canadians

over United States' thrusts into the North-west.

Political Situation

About this time the political situation in Canada
had also become grave. In 1864 a political deadlock was
reached over the issues of nationality, religion, and
sectionalism. The dominant political leader of Lower
Canada at the time was Georges Etienne Cartier, who
headed the conservative Liberals. This man was a lawyer
with a business background. During his tenure, he was
instrumental in accomplishing judicial, administrative,
and educational reforms. He was also a strong backer
of a transportation system that would unify Canada.

During the 1850s he had formed an alliance with John

 

1According to John W. Chalmers in Schools of the
Foothills Province (University of Toronto Press,‘l967),
pp. 261-65} a Métis may also be a full-blooded Indian
whose ancestors accepted scrip or land instead of signing
treaty in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Thus, not being registered with the Indian Affairs Branch
of the Federal Government leaves him without the privi-
leged status of the treaty Indian.

 

 

20

MacDonald, the political leader of Upper Canada. It was
after the Cartier government fell and the Liberal, George
Brown, succeeded him that the political stalemate was
reached.

For years Upper and Lower Canada had enjoyed
equal representation in the Legislature even though the
population of Lower Canada was greater than the population
of Upper Canada. When the population of Upper Canada
became greater, the Brown government supported repre-
sentation by population. Naturally Cartier and the
French Canadians opposed this idea.

In addition, the effects of the economic and psy-
chological factors previously mentioned caused government
after government to collapse; neither party could maintain
itself in office.

Eventually Cartier and MacDonald (leading the
French and English conservatives) formed a coalition
with George Brown (leading the Canada West Liberals).
This surprised everyone since they had been bitter
enemies for over fifteen years. Etienne-Pascal Taché
provided unifying leadership for this government. They
hoped to bring about Confederation now that they had a
large majority in the Legislature. The leaders of the

opposition were the Canada East Liberals or Rouges.

21

Quebec Conference

On October 10, 1864, the Quebec Conference was
held. During the two weeks of meetings, seventy-two
resolutions were passed. These were to form the basis
of the new constitution. The Legislature adopted the
Quebec Resolutions in February, 1865. Next the plan
had to be ratified by each province who had sent dele-
gates to the meeting at Quebec.

Now Cartier had to persuade the people of the
province of Quebec that this plan for Confederation
should be ratified. It was not easy. Cartier tried to
emphasize the fairness of the proposal and the advantages
for French-Canadians. The French would have a majority
in the provincial government and a large minority in
the federal government. Most of the leading French-
Canadian newspapers supported him but not with enthusiasm.

John MacDonald had the job of maneuvering the
measure through the joint Ontario-Quebec Legislature.
Cartier did all possible to support him, even making
a three-hour speech. (This was notable since public
speaking was not counted among his strong points.)

He traced the history of the proposal and emphasized
that all basic rights and privileges would be preserved
and guaranteed for all. He also touted it as a safe
guard against absorption into the United States.

Finally the French Canadians supported him 27-21.

22

The vote in the House was taken on March 10, 1865; the
Quebec Resolutions were passed 91-33 (21 of those
opposed were French Canadians).1

Approval was finally granted by all provinces
involved, and in March of 1867 the British North America
Act was passed by the British Parliament and became the
written constitution of the Dominion of Canada. Dominion
Day is celebrated on July 1, the anniversary of the date
when the Dominion of Canada became official.

British North America Act
of 1867

 

The British North America Act adapted and com-
bined the British Parliamentary System and the federal
principles of the United States. Canadians wanted to
create political and judicial unity but preserve cultural
and religious diversity. Canadians rejected the intol-
erance and conformity that currently shaped the brand of
nationalism prevalent in EurOpe and in the United States.
Therefore, the system is the opposite of ours since it
gives to the federal government all the powers which
are not specifically granted to the provinces. These
specific powers were given to the provinces so that each
could retain its individuality. Quebec and Ontario,

which previously had a single Legislature, were now

 

1Mason Wade, The French Canadians, vol. 1
(Toronto: MacMillan of Canada, 1968), pp. 320-27.

 

23

separated to the satisfaction of both. This separation
was especially important for Quebec where there were
strong feelings over preserving their system of edu-
cation, civil law, language, and religion.

From the date of Confederation, French as well
as English became the official languages of Parliament
and the federal courts. The province of Quebec was
declared bilingual, also.

The new government was to have two Houses of
Parliament. The principal areas of the Dominion had
equal representation in the Senate. In the House of
Commons, representation was by population. To protect
minority rights, Quebec was to always have sixty-five
members. Other provinces would be allowed a smaller
or larger number according to whether their population

was less or more than that of Quebec.

Benefits

The French-Canadians benefited economically
under the provisions of the British North America Act
as the whole country prospered. The French-Canadians
controlled cultural and political matters within the
province of Quebec, but the English exercised much of
the economic control. They provided management; the
French provided the labor.

This was especially true in Montreal where the

population was still more English than French. Each

24

culture had its own section of the city. The city was
growing rapidly along with the economic expansion and
was becoming a great rail center. By 1867 Montreal had
eclipsed Quebec City as the center of British import and
export trade.

All of this economic growth and industrial
activity was the beginning of the industrial age in
Canada. This was welcomed by the English but not by
the French. They were much more resistant to change
since they tended to be conservative and traditional.

As a result, the French were behind in industrialization
until recently.

As industrialism grew, the union movement began
in Quebec. Here again the English were receptive; the
French preferred the Guild tradition of Europe. The
Church, which had accustomed the people to the agricul-
tural tradition, considered the unions “dangerous secret
societies."1 The Church also warned against the material-
istic and socialistic views of the union leaders because

they considered the unions a threat in the social realm.

The Riel Rebellion

 

The last major event of the decade of the 18603
was the story of the Riel Rebellion in the Red River

Colony in Manitoba. This territory was inhabited by

 

1Ibid.,‘p. 338.

25

Métis, and some Americans and Canadians, as previously
mentioned. It had been governed by the Hudson's Bay
Company. The French-speaking Métis were concerned over
losing their French culture and religion if the settle-
ment were taken over by Canada. On the day after the
lapse of the Hudson's Bay Company's authority and the
day before the Canadians were to take over, Louis Riel
(a Métis) set up a provisional government, hoping to
allow the area to enter the Federation as a separate
province. The small group of Canadian settlers opposed
him, and this led to Riel's shooting of an English-
speaking Canadian. The territory entered the Federation
as the province of Manitoba, but the English-speaking
Canadians protested the killing. This caused much hos-
tility between Quebec and Ontario for a number of years
to come and was intensified when Riel was later executed.l
It should be noted that the most important result
of the Riel Rebellion and the execution of Riel was the
growth of nationalist sentiment in Quebec and the for-
mation of the new Parti National. A major goal of this
party was to fight the national government by all con-

stitutional means.

 

1J. M. S. Careless, Canada, A Story of Challenge

(New York: St. Martin's Press, 1963), pp. 260-63.

 

26

Philosophical Considerations

In describing this period in Canadian History,
it is not enough simply to discuss the events that
occurred. Strong feelings were held by the French
Canadians during this decade, and an attempt must be

made to understand these, also.

Ultramontanism and Liberalism

The two philosophical waves in Quebec were
ultramontanism and liberalism. However, much confusion
existed because these terms were borrowed from Europe
where they were used differently. In Quebec the ultra-
montanes believed in the supremacy of the Pope. They
were nationalists who believed that they, the French-
Canadians, united by a common language, religion, and
culture, had a mission--to create a center of Catholicism
in the New World. The State was subordinated to the
Church.1

The liberals advocated a democratic government,
independent of the church. They believed in the rights

of free speech and free thought. Conflict between the

two groups continued for a number of years.

Role of the Catholic Church
The role of the Church was of primary importance

in French-Canadian life. In the years just before the

 

lWade, The French Canadians, p. 346.

 

27

18603 the authority of the church had been strongly
reinforced. An intellectual middle class had developed
in Quebec. These people were instrumental in forming

a strong nationalist philosophy based on the doctrine
of the Catholic Church.

In 1866 Mgr. Lafleche gave a speech which was
widely reproduced. In it he explained that the mission
of the French-Canadians was largely religious. Their
purpose was to convert the population to Catholicism and
to develop a predominantly Catholic nationality. He
lauded the efforts of Cartier and Champlain and stressed
group unity and strict adherence to Catholicism.1

Others before him and after him stressed the
agricultural nature of their mission. This was not only
a priority of the clergy. During the 18608 a whole
school of writers emerged to deify and glorify the rural
mission.

Chief among these was Antoine Guérin-LaJoie.

His novel Jean Rivard: Le Défricheur (the pioneer
settler), published in 1862, emphasized ”la vocation

rurale."2 For years the Church had told the French-

Canadians that their mission was to establish

 

1Ramsey Cook, French-Canadian Nationalism
(Toronto: MacMillan of Canada, I969), pp. §§-IU€.

 

2Ramsey Cook, Canada and the French-Canadian
Question (Toronto: MachlIan of Canada, 1966), p. 85.

 

28

agricultural settlements and work the land. This author
wrote the novel because he felt a missionary desire to

remind French-Canadians of this ideal.

La survivance

A constant preoccupation with French-Canadians
has been the idea of "1a survivance." This word has a
larger meaning than the English word survival. It is a
philosophy formed about the time of the 1812-1814 War
and is considered to be a form of nationalism. It is
an expression of the French-Canadian determination to
preserve its language, religion, institutions, laws,
and culture. It is a struggle against being assimilated
by the English-speaking Canadians. It is a preservation
of its own group with no thought of converting others
to join them in their way of life. In contrast, the
English looked upon survival as not only maintaining
what they had but also expanding their territory.

One of the leading proponents of cultural sur-
vival was Francois-Xavier Garneau, who is regarded as
the father of French-Canadian literature. Among his
many books, he published three editions of his history
of French Canada and prepared materials for a fourth
which appeared after his death. In his history he
expounded the relationship between French-Canadian

language, laws and customs, and also between religion

29

and nationality. These views were widely accepted, and
his history was read as a "national bible."1
It is easy to see how the spirit of ”survivance"
pervaded the whole struggle for setting up the Confed-
eration in the years preceding 1867. The French-Canadians
looked upon every development from an ethnic point of
view, wanting to preserve equality of rights not only
for those French-Canadians who lived in Quebec but for
those who had chosen to live in other parts of Canada.
However, one cannot say that it was only Quebec who
wanted a federation rather than another form of govern-
ment. The province of Ontario was just as set on having

local control, and therefore, was in agreement with Quebec

on this important question.

Ideals of Cartier

Georges Cartier, the French—Canadian statesman
who worked so hard to achieve Confederation, tried to set
a Canadian ideal rather than a provincial one. "We are
of different races, not to wage war among ourselves,
but to work together for the common welfare."2 [sic]

It is discouraging to see that after many years of

 

1Wade, The French-Canadians, p. 289.

 

2Mason Wade, The French-Canadian Outlook
(Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1964), p. 41.
No notation of the original source of this quotation.

 

30

statesmanship, as he emphasized a Canadian nationalism,
he lost power with the French-Canadians but never was

fully trusted by the English Canadians.l

Renewal of Ties with France

It should be noted also that from the moment of
Confederation, the French-Canadians displayed a certain
defensiveness coming from the fact that their numerical
strength was less than one-third of the total population
of the new nation. This is undoubtedly responsible for
the reactionary spirit which still exists among the
Quebecois.

During the 18505 and 18603 Quebec had renewed
its interest in France. This feeling of loss of power
in 1867 caused the French-Canadians to turn even more
toward France and to heighten the renewal of ties between
France and Quebec. For awhile the French-Canadians were
thought to be more French and more Catholic than the
French in France! This ended about 1870 when France
became a republic after the defeat of Napoleon. At
this time, the French-Canadians decided they had been
”chosen by Providence to carry on the true French and
Catholic tradition, uncorrupted by liberalism and repub-

licanism."2

 

1Wade, The French-Canadians, p. 309.

 

21bid., p. 352.

31

Ultranationalism

Everything moved together to bring about the
ultranationalism born at the end of this decade. This
ultranationalism used religion for political ends and
politics for religious ends. One can see how this easily
aroused hostility among the English-speaking, who favored
separation of Church and State. This intensified
French-Canadian feeling of being a minority and
strengthened the inferiority complex, which resulted
in arrogance and aggression.1 And this is how it was
at the end of the 18603.

In the years which followed, the provinces of
Canada continued to develop. Geographical areas were
added until the Federation of Canada grew into the ten
provinces which we know today. The population grew con-
siderably, partly as the result of immigration. Because
of its tremendous size and its potential for growth,
Canada became known to many as the land of opportunity
and therefore attracted many immigrants of various
nationalities. Economic growth continued with the
advent of industrialization and the development of new
technology.

This occurred in Quebec also, but the changes in
the French sector were not as rapid. The struggle for

”la survivance" continued to be uppermost in importance

 

1Wade, The French-Canadian Outlook, p. 46.

32

in the minds of the Québecois, and the dominance of the
Catholic Church remained in force. However, the people
were beginning to be aware of the social and economic
changes being made elsewhere, and they began to question

their way of life.

The 19603

 

Political Events in Quebec
Duplessis Era

The 19603 were both an exciting and disturbing
time for the people of French Canada. This period marked
the emergence of Quebec into the 20th century.

Formerly, the province had been controlled by
Maurice Duplessis, who had been premier for all but five
years during the period from 1936 until he died in 1959.
Duplessis, son of a judge and trained as a lawyer, began
his political career in 1927 as the legislative delegate
from Three Rivers. Later his goal was to defeat the
Taschereau government and replace it with his Conserva-
tive Party. He accomplished this in 1936, but once in
office, he abandoned his proposed social and economic
programs and showed his true economic conservatism.

During his campaign Duplessis and his Union
Nationale Party had promised to establish a badly needed
provincial hydro-electric power company and to regulate
the large ones already in business. This was to conserve

and control the use of natural resources and to provide

33

power at a reasonable rate to all citizens. Once in
office, he stated that the government did not have the
financial resources to undertake this project so the
abuses in this area continued.

In the area of social legislation, the Duplessis
party had proposed a number of reforms to aid the poor
and the workers. Only a few minor changes were made here.

The labor legislation that was passed was more
beneficial to the employers than to the workers. The
Fair Wage Act gave the impression that it helped labor;
it did not. The government set the wage level lower than
many of the companies had been paying. This allowed
employers to decrease the amount of wages paid which
hurt the labor force considerably.

During Duplessis' campaign, he had talked against
the practice of allowing foreign investors to provide
capital for Quebec industry. While in office, he did
nothing to change this situation. Quebec continued to
be industrialized by foreigners at a tremendous cost to
French-Canadians.

There was one important area where the party's
promises were kept. Laws were passed to give farmers
liberal financial assistance. Why? It was important
to have their support because the farm districts still

carried more influence on election day than did the

34

urban districts. The province needed to be redistricted,
but Duplessis preferred it the way it was.

Duplessis was also responsible for maintaining
the status quo in the school system. He supported the
old-fashioned conservative schools desired by the Roman
Catholic leaders.

It is important to understand how this one man
was able to dominate Quebec for a quarter of a century
when he did not carry out his proposed programs. There
are three factors which explain this.

First, it must be remembered that the primary
concern of the French-Canadians was "1a survivance" or
the preservation of their language and customs. Since
Duplessis was a strong supporter of this and fought for
provincial rights, the voters overlooked his performance
in economic and social matters.

In addition, it was easy for a party in power
to stay in power. The people did not understand the
principles of democratic government. They did not
realize that they had certain rights. Therefore, it
was easy for the leaders to dispense favors to the party
faithful. If contractors wanted government contracts,
they had to donate large sums to the campaign fund. If
a town wanted a badly needed bridge or road, they had to
vote the right way or Duplessis made sure that they

didn't get it.

35

A third important factor was the position of the
Roman Catholic Church. While it did not at this time
openly support a political party, it was opposed to
communism because it was atheistic. Church leaders
thought that any shift toward the left in economic or
social programs would pave the way for communism.
Therefore, they backed Duplessis.1

Duplessis was a master politician whose whole
life revolved around governing Quebec. He thought he
was indispensable.2 However, during the latter years
of this tenure, a growing number of Québecois were

beginning to question his policies.

The Quiet Revolution

When Duplessis died in 1959, these liberals who
had begun to realize that Duplessis' policies were not
in their best interests supported Jean Lesage, leader
of the province's Liberal Party. Lesage was elected
prime minister of Quebec in June of 1960; this marked
the beginning of the Quiet Revolution.

All over the province, people were questioning
the values that had been held for so long--such things

as the role of the State, the place of the Church in

 

1Herbert F. Quinn, The Union Nationale (Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 1963f? pp. 69-151.

 

2Pierre Laporte, The True Fags of Duplessis
(Montreal: Harvest House Limited, 1960).

 

36

Society, the place of the layman in the church, the edu-
cational system, the place of Quebec in the Confederation.
It was a time of turning inward, of disinterest in the
rest of the nation.1 People no longer felt that their
cultural survival depended on the concept of Confeder-
ation.

These people found an echo and a support in Le
Devoir, a Montreal daily newspaper. Articles called for
higher educational standards, attention to the French
language, social security, public morality, and the
rights of trade unions.2 This newspaper was, however,
still committed to "la survivance." The commitment to
this philosophy was just as strong as ever. It was one
idea which remained unchanged.

About the same time a book expressing these same
views appeared and began to circulate widely. A young

Catholic brother and teacher wrote Les Insolences du

 

Frere Untel (The Impertinences of Brother Anonymous).

 

The success of this book showed that a great number of
French-Canadians were taking a critical look at their
society and were anxious to have those changes made which
would free them from tradition and enable them to make the

social and economic advances which they saw as necessary.

 

lCook, Canada and the French-Canadian Question,

 

p. 17.

21bid., pp. 104-05.

37

The new Lesage government addressed itself to
these demands. Immediate priorities included cleaning
up corruption, enacting several social welfare measures,
improving labor laws, and expanding educational progress.
Lesage even established a ministry of education. In 1962
he nationalized eleven private hydro-electric companies.
The following April he announced a new tax plan to Ottawa.
He felt Quebec should have 25 percent of income taxes,

25 percent of corporation taxes, and 100 percent of the
succession taxes. The earlier reforms had not provoked
any reaction from the English because they were measures
to which English-Canadians were accustomed. However,
the tax measure attracted some notice.

Lesage had his own approach to federal-provincial
relations. He was very successful with his positive
autonism. He never said no to Ottawa but would respond
with all possible alternatives. He succeeded in making
his voice heard in Ottawa and caused the Québecois to
notice that their province could once more be a viable
political unit.

The structure of French-Canadian society at the
time could well be compared to an iceberg. The tip above
the water represents the educated e1ite--priests,
lawyers, doctors, and scholars. These people were
bilingual, cultivated, charming, equal to or better

than the best of English-speaking North America.

38

However, this only represented one-ninth of the French-
Canadian population. The other eight-ninths were under-
privileged, both economically and educationally. Whether
inhabitants of rural areas or hangers-on in the cities,
their standard of living was far below normal.1 Some
from this group were attempting to become educated, but
were finding it difficult due to the elitist educational
system. This caused them to turn from their traditional
clergy and lawyer-politician leaders.

One of the measures designed to help the under-
privileged masses was the family allowance. French-
Canadians traditionally had large families. The English
were vocal in their opposition to this welfare measure
because they did not want to financially support or
encourage the high birth rate. Some of the French-
Canadians opposed family allowances also, on the grounds
that the money was not sufficient to fully meet the needs
of the people. In addition, sending the checks to the
mothers instead of to the fathers was against the male
tradition. There was further controversy over the fact
that the French-Canadians wanted the financial help for
all of the welfare programs, but they did not want any

control by the federal government.

 

1Wade, The French-Canadian Outlook, pp. 81-82.

 

39

Revival of Separatism

During the time that Lesage was effecting his
reforms, other political parties were attempting to make
some gains. The Social Credit Party under the leadership
of Réal Caouette took twenty-six of Quebec's seats in the
federal election of 1962. These represented the interests
of people from the lower class and lower middle class who
were voting against the old order. However, one of the
party's tenets was French-English coexistence. There-
fore, splinter groups from the Social Credit Party
shifted and after several regroupings, name changes,
and mergers, they gradually evolved into the separatists.

These people represented about 13 percent of
Quebec's population. A profile of a typical separatist
showed a well-educated professional person, under thirty,
from a prosperous middle class family. This person had
rejected the absolutes of the Roman Catholic Church,
had become fiercely nationalistic, was ignorant of
economics, was interested in the rise of the new African
and Asian nations, and noted with pride the accomplish-
ments of modern France.1

A noted supporter of separatism was Dr. Marcel
Chaput, a federal civil service employee. He authored

a book in 1961 entitled Whin Am a Separatist which

 

 

1Cook, Canada and the French-Canadian Question,
pp. 18-190

 

40

called for Quebec to secede from the Confederation.
Chaput resigned from his job in order to work in support
of separatism.

The most extreme group, The Front de libération
québecois, or the F.L.Q., began attracting public notice
in the spring of 1963 with bomb explosions in public
places. The following year, among other activities,
they staged demonstrations during Queen Elizabeth's
visit.1
The Johnson Administration

In the election of 1966 Daniel Johnson, leader
of the Union Nationale party, narrowly defeated Lesage.
French-Canadians cling to their traditions, and many
thought Lesage had gone too far too fast. Therefore,
they voted for Johnson. Johnson continued the "quiet
revolution” but progress was slowed doWn considerably.

Before his election, Johnson had stated his
position on the future status of Quebec. He said, ”What
we must claim and obtain for Quebec, as the main seat of
a nation, is recognition as a national state." After
the election Johnson wavered in his position regarding
Confederation and worked for a closer alliance with

France. During DeGaulle's visit to Quebec for Expo '67,

 

1J. Bartlet Brebner, Canada (Ann Arbor: The

University of Michigan Press, I970), p. 546.

41

the French leader called for "le Québec libre" (a free

Quebec) during his speech. As can be imagined, this

brought forth a strong reaction from the English.1
The Johnson tenure ended with his death in 1968.

Jean Bertrand succeeded him and moderated the separatist

tendencies of the Union Nationale government.

Federal Politics

 

One of the major issues in federal politics
during the 19603 was the struggle between the French and
the English. Each group had its own public philosophy
which may be traced back to the British conquest in 1760.
The French-Canadians were a conquered group and a minority
and therefore have traditionally been concerned with
group rights. Cook calls their philosophy Rousseauian
because it evidences a general will of the group to
survive. He calls the English philosophy Lockean since
the English Canadians concern themselves with individual
rights and equality of opportunity. They feel that
groups do not have a right to special privileges; they
consider that undemocratic.2

The English feel that the basic concept of con-

federation worked well. The French were questioning its

 

1Kenneth McNaught, The History of Canada (New
York: Praeger Publishers, 1970), p. 309.

 

2Cook, Canada and the French-Canadian Question,

 

p. 146.

42

validity. They felt that in a democratic majority, all
issues of public business were decided in favor of the
English. Therefore, they were looking for a system
where more than a simple majority was used to decide
these questions. Some proposed a system of "associate
states." An obvious drawback was the realization that
almost every issue would result in voting along French-
English loyalties, culminating in a deadlock similar to
the one in 1864. Where that one led to Confederation,
this one might lead to separation.
Pearson Administration and the
Bilingual-Bicultural
Commission

When John Diefenbaker was prime minister of
Canada from 1957-1963, he did not show much concern for
French Canada. This changed when Lester Pearson came
into power. He thought that action should be taken to
alleviate French-Canadian grievances.

Pearson's first effort was made in July, 1963,

when he appointed André Laurendeau, editor of Le Devoir,

 

and Davidson Dunton, president of Carleton University in
Ottawa, to head a Royal Commission on Bilingualism and
Biculturalism. They were to investigate the current
status of bilingualism and biculturalism and then to
make recommendations on what should be done to provide

equality between the French and the English. They

43

were also to make note of cultural enrichment by other
ethnic groups.

In the first report in October, 1967, the com-
mission recommended that English and French should both
be declared the official languages of the Canadian par-
liament, the federal courts, the federal government, and
the federal administration. They further advised that
Ontario and New Brunswick should recognize English and
French as official languages due to the fact that they
had large French-speaking minorities. In fact, any
province where the minority had reached 10 percent of
the population should declare both languages official.
A later report in December, 1968 centered on education.
All Canadian children should have the right to be edu-
cated in the official language of their choice.

About this time, the English reacted to what
they considered to be too many concessions made to Quebec.
They cited the Bilingual-Bicultural Commission, the
increasing bilingualism in civil service, the increased
decentralization to allow more money and more freedom
in policy in the provinces, and the choice of the maple
leaf flag over the former more traditional English
design.1

This enlivened the discussion held during the

Dominion-Provincial Conference held in Ottawa in

 

1Ibid., p. 158.

44

February of 1968, just before Pearson left office. At

the conference, Premier Johnson of Quebec wanted more

power in international affairs, social welfare, and broad-
casting. Another French-Canadian, Pierre Trudeau, who was
Minister of Justice at the time, expressed his opposition.
The conference did endorse the research of the Bilingualism-
Biculturalism Commission and stated that "French-speaking
Canadians outside Quebec should have the same rights as

English-speaking Canadians in Quebec."1

The Trudeau Administration

Shortly after this conference, Pierre Trudeau
became the leader of the Liberals and then prime minister
of Canada. Under his leadership the Official Language
Act, carrying out the recommendations of the commission,
was passed in July, 1969. Trudeau's government also
continued to help alleviate the problems of Quebec. When
Air Canada wanted to shift its overhaul base from Winnipeg
to Dorval, the battle between Manitoba and Quebec went
on from 1962-1969 when the transfer was finally made.
In addition, all the help received by Quebec caused the
Maritime Provinces to demand more help, also.

Trudeau is a champion of the philosophy of Canada
as one nation. Therefore, he is not popular with the

separatists. He has an ally in Robert Bourassa, an

 

1Brebner, Canada, p. 549.

4S

economist trained at Harvard and Oxford, who became
premier of Quebec in 1970. Bourassa feels that Quebec
can best preserve its culture and attain its goals by
staying within the Confederation.1

Therefore, all through the sixties, Quebec has
been involved in arguments over the future shape of
Canada and its role in it. French-Canadians have been
free in their own province to effect the changes that
were necessary. They have also had to give attention
to making their position more secure within the nation
of Canada. As Andre Laurendeau said, "At Quebec one

does what one wishes; at Ottawa one does what one can."2

Economics

 

While French-Canadians have been more dominant on
the political scene, English Canadians have had financial
control over the economy. In order to attain prominence
in big business and in the higher civil service posts,
it was necessary to be English-speaking. Thus, the
majority of the immigrants flocking to Canada in large
numbers elected to become English speakers. This heavy
immigration became a serious threat in the eyes of

French-Canadians, especially since their birth rate was

 

1Walz, Portrait of Canada (New York: American
Heritage Press): P. 176.

2Cook, Canada and the French-Canadian Question,
p. 117.

46

now declining while the English birth rate was rising.
This threat to economic security was a major factor in
increasing Quebec's efforts for survival.1

The desire for economic security caused French-
Canadians to be more receptive to the union movement.
They were much less willing to work longer hours for
lower wages. They also began to push to improve their
working conditions.2

There was a great need for French-Canadians to
be involved in business management so that French-Canadians
who wanted the opportunity could rise above the level of
labor. However, the financial capital was largely in
the hands of the English. It had been hard to fight the
indifference of French-Canadians who had been taught for
years that their mission was agricultural. Some thought
that the government should provide financial assistance
for French Canadians to start their own businesses.
René Levesque, Quebec Minister of Natural Resources,
said in 1963 that "our principal capitalist for the
moment--and as far into the future as we can see--must
therefore be the state. It must be more than a partici-

pant in the economic development and the emancipation

 

lMcNaught, The History of Canada, p. 290.

 

2Wade, The French-Canadian Outlook, pp. 80—81.

 

47

of Quebec; it must be a creative agent."1 Progress in
this area of increased economic participation for French-
Canadians has been slow.

In searching for a key to understand contemporary
Quebec, one finds as worthy of comment the writings of
Professor Michel Brunet, the director of l'Institut
d'histoire (Institute of History) of the University of
Montreal. According to Ramsey Cook, he is the best con-
temporary nationalist historian. He has not only studied
Quebec's past to seek clues for survival, but he has
delved into the modern problems of class structure,
economic organization, and political power. He has
urged French-Canadians not to withdraw from the urban-
industrial society but to be active participants in it.
However, he is conservative; he is clever at identifying
problems, but he does not provide solutions.2

For descriptive details along with the flavor of
life in Quebec during this period, one can peruse the
novels of Gabrielle Roy. In contrast to the poverty

stricken farm family of Maria Chapdelaine, she chronicles

 

a poverty stricken Montreal slum family in her novel
The Tin Flute. It is depressing to read about their

desperate attempts to survive in the face of one

 

lCook, Canada and the French-Canadian Question,

p. 93.

21bid., pp. 127-28, 140-42.

48

catastrophe after another. In contrast, a friend of the
daughter with an intense desire to move up, manages to
deny himself all the usual pleasures to get a better job

elsewhere.

Resulting Crisis

From these writings and others, we see how economic
factors caused a crisis in the sixties. There existed in
French Canada a series of rising expectations. The area
had been in the process of becoming industrialized for
many years. Social transformations had lagged behind
because the political system had moved too slowly in
relation to the other changes. At the same time that
the Québecois were desiring these changes, they began to
recognize the danger of assimilation into the English-
speaking population now that they were also industrial-
ized. This increased their desire to gain economic con-
trol representing their 80 percent of the total population

in the province.

Education

 

The rising expectations of the Québecois resulted
in demands for more educational opportunity and helped
pave the way for the important educational reforms which
took place in this decade. This, along with a general

discontent with the educational system in Quebec

49

especially noted in Les Insolences du Frére Untel men-

 

tioned earlier, caused action in this area.

Paul Gérin-Lajoie became Minister of Youth in
1960. He immediately took over responsibility and
financial control of the Department of Education which
had been run by the office of the Provincial Secretary.
He then moved to expand secondary education. To do this,
he provided for upgrading of quality of teachers,
abolished tuition, increased compulsory attendance
from age fourteen to age fifteen, and regrouped the
school boards to encourage cooperation.

Meanwhile, under the Lesage administration, a
royal commission had been formed under Monsignor A. M.
Parent to explore thoroughly the educational system and
make recommendations. The reports presented in 1963,
1964, and 1966 recommended a thorough revision including
the appointment of a Minister of Education to coordinate
education at all levels. A year later a law was passed
to achieve this last goal. A major aid to the passage
of this bill was the fact that the Roman Catholic hierarchy
had been sensitive to the changing societal needs and
decided not to oppose it.

Following this, the entire school system was
reorganized. A major reform in secondary education was
the change to the comprehensive school where all students

would take certain core subjects at various levels

50

instead of being separated into academic, general,

and vocational programs.
The initial reaction of the Province to this pano-
rama was something approaching awe. Intellectually
and emotionally, the government, educators, the
press, and the public found themselves swept along
with the combination of enthusiasm, certitude, and
vision which characterized both the commissioners
and their recommendations. Although reservations
were voiced concerning specific recommendations and
concerning the time and methods needed to effect
this miraculous transformation, a consensus 1
developed around the "spirit" of the Report.

Later the CEGEP2 was added. This was a two-year
program leading to university entrance or a three-year
terminal program. Pressure from increased enrollment
here led to the creation of the University of Quebec with
its five branches.

Several controversies developed during the efforts
to implement the recommendations. One of the major ones
concerned the organization of school boards. Should they
be unified? Should they be separated along confessional
lines? Or along language lines? The Parent Commission
advocated unified boards. Here they lost the support of

many of the people. School boards continued to be

French-Catholic or English-Protestant.

 

1Norman Henchey, "Quebec Education: The Unfin-
ished Revolution," McGill Journal of Education 7 (Fall
1972): 103-04.

2College d'Enseignement Général et Professionel.

51

A second crisis arose from teacher demands for
money and power. Eventually this was solved when teachers
won the right to form a bargaining unit. Salaries were
established on a single scale for the whole province,
and teachers were allowed into the decision-making
process.

The dispute over the French/English education/
language problem reached new heights over the St. Léonard
affair. St. Léonard, a suburb of Montreal, had a mixed
French and Italian population. Many of the Italians
wanted an English education for their children even
though many of them spoke French. A group called Le
Mouvement pour l'intégration scolaire (movement for
school integration) won a majority in the Catholic
school board election in 1968. Shortly after, the board
announced that they were abolishing instruction in
English beginning in grade 1 that fall. The Ministry
of Education did not interfere; there did not seem to
be anything in the law to prevent the school board's
action. It looked as though Quebeckers wanted a uni-
lingual Quebec. The English were alarmed, and it was
obvious that the whole problem of French, English, and
minority cultural groups would have to be defined.

In December, 1968, the Gendron Commission was

formed to study the issue of linguistic rights. The

52

issue was not settled by the end of the sixties and was
carried over into the seventies.

Quebeckers wanted to become "maitres chez nous"
(masters of our own province) and were looking for the

educational system to provide them with the necessary

skills.

To sum up the decade of the sixties we may say

that

. . . most of the effort of the last decade has
consisted in trying to enlarge the responsibilities
of the government of Quebec without breaking up
the Confederation, and in trying to redress the
balance in the whole of Canada in favour of a
little more justice for the French-speaking com-
munity. This effort on the linguistic plane has
taken on special importance in the services of

the federal government, in the educational systems
of other provinces than Quebec, and also to a
large extent in the private sector of the economy.
Important gains have been made, but these have

not been enough . . . to satisfy important seg-
ments of the Quebec society.

 

1Claude Ryan, ”French Canada," Social Education

35 (October 1971): 673.

 

CHAPTER III

THE PARENT COMMISSION REPORT AND ITS EFFECT

UPON THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

It has already been mentioned that the Quiet
Revolution in the 19603 necessitated considerable changes
in the educational system in order to make a break with
the traditions of the past and to accelerate Quebec's
emergence into a technological society. Premier Lesage
appointed a royal commission in May 1961 to make a
thorough study of the educational system, to frame new
objectives for education, and to formulate a plan for
their implementation. This Royal Commission of Inquiry
on Education in the Province of Quebec was headed by
Monsignor Alphonse-Marie Parent, professor of philosophy
and vice-rector of Laval University. Eight other members
were chosen: Gerard Filion, Managing Director of the
newspaper "Le Devoir"; Paul Larocque, Assistant Secretary,
Aluminum Ltd.; David Munroe, Director of the Institute
of Education, McGill University; Marie-Laurent de Rome,
Religious of the Holy Cross, Professor of Philosophy at

Basile Moreau College; Jeanne Lapointe, Professor in the

53

54

Faculty of Letters, Laval University: John McIlhone,
Assistant Director of Studies, The Catholic School
Commission of Montreal; and Guy Rocher, Director of
the Department of Sociology, University of Montreal.
Arthur Tremblay, Assistant Director of the School of
Pedagogy and Orientation, Laval University, and Technical
Counsellor for the Department of Youth, Quebec, was
appointed an associate member with the right of dis-
cussion but not the right to vote. There was a secre-
tarial staff of five.

The Parent Commission started its work on May 16,
1961. Its first act was to invite everyone, but espe-
cially educators, to present their views and suggestions
in written form. These briefs were discussed first by
the members of the commission and later by those attend-
ing the public meetings. Three hundred written statements
were received)" Public meetings were held in eight Quebec
cities for a total of about forty days. Members of the
commission met in private interviews with about 125 other
people who were specialists in education or in related
disciplines. Each week, the commission spent two or
three days exchanging opinions, holding discussions,
studying texts written by members of the commission or

by special work-study teams that had been asked to work

 

1A list of these may be found on pages 267-72
in vol. 5 of the Parent Report.

55

on a particular question. Later commission members
visited about fifty institutions on all levels in the
Province to obtain first-hand information on how the
school system functioned.

In May of 1962, the commission began an investi-
gation of the educational system of each of the other
Canadian provinces. Later they familiarized themselves
with the systems of several American states. Early in
1963, commission members visited the following European
countries: Scotland, England, France, Belgium, Denmark,
Sweden, West Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. With all
of the above information in hand, the commission began
to produce its report.

The first volume of the five-volume Parent Com-
mission Report appeared on April 23, 1963. This volume
established the underlying philosophy for all the recom-
mendations that were made. The volume contains a history
of education in Quebec, a description of the legislation
which controlled education at the time, and a census of
the whole system of public and private education. Most
importantly, the volume contains a discussion of the
goals of education in Quebec as well as the philosophy
behind them.

At the beginning of the decade of the sixties,
education in Quebec was rather fragmented and uncoordi-

nated. The Public Education Council had two permanent

56

committees, the Catholic Committee and the Protestant
Committee. Each of these was responsible for public
education in its sector. However, there was no articu-
lation between the two since the Public Education Council
had not met as a body for over half a century. To further
complicate matters, public education ended with the ninth
grade in many areas.

In addition to the Public Education Council,
there was a Provincial Superintendent of Education
appointed by the government. He was responsible to the
Legislature through the office of the Provincial Secre-
tary. This Superintendent of Education supervised the
Department of Education (formerly the Department of Public
Instruction), which watched over the implementation of
the regulations of the Protestant and Catholic Committees.

There was also a fairly large grouping of private
schools. Many of these were convents or classical col-
leges. The latter schools were the exclusive route to
higher education. These as well as the teacher training
institutions were under the jurisdiction of agencies
of religious affiliation, dioceses, or religious com-
munities. Government aid was furnished on an irregular
basis, and many survived only because there were many
teachers who turned back their salaries to the colleges

or schools.

57

A variety of specialized schools existed under
the support of certain Quebec ministries, hospitals,
and private corporations. These provided training in
such areas as nursing, agriculture, fine arts, naval
pilot training, technology, military engineering, and
theatre arts.

Due to the lack of coordination, it was impossible
to transfer from one school to another. It was nearly
impossible to arrange late entry into a university.

The severe discipline imposed in many private schools
resulted in expulsion of some very able students. Once
out of a particular school, it was virtually impossible
to enter another because of differing instruction and
regulations and because of an unwillingness to accept a
person who had caused a discipline problem. This, in
turn, made it impossible to follow any of the prescribed
channels for university entrance, resulting in barring
some talented people from higher education.

All of the above contributed to the need to
redesign the educational system in order to standardize

the opportunities available to all Quebec school children.

Summary of the Parent Report

 

Up until this time this democratic ideal had not
been perceived as desirable. Quebeckers, for the most

part, had accepted the traditional, elitist system. The

58

new philosophy, however, as stated in Volume One of the
Parent Report, declares that the new educational system
must be based on the concepts of democracy, partici-
pation, and humanism. This philosophy will be discussed
further later in this chapter.

Volume One of the Parent Report also sets forth
the goals of the educational system: There must be
equality of opportunity to learn, accessibility of
advanced education to all, and adequate preparation for
each individual for life in modern society.1

The commission decided that Quebec needed to
centralize its educational system in order to achieve
its goals. The report explained that three phases were
needed: developing a plan, the study of proposed legis-
lation, and the carrying out of the new policy. For
these three phases, there should be collaboration between
a consultative council, the Cabinet and Legislature, and
government officials. The commission recommended the
appointment of a Minister of Education to be a Cabinet
Minister, sit in the Legislature, direct the Ministry
of Education, and consult the Council.2 This Council,

to be named the Superior Council of Education, is needed

 

1Quebec, Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry
on Education in the ProVince of Quebec, vdII’l (Quebec:
The Quebec OfficIaI’PublisBers, 1963), p. 75.

 

2Ibid., p. 83.

59

to ensure broader representation and provide democratic
participation in planning.1 The commission further
spelled out the organization and functions of the
Ministry of Education and the Superior Council of
Education to conclude Volume One.

In October of 1963, Volumes Two and Three, the
largest volumes of the Parent Report, were submitted.
They contain the bases for the reorganization of elemen-
tary and secondary education. Volume Two deals with the
structure and levels; Volume Three treats programs of
study and educational services.

Volume Two is divided into two sections: The
Reform of Education and The Levels of Education. The
first section contains a discussion of the new humanism
as it relates to the aims of education. It also provides
a rationale for the proposed structure and the length of
time devoted to each segment of this new structure. The
second section discusses in detail each stage of the
educational ladder from pre-school through Continuing
Education.

The Parent Commission recommended developing
pre-school education, first for five-year-olds and later
for four-year-olds. Elementary school should be six
years in length, divided into two three-year cycles with

a remedial year provided at the end of the first cycle

 

lIbid., p. 37.

60

for those who need it. During the first cycle the student
learns the basics: reading, writing, arithmetic, and
civil, moral, and religious training. The second cycle
is for the purpose of learning methods of individual and
team work as well as a systematic exploration of the
environment.1

Secondary education should be five years in length,
divided into a two-year cycle and a three-year cycle.
The first cycle is for general education; the second is
for the beginning of specialization.2

A separate level of education was recommended for
pre-university and vocational education. Students pre-
paring for university would take two years of studies
while those undertaking training in a specialized
vocation would elect three years of course work.3

Higher education was defined as all studies taken
after the thirteenth year diploma. Three years of uni-
versity work is required for the first degree. Teacher
training would now be a part of higher education.4

Volume Two concludes with guidelines and recommen-

dations for a Continuing Education Program and the

structures for the education of exceptional children.

 

11bid., v61. Two, pp. 362-63.

3

21bid., p. 365. Ibid., pp. 368-69.

41bid., pp. 371, 377.

61

In Volume Three the Parent Commission explained
the basic assumptions underlying its organization of
education. First and foremost, education was to be
child-centered. Each child was to be encouraged to
develop himself to the utmost of his capabilities. It
was up to the teacher to provide appropriate experiences
to accomplish this. Thus, teachers would have to learn
to adapt to new methods and new curriculum.

The importance of effective communication was
stressed in a chapter devoted to the proper teaching of
the mother tongue, whether it be French or English, by
well-trained specialists. Subsequent chapters defined
and discussed each of the subject matter areas. A wealth
of courses was to be provided in each area to provide for
the individual needs and interests of the students.
Whereas before students elected a total program (academic
or general) depending on their goals, now they could
choose any subject they wished but on a level commensurate
with their abilities.

Other aspects included in this volume are cur-
riculum and textbooks; support areas such as libraries,
medical services, and psychological help; and construction
of physical facilities.

The final volumes of the Parent Report were pre-
sented in March of 1966. Both volumes are concerned

with administration of education. In Volume Four the

62

commission defined a general policy for education, reiter-
ating some of the important philosophical considerations
such as democratic participation and the right of all to
be educated. Since all have a right to equal opportunity
of education, the government must control the distribution
of tax monies. This money must be distributed equally
among the various levels of the educational ladder and
also among the different geographical areas of the pro-
vince. The gap must be closed between urban and rural
areas. The burden of the taxpayer must be equalized
throughout the province as well.

An important issue handled in this volume is that
of confessionality and nonconfessionality. The commission
stated that the school system must accept the religious
diversity of the population and heed the desires of
parents on the type of schools they wish their children
to attend. Both confessional and nonconfessional schools
have their place.

The commission recognized the problem of the two
official languages and the cultural diversity that
exists. It recommended close contact between French
and English schools in order to encourage mutual
enrichment.

Two chapters were devoted to the problem of local
school administration. A rationale was presented for

reducing the number of local school boards and creating

63

one single school board for each given area. This board
would be responsible for all types of schools (French,
English, Catholic, Protestant) in that area. This single
school board would assess the tax rate as well as direct
the schools. Local control would be realized by the
creation of school committees made up of the parents of
the students in each individual school.

The regional boards of a given economic region
would form a Council of School Development to coordinate
certain regional matters. The commission recommended
that Montreal and Quebec be given special consideration
in reforming the school administration due to the com-
plexities that existed in these large metropolitan areas.

The remainder of Volume Four proposed new policies
for improving Indian and Eskimo education and enumerated
recommendations for private education in Quebec. For-
merly, the Indian Affairs Branch of the federal govern-
ment had controlled Indian education; but it had then
decentralized to the point of giving control to the
regional officers within each province. It took a further
step in encouraging the integration of Indians into the
public schools. The federal government encouraged
transfer of the responsibility for Eskimo education to
the provincial governments also. In Quebec the respon-
sibility was given to the Bureau for New Quebec in the

Department of Natural Resources since people in this

64

office were familiar with Eskimo problems. The Parent
Commission recommended the continuance of these policies
along with certain refinements to incorporate the new
philosophy and objectives. The Commission further
recommended that Indian parents be able to participate
in the school committees of the public schools attended
by their children and that school committees be estab-
lished for Eskimo parents also.1

The major portion of Volume Five is concerned
with a detailed study of the cost and financing of the
whole educational system. An attempt is made to forecast
the increase in expenditures to implement the reforms.
The revision of the tax system is outlined. A chapter
is devoted to pre-university, technical, and university
education since this level was expected to increase dra-
matically.

The participants in education have their turn for
attention in this volume, also. The commission develops
the concept of teaching as a profession and notes the
rights and responsibilities of teachers. Parents are
recognized as having a role and function in the system.
The commission saw them as partners with the school in
educating children. The students were to have responsi-

bilities also.

 

1Ibid., Vol. Four, pp. ll7-32.

65

Almost all of the fifty-four chapters of the
report end with conclusions and recommendations for each
topic discussed.

Many of the changes that were recommended in the
Parent Report were actually implemented. In order to
understand why this was done, it is essential to be
familiar with the philosophical bases for the reforms

as set forth in the Parent Report.

Changes in Philosophy

 

The three most important concepts are democracy,
participation, and humanism. These represent a total
change in thinking from the French-Canadian tradition.

Previously the French-Canadians thought it
necessary only to educate an elite. Top students were
encouraged to attend the classical "colleges" where they
underwent a program of intellectual, moral, and cultural
development. Later they entered university where they
were urged to become doctors, lawyers, or priests. Less
able students went from elementary school to certain
trade or commercial schools or dropped out to work on
the farms or in the factories. In many rural areas
secondary education was not even offered.

The English, who represented about 13 percent of
the population of the province at the time, had their
own educational views and favored a shorter ladder to

university (eleven grades). Public high schools were

66

available to most students and were oriented toward the
pre-university student. The English were interested in
careers in science, engineering, and business as well as
medicine and law.

The Commission noted that Quebec in recent years
had all the ingredients common to the world-wide crisis
in education. There was a large increase in the number
of people desiring not only some schooling but also more
years of schooling. Life in the province had changed.
It was no longer that of an agricultural or pre-industrial
society. It had become an industrial, technological
culture with all the resulting problems. Many people
had moved from rural to urban areas seeking increased
opportunity for more gainful employment and better living
conditions.1 People's attitudes had been greatly influ-
enced as the result of exposure to world events and the
mass communication media.2

The Parent Report states that the world has
become divided into two groups--those which have demo-
cratic institutions and those which have not. Democracies
have spent time and money overthrowing dictatorships.
Countries have had to decide which of the above two power

groups they wish to join.3 Canada has had a history of

 

1Vol. One, p. 57.

2 3

Ibid., p. 66. Ibid., p. 69.

67

democratic institutions, particularly in the English
sector. Therefore, Quebec has had to attempt to under-
stand what the democratic spirit really means. The
democratic spirit requires active participation on the
part of all citizens at whatever level is suitable. All
should have enough education to formulate an idea of the
common good and how they may contribute to it. They need
to be aware of the rights of others. Each person needs
to develop his own capabilities so that the democracy

may have the benefit of many skills and ideas.

Therefore, the Parent Report contains the follow-
ing statement of goals for the educational system: "In
modern societies the educational system has a threefold
goal: to afford everyone the opportunity to learn; to
make available to each the type of education best suited
to his aptitudes and interests; to prepare the individual
for life in society."1

In order to provide equality of opportunity,
Quebec schools must admit every child, "regardless of
religious belief, racial origin, cultural background,
social position, age, sex, physical or mental health."2
In addition, comparable educational opportunities must
be offered regardless of geographic location. Higher
education, formerly for a minority, must be provided for

all who want it. Each child must have a chance to

 

1 2

Ibid., p. 75. Ibid.

68

receive adequate training or preparation for the occu-
pation of his choice as well as a chance to develop
interests for leisure time activities.

Along with a renewed Spirit of democracy, there
is a new humanism to be infused into education in Quebec.
Before, when secondary and higher education were only
provided for a minority, students received the same
humanistic instruction, designed, "to cast in a single
intellectual and moral mould those destined to be the
nation's upper class."1 Now the mass media are dissemi-
nating a wide variety of material to all. All people
have some knowledge of science, technology, and literature.
The schools must consider this and provide a broader
general culture. There must be a balance between general
knowledge and training for a specific career. The new
humanism must prepare the child for life in contemporary
society.

Continuing with the discussion of the philOSOphy
found in the Parent Report, the Commission noted that
education in Quebec must turn from the fixed programs
of the past toward a child-centered education. Efforts
must be made to develop the initiative and curiosity of
each individual child. This should result in strengthen-
ing important personal characteristics as well as creat—

ing diversity of individuals.

 

1Ibid., Vol. Two, p. S.

69

Changes in Structure
Having dealt with the new philosophy, the Com-
mission looked at the modifications that had to be made
in the structure of the school system to accommodate
the new philosophy and goals. The first important
problem was the dispersal of control under the old system.
As previously mentioned, there was the Public Education
Council with its separate Protestant and Catholic Com-
mittees, the Superintendent of Education, the private
schools, the classical colleges, and the variety of
specialized schools all under separate management. If
equality of opportunity were to be established, it would
be necessary to consolidate. The Parent Report states,
(1) We recommend the appointment of a Minister
of Education, whose function shall be to pro-
mote and coordinate educational services at
all levels, including the private and public
sectors.
(2) We recommend the creation of a Superior
Council of Education whose function shall be
to advise the Minister.
(3) We recommend that the Superior Council of
Education act as a unified body.1
In March, 1964, a law was passed which provided for a
Ministry of Education, a Superior Council of Education,
and Protestant and Catholic Committees to oversee moral
and religious matters.

The Ministry of Education, headed by the Minister

of Education, is to coordinate the entire system of

 

1Ibid., Vol. One, p. 88.

70

education throughout the province. The State is the domi-
nant authority. However, school commissions may be
Catholic (usually French-speaking but may include some
English-speaking) or Protestant (usually English-speaking).
Jewish children attend Protestant schools.

The Ministry regulates both public and private
schools; it is not always easy to distinguish between
them. Public schools are totally financed by public
funds but may have a strong Catholic atmosphere. Private
schools are 80 percent subsidized by the government but
are controlled by a private authority. Most elementary
and secondary schools are public; many post-secondary
and higher schools are private. Teachers (lay or
religious) may apply for a vacant post in either a
public or private school. Private schools as well as
public are organized along the Ministry guidelines since
they are so heavily subsidized. Differences between the
schools are largely cultural. French-Catholic schools
reflect the French-Catholic value system. English-
Protestant schools tend to have a secular-scientific
emphasis.

The jurisdiction of the Ministry encompasses
curriculum, examinations, teacher qualifications, issuing
of diplomas and teacher certifications, and school ser-
vices. The Ministry has a large role in planning. It

defines general objectives as well as specific ones for

71

each level. It allocates resources according to priori-
ties it has established. The Ministry has eight branches
to carry out its responsibilities.

The Superior Council of Education is an indepen-
dent body which does its own studies on educational
policies and problems. It may be consulted by the Min-
istry on any educational question, but it must be con-
sulted on the following:

a) the classification and nomenclature of schools
and other educational institutions, and of the
diplomas conferred by them;

b) subject to the powers contemplated in section 22,
the curricula, the examinations, the diplomas,
the teaching certificates and the qualifications
of the teaching personnel, for all subjects,
except subjects leading to a university degree
and private education not leading to a diploma
conferred under the authority of the Minister;

c) the coordination of education in all grades;

d) the standards for territorial division and the
equipment of the educational establishments
administered or subsidized by the province.1

The Council appoints a Catholic and a Protestant
Committee. The Council must consult these committees
on the following:
--classification of educational institutions by
faith;

--regulations concerning Christian education and
religious and moral instruction;

 

1Su erior Council of Education Act, March 19,
1964, Sect on 28, quoted in Quebec, Superior Council of
Education, Participation in Educational Planning, Annual
Report 19647I§63 (Québec: Queen's Printer, 1966). P. 147.

72

--approval of curricula, textbooks and teaching aids
from religious and moral standpoints;

—-approval of courses in the Catholic or Protestant
religion.

The Council also has five advisory commissions to
assist it in formulating its recommendations.

The Ministry of Education and the Superior Council
of Education have jurisdiction over all of the steps in
the educational ladder. This must include free public
education for all children from kindergarten or grade one
through the CEGEP (grade 12 or 13). This represented a
compromise between the original two systems; it shortened
the time for the French, it added extra time for the
English to enable their students to be better prepared
for university.

According to the regulations, kindergartens were
to be set up wherever the number of children warranted it.
Elementary schools should have a six-year program divided
into two three-year cycles. Elementary education should
be child-centered rather than program-centered. Teachers
should be allowed more freedom and initiative in planning
experiences for their students. Enrichment should be
provided for gifted children.

After the six-year elementary program the children

move on into the five-year secondary program. The former

 

1Quebec, Review of Educational Policies in
Canada (Government of QueBec: Ministry ofIEducation,
PIanning Branch, March, 1975), p. 52.

 

73

separate academic, general, and vocational programs were
set aside in favor of an array of subjects which all
students are allowed to choose from. Each subject has
various levels designed to appeal to the individual
abilities of students. A wide variety of courses is
offered to provide each student with as many options as
possible. This has resulted in the "école polyvalente,"
similar to the comprehensive high school in the United
States.

The Parent Report recommended that each secondary
school house 1,000-l,200 students. Unfortunately this
was not followed. Many have from 2,000-5,000 students;
this causes many of the problems that people are attach-
ing to the fact of the polyvalent school.

The Parent Report recommended "titulaires"
(advisors) for the students who are eleven to fourteen
to ease their transition into adolescence and into high
school. This has not been put into practice uniformly.

It was hoped that the polyvalent school would
cause all students to develop similar cultural, societal
outlooks and eliminate the class distinctions that had
been so prevalent in the old system. Quebeckers said
that this has not been achieved.

There is a general uneasiness which permeates
teachers and students alike at the secondary level.

Students feel isolated due to the physical size of the

74

buildings and the large number of students. Motivation
is low. Since there are no highly structured programs,
students have no vision of where they are going. Require-
ments have been lowered. Mediocrity is encouraged.
Grouping by levels lowers incentive. Long bus trips
(some students are away for twelve hours) leave students
too fatigued at the end of the day to do homework. End
of year programs have been eliminated. The teachers have
so much freedom that now the quality of course content
and instructional methods are directly related to the
competency of the teacher. However, the quality of the
teaching staff has improved greatly due to the revamping
of teacher training programs as well as the opportunities
provided for retraining of less qualified teachers.
Unfortunately, other factors are at work here.
Since teachers have seven or eight classes now, they
feel responsible only for their subject matter. They
no longer pay much attention to character building or
the formation of the whole student.
Part of the uneasiness in the schools is due to
the bitter contract struggle between the teachers and
the government. All the laws governing education (and
therefore, teachers) are contained in a book entitled

Receuil de Lois sur l'Education (Collection of Laws on

 

Education). About 90 percent of the old laws are still

there; each time that a new law was enacted, it was

75

added to the collection along with a statement which
annulled the old law. Article 545 of this book is the
Code de Travail (Labor Code). This law, which governs
all workers, has been applied to teachers. This has
resulted in a lessening of the social status of teachers,
for in the eyes of parents they have become workers.
Formerly, parents looked upon them as professionals.
Since teachers now receive their salary indirectly from
the government, they have the same right to strike as

all government workers.

Teachers (including those with religious affili-
ations) first formed a union in 1955 on the advice and
urging of Bishop Léger. They began a fight for higher
salaries, a pension system, and improved working con-
ditions. In 1967 teachers held their first strike over
money and working conditions. The Legislature passed
a law sending them back to work and prohibiting a strike
for four years. According to a respondent, parents did
not understand or support the teachers. They had the
attitude that people were teachers because they couldn't
do anything else. In 1971 teachers tried to make parents
aware of the whole situation by the use of a huge media
campaign. Teachers felt that this did not help. Between
June of 1975 and the summer of 1976 there were no nego-
tiations with the government even though the teachers

had presented their demands. As a result there were

76

problems all during the school year which interfered
greatly with the education of the children.

Because of their unhappiness, teachers engaged in
a number of disruptive practices. Since they had again
been forbidden to strike, they staged a series of one-day
walkouts in one school at a time when all teachers took
sick leave on the same day. At other times students
would arrive, attend classes as usual, change classrooms
as usual, and discover that the teachers had disappeared.
The administration would have to send the students home.
No one knew at what school or on what day this would
happen. Students stopped doing homework because they
were never sure that their classes would meet as
scheduled. Teachers refused to begin any new programs
such as an open classroom pilot program that had been
planned for a school in Ste-Foy. Teachers refused to
help in after-school activities or do anything other than
teach their regular classes. On certain days it was
decided that female teachers would not speak to the
principal. This kind of harassment made it a difficult
year for all concerned and contributed greatly to the
unpleasant atmosphere in the schools, especially at the
secondary level where there have been so many problems
due to the reforms.

According to the principal of a polyvalent school

in the province of Quebec, the new high school system is

77

a success for those students who can accept responsi-
bility. Unfortunately, he said, about 15 percent cannot.
Another administrator thinks that students need the
identity which comes from belonging to a group and taking
courses together. In Catholic schools some help is pro—
vided by an "animateur." This is a person who has been
trained as a priest but who is hired by the school board
to work in the schools. He organizes groups to get
acquainted and to participate in activities together

on school days and occasional weekends. When possible,
he provides a religious orientation to the activity.

The animator also provides counseling and may serve as
an intermediary between the administration and a student
involved in a discipline problem.

Respondents in Quebec stated that there is a lack
of discipline in public schools. This, along with the
lack of confidence in the program and the recent unplea-
santness with the teachers, has resulted in a number of
transfers to private schools. Since private schools are
80 percent government subsidized, fees are low; most
families can afford to send at least one child. Private
schools have a calmer atmosphere since they may be
selective in their student body; students who do not
conform to their standards are expelled. Private School
teachers have not participated in the union-government

negotiations nor in the disruptive behavior; however,

78

they do reap all the same benefits when granted. These
factors give private schools an unfair advantage and help
to undermine the position of the public schools.

On the post-secondary level of the new educational
structure in Quebec are the Cegeps or Colleges d'Enseigne-
ment Général et Professionel. At this level a student
completes his general education in a two-year pre-
university program or in a three-year terminal advanced
technical program. At this level also, one goal is to
promote integration of students with various backgrounds;
this goal is not being achieved. Perhaps this is because
there are "programs" rather than courses. If a student
stays within a suggested program, it is easier to schedule
the necessary classes. In addition, social activities
revolve around the programs. Physical education is
almost the only class where students from various pro-
grams mix.

The director of a Cegep said that a major reason
for not implementing all the proposals of the Parent
Report was money. The government did not realize how
much costly equipment was necessary to set up each new
technical program. Two good examples of this are the
program for chefs, which requires expensive kitchen
equipment, and the program for auto mechanics, which

necessitates garage space and costly tools.

79

Another problem can be illustrated by the programs
in the health professions. These programs are popular,
but student enrollment is limited by the number of
trainees a hospital is willing or able to accept. The
Nurses Association puts pressure on to limit enrollment,
also. It wants to maintain job security for those already
in the profession. The Health Care Programs require
costly equipment also. It is much less expensive to set
up a pre-university program as no special facilities or
equipment is needed.

The Parent Report recommended that a Cegep have
at least 1,500 students. It did not set a maximum.
Therefore, many are large. In 1975 there were thirty-
seven Cegeps with a total enrollment of about 100,000.

In addition, there were twenty-three private institutions
with a total of about 10,000 students.1

The CEGEP provides accessibility to higher edu-
cation for many students who formerly would not have had
that opportunity. Thus it helps to carry out the phil—
osophy of the democratization of the school system as
stated in the Parent Report. As part of the democratic
ideal, the CEGEP, with its dual purpose of technical-

vocational and pre-university education, was also

 

lLouis-Philippe Audet, et a1., Le Rapport Parent,
Dix Ans Aprés (Montreal: Les Editions Bellarmin, 1975),
p. 123.

 

 

80

expected to facilitate the fraternization of students
from all social and economic levels to enable students
to better understand each other and to contribute to the
formation of a general culture. This has not happened.

There are several factors which have contributed
to the failure of that goal. Students tend to group
together with others whom they already know because this
gives them a certain identity. In addition, the structur-
ing of the various programs tends to separate the pre-
university student from the technical student as well as
separating technical students preparing for certain fields
from technical students in other fields. There are cer-
tain general courses required for all students. However,
when students register, they find it is easier to regis-
ter for a complete schedule of courses set up for their
particular program. If a student attempts to select his
courses separately, he finds it more difficult to arrange
a schedule which includes all the necessary classes.
Usually the student settles for a prearranged schedule,
often choosing the same one as his friends. Therefore,
he does not come into contact with students in other
programs.

The CEGEP has improved the job qualifications of
technical workers. It was expected to increase the
number of skilled workers entering technical occupations.

Contrary to expectations, many students who formerly

81

would have ended up in these vocations have opted for
the pre-university program now that it is available to
them.

Maurice Lebel, in a study of the success and
failure of the CEGEP, suggested that the choice of
courses at this level is so vast that it seems like a
supermarket.1 Such a proliferation of choices inevitably
raises the question of whether or not this results in
the weakening of the instructional program or of student
development.

According to the source material, another problem
area in the CEGEP is the fact that the average age of the
teachers is about thirty. The students at this level are
from seventeen to twenty. With so many teachers still
in their twenties and therefore so close to the age of
the students, a spirit of camaraderie prevails. These
new teachers have been trained with the idea of partici-
pation and want to give students more voice. As a
result, they listen too much. All this results in an
undisciplined atmosphere and may not result in a maximum
amount of learning.2 This, along with other problems
mentioned, contributes to what one observer has called

a general untidyness throughout.3

 

2

lIbid., p. 125. Ibid., p. 127.

31bid., p. 135.

82

On the positive side, the CEGEP seeks to fulfill
a needed role in providing evening schools for Adult
Education programs. It seeks to create a new type of
person, less materialistic, more interested in contribut-
ing to the common good of society, seeking a philosophy
of life, a value system, but less interested in hard
work.1

As a result of the changes in the lower levels
of the educational ladder, the universities have had to
adjust to the students they are now admitting. Obviously,
it has affected the curriculum. It has also caused the
existing universities to burst at the seams. Laval Uni-
versity has moved from its old downtown Quebec facility
to a new modern campus in suburban Ste-Foy. A new insti-
tution, the University of Quebec, was created with five
branches scattered across the province.

University fees were frozen at the level of the
mid-sixties to make them accessible to more students.
Universities have been receiving government help to make
up the difference. Recently a new commission was formed
to investigate university financing and to come up with
a solution to the problem of providing reasonably priced
university education.

Perhaps a few words are needed about the financ-

ing of other levels of the school system. The government

 

lIbid.. pp. 131-32.

83

provides about half the money needed to run the schools.
It tries to apportion it in such a way as to equalize
the school districts. Teacher salaries are negotiated
with the government on a province-wide basis.

In general, it may be said that the recommenda-
tions of the Parent Report have been followed closely.
There is one notable exception. The Parent Report recom-
mended that the confessionality of school boards be
dropped. School boards were to be organized territor-
ially and govern whatever schools happened to be in
their area. This was not accepted by the people in the
province. The element of confessionality has been re-
trained. Eventually, as people become less bound by
tradition and more alienated from the Church, this will
probably change.

In summary, these reforms have benefited Quebec
by making education accessible to all, contributing to
the general development of the individual, improving
the quality of teachers, bringing the world inside the
school, allowing more choice, providing more professional
options. There are important improvements which are
still to be made.

The above are the most important changes in the
educational system of Quebec with a few comments on
their effectiveness. It is in no way complete as each

part could be the subject of a detailed study. However,

84

on the basis of information read and material gathered
from informants, it seemed that those generalizations
could be made. Hopefully, it will provide some background
as we move into a study of one aspect of the democrati-

zation of the school system.

CHAPTER IV

MANDATE FOR PARENT PARTICIPATION

In order to make the schools more democratic, it
was thought necessary to have a broader base of partici-
pation. Therefore, the leaders began to think about
involving the parents in the school system. Historically,
this parent involvement had been a part of the English
tradition but not a part of the French. The English have
had a very active Home and School Association for about
fifty years. The French, on the other hand, had been
taught by the Church that their duty lay in sending
their children to school every day. Once the children
arrived at school, the school authorities took over and
parental involvement ended. In the late 1960s while
the reforms were being implemented, there was some
parent interest in Quebec and Montreal. In these two
cities, committees of parents were formed about five

years before they were mandated in 1972.

The Recommendation of the Parent Report
The mandate for school committees and parent

committees came about as a result of the Parent Report.

85

86

The commissioners stated that the parents must assume some
of the responsibility for training the child. They said
that parents have an important role in providing religious,
moral, and linguistic training. They should take an
active interest in the child's schoolwork and spend time
with the child engaging in activities designed to enlarge
his horizons. Another need is more cooperation between
parents and teachers. Parents must become acquainted
with the educational problem as a whole in order to
effectuate the success of the reforms. They must become
less individualistic and more oriented to the needs of
society. When they become involved as citizens as well
as parents, this will result in the school administration
becoming more democratic.1

Specific recommendations regarding parents are
found in Volume 4 of the Parent Report.

(30) We recommend that it be explicitly understood
that every public body to which the state
delegates some responsibility in school admin-
istration has as its primary aim to provide
for all pupils, without distinction, education
of good quality promoting the most complete
personal fulfilment of each individual, always
subject to a proper respect for religious
pluralism and linguistic and cultural dualism.

(31) We recommend that, in order to effect this,
the present system of local and regional
school commissions be replaced by a unified,
three-fold administrative structure--the

school committee, the regional commission and
the Council of School Development.

 

1The Parent Report, Vol. 5, pp. 219-26.

 

87

(32) We recommend that a school committee be set up
for each elementary or secondary public school.

(33) We recommend that each school committee consist
of five members, elected annually by the parents
of the pupils and by the students enrolled in
courses for adults, and that, in addition to
all those having the right to vote, any person
of full age resident in the region shall be
eligible for membership on it.

(34) We recommend that the principal and a represen-
tative of the teaching staff be associated with
the school committee as consultants.

(35) We recommend that the following functions be
vested in the school committee by law:

--to watch over the quality of education given
in the school and the welfare of pupils and
teachers;

--to make certain that the pupils receive
religious or moral instruction corresponding

to their parents' wishes;

--to accept or reject any regulation proposed by
the school authorities or by the directorates

of Roman Catholic, Protestant or noneconfessional
education, as the case may be, affecting the
specific applications of confessionality or non-
confessionality in the school;

--to stimulate new projects and cooperate in any
undertakings connected with the organization of
extra-curricular recreation, and, in a general
way to support anything which may promote popu-
lar culture;

--to maintain the interest and cooperation of
parents and of the community in anything which
may serve to improve educational services;

--to express opinions on the selection of
teachers, on modifications in the curriculum

and on the choice of textbooks and teaching
material;

--to present to the regional commission any
recommendations concerning financial or
administrative problems.1

These recommendations were not among the first
to be implemented. First, the Ministry of Education
was set up and the structural reforms effected. In

November of 1966, the Ministry set up a Service des

 

 

lIbid., V01. 4, pp. 171-72.

88

Parents to assure parent participation in school life.

A man in the Ministry who had formerly been in charge

of that program explained that at that time, workshops
for parents were held in various places around the pro-
vince of Quebec. This was an attempt to provide infor-
mation for the parents concerning the educational system
and to interest parents in becoming a part of the edu-
cational process. In general, this was not well accepted.
In some areas the workshops had much impact but in most
there was very little. Parents were not used to being

involved with the school. This Service des Parents con-

 

tinued until the present school committees were begun

in 1972.

Bill 27

After many of the reforms were in progress and
things began to settle down, people realized how cen-
tralized the control of the schools was. It was neces-
sary for the Ministry to make the people feel that they
had a voice in the process. At this point, Bill 27 was
introduced in the Legislature.

Bill 27 had two parts. The first was concerned
with the reorganization of school boards with the
exception of those on the Island of Montreal. This
part of the bill was rather controversial since it was

reducing the number of school boards from more than 800

89

to fewer than 200. The bill did retain the confessional
division of Catholic and Protestant.

It is the second section of this bill which
interests us for it became the law which mandated the
parents' committees and school committees.

After the bill was introduced, the Legislature
invited a number of interested groups to testify in
behalf of or against the prOposed legislation. This
was a lengthy session during which legislators were
allowed to question the participants, give comments,
and attack each other verbally. Much of the debate
concerned the restructuring of the school boards. Some
revolved around the section on parents' committees and
school committees.

The principal comments were on the following
questions: Was the law in line with the Parent Report?
Do parents really want a way to have a greater say?
What should be the role of parents in the school? Will
it bring local control to education? How will the
parents participate when the new school districts will
be forty to sixty miles wide? Should there be more
than one teacher on the committee? Should the teacher
have the right to vote? Should students (especially on
the secondary level) be on the committees? Should
parents be involved in establishing criteria to select

principals, teachers, instructional materials? How

90

specific should this law be in outlining the function of

the committees? How much authority should the school

committee have?

Bill 27 passed on July 10, 1971. Articles 66-70

of the Education Act are the part of the legislation

which mandates the parents' committees and school com-

mittees.

66.

67.

68.

The text follows.

Before the 15th of October each year, the
principal or the person responsible for each
school administered by a school board or a
regional board shall call a general meeting

of the parents of the children who attend

such school to establish therein a school com-

mittee before such date.

The principal or the person responsible for the

school and one representative designated by the

teachers of the school shall be members of the
school committee but shall not be entitled to
vote thereon or be appointed chairman

thereof.

The school commissioners or trustees of the

school board or of the regional board which

administers such school cannot, however, be
members of such school committee.

Each school committee has as its duties:

a) to stimulate by appropriate means partici-
pation by parents and the community gen-
erally in the improvement of educational
services in the school.

b) to study measures likely to promote more
personal educational services in the school.

c) to make to [sic] the administrators of the
school any recommendation to ensure the best
possible operation of the school.

A parents' committee is established for each

school board or regional board; it shall consist

of the chairman of each school committee.

Every parents' committee shall have the follow-

ing functions:

a) to ensure such cooperation as is necessary
for the proper operation of school com-
mittees;

91

b) to express to the school board such needs as
are identified by the school committees and
direct recommendations of a general scope
to it;

c) to promote participation by parents in all
activities of the school board, and to desig-
nate especially for such purpose, from among
them, if need be, the members required for
the various committees established by the
school board;

d) to recommend to the school board any measure
that may improve the administration and man-
agement of the schools.

69. The composition of the school committees as well
as the means of setting them up, their duties,
and their financing and of the parents' com-
mittees are determined by regulation of the
lieutenant governor.

70. In articles 66 to 69, the word "parent" desige
nates the father, the mother, or failing them
the guardian of a child enrolled in a school
on the preceeding 30th of September, and the
word "school" means one or more groups of
children and teachers under the authority of
a principal or of a responsible person if
there is no principal.

In comparing Bill 27 with the Parent Report, we
find that the law does not specify the number of persons
a school committee should have. The report suggested
five members. The report also suggested certain spe-
cific functions of the committees. The law suggested
three general functions. The law set up parents' com-
mittees as well as school committees. The former were

not mentioned in the report.

Document VI B

 

Following the passage of the law, the Ministry

of Education appointed a committee, Mission 27, under

 

1Quebec, Education Act as amended by Bill 27 (1971)
cited in Quebec, Ministry of Education, School Committees
and Parents' Committees, Document VIB.

 

 

92

the leadership of Kathleen Francoeur-Hendriks, Director
of Elementary and Secondary Education. It was the work
of the committee to draw up appropriate regulations for
setting up the school committees and parent committees.

These initial regulations, dated February 2,
1972, were contained in Document VI A, "School Committees
and Parent Committees." Interested organizations studied
this document and submitted their suggestions and criti-
cisms. The project was revised and then submitted to
the Superior Council of Education. This resulted in
further adjustment. The finished product, Document VI B,
dated September 15, 1972, is the guide now used by each
school board to implement the operation of the school
committees and parents' committees.

The introduction to this document refers to
remarks made by Mr. Guy Saint-Pierre, the Minister of
Education in 1970, on the occasion of the opening of
that school year. He suggested that having made certain
changes in the school system "in size and volume, the
school system should now be transformed in depth." Later
the introduction continues,

This preoccupation with the humanization of the
school certainly agrees with the profound aspir-
ations of the Quebec population today. This
humanization objective may be difficult to attain
if the community and particularly the parents are
not called upon to co-operate, or if they fail to
I:§:?nd to the call for an improvement of school

Bill 27 (1971), in a sense, is the hinge upon
which the objectives of the two decades are linked

93

to one another. It helps bring to completion the
restructuring of the school and it aims at bringing
closer together, in a quite novel fashion, the
school structures and the community by institution-
alizing the presence of parents at the level of
each school and of each school board.1
Document VI B is divided into three parts: Bill
27 (1971) and Parent Participation in School Life, Guide
for School Committees and Parents' Committees, and Regu-
lations for School Committees and Parents' Committees.
The first section makes parents aware that there
are two ways to participate in school life. They may be
school board members or members of school committees and
parents' committees. They may not be both. This section
reminds parents of the high level of responsibility
demanded by participation on the school board as that
is the policy and decision-making level. Parents seeking
election to the school committee should have a sincere
desire to become acquainted with what happens at their
own school in order to interpret it to the community and
to seek to improve the quality of school life.
Parents may also participate by recommending
candidates for election to the school commission, voting
for school commissioners, attending general meetings to

elect school committee members, or by participating in

various school committee activities.

 

lQuebec, Ministry of Education, School Committees
and Parents' Committees, Document VIB, p. 3.

 

 

94

It is important to emphasize the fact that part II
is entitled a "guide" for school committees and parents'
committees. Later on it will be seen that some school
committees caused problems for themselves because they
saw this document as "the law." It is not worded that
way.

This section puts forth a tentative definition
of the two kinds of committees. It says:

School committees and parents' committees must
be defined as organizations cooperating with school
administrators and school boards toward the improve-
ment of school life. They are complementary
structures which, without encroaching upon the
duties and authority of school commissioners and
school administrators, will allow these persons to
better fulfill their duties. They are equally the
structures of participation where leadership is
practiced by parents.

School committees and parents' committees will
enable parents to participate in greater numbers,
and in their own way, in the improvement of school
life:

--by better understanding the internal operation of
the school system;

--by fostering renewed interest;

--by helping, without replacing, those who are
already entrusted with school administration;

--as parents, by directing the administration's
attention to questions of concern in a given
segment of the population;

--by clarifying their proposals to the administration.

Based on this spirit of co-operation, school com-
mittees and parents' committees constitute an
official channel of communication between parents
and school administrators or school boards. Such
co-operation points up the importance and advisory
nature of school and parents' committees.

 

 

1Quebec, School Committees and Parents' Committees,
Document Number VI B (Government of Quebec, September 15,
1972), p. 10.

95

Two ideas from this section are stressed in the
guide. The concept of cooperation is most important.
Parents and school administrators are to be working
together to create the best atmosphere for students to
grow as a result of their schooling. This is an oppor-
tunity for administrators to work with parents to become
aware of the concerns parents have for their children.

It is an opportunity for parents to become aware of the
role of the school in the socialization of their children.

The other key idea in this section of the document
is that of the advisory role of the school committees and
parents' committees. This implies that parents have
every right to become informed and to present their
views. Administrators have the responsibility to con-
sult with the parents and to listen seriously to their
opinions. However, the word "advisory" implies that the
intent is for school administrators to retain the ulti-
mate authority. Both of the above ideas will be discussed
further in other chapters.

This second section of Document VI B attempts to
define the role of the school committees and parents'
committees. Based on Section 67 of the Education Act,
it lists the duties of school committees as the following:

The first duty the Education Act stipulates for

school committees is to see that parents and the

population in general are informed on the school's
objectives and the means it has of attaining same;

96

to interest parents and the community in general;
to gather parents' suggestions so that the school
may continue improving its services. . . .

The second duty focuses the school committee's
concern on the pupil and on the search for means
and action likely to make school more interesting,
friendly, and humane. . . .

The third duty of the school committee is but
an extension of the first two. As a result of
information supplied by parents (first duty) and
its concern (second duty). the school committee is
in a position to make recommendations likely to
improve the school's operation.

The document continues with the duties of
parents' committees. ‘These duties reflect those of
the school committees. After quoting Section 68 of the
Education Act, which enumerates the functions of the
parents' committee, the document says,

Thus, parents' committees exist to assist school
committees reach their objectives; to see that
school committee recommendations that call for a
decision within the school board's powers or are
important enough to be brought to the school
board's attention, are submitted to the board.

On the other hand, the parents' committee may
according to opinions expressed and the activities
of the school committee formulate recommendations
that may improve the administration and management
of schools. The committee must report to the
school board. The parents' committee is the usual
means of communication between the school board
and the school committees.

Thus we see how the school committee operates on the

level of the individual school and how the parents' com-

mittee serves in an advisory capacity to the school board.
This guide suggests that in order to operate

within the definition and delineation of duties, the role

 

lIbid., p. 11. 21bid., pp. 11-12.

97

of the committees will be confined to three topics. The
first is that of information. Parents need to become
familiar with the complexities of the school system to
reduce or eliminate their anxieties and frustrations.
This leads to community interest and involvement. Once
parents become familiar with the school system, they
may become a communication link with others in the com-
munity with a view to keeping them informed and also
generating their interest and involvement. The third
topic is that of advisor. After exercising the above two
functions, these committees should be ready to provide
advice and recommendations to school administrators.1
Next in this second section of Document VI B is
an outline of the decision-making procedure. Subjects to
be decided upon may be initiated by either an administra-
tor or the school committee. Either way, the school
committee should have an opportunity to provide input.
The guide is quite clear in stating that the decision
itself is to be made by the administrator or by the
school board. Parents may offer comments while the
decision is in the process of being implemented. They
may also participate in an evaluation of the project at
a later stage.2 This is a source of parent complaints;
many would like to have decision-making power. This will

be discussed further in a later chapter.

 

1 2

Ibid. ' pp. 12-130 Ibid. I pp. 13-16.

98

Guidelines are established in this document
regarding the scope of parental participation.

The choice of subjects should be guided by, among
others:

the training and competency of the committee members,
the urgency of the local problems,

the need to establish contact with other educational
bodies without causing unnecessary duplication,

the availability and rapidity of necessary infor-
mation to undertake studies,

the possibility of improving unsatisfactory situ-
ations and expressing well informed recommendations
to the school principal and/or the school board.

According to the guide, certain themes are con-
sidered appropriate at the school committee level. These
include opening the school to all, organizing field work
and related activities, suggesting changes in school regu-
lations, improving school bulletins and reports to parents,
discussing new teaching methods.2

Following is a list of suggested problems con-
sidered appropriate for the consideration of parents'
committees.

Opening schools to all.

Preparing general regulations for school boards
and schools.

Suggesting and assessing measures taken by the
school board in order to personalize educational
services available to students of the school board.
COOperation with other family and community bodies
with a view to rational use of all available
resources.

Policy making for the use of the funds granted by
the school board.

Use of the building and facilities after school hours.
Distribution of students in schools.

 

lIbid., p. 17. 21bid., pp. 17-18.

99

Regrouping of schools.
School construction and modernization program.
Organization of school transport.

Next, this section of the document discusses
rules to guide the relations between the committees and
the schools. It is suggested that the type of atmosphere
be established that will facilitate friendly, respectful
communication between parents and administrators. This
has been a trouble spot; not all administrators are
receptive to the idea of parents becoming involved in
"their" school.

In addition, it is suggested that parents be
respectful of the professional expertise and duty of the
teacher. Here is another trouble spot. Respondents
stated that due to the nonprofessional conduct on the
part of many public school teachers during the recent
long negotiations with the government, parents have
become unsympathetic, for the most part, toward the
teachers. The parents have also lost respect for the
teachers.

It is further suggested that each year, the
school committee establish a list of concerns for con-
sideration during that school year. This will provide
for more efficient operation and allow concentration on

only those activities which are most important.

 

llbid., p. 19.

100

The guidelines acknowledge the fact that parent
participation is in its infancy. They have tried to
provide a framework that will facilitate the formation
of these committees but which will allow room for indi-
vidual initiative in each local situation.

It should be borne in mind that this is a period
for innovation and experimentation. The setting up
of school committees and parents' committees creates
a situation of research and training.

Other rules are provided dealing with the oper-
ation of these committees. However, it does not seem
necessary to list them here. The ones presented should
provide the reader with an understanding of how these
committees are expected to function. Others will be
referred to later as necessary.

The third section of Document VI B is more
technical and concerns itself with regulations. In
addition, definitions are provided for the words "parent,"
"school," "institutional school," "school board,” "school
principal.”

An important provision in this section is the one
which sets the size of the school committee. According
to Mission 27, it should have at least seven members but
not more than twenty-five. Included in this number are

the principal and one member of the teaching staff;

neither may vote nor chair the committee.2

 

l 2

Ibid., p. 22. Ibid., p. 26.

101

The principal must call a general meeting of
parents before October 15 for the purpose of electing
the committee members. The teachers elect their repre-
sentative before the date of the parents' meeting.
Within fifteen days of that general meeting, the school
committee meets to choose a president and any other
necessary officers. The president becomes the represen-
tative to the parents' committee. Thereafter, the school
committee meets once a month with the exception of July
and August. The committee must call at least one more
general assembly of parents between October 31 and May 31
of that school year.1

It is the school board which calls together the
presidents of the school committees by October 31 to
form the parents' committee and to elect officers. This
committee must meet at least once every two months
except for July and August.

Other rules are detailed in this third section
regarding operation and financing of school committees
and parents' committees but, again, it seems more useful

to refer to them later as needed.

Press Reaction

 

As stated earlier, this document was published

in final form in September, 1972. During the summer of

1Ibid., pp. 27-28.

102

that year, the newspapers began to comment on the idea

of parent participation in the schools. A headline in

the Montreal Gazette on August 22 read, "By Bill 27
parent power now law." This article reported on the

fact that under the law parents would be invited to a
meeting to elect the members of the school committee.

The major thrust of the article centered on the question,
"But are parents ready to take advantage of this oppor-
tunity?" The article reviewed the history of the parent
consultative committees that had been operating in Montreal
since 1965. At the beginning there had been thirteen com-
mittees; in 1972 there were 350. These comments were

made on the effectiveness of this program:

Principals, school administrators, and board
members have now, in most cases, reached the stage
where they can work as partners with parents.

The parents, to a certain extent, have also
become more involved in the affairs of their
school. They are realizing more and more that
it is not sufficient merely to wash and feed
their offspring, and let the school do the rest.

If we speak from our experience at the M.C.S.C.
with parent participation through our school con-
sultative committees, we have to admit that those
committees have depended on the degree of goodwill
shown by school authorities and also the degree of
parent involvement. It cannot be denied that in
some cases principals may have put up a "good
front” by allowing the establishment of a school
committee, while at the same time actually limiting
parent consultation and participation to minor
issues.

It must also be said, in all fairness, that
parents took little interest in their school com-
mittees and were content to let the school "run
the whole show."

With the new school committees becoming compulsory
under Bill 27, the education authorities have no

103

alternative but to accept parent participation in
school affairs. Now, will the educators simply
apply the letter of the law, or will they catch
the spirit of it?

As for parents, will they take full advantage
of the opportunity offered to them by the law to
get truly involved in the education of their
children?

A similar article explaining the school committees

appeared in Le Nouvelliste (Trois Rivieres) on September

 

23, 1972. The surrounding commentary expressed another
viewpoint.

Several are incredulous. How will it be possible
to have 50,000 fathers and mothers participate in a
field where the complexity is equalled only by the
large size of the task to be accomplished? Is it
utopian to believe that one day, there will be
means sufficiently flexible to permit the first
teachers of our children to become involved in
their schooling? Anyway, this is the new challenge
offered to the administrators of the school com-
missions. . . .

That which disarmed our parents in the past and
which is still a sizable handicap in 1972 is the
feeling of powerlessness which they sense as soon
as they enter this field of activity. They are not
the only ones who wonder what their action will
result in changing.2

The reporter cites one area where he sees an
interesting dimension in parent participation. He says,
"There is no doubt that the absence of information is at

the root of many evils that affect the world of

 

1The author of this newspaper article, Joseph
Pellegrino, was adviser for relations with parents in
the Montreal Catholic School Commission.

2Author's translation from the French.

104

education."' Therefore he reasons that the idea of
parents acquainting themselves with the school system
will result in a better understanding of what educators
are trying to do. Informed, supportive parents will
facilitate the educational process.

This has been a sampling of how the press viewed
the idea of parent participation in the schools.

It was now the beginning of the 1972 school year.
That was the time for general meetings to be held in
every school in the province before October 15 for the
purpose of electing members of the first compulsory

school committees.

CHAPTER V

THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES

AND PARENTS' COMMITTEES

As of January 1, 1977, school committees and
parents' committees have been in existence for four and
a half years. During that time these committees have
made considerable progress in their development from
their earliest beginnings. In some areas they have made
more progress than in others. This may be partly explained
by the fact that parent groups existed in some cities and
towns, notably Quebec, Montreal, and Sherbrooke, for
about five years before the government mandate. As a
result, the committees made a better beginning there than
in other locations where there was no history of parent
involvement in the schools.

Several other factors have hindered the general
development of these committees. These should be kept in
mind while studying their evolution. Throughout Quebec,
there has been no history of the school as part of com-
munity life, such as exists in the United States. From

its earliest beginnings, education had been under the

105

106

jurisdiction of the Catholic Church. Quebeckers were
reminded of their duty to send their children to school,
but once there, the children were to be totally under the
authority of the school. The school served to separate
out an elite and send them on for further education,
while instructing the others in the importance of the
agricultural mission and other values of the Catholic
Church.

Another inhibiting factor is the lack of a col-
lective spirit among the Québecois. They were used to
looking to the authority of their former French civil
authority and the Catholic Church. After the English
gained control, they turned even more to the church in
the attempt to preserve their language and customs. They
were not used to discussing issues or in forming opinions
or in worrying about the common good.

Another factor is the lack of expertise on the
part of many parents in Quebec. It must be remembered
that, for the most part, only the elite received an
education beyond elementary school. The successful
evolution of the committees has a direct bearing on the
number of competent people involved. In general, it is
safe to say that, in Quebec, there is a larger concen-
tration of trained people in urban areas than in rural
areas. Thus, it is natural to see a better beginning

for parent participation in urban areas. As a result of

107

all of these factors, the development of these committees
has been uneven throughout the province. However, it can
be seen that there has been an evolution in the perfor-

mance of these committees since 1972.

The Structure of the Committees

 

The structure of the committees varies somewhat
depending upon the size of the region. At the base of
the pyramid is the School Committee. This is the com-
mittee of parents which must be elected in every school
of the province before October 15 of each school year.
This committee, which also includes one teacher and the
principal, serves as an advisory body to the individual
school.

Whoever is elected president of the school com-
mittee automatically becomes a member of the Parents'
Committee. The Parents' Committee is composed of the
president of each school committee, elementary and secon-
dary, in the region. In some areas, realizing the burden
this puts on the school committee president, the parents
have chosen to elect a delegate to the Parents' Committee
to serve in addition to or instead of the school com-
mittee president. This committee serves as a consulta-
tive body to the School Board.

In some areas such as Montreal, Quebec, and Sher-
brooke, the large number of school committees results in

a parents' committee that is too large to function

108

effectively. Therefore, a central executive committee is
elected. The central committee serves as consultant to
the school board. The parents' committee then becomes a
link between the school committees and the central com-
mittee.

To give an idea of the number of parents involved,
consider the city of Quebec. Each school committee has
twelve to fifteen parents which totals 722 for the city.
The fifty-five presidents form the Parents' Committee.
From this group, twelve are elected to form the Executive
Council.1

Recently a Provincial Federation of Parents' Com-
mittees has come into existence. Every parents' com-
mittee in the province is automatically a member. This
organization is rather controversial and will be discussed

later.

The Role of the Committee

 

The structure of the school committee has been
well defined in Law 27 (1971) and in the Ministry's
Document VI B. The role of the committee has not. Some
people are disturbed by the vagueness of the law; others
feel it is a good opportunity for people in each locality
to work out the role to best meet the needs of the com-

munity.

 

1Quebec, “Rapport Annuel du Comité de Parents de
la C.E.C.Q.," 1975-1976, p. 18. (Mimeographed.)

109

The law and the Ministry guidelines suggest that
the role of school committees and parents' committees is
to become informed on the objectives of the school, to
interest parents and the community in becoming involved
with the school, and to make recommendations to improve
the operation of the school. The emphasis seems to be
one of friendly collaboration and cooperation among all
the partners in the educational community. It is to
provide a link between the home and the school in order
to establish communication and to ultimately provide
benefits for the students.

Members of the educational community as well as
parents are split over the extent of the role of the com-
mittees. Some feel that it is strictly a service organi-
zation to engage in fund-raising, supervision of the
lunchrooms, sending bulletins to parents, helping with
field trips and classroom needs, serving coffee at meet-
ings. Others feel that the committee should not perform
these service functions but should become closely involved
with all facets of the operation of the school such as
instructional methods and materials, curriculum, and
finances.

Many see that all of the above-mentioned activi-
ties are part of the role. They feel that providing
service is a good way for a parent to begin involvement

in the school. In this way, parents become informed

110

about the operation of the school and gradually grow into
the larger role of collaboration on school policy. In
many communities this has been the pattern, a real evo-
lution. As long as the committees stay within the limits
of friendly cooperation, they seem to be within the role
the government envisioned for them. When they become
pressure groups or call for decision—making power, they
seem to be surpassing these limits. It seems clear that
the role of these committees is to be advisory in nature.
Parents who wish to have decisional power have the option
of running for election to the school board.

It is important for parents and school adminis-
trators to understand the idea of collaboration as
essential to the role of the school committee. Parents
need to become involved; administrators need to invite
the participation of parents. The degree of success in
bringing the actual role close to the theoretical role
depends in many areas on the good will of the principal
and the competence of the parents. If the parents them-
selves have a limited vision of their role and/or the
school principal and the teachers are not receptive to
parent participation, then the scope of the role is
severely limited.

At the other extreme there are those who feel
that there should be joint management of the schools by

parents, students and school authorities. A committee

lll

charged with studying this topic at the Montreal Catholic

School Commission published a report called Participatory

 

Management. This report presents several models for co-
management of the schools. The report is controversial
and has received limited acceptance. The Central Parents'
Committee of Montreal wants to begin experimentation in
some schools with one or more of the proposed models.

In defining the role of school committees and
parents' committees, it is necessary to distinguish them
from the former most active parent organization in the
province of Quebec, the Home and School Association, which
has been active in the English school system for about
fifty years. The Home and School Association is a pro-
vincial organization which speaks on a provincial level.
Each local group must collect dues and send a payment to
the provincial headquarters. In contrast, the school
committee works on the local level and does not require
dues.

In the schools which are under the Protestant
School Board of Greater Montreal, the school committee
works with principals and teachers on regular educational
offerings, course content, teaching methods, busing,
supervision of lunch periods and recess. The Home and
School Organization offers after-school subjects such
as music, French, scouts, fund-raising, and field trips.

A spokesman for the Protestant School Board of Greater

112

Montreal, stated there does not seem to be a conflict
between the two groups. He stated that any conflict is
on a personal level. There are people who were active
in Home and School, worked their way up to vice-president,
but never became president. Some of these people left
Home and School and became involved with a school com-
mittee. They are disgruntled over the way they feel
they were treated by the Home and School Association and
therefore, occasionally cause friction between the groups.

There has been a question in the minds of people
as to whether or not parents have a real role to play or
whether this is simply a facade set up by the Ministry
of Education to make people feel they have a role, to
create the illusion of local control.

Part of this feeling seems to come from the fact
that when parents make recommendations to the Ministry,
they do not see any action. Some school committees have
written a number of letters which they feel were ignored.
In September of 1976, an assistant under-secretary of
Education sent out a letter to school boards acknowledg-
ing that the Ministry had received many requests from
parents to modify Document VI B and amend Law 27. How-
ever, he stated that it would be better to become more
acquainted with the benefits and problems of the school
committees and parents' committees before making any

modifications.

113

School committees had been in existence for at
least five years in some areas before they were officially
mandated by the government. The Ministry did not take
into account the experience of these groups nor did it
consult with them before the law went into effect.

People feel that if the government honestly wanted
effective parent participation, it would have done so.

The third factor which contributes to the feeling
that the role of these committees is a facade is the
extreme centralization of the school system. Often the
principal or the school board is unable to consider
parent recommendations because of some regulation under
which the schools must operate. The Ministry has been
promising for some time to move in the direction of
decentralization, but this has not happened. The Central
Parents' Committee in Montreal stated in its annual
report for 1975-1976 that it has done all that it can
do until this decentralization takes place. They stated
that the role of the parents lies in adapting the school
to its environment. It is not possible to do this unless
the school administrators have sufficient autonomy.

The role of the committees in general has been
outlined, but who are the members of the school committees
and how do they facilitate this role? Each school com—

mittee is made up of from five to twenty-three parents,

114

the principal, and one teacher. The principal and the
teacher may not hold office nor vote.

The principal has a key role in bringing the
parents and the school together. He helps inform the
parents on school policy and helps to set the objectives
for the committee's work for the year. He becomes
informed on the desires of the parents and serves as
an agent from the community to the school board and vice
versa. This, of course, is the ideal role. In practice,
it does not always work out that way.

The teacher has a role in bringing the parents
and teachers together. He/she helps inform parents about
teaching methods, course content, classroom management.
He/she communicates with the other teachers regarding

parent/teacher concerns. Again, this is the ideal role.

Participation

 

In order for the school committee to play its
role effectively, there has to be adequate participation.
Since 1972 parents have been slow in accepting the idea
of participation in the life of the school. They are
now beginning to realize, some more than others, that
they are the ones to have the right to have a voice in
shaping the education of their children.

There is not much data available at the moment
to indicate what percentage of eligible parents actually

attend the fall meeting and how many parents actually

115

present themselves as candidates for election to the
school committee. When asked this question, respondents
supplied a variety of information and figures. One per-
son mentioned a school where no parents appeared for the
meeting. This was an inner city school for the Protestant
School Board of Montreal. It was attended by English-
speaking students who lived geographically distant from
the school.

A school committee president in Ste-Foy (a suburb
of Quebec) stated that about 47 percent of the parents
came to the general meetings. A spokesman for the Pro-
testant School Board of Greater Montreal cited a few
schools where about 50 percent of the parents attended.
Some respondents considered it good attendance if 20 per-
cent of the parents were there. Many reported attendance
of about 10 percent.

Some respondents mentioned that the number of
parents attending depended on the purpose of the meeting.
If the meeting was held for the sole purpose of electing
the school committee, attendance was low. If some addi-
tional attraction was offered, attendance was much higher.
Examples given were the opportunity to meet with teachers,
a performance of the school band, a well-known guest
speaker, and the distribution of report cards. In
Quebec City, this type of inducement had boosted atten-

dance from 40 percent to 80 percent.

116

One respondent made the comment that the percentage
of parent participation is probably no better or no worse
than in any other group in other vital facets of our life
today. Another respondent felt that it was unrealistic
to expect the percentage of parent participation in the
school to be any greater than in any other organization.
With all the demands on one's time, a person cannot be
involved in everything. He also observed that the people
involved in the school tended to be those who were also
active in church affairs, union activities, political
meetings, and similar things. This limits the degree to
which they are free to participate. It also shows that
the people who are disinterested in the schools are often
those who aren't interested in other activities either.

In Montreal the Catholic School Commission
planned a concentrated publicity campaign in the late
summer and early fall of 1976. There were messages in
the newspapers, on the radio, and on television; posters
were placed in stores; brochures were sent home. Even
after all this, the attendance throughout the territory
served by the Catholic School Commission at the fall
general meetings was, on the average, about the same as
the previous year.

Parents seem to fall into three main groups.
There is one group of parents who have no interest in

the school at all. They do not attend the meetings.

117

A second group encompasses those who are interested in
the school primarily as it relates to their child. These
people appear at meetings if it provides an opportunity
to discuss an issue that is important to their child.
These people may agree to serve on a school committee
but limit their participation or attempt to limit the
work of the committee to that which involves their own
child. A third group of parents has advanced to a higher
level. They are interested not only in their own child
but in all children. They are interested in what the
school is and what education it is providing for the
well-being of all. If people on the school committee
are from this third group, this facilitates more effec-
tive operation of the committee.

Respondents did not feel that socio-economic
background made much difference in the number of parents
participating. The mixture of parents at the general
meetings and of those elected to the school committee
was fairly representative of the mixture of the popu-
lation of the school district. They thought there was
a slightly higher percentage of the more highly educated
people but that all backgrounds were represented.

An informant from the Protestant School Board of
Greater Montreal mentioned that there were about 8,000
Greek families with children in the Protestant schools.
Some schools were all Greek, some part. There was good

parent participation in all of them.

118

This informant felt that there was more interest
than ever during 1976 in the schools and in the school
committees. She cited two reasons for this impression.

In October of 1976 she had been a panel member
on an Open Line radio program on parent involvement in
the schools. She was surprised at the large number of
phone calls received--even many long-distance ones--from
people genuinely interested in the topic.

She also explained that the geographical area
of their school board is divided into three regions.
Each region elects five parents to serve on the Central
Parents Committee. This year every post had at least
two candidates in contrast to other years when almost
everyone who volunteered was automatically on the
central committee.

Some parents do not wish to serve on school com-
mittees but will volunteer to work in or for the school
when needed. Others will express their opinion when
asked to participate in a written or telephoned survey.

There are those who wonder why parents are
interested in serving on school committees. They do not
realize that some parents really care about the edu-
cational system. The town of Sherbrooke asked this
question in a March, 1974, survey on "The Needs, Roles,
and Expectations of Members of the School Committees of

the Sherbrooke Catholic School Commission." Participants

119

were asked to rate each reason given as very important
or important, indifferent, not important or nonexistent.
Out of 217 respondents (parents, principals, and teachers),
99 percent participated in order to make suggestions to
improve the life of the school. Ninety-six percent
thought it important to better their understanding of
the child's school environment. Ninety-two percent c0n-
sidered it important to achieve a better understanding of
the school system. Ninety percent welcomed the opportunity
to express an opinion on what happens at school. Eighty-
nine percent said they were motivated by the chance to
represent the opinion of the parents of their community.
Sixty-nine percent considered it important to be able to
influence the decisions of the administration of the

1

school.

An article in Prospectives2 written by the presi-

 

dent of the Parents' Committee of the Catholic School Com-
mission of Quebec City states that since parents have the
primary responsibility for their children, they have
priority in determining their children's needs. The
school should respect the fact that the children's

values come from the parents. Since we live in a

 

1Rapport Synthése du sondage sur les besoins, les
roles, et les attentes des membres des comités d'école
de la CSCS (Sherbrooke, March 1974), p. 9.

2Monique Grégoire, "Les Parents veulent partici-
per," Prospectives (December 1975), pp. 265-69.

 

120

democratic society, parents should participate in the
schools in behalf of their children. As the children
grow older, their participation should increase, and
that of the parents should lessen.

In a discussion on this article and related
topics, the author stated that parents do not participate
enough. Some of those who do, work for personal goals,
using it as a springboard to political office. She sees
parent participation as a humanizing factor for the school
system.

Another reason for participation may not be typi—
cal. Some highly enlightened people are involved because
they consider it the best way to force evolution and to
change people's minds.1

A number of reasons are advanced to explain non-
participation on school committees. Some explain why
some parents have never served; others reflect the dis-
couragement and frustration of those who have served and
decided not to continue.

Many families throughout the province find it
difficult to support their families due to existing
economic conditions. When the father arrives home tired,
he prefers to relax with his newspaper and his beer in

front of the television set instead of attending school

 

1Montreal, "Central Parents' Committee of the
Montreal Catholic School Commission," Annual Report,
1974-1975. (Mimeographed.)

121

committee meetings. The mother may like to send the kids

off to school and get some rest during the daytime instead
of participating in sub-committee work. For many parents,
school is the least of their worries.

When entering the school, most parents are enter—
ing a milieu they are unfamiliar with. Some do not feel
at ease. They do not know what is expected of them; they
do not know what they are supposed to do there. They are
not sure they know or can say what they want for their
children. Some sense a climate of uncertainty or mis-
trust and react by being afraid to express themselves
honestly or by simply staying away.2

Some parents feel keenly their lack of educational
background. They feel inferior; they do not want to show
their ignorance in front of others. Some are afraid of
the reSponsibility; some are indifferent. Others are
prevented by their job or by lack of a babysitter. In
rural areas a number of parents live twenty-five miles
away from the school. They feel it is too great a dis-
tance to travel. Some parents have the attitude, "My

child is doing well; why should I go?"3

 

lJacques Antoons, "Nos enfants sont-ils des orphe-
lins?" Education et Société (Décembre, 1973), pp. 18-19.

 

2Raymond Genest, "Les comités d'école," Education
at Société (Février, 1973), p. 3.

 

 

3Robert Picard, "Apres un an d'expérience,"
Education et Société (Décembre, 1973), pp. 4-5.

 

122

In certain areas, such as the northeastern section
of Montreal, there is a language difficulty. The princi-
pals of two English Catholic secondary schools in the
area said that many parents spoke only Italian, Portu-
guese, Slavic, or French. They were not confortable
attending meetings carried on in English. In one of the
schools, however, there were two non-English speakers
on the school committee (one French, one Italian).

Other parents on the school committee interpreted for
them.

Parents who served on school committees but who
chose not to present themselves for reelection were often
discouraged for several reasons. They found that often
after spending considerable time discussing a problem,
the principal or school board was not receptive to their
recommendation. They did not feel wanted by administra-
tors, teachers, students. They felt that the whole thing
was a facade. In many regions, their advice was never
asked on any subject even though the law stated that
they were to be consulted.

There were other kinds of problems, also. Some
parents were poorly informed or misinformed and thus
false problems were created. Some parents were impatient
and lacked the necessary perseverance to follow things
through. Some parents found that they did not have an

adequate amount of free time to participate effectively.

123

Some parents were not willing to dialogue; they were not
able to adapt to or be flexible toward today's child.

A number of parents were frustrated by the lack of con-
tinuity on the school committee.l

One respondent, a high school teacher, stated
that it takes a crisis to get parents involved. Usually
they just do not want to know what is happening. They
are so busy and so tired at night that they prefer to
retreat into the world of television. At a Parent
Conference Day in 1976, this teacher had only three
parents visit his classroom to inquire about their
children. Most teachers in the school had less.

There is always less interest in the school com—
mittee on the secondary level. As the children grow
older, the parents tend to lose interest. Another problem
is the large size of most secondary schools. A teacher
said that the bigger the school, the less parent par-
ticipation.

One of the more serious problems noted above is
that of the lack of continuity on school committees.

Most school committees are elected in October. It is
November before they meet and begin to plan for the year.

An interruption occurs over the Christmas holiday. If

 

1Sherbrooke, "Rapport synthese du Colloque
Régional des Comités d'Ecoles de la Commission Scolaire
Regional de l'Estrie" (Sherbrooke: le 25 mai, 1974),
p. 29. (Mimeographed.)

124

anything is accomplished, it happens in January, February,
March, and April. When spring arrives, interest lags,

and the committee disbands without making plans for the
next school year. More often than not, little has been
accomplished, so none of the old members present them—
selves for reelection in the fall.

Several suggestions have been made to improve this
situation. As a result, some school committees now hold
their election in May, leaving a few positions vacant to
be filled in the fall. This accommodates parents whose
children are not enrolled until then. (Parents of all
known incoming students are invited to the May meeting.)
This enables the new and old committee members to meet
in June to formulate plans for the next school year.
Some school committees are discouraged by their princi-
pals from doing this or they feel that this is illegal.
The law states that the election is to be held on or
before October 15.1 The Parent Animator from the PSBGM
stated that a lawyer advised her that since "parent"
refers to the parent of a child enrolled in a school
on September 30, it is illegal to hold the election
before that date. A Ministry official stated that he
saw nothing in the law to prevent the elections being

held in May. There is no record to date of any problem

 

lQuebec, Law 27 (1971), Comités d'écoles comités
de parents, article 66.

125

developing over any elections that have been held in May.
Another suggestion made was the advisability of electing
school committee members for a two-year term, electing
half of the committee each year. Most feel that the law
does not permit this, but they see nothing to prevent
them from electing a person to a second one-year term.
However, it has not been easy in many locales to persuade
people to want to be reelected.

One former parent committee president who is now
a school board member suggested that Law 27 was merely
a guideline. She had been in the happy situation of
having many parents wanting to participate. Since the
law stated that the school committee was to have a maxi-
mum of twenty-three parents, she included about twenty-
five others by establishing sub-committees for each grade
level in the schools where parents were eager to serve.

In the Montreal Catholic School Commission, con-
tinuity has been established. A spokesman said that the
overall average of parents remaining on the school com-
mittees was about 60 percent. However, problems are seen
when looking at the figures for each individual school
committee. Some had all new members, some had all former
members. The former situation destroys continuity; the
latter does not permit new parents to participate and

gain valuable training.

126

On the Central Committee in Montreal, only six
people are new out of fourteen. The president has been
reelected for the third year. An official from the
Montreal Catholic School Commission said that usually
it would be better to have a change, but this man com-
mands much respect and has been responsible for develop-
ing a good relationship between the Central Committee
and the school board. Because of his competence, he
was appointed a member of the Montreal Catholic School
Board in November to fulfill the unexpired term of its
president who was elected to political office in the
November provincial election.

A spokesman for the Montreal Catholic School Com-
mission felt that there were two possible reasons for so
many parents remaining in office. There is a feeling of
waiting which is prevalent. These Montreal parents are
waiting and hoping for the Ministry of Education to
announce the decentralization they have been asking for.
They are also waiting for the new plan for the reorgani-
zation of school boards on the Island of Montreal which
is expected to be announced in late 1976 or early 1977.

Much has been said about the participation of the
parents on the school committees. Each committee also
has the principal and one teacher. From a number of
interviews, three main views of the participation of the
principal emerged. Some parents felt warmly welcomed

by the principal and thought that genuine consultation

127

was taking place. Others felt that the principal was
going through the motions and telling them only what he
felt they should know. The rest felt that their principal
did not want parents in his school.

Some of this reluctance to work with parents may
be explained by the fact that many principals in Quebec
are former teachers who were placed in this position as
a result of having performed well in the classroom. They
have not been trained as administrators nor have they
been trained in school—community relations. They do not
see the school as part of or belonging to the community;
they see it as their domain. They do not see the need
for working with parents or considering their opinions
and recommendations. Courses in school-community relations
and parent relations are beginning to be offered by some
universities to fulfill this need. Some principals have
availed themselves of this opportunity.

Teacher participation varies, also. The past
year was not typical because teachers were involved in
extended negotiations with the government over their
contract. However, respondents felt that, in other
years, some teachers had been interested and helpful.

On the contrary, in other schools a different teacher
attended the meeting each month so there was no con-
tinuity. The feeling was widespread that not many

teachers went back to their colleagues and reported

128

what was said at school committee meetings. In general,
it does not seem that the teacher member fostered much
communication between other teachers and the parents.

A question was raised by several people over the
propriety of a teacher at one school serving on the parent
committee at another. Respondents to this question said
that this could result in conflict of interest if the
school committee position differed from that of the

teacher's union.

The Function of the Committees

 

School committees are now firmly established in
the Quebec School System. After the yearly election, the
school committee members meet to elect officers. It is
suggested in the guidelines that the next step is to
formulate objectives for the school year and to set up
sub-committees to work on the stated objectives. It is
also important for the school committee to plan its meet-
ings for the year. An agenda needs to be set up for each
monthly meeting. At each meeting minutes must be taken
and written up to be distributed at or before the next
meeting. The president has to be prepared to preside
at the meeting.

Immediately several problems arise. Many parents
have had no training in presiding over meetings, writing
minutes, setting up agendas or formulating objectives.

This lack of training has been responsible for the lack

129

of success of school committees in some areas. In others,
it has merely slowed down the involvement and development
of the school committees. The next chapter will contain
an explanation of what has been done to ameliorate this
problem.

During the four and a half years of their exis—
tence, school committees have engaged in a number of
activities in an effort to fulfill their role. There is
quite a variety of activities with varying purposes. The
following five categories have been suggested: activi-
ties which permit parents to get acquainted with the
school, activities which inform other parents and the
community, support activities for the school, service to
students, subjects for study and consultation.1 The
following list of school committee projects gives an
idea of what is being done around the province.

Getting acquainted with the school

 

Meetings where teachers and specialists provide
information on Mathematics, French, Religion, etc.

Meetings with Student Council

Meetings with Staff Council (teachers)

Visits to classrooms-planned and unplanned

Coffee Corner-place in school where parents and
teachers can meet for a chat and coffee

Teacher visits in student homes

Classes for parents using new teaching methods

Fifteen week class on the new Mathematics and the
new French

 

1Marthe Henripin et Vincent Ross, Les parents
dans l'école (Québec: ministére de 1' Education, 1975),
p. 8.

 

 

130

Support activities for the school

Helping in school library
Cafeteria supervision
Snow classes
Dramatics
Health Week
Education Week
Babysitting for general parent meetings
Supervision of school yard at recess
Help for needy families
Safety-pedestrian crossing lights and guards
Campaign against vandalism
Handing out snacks
Helping to dress four year olds at end of school day
Classes in how to work on school committee
Fund raisers
Bazaars
Carnivals
Marchathon
Rockathon
Collecting empty bottles and newspapers
Book Fair
Style shows
Art Fair

Informing_others

 

Newspapers

Monthly Bulletins

Parent Opinion Surveys

Preparation for "Welcome" in fall

Obtaining volunteers for special projects in the
school

General meetings

Displays of students' work

Audio-visual presentations

Television programs

Telephone chains

Classes on how to be an effective school committee
member, president, secretary

Visit to France

Service to students

 

After-school c1asses--art, music, sports, games,
crafts, love, ecology, swimming, skating

Skate exchange

Christmas baskets

School Bank

Field trips

131

Invented mathematics games

Catechism

Reading program—-individual help for students

Student exchanges

Christmas party

Spring visits to secondary school for students who
will enter in fall

Party for First Communion

Nutrition Day

Saturday game day

Consultation

 

Sex Education

Cumulative School Record

May First booklet

Closing of schools (transfer of students elsewhere)
Changing school programs

Remodeling schools

Teacher negotiations

Transportation

Good citizenship training for students
School discipline

Problems of specialized schools

French language instruction

Parent Congress (annual conference)
Report cards

School rules

Dress code

School budget

Absenteeism

Dropouts

Many of the above are common in the American
school system. Some are provided by the school; others
are provided by local parent-teacher groups. As for the
subjects for study and consultation, interested citizens
may contact the school board directly in the United
States without having the backing of a committee. The
reader should remember that all of this is not common
in Quebec. Parent involvement in the school system is

an innovation.

132

The preceding five groups form an excellent net-
work of participation. Parents new to the school environ-
ment usually begin with activities in the first group and
then move on through groups two through five as they gain
experience.

School committees themselves go through this net-
work. Some are operating efficiently on a group five
level; others have not gone beyond level one.

Most school committees have at one time or another
scheduled their meetings for the entire school year with
sessions on one or another of the subject matter areas
of the school. The teacher of that subject matter area
or the school board specialist presents an informative
program and answers parents' questions. According to
school committee annual reports and respondents, the most
popular topics have been the "new Math" and the new
methods and materials in teaching French as the mother
tongue. A few schools have even set up classes for
parents in mathematics and French spread over several
weeks so that parents may be taught using the same methods
and materials that their children are being exposed to.

In this way, parents realize that the new methods are
effective, and they can be more understanding of the
experiences that their children have.

In schools where the principal and teachers are

open to cooperating with and welcoming parents, some

133

parents have had interesting experiences visiting class-
rooms. In a few schools, invitations have been issued

for parents to visit any time they wish. Those parents
who have done so have seen their children in a different
light. They also understand how the teacher works. They
realize that when their children talk about playing games
at school, they are describing learning experiences. This
helps to dispel the illusion that the new schools are all
play. These parents are more willing to cooperate with
the teacher in helping the child.

School committees who have been informed on the
new methods and materials and who have visited classrooms
usually seek to share this information with other parents.
Those who do usually choose to send information home in
written form or they present a program at a general meet-
ing at school. A few ambitious school committees have
filmed television proqrams and broadcast them.

One example of written communication is a news-
paper, "La Lanterne," begun by the school committee at
St-Coeur-de—Marie School in Quebec. It informs parents
of what is happening at school. Illustrations and the
cover design are done by the children.

Plateau-Escale School in Charlesbourg started a
newspaper that was to provide communication between all
the partners in the educational system. Due to several

unforeseen problems, only one of the four issues was

134

published. It contained, in interview form, information
on the French program. Other articles were planned on
mathematics, religion, and English. This newspaper was

to be a forum for discussion of any topic which affected
school life. There were to be articles for the children,
also, and pictures for them to color. The school com-
mittee hopes to solve the problems and publish during the
1976-1977 school year if interest warrants the expenditure
of time and money.

The Parents' Committee of the Quebec Catholic
School Board publishes a four-page monthly information
bulletin for all the members of the school committees
in their territory. It contains a variety of articles
and news relating to school committees and offers certain
helps and services. For example, in the October, 1975,
bulletin, a colored film on special classes for all types
of handicapped children was offered for elementary school
committees to show at a general parents' meeting.

The support services mentioned in the third group
of school committee activities are so named because they
help the school and the teacher to provide extras for
the student. The emphasis here is on helping the princi-
pal and teacher, even though it indirectly benefits the
students. Many of these, especially such services as
the fund-raisers and helping in the library, are similar

to those services provided by parent-teacher organizations

135

in the United States. These need no explanation or dis-
cussion. Two others will be mentioned to illustrate the
activities in this group.

Having four-year-olds at school--especially in
the winter months when the weather necessitates heavy
clothing and boots-~can be a chore for the teacher. At
one school, two mothers arrive at the end of each school
day to help the children dress for the trip home. Two
different mothers are assigned each day by the school
committee member in charge of this project.

Parents in some areas have achieved more safety
for their children. In northeastern Montreal, a traffic
light near the school to help students cross the street
had been approved by the city but never ordered to be
installed. The principal's attempts to have the light
erected had not brought action. Through the school com-
mittee, the parents put pressure on the proper officials,
and soon the traffic light was installed.

In the area of providing direct service to Stu-
dents, Quebec parents have made a large contribution.
Traditionally the schools have not provided much in the
way of after-school activities. In many schools the
school committee has organized and directed some type
of program, either after school or on Saturday. For
example, one school from the Protestant School Board of

Greater Montreal has 400 of its 700 students enrolled

136

in some after-school activity. Art, music, and sports
are offered including such things as judo and guitar.
All classes are taught and supervised by the parents.

A school in the Catholic School Commission of
Montreal allows its parents to provide supplements to
the academic program during the school day. Last year
the president of the school committee taught a class in
astronomy, her specialty.

When parents have acquired experience and first-
hand knowledge of the school, they usually get involved
in issues and problems dealing with the pedagogical
aspects of the school program. Such a case is that of
an inner city school in Montreal. This school had many
disadvantaged students; the needs of these students were
not being met. The school asked the parents to submit
projects to help provide a better education for these
students. The parents have been submitting ideas; those
deemed worthwhile are being funded. Teachers are helping
with designing and implementing these projects.

The problem of a steady decline in public school
enrollment has put school administrators in some areas
of Quebec, especially in the cities of Montreal and
Quebec, in the unenviable position of having to close
schools. Parents are accustomed to having their neigh-
borhood school and fight vigorously to keep it open.

The school committee at Roxboro Elementary School in

137

Montreal did more than fight; it came up with an idea
which has resulted in keeping the school open. They
have begun a day-time continuing education program which
has attracted 114 adults who are taking courses in French,
flower arranging, painting, and sewing. Parents like it
because they can attend while their children are in
school. In addition, it is less tiring to take courses
during daytime hours, and the fees are reasonable. The
principal feels that the program is responding to the
needs of the community. The school committee hopes to
expand the program to include all kinds of cultural and
recreational activities.

Real consultation involves dialogue between the
parents and the school. Occasionally parents consult
with each other to form a strong voice to make the school
authorities listen. Such a case was the incident of the
leaky roof on the school "La Source" in Loretteville near
Quebec. The roof had been leaking for some time, it was
making school unpleasant for the children, but nothing
was being done to repair it. The older students decided
to strike in order to get it fixed. The principal sent
all the students home and wrote to parents that they must
come to school and reenroll their children. Two-thirds
of the parents attended the school board meeting to pro-
test and to demand that the roof be repaired immediately.

They received promises but no action. Therefore, they

138

unanimously decided to close the school until the roof
was repaired. They kept their children at home.
Finally the roof was fixed and classes resumed.

The examples show that parents are involved and
they do get results. The school committees provide oppor-
tunity for some local control of the schools since parents
can find solutions for problems which affect them and
their children. What is a problem in one school may not
be a problem in another.

It is not always easy to distinguish between
problems handled by school committees and those handled
by parents' committees. A school committee may identify
a problem, decide it only affects that school, and work
to solve it. A school committee may identify another
problem and find that this problem exists in other schools
in the district. In this case it may become the work of
the parents' committee to help the school committees
find a solution. In other cases, a parents' committee
may identify a problem and present it to the school com-
mittees for solution.

In Ste-Foy the Parents' Committee appointed three
members to form a joint committee with three members from
the School Board. One project on which they have spent
and will spend much time on is the idea of allowing each
elementary school to have its own instructional specialty.

They designed a pilot program for one elementary school

139

to have an open classroom for continuous learning.
Another school is to have special instruction in music.
This project was delayed by the teachers' contract
struggle, but hopefully the pilot program will begin
soon.

Certain topics were subjects of consultation for
school committees and parents' committees throughout the
province of Quebec. Among those were Sex Education,
Cumulative School Records, the May First Booklet,
teacher negotiations, and the closing of schools with
low enrollment.

The Ministry of Education prepared a course of
study on Sex Education to be used for the instruction of
that subject in elementary and secondary schools. In
November of 1974, the Catholic Committee vetoed the pro-
gram without consulting the parents. Parents became
concerned and let the Ministry know that they favored
a program of sex education in the schools. The Ministry
then designed another program which later was accepted
by the Catholic Committee and the parents.

The Sherbrooke Parents' Committee appointed a
sub-committee to study this problem. This was one of
three priorities for the year 1974—1975. This committee,
after several discussions, surveyed the parents to see
if they wanted the program and to find out how parents

thought it should be taught. Out of 220 parents who

140

returned the survey, 161 thought it was necessary to
have a sex education program in the elementary schools.
The majority thought that this should be part of the
science program taught to children from ages nine to
twelve in mixed groups. Opinion was split over who
should teach the course. Seventy-nine parents favored
the nurse, fifty-nine a married couple, and fifty a
teacher. The committee thought that the course given
by the school should be the complement of information
given at home by parents.

Later the Association of School Boards at Sher-
brooke issued a statement supporting the conclusions of
the Parents' Committee. This document, entitled "Report
on Sex Education in the Formation of the Individual,"
was studied by the Parents' Committee of Quebec. This
group passed a resolution in support of the document.
However, they wanted parents in Quebec to play an
important part in preparing and teaching such a course.
This subject of sex education appeared as an item for
consultation in a number of Parents' Committee annual
reports.

Another item of province-wide concern was the
Cumulative School Record. This also appeared in many
annual reports. In 1973 a cumulative school record was
to be started for each student in the province. It was

to contain information on the student's grades,

141

performance on the province-wide examinations, results
of achievement, intelligence, and aptitude tests, and
comments on the students' behavior. This record was to
be kept on file for fifty years. This became a very
controversial subject. Parents felt that this record
could be harmful to their children during the major
portion of their lives.

In Quebec the Parents' Committee held five
information sessions for school committee members.
Following the meetings, the school committees spent
considerable time studying and discussing this matter.
At the end, the parents felt that there was a necessity
for a cumulative school record. However, they felt that
the section of comments on the students' behavior should
be destroyed when the student terminated his studies.
The document should be helpful, not punitive.

The Parents' Committee in Sherbrooke appointed
a sub-committee to compile a report on the subject.1
This committee found that parents could see the benefits
of such a record, but they did not want it to become
harmful nor could they see any reason for keeping it
on file for fifty years. They felt that students had

ups and downs and occasionally did things which they

 

l"Rapport de la Commission Ad Hoc Sur le dossier
scolaire Cumulatif, Le Comité des Parents, Enseignement
Primaire," July, 1974. (Mimeographed.)

142

later regretted; this should not haunt them for most of
the rest of their lives. They did not feel that teachers
knew the students well enough to make accurate comments.
Therefore, they were in favor of the record but not in
its present form.

The Parents' Committees became involved in the
spring of 1975 with the "Manuel du ler mai."1 This was
a booklet of suggestions for student projects to be used
in the classrooms to teach about the life of the working
class. It was prepared by the militants of the Centrale
de l'enseignement du Québec, a strong teachers' union.
The Quebec School Board forbade its use in the schools,
saying that it considered the document Marxist. It
wanted the Parents' Committee to support its decision.
The Parents' Committee wanted to keep their autonomy
and take some time to thoroughly study the manual.

In Montreal, the Central Parents' Committee sent
a message to all the school committees inviting them to
be extremely careful about the eventual use of this
document in the schools.

The Elementary School Parents' Committee in
Sherbrooke recommended that the Sherbrooke Catholic

School Board and the Ministry of Education incorporate

 

1Pour une journée d'école au service de la classe
ouvriére, Manuel du ler mai, Centrale de l'Enseignement
du Québec, April 1975.

143

some of the ideas from the booklet into the instructional
program to answer the needs of the child. The committee
also stated where it was in disagreement with the document.

Mention has been made previously of the disruption
in the schools due to the lengthy conflict between the
teachers and the government over the teachers' contract.
This was a cause for concern for parents throughout the
province. In some areas there was no annual report for
the school committee or parents' committee for 1975-1976
because the committee did not function as a result of the
conflict.

In some areas this conflict became the focus for
the major part of its work. Such was the case for the
Regional School District of Tilly, in Ste-Foy. Its
annual report states that this item was on the agenda
of almost all of its ten meetings. Throughout the year
it tried to take action to keep the two sides negotiating,
and in April, it supported the action of the school board
in obtaining an injunction to force the teachers to con-
tinue the work of the school year. The Parents' Committee
report stated that the position of the public schools had
seriously weakened that year. The students had not
received the services to which they felt they were
entitled for the amount of money they had paid. Some
parents suggested that if all was not back to normal by

the fall of 1976, they would feel justified in having

144

their tax monies placed in escrow until the negotiations
were completed. All the parents agreed that the children
should not return to school in the fall until the teachers
had a signed contract.

The Central Parents' Committee in Montreal had
stated from the beginning that it supported the idea of
continued negotiations with the help of a mediator. It
also felt that the methods of conducting the negotiations
were inefficient and they recommended reforming them.

In January, 1976, parents and school committees in the
region put pressure on the Central Committee to take a
stand on the matter. In attempting to do this, the
members found it extremely difficult to get adequate
information on the positions of the government and the
teachers' union. In addition, there was so much diversity
in the thinking of the parents that it was next to impos—
sible to develop a statement which would convey their
opinions. Finally, as stated in the annual report, the
committee members realized that in conflicts of this
nature, they did not possess efficient means of inter-
vention. They felt that their views were hardly con-
sidered which proved to them that parents were not yet

a real part of the school system.

According to the annual report of the Parents'
Committee in Quebec, the parents felt that they were

provided with much information on the teacher conflict

145

and that they were consulted by the School Board on this
matter. Parents felt that their role was that of an
observer. They tried to assess the effect of the conflict
on their children and recommend the best course of action
to ensure their well-being and the success of the school
year. They wanted to keep the schools open and have them
function as normally as possible.

In the fall of 1976 the contract was settled.
The French schools opened in the fall; the English schools
were disrupted by a three—week teachers' strike protesting
the terms of the new contract, but conditions went back
to normal after that. School committees and parents'
committees are free to concentrate on other concerns
such as the closing of underenrolled schools.

The decline in school enrollment is a pressing
problem in the public schools, especially in the cities
of Montreal and Quebec. No one is quite certain of the
cause, but two contributing factors are the decline in
the birth rate and the transfer of many students to
private schools. The current budgetary pinch has made
it imperative for school officials to attempt to close
those schools which are economically unsound. Parents
have become alarmed over this because none of them wish
to lose their neighborhood school. This has become an
even larger issue in certain areas where the French

population does not want to see the last French school

146

close. They feel that this will result in a lack of
French-speaking people moving in and therefore a decline
in the area. The parents' committees in the neighborhoods
involved are attempting to work this out with the school
boards.

There are a number of other parents' committee
projects that could be mentioned to show the scope of
their activities. To close this section just one more
will be discussed because of its unusual nature. In
1973-1974 the Parents' Committee of the Catholic School
Commission of Quebec decided that it would be useful to
send some parents to France.1 They submitted a project
to the Office Franco—Quebecois pour la jeunesse (French
French-Canadian Youth Office). This project, "Schools
and Parent Participation," was accepted in April, 1975.
Six parents from Quebec City school committees as well
as fourteen parents from other areas of the province
were selected to make the three-week trip in October,
1975. They visited schools in Paris and four other
locations to study current developments in the French
schools and to investigate the work of parent groups in
France. Upon their return, they prepared a forty-three
page report on what they had learned.

Some school committees and parents' committees

have functioned better than others because they have

 

lRapport Annuel, 15 Septembre 1975, p. 10.

147

been careful to spend time formulating objectives and
setting up sub-committees to divide the work-study pro-
jects. Some of the school boards have prepared guides
for the committees to provide help in setting up their
objectives for the year. Some of these objectives are
suggested by issues of current concern in the province.
Others are determined by parent input on the local level
where there are items of concern to that particular
school population. Some of the school boards have a
person in their office working as a liaison officer
between the school board and the school committees.
This person is usually available to help individual

school committees set their objectives for the year.

CHAPTER VI

PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL

COMMITTEES AND PARENTS' COMMITTEES

It has already been established that some com-
mittees have been able to function more smoothly and
with better results than others. Almost all of them have
had certain difficulties at one time or another. They
have had problems obtaining enough money to operate the
way they would like. Some committees have not had a
place to work or to store records. Access to proper
secretarial help and supplies has been difficult in
some areas. Parents have been hindered by their lack
of training in functioning as a group or in fulfilling
the responsibilities of serving as president or secretary.
Many of the more competent peOple have found that they
do not have the large amounts of free time available that
the job requires. There has been lack of continuity in
the work of the committees. Some parents feel the need
for a stronger, more unified voice but are not sure that
the Provincial Federation of Parents is the answer.

Parents' committees have been hindered by a lack of

148

149

collective spirit and the large size of some of the
regional school districts. This chapter will contain
a discussion of these problems along with any solutions

that have been found or proposed.

Financing

 

The method of financing the school committees
and parents' committees has been outlined in the Ministry
of Education's Document VI B.

Participation in the school committee or its
sub-committees, as a member or an advisor, is made
on a voluntary basis. However, according to the
provisions in the Budgetary and Administrative
Rules for School Boards, expenses incurred by
members of school committees and sub-committees
and which have been previously authorized by the
school committee in the budget assigned to it by
the school board, may be reimbursed upon presen-
tation of receipts, according to the modalities
established by the school board in consultation
with the parents' committee.

The school committee must forward to the
parents' committee, its budgetary provisions for
the following school year.

According to the policies established by the
school board, the principal of the school places
at the disposal of the school committee, in excess
of the budget determined for the school committee
by the school board, certain available resources
of his school such as rooms for meetings, sta-
tionery and secretarial services.

These rules establish the fact that parents
serve on a voluntary basis. Every parent interviewed
mentioned the fact that his work was nonpaid and seemed

rather proud of the fact that he was making a contribution.

 

lDocument VI B, p. 29.

150

These rules delegate the power of determining the
monies allowed to each individual school board. The
Montreal Catholic School Commission includes a detailed
section on financing the School Committee in its current
guide for parents' committees. Each school committee
is allocated "-$0.20 per pupil, according to the official
registration of September 30th, with a minimum of $100.00
and a maximum of $350.00."1 An informant stated the
school committees in this school district now receive
25¢ per pupil. In addition, the School Board allocates
$300.00 to the Parents' Committee for general expenses
and $200.00 for the annual Regional Parent Congress.

The Central Executive Committee receives $3,000.00 for
its needs.

The figure of 25¢ per student allocated to each
school committee seemed to be fairly standard policy at
all the school boards. There was some variation in the
minimum and maximum allowed and in the amount budgeted
for the parents' committees. Many school committees
supplemented their budget with money earned from various
fund-raising projects. Others became self-financed
through contributions made by community organizations.

The Catholic School Commission in Quebec, when

faced with budgetary restrictions, surveyed other school

 

1The Montreal Catholic School Commission, Guide
for Parents' Committees, 2d ed., December 1975, p. 49.

151

boards to compare their school committee and parents'
committee budget with that in other areas. It discovered
that it was allowing these committees $2.25 per student
(this includes all services rendered--personnel, secre-
tarial, telephone, paper, printing, etc.) while Montreal
provided $0.77 per student. The Quebec School Commission
admitted that its method of calculation was different
but still considered themselves too generous. Therefore,
for the 1976-1977 school year, the amount was reduced to
$1.25 per student. This meant the loss of the Coordinator
for Parent-School Services, his secretary, and all the
services of this office: paper, copying, telephone,
stamps, printing. A spokesman at the School Commission
Office expected this to drastically curtail service to
the parents. This was stated in the annual report also.1
The rules previously quoted state that the princi-
pal of each school is to provide meeting rooms, secretarial
services, and paper. It is clear that some principals
provide more help than others. Principals do provide a
room for the monthly meetings; not too many provide
space for the committee to work at other times. Some
provide adequate secretarial help; others do not. Some
school committees are fortunate in having members who

possess good secretarial skills and are happy to make

 

1Rapport Annuel du Comité de Parents de la C. E.
C. Q. 1975-1976, pp. 14-15. (Mimeographed.)

152

a contribution by furnishing this help to the committee.
One parents' committee president stated that there was

a pressing need for a filing cabinet to store school
committee and parents' committee records. Most records
were currently stored under the beds of the presidents

and secretaries. This did not permit careful preservation
of records or easy access to them. This respondent felt
that the school should provide a filing cabinet for these
records.

In its annual report for 1975—1976 (pp. 11-12),
the Central Parents' Committee of the Montreal Catholic
School Commission called for a law to define exactly what
should be provided. It noted that some principals were
most generous in providing help to the school committees;
others were parsimonious.

Respondents believed in the principal of parents
donating time. However, some parents, who often had to
travel considerable distances, felt they should not be
penalized financially. They thought that expenses
should be provided for those who attended several meet-
ings a week. One parent suggested researching the value
of a person who has acquired competency through several
years experience and using this information to receive
a tax deduction for such an individual. Another parent
remarked that little schools in rural areas should

receive more money for their school committees because

153

their needs were greater. This parent felt that parents
who had to travel more than ten miles to attend meetings
or to do the work required by participation on a sub-
committee should be reimbursed for their travel expenses.
Another parent thought that the committees should receive
money for secretarial help to relieve the burden placed

on the school secretary.

Lack of Training

 

Parents have been hindered by their lack of
training in functioning as part of a group and in ful-
filling the responsibilities of serving as president or
secretary. Some parents experienced difficulty in
expressing themselves in front of the principal or
teachers because they felt they had inferior education.
Others needed to become acquainted with each other out-
side regular meetings in order to feel comfortable work-
ing together at parent meetings. Many did not know how
to prepare an agenda, preside at a meeting, or write
minutes.

The Ministry of Education has a man in each
regional office to aid school boards and school com-
mittees in their relations with each other. However,
the Ministry informant admitted that the availability
of this service was not well publicized. He also men-

tioned that the regional offices can provide an animator

154

to lead school committee meetings in order to facilitate
the work of the school committees.

The larger school boards have provided much ser-
vice to school committees and parents' committees. The
Montreal Catholic School Commission has published a 120-
page guide detailing every facet of school committee
operation. The Protestant School Board of Greater
Montreal has published a 40-page school committee manual
which is not as detailed but which does explain how to
set up and operate the committees. It also includes a
section of useful information on programs offered in
the school system. The 20-page guide from the Quebec
Catholic School Commission lists the functions of the
school committee and its members and provides a lO-page
annex of lists, forms, and further information.

In La Prairie, the president of the Parents'
Committee responded to concerns over the lack of tech-
nical and practical information by writing a manual of
administration for school committees and parents' com-
mittees. This 39-page document provides concise step-
by-step information on school committee operation, the
roles of its members, and running the meetings. The
annex provides important information on communication,

participation, consultation, and team work.1

 

1Christine Bertrand, Manuel de Gestion des Comités
d'Ecole et du Comité de Parents, Commission Scolaire de
La Prairie, Juin 1976.

 

 

155

These guides provide an important source of
information for parents. Another most important source
is the liaison officer employed by some school boards to
organize the work of the committees. The Catholic School
Board in Quebec had such a person who in 1976 had ten
years experience in working with parent groups in the
schools. He coordinated the activities of the committees,
prepared the calendar of meetings, and provided invaluable
help in many ways. He had a full-time secretary and was
assisted by a public relations officer. He watched over
the development of the school committees. Any committees
which were not functioning well were invited to visit
committees which were operating smoothly. This post
was eliminated from the budget in the fall of 1976.

The Montreal Catholic School Committee has a
full-time person whose job is to work with the Central
Parents Committee. There are also parent advisors for
each region of Montreal.

The Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal
employs a full-time person as Animator for Parents and
School Committees. This woman has provided much help
to individual school committees as well as writing the
guide used by these committees. This year she will be
spending half her time working with the concerns of

'parents and the other half helping to develop a policy

156

on the closing of underenrolled schools. Part of her
role is putting schools in touch with the community.

School boards have also addressed the problem of
parental need for training by providing a variety of
training sessions. In 1973-1974 the Quebec Catholic
School Board offered all-day sessions for presidents
of school committees on how to run a meeting, prepare
an agenda, edit minutes, and other useful information.
It presented evening workshops for secretaries and
treasurers on practical helps for fulfilling their duties.
In the fall of 1975 this school board offered courses for
school committee members for the first time. About
40 percent of the committee members were in attendance.
Sessions were held on how to preside over a meeting,
help for secretaries, human relations, and training for
animators for the 1976 Parent Congress. They hoped
to run the sessions again beginning in November, 1976.
The later date would allow for more publicity announcing
the meetings. They also hoped to change the time of
some of the sessions. The women found it difficult
to be out that many nights.

The Catholic School Commission in Montreal has
also provided training sessions for the parents. One
parent who had attended stated that he received good
training in how to run a meeting. The training and help

provided at the sessions gave him the assurance he

157

needed to function in the committee. This school com—
mission has planned a new series to run from January
through May of 1977. There will be three thirty-hour
sessions, each spread over three consecutive weekends,
three separated weekends, or three Thursdays and Fridays.
Subjects of the workshops are Communication, Animation
(Leadership) Techniques, and a combination of Leadership,
Observation and Evaluation, and Decision-making.

At the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal,
the Parent Animator runs training sessions for members
of school committees and the parents' committee. She,
along with two McGill University professors, has designed
a course for school committee members who wish to do
their job more effectively. This pilot project was
launched in the fall of 1976 with twenty parents attend-
ing. It was financed by two Montreal School Boards (the
PSBGM and the MCSC), and there are ten parents from each
board attending the classes. The success of this project
will be evaluated in the spring of 1977.

Training sessions have also been held in other
areas. This is greatly increasing the number of competent
and knowledgeable people working on school committees.
Some of them have now been making themselves available
to act as animators to help school committees which need

it.

158

Other help is provided for parents in the form of
articles in educational publications. In addition, the
regional office of the Ministry of Education at Sherbrooke
is preparing a manual on "Methodologie d'Animation de
Participation pour les Parents" (Methods of Animation
for Parent Participation). This is expected to appear

in the spring of 1977.

Continuity

 

The problem of lack of continuity in the work of
the school committee has been discussed earlier. When
parents are elected for only one year and a new group is
elected for the following year, the committee has diffi-
culty in sustaining any kind of meaningful work. This
compounds the problem, for if nothing happens, parents
do not want to present themselves for reelection for the
following year. Fortunately, this is resolving itself
in areas where the school committees have met with
success and are supported in their efforts by principals
and school boards.

Some problem is caused by the fact that the most
competent people do not have the necessary time to devote
to school committee work due to other demands on their

time.

159

Communication

 

Lack of communication is another factor. In
some areas school committees do not send their minutes
to the parents' committee. This impedes their efficiency.
The parents' committee needs this information in order to
coordinate activities in the district and to use in
their contacts with the school board. There also needs
to be better exchange of information between teachers
and school committees and between school boards and
parents' committees. Some school boards have not yet
made a practice of sending their agenda and minutes to
the parents' committee. There are regions where it has
not been possible to have a parents' committee member at
school board meetings. There are also regions where
school committee members have not polled the other
parents before adopting an official position on an
issue. Communication is often lacking in all directions.

Some communication between parents is effected
by the annual Parents' Congress in Quebec. This con-
vention, held in Quebec City, has met about the time of
Easter vacation for eight years. In 1976, 800 parents
attended to consider the topic, "The School of Tomorrow."
In the general meetings and the workshops, parents heard
about and discussed the changes in the educational
system since 1960, the school as it is today, and what

it will be in the future. Parent participation at this

160

meeting was greater in 1976 than before. Not only were
there more parents in attendance but more were group
leaders and secretaries.

An earlier convention in 1974 had brought 600
parents together over the theme, "The School . . . Why?"
On opening night parents heard three addresses on the
purposes of the school.1 The following day they par-
ticipated in workshops and discussion groups on the
insecurity of school children, apprenticeship of the
child (ways to integrate the child into society), new
teaching methods, equal opportunities for all children,
learning-disabled children, teaching of religion, and
the quality of professional training provided by the
schools. They also discussed the work of the school
committees and made recommendations to improve their
operation.2

Another example of helpful communication among
parents is the Regional Convention of School Committees
of the Estrie Regional School Board held in Sherbrooke
in May, 1974. The purpose of the meeting was to reflect

on the performance of the school committees, which had

 

lNicole Pomerleau Brodeur, "Des parents intéressés
et décidés a agir," Education Québec, mai 1974, pp. 9-15.

 

2Pauline Beaulne, "L'école . . . pourquoi?"
La Revue Scolaire, mai 1974, pp. 8-12.

 

161

then been in existence for two years, and to try to

provide solutions for the problems which parents had
encountered. They published a report so that others
might profit from their deliberations.

Provincial Federation of
Parents' Committees

 

 

At various times parents have sent communications
to the Ministry of Education to make recommendations for
the improvement of the functioning of the school com-
mittees. They do not see action being taken on their
suggestions nor do they feel they are being consulted
in decisions affecting them. Some parents feel that
they need a stronger voice in order to make themselves
felt at the Ministry of Education. They think that this
voice might be provided by the Provincial Federation of
Parents.

The Provincial Federation of Parents was reorga-
nized under this name in 1974. It has ten administrative
zones with a parent in charge of each area. The parent
committees may bring their problems to this organization
and ask it to take action. One of the zone administra-
tors thinks that it must develOp a better structure
before it will have much power.

The Quebec Parents' Committee commented on this
organization in its annual report of 1975-1976. All

parents' committees in the province are automatically

162

members unless they officially resign each year. The
Quebec Parents' Committee has not always been in agree-
ment with the decisions made or the positions taken by
the Federation. It has reservations about its methods
of operation and its objectives. It does not always
consult with the parents' committees before acting. The
Quebec group feels that the Federation is not well
organized and is not effective. However, it will con-
tinue to be a part of the Federation but will watch its
decisions carefully. It will not hesitate to resign
from it if necessary.

The Montreal Parents' Committee does not belong
to the Federation. It sees it as an arm of the Ministry
of Education and therefore feels it is not autonomous.
If Montreal belonged, it would not have a voice that
equalled that of the percentage of its students to that
of the province. The president of a parents' committee
in a suburb of Montreal said that the Federation was too
political. It has no autonomy because it was receiving
funds from the Superior Council of Education. She sees
it as a pressure group to get parents to do things with-
out consulting them.

The Sherbrooke Parents' Committee is not a member.
It does not see it as playing an important role and
feels it is too far away from local concerns. A Sher-

brooke teacher and school committee member said that

163

the Federation was always three months late in taking
action. It had planned to unite the province in a two-
day attempt to keep the children home from school in
order to accelerate the teacher negotiations. The
Parents' Committee waited for the official order from
the Federation; it never came.

During this period of conflict and teacher nego-
tiations, the Provincial Federation sent a letter to the
Ministry of Education suggesting that if it did not have
the necessary funds to comply with the public school
teachers' demands, it should cut off the subsidies to
private schools. Parents' committees had not been con-
sulted on this and the majority of them did not accept
the Federation's position.

This has proven to be a controversial organization.
Many people see its problems of budget, organization, and
personnel. Yet, they feel that parents' committees may
have to group somehow in order to have any power with
the government. They see this organization as the only
hope at the present time to develop a strong enough
voice to convey their concerns to the Ministry of Edu-
cation.

Some see that the Parents' committees are not
operating well for a different reason. In an extensive
report on elementary schools, it was found that in

general, the parents' committees were rather inactive.

164

This was a surprise because the committees, being composed
of school committee presidents, should be made up of
people who have much leadership ability. The report
stated that part of the explanation resides in the fact
that a spirit of collectivity has not yet developed. A
person interested in getting involved with his children's
school is not necessarily interested in working on the
school board level. Another factor is that school boards
have not designated official representatives to parents'
committee meetings. A third factor is the large geo-
graphical area served by some parents' committees. The
distance of the four corners from each other makes
attendance at committee meetings prohibitive.l

Thus it is evident that school committees and
parents' committees are functioning better in some areas
than in others. Often the more competent parents have a
minimum of time to devote to school committee work. Some
committees are restricted by economic problems. Lack of
training has caused difficulty in the past, but training
programs have now been developed to serve those parents
who live in or near the larger cities. Communication
between the committees and the school boards is improving.
A beginning has been made in exchanging information

between committees of various regions. People are

 

lQuebec, Rapport du Groupe Commel (Quebec:
Ministére de l'EducatIOn, Octobre 1974), p. 47.

 

165

watching the Provincial Federation of Parents' Committees

to see whether it will develop into a useful organization.

CHAPTER VII

THE PERCEPTION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND PARENTS'
COMMITTEES BY MEMBERS OF THE

EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY

Although the main thrust of this study is the
history of school committees and parents' committees as
mandated by Bill 27, it became not only interesting but
important to question some educators regarding their per-
ception of or their reaction to this innovation.

In any situation where an innovation is introduced
into a school system, especially when some aspects of it
are vaguely defined, differences occur in the way in
which various individuals perceive the innovation. While
discussing this innovation with educators in Quebec, it
became evident that there was a difference in the way
individuals and groups of individuals perceived the role
and function of school committees and parents' committees.
In this chapter, the word "perception" is used to mean
the point of view of each of the individuals and groups

as derived from the data gathered from a questionnaire.

166

167

Admittedly, the number of persons interviewed is
small and does not constitute a real sample. On the
other hand, it was necessary to test some of the tenta-
tive conclusions already formed by the writer after
extensive reading and some preliminary interviews with
other educators. More than forty persons were questioned
regarding the educational scene in Quebec. Thirty-one of
these were asked to respond to the questionnaire. The
responses cannot be used as conclusive evidence in them-
selves but can be used as supporting evidence in conjunc-
tion with other materials.

Until this chapter, this study has been historical
and comparative. Here, the interviews have been recorded
in the form of tables to serve as a verification for the

interpretation of the interviews.

Interview Procedure

 

Interviews were conducted during two periods of
intensive field work in Quebec (August and November 1976).
A few names had been provided as contacts in each of the
three regions visited. Each of those suggested others
who might provide pertinent information. After exhausting
the resources of the Ministry of Education and the
Superior Council of Education, the writer contacted
people at various school commission offices. This led
to meetings with several principals and teachers. Lists

of parents serving on school committees and parents'

168

committees were available at school commission offices
and at individual schools. Some parents were recommended
by other respondents because they had been extremely
active in school committee work. Others were selected

at random from the lists.

Interviews were scheduled at the convenience of
the respondents. They were conducted in homes, offices,
and restaurants according to the request of the respondent.
During the interview, a conversational approach was used
in order to help the respondent feel more comfortable in
volunteering pertinent information. Some data were
recorded during the interviews; the rest was recorded
immediately afterward.

The questionnaire was administered to thirty-one
people from three different regions in the province.

Nine others were asked more general questions on education
in Quebec. Some are from a large city and its suburbs,
some from a medium size city and surrounding towns, and
some are from another medium size city and neighboring
rural areas. Not all of the questions were answered by
all of the participants, usually because a given question
did not apply to a particular respondent. The number of
responses to each question is indicated in the tables.

The participants represented a variety of back-
grounds. All had extensive knowledge of the educational

system and/or personal experience with school committees

169

and parents' committees. For reporting the data, the
respondents have been grouped into four categories:

school board officials (elected and appointed), princi-
pals, teachers, and parents. No particular attention was
paid to the gender of interviewees. However, since some
people attach low importance to parent groups because

they have the impression they are run by housewives, it
seems necessary to mention that ten of the fifteen parents
interviewed were men.

The questionnaire appears in the Appendix. It
is divided into two sections, one consisting of closed-
end or objective questions eliciting answers which may
be tabulated or analyzed, the other containing open-end
or subjective questions which may be analyzed according
to content. Some of the data have been cited in previous
chapters. It is necessary to refer to the questionnaire
since the questions and answers have been abbreviated
considerably in the tables.

Four sets of hypotheses have been generated
dealing with central issues concerning school committees
and parents' committees. Each set will form a division
of the chapter.

Perception of the Role of the
School Committee

 

 

The first set of hypotheses centers on the issue

of the role of the school committee. Because this role

170

has been vaguely defined, it is expected that responses
will vary within and between groups of respondents. As
a consequence, the school committee experience will
differ, leading some people to perceive the role as
having genuine importance; others perceive it as a.
facade1 created by the Ministry to make parents believe
they were participating.

To obtain pertinent data, respondents were asked
to explain their interpretation of the role of the school
committee. They were also asked if they perceived the
role as having genuine importance. The first question
was originally posed as an open-end question. Informants
supplied only the responses listed in Table 1. This
should not be interpreted to mean that there is agreement

on the role. The answers themselves are vague.

TABLE 1

PERCEIVED ROLE OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE

 

 

Role Parent Principal Teacher SChOOI Total
Board
Funds/Service 2 3 l l 7
Consultation 2 0 l 0 3
Both 11 0 l 9 21
Genuine Role 8 l l 8 18
Facade 6 2 2 1 ll

 

NOTE: See questionnaire for full meaning of this
and subsequent tables.

 

lWord used by respondents.

171

Eight respondents (25%) limited the role to one
of raising funds and providing service to the school.
In spite of the fact that the law mentions the advisory
nature of the school committee, all three of the princi-
pals perceived the role as one of fund raising and provid-
ing service. This demonstrates the fact mentioned in an
earlier chapter that the attitude of many principals
does not facilitate the effective operation of the school
committee. Three respondents perceived the role as
serving as an advisory body to the school. Twenty-one
(65%) saw the role as a combination of the two. This is
significant in that it demonstrates the fact that the
role is so vague that people cannot perceive it clearly.

In spite of the fact that the second question
was also asked as an open-end question, only two dif-
ferent responses were obtained, showing a clear attitudi-
nal difference. Eighteen respondents (62%) perceived the
committees as having a genuine role to play. Eleven saw
them as merely a facade created by the Ministry to make
parents believe they were participating. Parents,
principals, and teachers were evenly split on this issue.
This is understandable since each has had a different
experience with school committees. All but one of the
school board officials considered the role genuine. The
uniformity of the responses gives rise to the question
of whether or not they are simply stating the official

position.

172

Respondents who thought the committees were a
facade had examples to support their opinion. Several
mentioned the fact that the principal or school board
paid little attention to the recommendations of the
parents, even when parents had been invited to study a
particular problem. Others mentioned the lack of response
to the letters of recommendation that had been sent to
the Ministry of Education. In the fall of 1976, a
Ministry spokesman finally acknowledged in a letter to
school boards the many letters and suggestions from
parents. Many parents found it hard to understand why
he said it was necessary to spend another year studying
school committees and parents' committees before acting
on the recommendations.

On the other hand, Gautier notes that one princi-
pal perceives it as a sincere effort on the part of the
Ministry to permit parents to play an active role in a
system that needs to be more democratic. Parents should
see schools as an extension of the home and should con-
sider principals and teachers as their associates and
partners.1

Participation of Parents on
SEhooI'Committees

 

 

Because the role is perceived by 65 percent of

the respondents to be genuinely important, it is expected

 

1Wilfrid Gautier, "Attentes d'un principal,"
Education et Société (Février 1973): 16.

 

173

that participation is broad—based. Indices include the
number of parents present at the meetings for the election
of the school committees, the socio-economic levels repre-
sented on the committees, and the level of support of
parents not on the committees. The latter includes
parents willing to help in school committee activities

and those who show interest by expressing their opinions
on current issues. Three questions were asked to obtain
these data (Table 2).

The figures given in response to the first question
have been discussed in Chapter V. Fifty-five percent of
the respondents state that attendance represents 10 per-
cent or less of parents eligible to attend. This demon-
strates the fact that, contrary to expectations, partici-
pation is not broad-based. Reasons for the lack of
participation have also been discussed in Chapter V.

Sixty-eight percent of the respondents said that
the mixture of people serving on the committees was
representative of the people living in the community.

All of the school board officials gave this response,
which again raises the question of whether or not this
represents the official position. Eight respondents
(32%) perceived the committees as reflecting the peOple
living in the community but having a high proportion of
professional people. These informants thought this

situation was to be expected since these people are,

174

TABLE 2

PARTICIPATION OF PARENTS

 

Percentage of

 

 

 

 

 

Prin— School
Parents at Parent . Teacher Total
Meetings c1pal Board
10% or less 5 3 3 4 15
11% to 20% 5 0 0 l 6
21% to 50% 2 0 0 3 5
More than 50% 0 0 0 1 l
Socio-economic
Level of Parents
Reflects community 5 3 0 9 17
High proportion of
professional people 7 0 l 0 8
Doesn't reflect
community 0 0 0 0 0
Parent Help
for Committee
Show much interest
and help 2 0 0 6 8
Sometimes help
and show interest 10 l 2 2 15
Rarely or never 2 2 l l 6

 

175

in general, more interested in community affairs. No
data have yet been published so no comment can be made
on the accuracy of these perceptions.

In response to the third question, more than half
of the respondents agreed that parents who were not on
the school committee sometimes provide help and infor-
mation when requested to do so. Ten out of fourteen
parents stated that help was only available on a "some-
times basis." On the other hand, six out of nine school
board officials perceived parents as showing much interest
and providing much help. Since school committee members
are in a better position than school board officials to
assess the amount of support they receive from other
parents, it is assumed that their perception is more
accurate.

One parent commented that parents of children at
her school lived fairly close to the school and therefore
were willing to attend meetings and help where needed
during the school day. A parent in a rural area said
that it was difficult to obtain parent participation at
meetings and at school activities because they lived so
far from the school. She was, however, able to obtain
their opinions on school matters by mailing out a
questionnaire. A number of school committees have used
questionnaires, with varying results. One school com-

mittee president who had received only minimal response,

176

telephoned a number of parents. She found they were
quite willing to discuss the questions, and they also
volunteered their services for school projects.

From the above data, it can be summarized that
these respondents do not perceive parent participation

as being broad-based.

The Function of the School Committee

 

Because the school committee is a local phenome-
non, the perception of its function will vary within and
between groups of respondents. To obtain general data on
the perception of the function of the school committee,
the persons interviewed were asked in an open-end
question to describe the function of their school com-
mittee. They were also asked to cite examples of
occasions when parents were responsible for obtaining
needed improvements in the school and examples of
occasions when parental advice was ignored. Four closed-
end questions on the function of the school committee
resulted in data on four additional aspects of this
issue. These data are tabulated in Table 3.

A summary of responses to the general question
of the function of the school committee has already been
made in Chapter V. Because of the fact that this summary
includes a wide variety of responses, it suggests that
the work of the committee has not been well defined,

and, therefore, the perception of it varies greatly.

FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE

177

TABLE 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amount of . . School
Influence Parent Pr1nc1pal Teacher Board Total
Much 2 0 0 4 6
Moderate 9 l 3 5 18
Little or no 2 2 0 l 5
School Board
Acceptance of
Consultation
Parents consulted
regularly 3 0 0 3 6
Occasionally 4 0 0 6 10
Rarelya 8 1 3 1 13
Secretarial Help
Adequate 7 3 0 8 18
Sometimes adequate 2 0 l 0 3
Not adequate 0 0 0 0 0
Provincial
Federation
of Parents'
Committees
Needed to provide
strong voice 0 0 0 0 0
Needed but not
functioning well 4 0 1 3 8
Unnecessary 4 0 0 2 6

 

aTwo parents and one teacher reported that parents
were consulted only when the parents demanded it.

178

Some of the examples cited were used to support the
interviewers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the
committee and will be included in the discussion of that
question.

The first closed-end question centered on the
perception of the effectiveness or influence of the
school committee. Eighteen respondents (62%) saw its
influence as moderate. The other respondents were almost
evenly split between seeing it as having much influence
and seeing it as having little or no influence. Nine of
the thirteen parents perceived their effectiveness as
moderate. Part of this may be explained by the fact that
some of the reports on which they had worked hard seemed
to have been disregarded by the principal or the school
board, but some of their recommendations had been accepted.
Part of this is explained by the fact that they were
unsure of what they were supposed to do.

One parent perceived the school committee as
having moderate influence but, nonetheless, cited an
interesting example of a project that was accepted. The
parents in his rural area wanted their children to be
able to have a program in agriculture at the secondary
level. The school committee developed this project and
put pressure on the school board to initiate this program
at one of the secondary schools in the district. After

many discussions, the school board implemented this project.

179

Another respondent cited a project which was
developed to keep an under-enrolled elementary school
open. The school committee began an adult education
program during the normal hours for school attendance.
The program was well received, and the doors of this
school are still open.

On the other hand, examples were given of
occasions when the school committee did not succeed in
influencing the administration. One school committee
became concerned over a safety problem in a secondary
school. The chemistry laboratory was never locked. It
was feared that students would be tempted to experiment
with the chemicals, resulting in fire or explosion. The
school committee requested the principal to install locks
on the laboratory doors. The principal refused, explain-
ing that no money had been budgeted for this purpose.

The school committee then requested that it be placed
in the budget for the following year; this was not done.
The parent remarked that his committee could accomplish
anything it wanted as long as it did not cost money.

A school committee president detailed a six-month
struggle to retain their new school principal. This man
gave several sound pedagogical reasons why the parents
wished the principal to be retained. In spite of the
report of the school committee, the principal was
relieved of his position by the school board in the

middle of the school year.

180

Looking at the data on the perception of the
school board officials, it is found that four of the ten
see school committees as having much influence. Five
perceive them as having moderate influence. School board
officials cited examples of school committee successes
but did not mention any failures. All three teachers
evaluated these committees as moderately successful.

Two out of the three principals stated that school com-
mittees had no influence.

Current literature supports the variance of per-
ception of school committees by groups and individuals.
One school board member said that, "Education is a service
where parents should be able to define the quality of the
services that they want to have in the schools and also
be able to say what price they are ready to pay for
these services."1

A school board member in another area thought
that parents should not be making recommendations to the
school board. They should restrict their involvement to
organizing activities in the school, helping teachers

0 I C O O O O O I I 2
indiVidualize instruction, and Similar serVice prOJects.

 

lGaston Therriault, Rapport Synthese du Colloque
Régional des Comités d'Ecoles de la Commission Scolaire
de l‘Estrie, ShefbroBke, 1974, p. 21. (Author‘s trans-
lation.)

 

 

 

2Yvon Paquin quoted in Mario Laliberté, "1e bi-
lan de ceux qui travaillent avec les parents,” La Revue
Scolaire, octobre, 1974, p. 10. (Author's translation.)

 

 

181

A school board official who was interviewed saw
school committees as pressure groups. He stated that
people were in it for personal reasons, either for what
was good for their own child or for advancing themselves
toward political office. He said that these committees
filled a need on the part of the parents but not a need
for the school.

Parents expressed varying reactions also. In an
annual report from a large city this statement is found.
"We must keep in mind that it is not our intention to
either teach or run the school but simply to convey to
the principals and the administrators THE WHAT and not

1 This committee

THE HOW we want our children taught."
saw this as being accomplished through the school com-
mittee structure.

Every parent interviewed stated that this was
voluntary service. They were extremely proud to be a
part of what they considered a worthwhile effort to
improve the lives of their children at school.

Teachers agreed that school committees had only
moderate influence. A former teacher, who was inter-
viewed but not included as a participant in the survey,

strengthened the impression of the writer that it has

been difficult to develop school committees in some rural

 

1Annual Report, Montreal Catholic School Com-
mission, Region "A," 1975-1976, p. 3. (Mimeographed.)

182

areas. This man had spent the year of 1974-1975 teaching
in a rural school about 250 miles north of Quebec City;
he could not remember the existence of a school committee
in his school.

The second question deals with the relationship
between school committees and/or parents' committees and
the school board. Because members of parents' committees
are presidents of school committees, it is expected that
they have leadership ability, and therefore, that they
have developed an effective working relationship with the
school board. On the other hand, because parents' com-
mittees have been established by law, some resistance to
them by the school boards is to be expected.

Six out of twenty-nine respondents said that the
parents were consulted on important issues. Ten said
that they were occasionally consulted. Three said they
were able to get the attention of the school board when
the parents demanded it. Ten stated that parents were
rarely consulted.

Within the group of parents, respondents were
split, depending on the local situation. However, six
of them (40%) said that parents were rarely consulted.
Looking at the responses of the school board officials,
it is noted that three stated that parents were consulted
and six said that parents were occasionally consulted.

NOne said that it only occurred when parents demanded it,

183

and only one felt that parents were rarely consulted.
The teachers attached low importance to it; the only
principal who responded said parents were rarely con-
sulted.

These data demonstrate the fact that there is a
difference in the perception of the parents' committee-
school board relationship within the group of parents.
The group of school board officials perceives it dif-
ferently from the other three groups.

Typical parent comments included "The school
board makes decisions and then tells the parents,”
"Parents who ask questions get answers, but they are not
encouraged to ask," "The school board does not consult
with parents enough; it could be terrific if it did,"
and "The school board likes to have the parents present
if they approve of what it is doing."

"School committees, parents' committees, and
school boards are becoming highly politicized." This
was a common assertion. It was cited a number of times
as a factor which prevented more honest consultation.
Members of school committees and parents' committees
were perceived as using this position as a springboard
to higher office. It was felt that this prevented them
from concentrating on what was best for the schools and

the children.

184

One parents' committee president was determined
to develop a consultative relationship with the school
board. Therefore, she attended every school board meet-
ing. After three months of sitting in silence, she was
finally invited to speak. She took advantage of the
opportunity by explaining the position of the parents'
committee. A relationship began to develop, and the
school board began to develop a policy of consultation
with the parents.

Some parents perceived the relationship with the
school board as truly consultative. They had met with
success in working on the difficult problem of closing
under-enrolled schools, in deciding which special pro-
grams should be offered in which secondary schools, and
in developing projects to meet the needs of learning-
disabled students in an inner-city school. Other suc-
cessful projects centered on dropouts, absenteeism,
parent-child difficulties, and report cards.

Another aspect of the successful functioning of
these committees is that of obtaining adequate secretarial
help. Because budgets are tight and there is some
resistance to these committees, it is expected that
there is some difficulty in obtaining supplies, getting
reports typed, and having storage space.

Surprisingly, eighteen out of twenty-one respon-

dents said that there was adequate secretarial help.

185

However, some of the respondents' comments modified
their answers. It seems that in one school committee,
little help is provided by the school. However, secre-
tarial help is adequate because there are parents in the
group who are trained and willing to do the work. In
others, parents have no difficulty in having reports
typed up by the school secretary, but the need for a
filing cabinet for records has not been met. The larger
urban school districts make the facilities of the school
commission offices available to the parents' committees.
Judging by the poor reproductive quality of reports from
other areas, a problem exists there.

The last question in this group deals with the
Provincial Federation of Parents' Committees. Because
parents have expressed some dissatisfaction with the
effectiveness of parent consultation with school boards,
it is expected that they favor an organization that would
provide them with a stronger voice. The question to
obtain these data was a late addition, made after the
discovery of the existence of this organization.

The fact that half of the respondents did not
mention this group may be indicative of the low importance
attached to it by some. Of the fifteen who responded to
the question, no one perceived it as providing a strong
voice for parents at present. Eight deemed it unnecessary,

especially in urban areas. It was perceived as poorly

186

organized, funded by sources who had a vested interest,
and did not ascertain parent opinion before making
position statements. It was perceived as an organization
which was more representative of the problems of rural
areas and small towns than of problems existent in the
large cities.

The other half of the respondents recognized the
weaknesses of the organization. However, they were frus-
trated by the lack of response from the Ministry of Edu-
cation to their concerns. Therefore, they wanted to have
the Provincial Federation strengthened to provide a
strong voice at that level.

Problems Affecting the Work of
SchooI'Committees

 

 

The fourth and final set of data centers around
problems identified by members of the educational com-
munity in Quebec which hinder the effectiveness of these
committees. These problems have been identified and dis-
cussed in Chapter VI. It remains, in this chapter, to
demonstrate which members of which groups perceive them
as real problems and which solutions have been proposed
by them.

Due to the fact that the school committee is not
voluntary but has been legislated into existence in
every school in the province, a certain amount of

resistance is expected on the part of principals and

187

teachers. As for parents, considering the fact that they
have never before been involved with the schools, it is
expected that their efforts are hampered by feelings of
uncertainty over the purpose of their mission and lack

of training in various aspects of working as part of a
group. Because the Ministry of Education did not con-
sider the experience of parent groups already function-
ing when writing the law and the guidelines, some
problems are expected with the function of the school
committees.

After preliminary discussion with informed people
in Quebec, five questions were selected to obtain data
concerning these problems (see Table 4). The first
question deals with the relationship of the principal
with the school committee. Twelve out of twenty-eight
respondents said that the principal facilitates the work
of the school committee by providing necessary information
on school problems and by generally encouraging parent
participation. Nine stated that the principal provides
the parents with only that information which he wants
them to have and is lukewarm toward parent participation.
Seven reported that the principal merely complies with
the law and either does not encourage parent involvement
or actually discourages it. Looking at the group of
parents who responded, it is seen that seven (50%)

perceive the principal as encouraging, four as lukewarm,

188

TABLE 4

PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE

 

Principal-School School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Committee Parent Principal Teacher Total
Relations Board
Encourages 7 0 1 4 12
Lukewarm 4 l l
Discourages 3 2 l l 7
Teachers-School
Committee
Facilitate 3 0 l 0 4
Sometimes
facilitate 4 l 2 5 12
Rarely facilitate 6 2 0 0 8
Training for
Parents
Professional
meetings
training work-
shops 7 3 l 9 20
Training work-
shops only 7 0 1 0 8
No training 1 0 0 0
Date of Election
May 1 0 0 0 1
September 5 1 2 0 8
October 9 2 l 0 12
Proposed Date
of Election
May 6 0 0 3
September 5 0 l 0 6

October 4 3 2 0

 

189

and three as discouraging. This is explained by the fact
that the school committee is a local phenomenon, and
each parent responded according to the way in which he
experienced it in his school. None of the principals
questioned was enthusiastic about his school committee
experience. One had made an effort to facilitate the
establishment of the school committee but when faced
with what she considered lack of competence on the part
of the parents, she decided that the school committee
work was too time consuming in the face of other priori-
ties and became lukewarm. The other two principals
merely complied with the law and said that they did not
need parents in the school.

Each of the three teachers interviewed responded
differently to the question. The responses reflect the
experience each has had in the individual schools. On
the other hand, half of the school board officials
reported that principals were encouraging the work of
school committees. This may be explained by the fact
that these people spend much of their time working with
school committees who are meeting with success in their
efforts to establish a consultative relationship. They
are aware that problems exist, but they did not exhibit
a willingness to provide information on this problem.

The question on the relationship between teachers

and school committees brought forth a mixed reaction.

190

However, twelve (50%) respondents said that teachers
sometimes facilitate communication between the teaching
staff and the parents. Five thought that the teacher
worked well as a facilitator and eight reported that the
teacher rarely facilitates communication. Interestingly
enough, two of the teachers admitted that the teacher on
the committee functions on a "sometimes" basis. Parents
were split, as is to be expected, according to their own
local experience. Principals did not see the teacher as
an effective link. Only five of the school board
officials responded to the question; they all perceived
teachers as only "sometimes" providing effective com-
munication.

The comments offered tended to qualify the
responses somewhat. It was discovered that teachers
participated when asked to explain methods and materials
in their subject matter area. They also spoke to parents
to present their side in the recent teacher-government
negotiations. No one gave an example of a teacher
engaged in productive communication at a school com-
mittee or staff meeting for any other reason. In fact,
a few said that there was a different teacher at each
monthly school committee meeting. This situation did
not help in providing continuity. Considering the fact
that teachers have had no training in parent-community

relations, the reluctance of teachers to interact with

191

parents is not surprising. Due to the comments made
qualifying the responses, it seems that the responses

on the questionnaire overstate the degree of participation
on the part of the teachers.

The question of providing adequate training for
parents is one that has been discussed in a previous
chapter. Looking at the data in Table 4, it is seen
that twenty out of twenty-nine respondents felt that
adequate opportunities were provided for parents to
attend professional meetings as well as training work-
shops. Only one person, a parent, stated that no help
was available. The other eight reported that training
workshops had been held, although opportunities did not
yet exist to attend professional meetings where edu-
cational issues might be discussed. None of the lit-
erature reported training workshops in rural areas.

Some regions provided animators who would go out to help
local school committees upon demand. Most of the parents
were not aware of this service, and a Ministry official
admitted that this was not well publicized.

The issue of elections has been discussed also.
The data show that twelve out of twenty respondents
reported that their election was held in October. Nine
out of twenty-four expressed a desire to hold the
election in May; six wished to hold it in September.

It is significant that all three principals and two of

192

the teachers preferred to wait until October. Some of
the parents wanted to hold the election earlier but were
convinced that the law did not allow it and, therefore,
wanted their answer recorded as October.

The persons interviewed were asked an open-end
question to obtain data on recommendations they would
make for improving the work of the committees. To sum-
marize the responses, it may be stated that almost every-
one was looking to the Ministry to propose changes in
Law 27. Some wanted the role defined more precisely;
some wanted more freedom in determining the date of the
election. Almost everyone wanted to be able to elect
school committee members to a two-year term, electing
half of the committee each year.

It was suggested by at least six respondents that
there be a way to circulate or exchange annual reports
so that school committees and parents' committees could
profit from each other's experiences. Some had begun to
do this with neighboring districts.

The other recommendations had to do with local
problems such as obtaining the agenda of school board
meetings and establishing better communication with the
principal.

Those parents who had experienced difficulty in
this area wanted more honest communication with principals

and teachers. Parents who had met with success looked

193

to the Ministry for decentralization so that they, the
principal, and the school board would have more freedom

to structure the school program according to what was

best for their local community. All respondents expressed

a need to develop and clarify the meaning of consultation.

Summary

The data demonstrate that differences exist in
the perception of school committees and parents' com-
mittees by the various members of the educational com-
munity. This lack of uniformity in the responses is
significant in that it provides evidence that school
committees are basically a local phenomenon, functioning

well in some localities and hardly at all in others.

CHAPTER VIII

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

The modern thirty-one story skyscraper which can
be seen from most areas of Quebec City houses the offices
of the Ministry of Education. From its windows on the
higher floors, it is possible to have a magnificent view
of the city, the St. Lawrence River, and the surrounding
towns. Its domination of the skyline symbolizes the
tremendous changes made in the lives of the people by
its officials. It also symbolizes the extreme centrali-
zation of education in the province.

Quebeckers explained how necessary this centrali-
zation was. It was considered the only way to force the
sweeping changes that had to be made in the educational
system. Now, however, school administrators and other
members of the educational community complain about how
hemmed in they are by the rules and guidelines of the
Ministry. They say there is little room for initiative
or creativity. Administrators are merely puppets who

administer the budget. They are hoping that the Ministry

194

195

will go ahead with the plans to decentralize that it

has been talking about. The extreme centralization

does not lend itself easily to democratic participation.
The Parent Report states that the new educational

system must be based on democracy, participation, and

humanism. In a democratic society, the power resides

in the people; it is the will of the majority which

becomes the law. In order for this system to be truly

operative, there must be a broad base of participation

on the part of the populace. Otherwise, there is a

danger that the will of the majority is, in truth, the

will of a vocal minority. In order for people to par-

ticipate more fully, they need to adopt the new concept

of humanism, to understand the contemporary world and to

adapt to it. The structure established for school com-

mittees and parents' committees is one means of carrying

out all three of the underlying concepts of the new phil-

osophy of education.

Concluding Observations

 

As an outside observer, this writer finds the
reforms in the educational system of Quebec to be tre-
mendously impressive and far-reaching. Education is now
accessible to all the residents of Quebec. Whether rich
or poor, rural or urban, a Quebecker has the opportunity
to obtain the education necessary to fulfill his aspir-

ations within the limits of his capabilities and

196

motivation. The clerical domination of the Church and
the elitist pattern of education have ended. The changes
in philosophy, the restructuration of the school system,
and most notably the addition of the CEGEP have supplied
a fertile field for the growth of a new class of Que-
beckers, capable of taking their place in any area of
modern, technological society. Granted, there are
problems which must be solved, but this is to be expected
when so much is accomplished so quickly. Education is
usually evolutionary as is the society of which it is a
part. In Quebec, the changes had to be revolutionary.
Now the resulting problems are being identified and
solutions evolved.

Such is the case with school committees and
parents' committees. Inviting parents to serve in an
advisory capacity to the schools was a revolutionary con-
cept. The fact that it was prOposed at all is surprising;
the fact that it was actually mandated and introduced
into the school system is shocking.

It is generally accepted these days that, in
democratic countries, the school is part of the community
and that parents should have a voice in the education of
their children. However, since Quebec parents have not
had a tradition of involvement in school life, it should
not be expected that one piece of legislation will result

in the immediate participation of parents in the school

197

system. In fact, the most significant general conclusion
which may be drawn from this research is that parent par-
ticipation is in a state of evolution resulting in con-
siderable variance throughout the province in the degree
of participation, effectiveness of operation, and accep—
tance. This variance may be attributed to the history
or lack of history of other parent groups in the area,
the quality of the parents on the committees, and the
help and encouragement provided or not provided by the
Ministry of Education, the local school boards, and the
school principals. School committees and parents' com-
mittees are indeed a local phenomenon.

This innovation was introduced in the fall of
1972. Now, some four and a half years later, the school
committee is a body which is still in a state of evolution,
which has not yet found its place in many communities,
but which could be a vigorous force in bringing about
change in the community. In some areas parents have
developed the school committees and parents' committees
to the degree that they are effective advisory bodies to
the principals and to the school board. In these
locations, they have made as much of an impact as is
possible without some decentralization of the school
system. In other areas, the committees are still oper-
ating at a level where they are continuing to become

informed on school practices and school issues and

198

searching for effective means to share that information
with the other members of the community. In yet other
areas, the committees are barely functioning, if at all,
and do not even publish an annual report.

The concept of the school as part of the com—
munity has not been accepted by all the partners in the
educational system. There is a need for principals and
teachers to study this concept and to obtain some train-
ing in parent-school-community relations. All partners
do not yet understand what it means to be part of a col-
lectivity and to work for the common good. All parents
are not yet aware of the limits of their role as they
express their concerns and offer advice to administrators.
All principals and school boards are not yet exercising
their responsibility to consider parent concerns ser-
iously, to take action on them, or to provide a reasonable
explanation for their lack of action.

Some positive results have occurred. More parents
are interested in the schools and in the development of
their children. Those parents who have become aware of
the advantages of the new teaching methods and materials
are more supportive of the schools. They are much less
apt to criticize, although they do ask questions.

Parents who have participated either in providing
service to the school or by helping to give advisory

opinions feel a sense of pride and well-being because

199

they are making a voluntary contribution. They have also
benefited by discovering unknown capacities within them-
selves. Children who see their parents working in the
school feel that school is more important. Some princi-
pals and teachers are able to provide more and better
instructional activities due to parent help in classrooms,
in libraries, and on field trips. Some are becoming aware
of the value of the school as an integral part of the life
of the community. Contacts with parents remind principals
and teachers of the home situation of their students and
the values which they have been taught in the home.
There is even value in merely having the school com-
mittee structure even though some committees are not
accomplishing much. It does provide an avenue for con-
structive communication between the parents and the
schools who desire it.

On the negative side, it is unfortunate that the
success or failure of the school committee may depend
on the behavior of the principal. It is also unfortunate
that some school boards have resisted the efforts of the
parents' committee to serve as an advisory board. On
the other hand, this is not surprising since the practice
of electing school board members from the general popu-
lation only began in 1972.

There are some important questions which may only

be answered by future research. How many schools in the

200

province do not yet have school committees? How many
parents do school committees actually represent? How do
students perceive parent participation in the schools?
How has parent participation affected Adult Education
programs? Do school committees represent the majority?
Or are they a minority of activists? How politicized
are they? How much of an impact do they have on local
school policy? How many use this as a springboard to the
school board or other political office?

Sufficient evidence to respond authoritatively
to the above questions is beyond the scope of this dis-
sertation. However, due to the concern expressed by a
number of individuals in Quebec, it is important to offer
a comment on the last question. It is impossible to
assess people's motives in seeking election to the school
committee. From conversations with parents, it may be
reported that those who present themselves for election
are genuinely interested in the education of their chil-
dren, although a few do attend general meetings out of
curiosity and find themselves nominated and elected due
to sparse attendance or lack of interest on the part of
others. After a parent has been involved in school com-
mittee work for some time and has become familiar with
the operation of the schools, it seems to be a logical
next step to run for election to the school board. Such

a candidate is presumably more qualified than one who

201

has not had this close proximity to the schools. Persons
interviewed who had followed this route had done so out
of a desire to use their familiarity with school matters
to help the community and also to attempt to improve
relations between the school board and the parents' com-
mittee. In communities where school boards have several
former school committee members on the board, a better
working relationship has developed with the parents.

The innovation of school committees and parents'
committees has not been successfully adopted on a
province-wide basis by all the members of the educational
community. In order to demonstrate why this lack of
adoption occurred, the writer has evaluated this inno-
vation in terms of Roger's perceived attributes of
innovations.1

Rapid adoption of an innovation is more likely to
occur when it is perceived as being superior to the idea
which it replaces. Its relative advantage has more of
an impact when it responds to-a crisis situation. No
such crisis existed in Quebec in 1972. The major struc-
tural changes in the educational system had already been
implemented. In the progression of effecting the remain-

ing changes, Law 27 was passed in 1971 to provide for the

 

lEverett M. Rogers with F. Floyd Shoemaker, Com-
munication of Innovations (New York: The Free Press,
1971), pp. 134-57.

 

202

election of school board members and to establish the
participation of parents on school committees. The
innovation of school committees was perceived as desirable
by educational planners in the Ministry of Education and,
as such, was passed through the Legislature after some
debate. When the guidelines were distributed to the
school boards and then to the school principals, no par-
ticular incentive such as additional money was offered.
It was a matter of complying with yet another regulation
to add to the many already in force. Many principals did
not see any advantage to having parents in the schools.
Neither did all teachers. They work under a contract
which details how their time is spent. Principals and
teachers, in general, perceived the innovation as an
additional demand on their time and a usurpation of
authority in their domain. There was no built-in moti-
vation for them to adopt the innovation. School boards
perceived it as having minimal importance. As for
parents, some considered it an opportunity to begin

or continue exerting influence in an area in which they
felt they had a right to be heard. Others could not
understand what advantage was offered by becoming
involved with the schools. This lack of perception of
the advantage of school committees provides one expla-
nation for the relatively slow rate at which this is

being accepted.

203

Another factor is that of compatibility. Que-
beckers did not see this as consistent with their past
tradition or experiences. It has already been noted
that until the 1960s, democracy and participation were
not part of the Quebeckers' tradition. They had been
taught that their only duty was to get their children
to school; what happened once the children entered the
school was not their concern. By 1972, they had begun
to become acquainted with the new philosophy, more so
in urban than in rural areas, but they did not yet see
how their participation was important.

If a potential adOpter thinks he understands an
innovation, he will adopt it more readily. It has been
demonstrated that the role of the school committee has
been vaguely defined and vaguely perceived by the members
of the educational community. Parents are confused and
uncertain of the expectations placed upon them. Thus,
it is not surprising that this innovation has achieved
only minimal success.

In the area of trialability, the Ministry of
Education might have met with more success in implement-
ing the innovation. Having in mind the fact that parent
groups had been operating in certain cities in Quebec,
the Ministry might have begun pilot programs in these
cities. These could have served as demonstration pro-

jects for the rest of the province. In this way others

204

might have observed the degree of success and become
motivated to adopt the innovation in their regions.
This was not done. In fact, neighboring school com-
mittees and parents' committees are only now beginning
to contact each other to seek advice and to exchange
ideas.

Considering the above factors, the role of the
change agent, which in this case is the Ministry of
Education, is expected to be considerable. On the con-
trary, the Ministry did not clearly demonstrate a need
other than to comply with the law. It did provide guide-
lines but it did not provide wide-scale help in estab-
lishing the committees. It has set up some service to
these committees through the regional offices of the
Ministry, but this help has not been widely publicized.
It has not, in general, made a strong effort to ensure
the success of the innovation. It did not identify and
publicize possible difficulties which might be encoun-
tered. It did not establish a feedback mechanism to
respond to difficulties and concerns as they were dis-
covered and expressed. It did not deal with the resis-
tance shown by principals and teachers other than to

reiterate the law.

205

Recommendations

 

Recommendation l--Throughout this study it has

 

been noted that a need exists to define the role of the
committees in such a way that parents can clearly under-
stand what their function is in the schools. However,
it does not seem advisable to define this role in a way
which limits parents to certain activities, which stifles
creativity, and which hinders responding to the needs of
the community. By law parents serve in an advisory
capacity, and they need to understand the limits of
their role. The school board, the principal, and the
past president of the committee have a responsibility

to make parents aware of the progression of informing
themselves, informing others, and then taking on the
role of advisor. It is not realistic to expect parents
with limited training to study a report or a list of
recommendations and return with a number of ideas or
with a clear cOncept of their role.

Therefore, it is recommended that a study be
made of the concept of parent—school consultation to
attempt to better define the role of these committees.
The results of the study may be disseminated to princi-
pals and school boards to be shared with parents.

Some parents have been calling for the authority
to engage in decision-making. This is one aspect of the

role which seems to be clearly denied, and it is the

206

opinion of this writer that parents continue to serve on
these committees in an advisory capacity only. If a
parent wishes to serve in a decision—making capacity, he
may take advantage of the structure provided for that

purpose and run for election to the school board.

Recommendation 2--The lack of continuity on school

 

committees from year to year has been identified as a
pressing problem. It is therefore recommended that
Bill 27 (1971) be amended to clearly allow the election
of school committee members in May if desired by indi-
vidual school committees. In such cases, provision may
be made, if it seems necessary, to keep one or two posts
open until fall to accommodate parents of children new
to the school. In addition, it is recommended that the
law allow a rotating system whereby members are elected
to a two—year term, half of them to be elected each year.
This will allow the committees time to organize
in the spring for the following year. It is important
for them to identify topics for study at that time and
to form the various sub-committees. Then, during the
summer, a tentative schedule of meetings may be drawn
up. Of course, consultations with the principal and
other parents may be held to be sure that all important

topics have been included. It has been shown that the

207

number of tangible results is directly related to the
degree of planning and organization that exists within
the committee.

It seems important to insert a mention here of
the fact that some parents have called for an increase
in the money allocated for the use of the committees.
It is agreed that it is not democratic to restrict school
committee participation to those parents who can afford
to absorb the expense. On the other hand, it is unreal-
istic for school committees to expect an increase in their
budget. Huge sums of money have been spent to reform the
educational system. The province of Quebec is having
important economic difficulties. The amount of money
provided for education is decreasing. When budget cuts
have to be made in the areas of programs, staff, instruc-
tional materials, and student services, it is not realis-
tic to expect more money to be provided for school com-
mittees. Parents may have to rearrange their priorities
for spending the money allowed and rely on fund-raising

activities if more money is considered to be necessary.

Recommendation 3--It has been shown that a need

 

exists to establish systematic communication between
parent groups. It is recommended that school committees
establish contact with other school committees inside
and outside their district. In fact, the Provincial

Federation of Parents' Committees might serve as a

208

clearinghouse for this type of information. Communi-
cation might also be established through the regional
branches of the Ministry of Education.
Not only is it essential to exchange reports
but also to make personal visits to school committee
meetings in other areas. The two agencies mentioned
above could be used to make arrangements for these visits.
Other than the above, the writer sees the Pro—
vincial Federation of Parents' Committees as having mini-
mal importance. School committees and parents' committees
are intended to be a local phenomenon addressing them-
selves to local needs. It seems clear that this is where
the real benefits are to be derived. If the other recom-
mendations are followed to the extent that they result
in the improved functioning of the local committees,

then this organization will not be necessary.

Recommendation 4--A concern has been expressed

 

by members of the educational community in Quebec that

the committees do not always represent the majority of

the parents. To this end, it is recommended that school
committees and parents' committees establish an effective
communication network with those parents who are not com-
mittee members. To have validity as an advisory group,

it is important that the committees ascertain the opinions
of as many parents as possible before adopting an official

position on any issue.

209

Recommendation 5--Because of the fact that the
behavior of the principal often determines the effective-
ness of the school committee, it is recommended that the
Ministry of Education and the teacher training institutions
provide in-service training for principals and teachers in
the concept of the school as part of the community and in
parent-community relations. Until this has been accom-
plished, it seems futile to expect improvement in the
function of school committees in the many areas where
this has been identified as a problem.

Once the parents have established an effective
organization and principals and teachers have accepted
their part of the responsibility to make it work, open
and honest communication between the home and the school
will be effected. On the next level, that of parents'
committees and school boards, communication will continue
to improve as parents function more effectively and as
school board members become more competent and_more con-
fident in their ability to do their job. The growing
number of former school committee members who are
elected to school boards is becominga tremendous help

to improved communication, also.

Recommendation 6--School committees and parents'

 

committees have been established to provide an effective
local voice for the schools. However, now that some

parents' groups have shown themselves to be truly ready

210

to serve in an advisory capacity to these schools, it

has been demonstrated that local school boards and admin-
istrators do not have the necessary autonomy to make those
decisions which seem desirable for the well-being of the
children and the adults in the community. Therefore, it
is recommended that the Ministry of Education effect some
decentralization of the educational system to provide for
more effective interaction between the home and the school
on the local level. Administrators need the power to

make those changes which will enable the school to
function as a true segment of the community which it

serves 0

Recommendation 7--One final recommendation is

 

left to be made. A question exists as to whether or not
it is important to continue to legislate the presence of
school committees and parents' committees. The practice
of inviting parents to work in close cooperation with
the school and to serve in an advisory capacity has been
established. At the present time, if this democratic
practice is to continue, there is a need for a legal
structure for assuring this participation. Once the
concept Of the school as part of the community has been
firmly established and accepted by principals and
teachers, and the fact of parent involvement has become
a part of the tradition, then it is recommended that the

law be changed or repealed to make this particular form

211

of parent participation voluntary. In this way, the
structure may be used only in those communities where
it fulfills a perceived need. In other communities,

schools may consult with parents or parents may express

their concerns in other ways.

APPENDIX

 

APPENDIX

 

QUESTIONNAIRE
Part 1
Role
1. The role of the school committee has been described
in the following ways. Which one most accurately
describes your perception of it?
a. Fund-raising and providing service
b. Consulting with the principal on all matters
pertaining to the school
c. Both of the above
2. Which of the following statements best describes
your perception of the importance of school com-
mittees and parents' committees?
a. They have a genuine role to play in the edu-
cational system.
b. They are a facade to make parents think they
are participating.
Participation
1. Which figure best represents the number of parents
in your area who attend the general meetings?
a. 10% or less
b. 11% to 20%
c. 21% to 50%
d. more than 50%
2. What is the relationship between other parents

and members of the school committee?

a. Parents are interested in school committee
activities and provide information and/or
help when requested to do so.

b. Parents sometimes provide information and/or
help for school committee activities when
requested to do so.

c. Parents rarely or never help in school com-
mittee activities.

212

3.

Function

 

1.

Problems

1.

213

Do the members of the school committee adequately

reflect the socio/economic levels of the members

of the community?

a. Yes

b. All levels represented but a high proportion
of professional people

c. No

How great a voice do you think your school com-
mittee and parents' committee have?

a. Much influence on many issues and problems
b. Moderate influence

c. Little or no influence

How do you perceive the relationship between

your school board and the parents' committee?

a. School board consults parents on important
issues.

b. School board occasionally consults with
parents.

c. School board rarely consults with
parents.

Is adequate secretarial help provided for the
school committee and parents' committee?

a. Yes

b. Sometimes

c. No

Which statement best describes your perception of

the Provincial Federation of Parents' Committees?

a. It provides a strong voice for presenting
parent concerns at the Ministry level.

b. It is needed to provide a strong voice for
parents but is not functioning well.

c. It is unnecessary. '

What is your perception of the relationship of

the principal with your school committee?

a. He facilitates the work of the committee by
providing information on school needs and
problems and generally encourages parent
participation.

Part 2

1.

214

b. He provides parents with only that information
which he wishes them to have and is lukewarm
toward parent participation.

c. He goes through the motions to comply with the
law and either does not encourage parent par-
ticipation or appears to discourage it.

How do you perceive the relationship between

teachers and the school committee?

a. Teacher facilitates communication between
teachers and parents.

b. Teacher sometimes facilitates communication.

c. Teacher attends meetings to comply with the
law but rarely facilitates communication.

What training has been provided for parents in
your area to facilitate their functioning com-
petently as members of school committees and
parents' committees?

a. Professional meetings to discuss current
issues and workshops on how to serve as
president, secretary, member of a team.

b. Workshops on functioning as president,
secretary, member of a team.

c. No training

When do you hold your election of school com-
mittee members?

a. May

b. September

c. October

When would you like to hold this election?
a. May

b. September

c. October

Discuss the work of your school committee. Give
examples of real consultation or evidence of
occasions when parents were responsible for
obtaining needed improvements in the school sys-
tem. Evidence that parents were ignored?

What recommendations would you make for improving
the function of these committees?

SELECTED SOURCES

SELECTED SOURCES

Primary Sources

 

Books, Reports, and
Pfiblic Documents

 

 

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Sociéte royale du Canada. Montreal: Les
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Bertrand, Christine. "Manuel de Gestion des comités
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Montreal. Montreal Catholic School Commission. Guide for
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Ostro, Gaby. ”School Committee Manual." Protestant
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Québec. Assemblée nationale. Journal des Débats.
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215

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December 1973.

 

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220
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222

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Secondagy Sources

 

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Careless, J. M. S. Canada. New York: St. Martin's
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Cook, Ramsey. Canada and the Fgench-Canadian Question.
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. French-anadian Nationalism. Toronto: Mac-
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Creighton, Donald. Dominion of the North. Boston:
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Desbiens, Jean Paul. Les Insolences du Frere Untel.
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Dorland, Arthur. Qgr Canada. Toronto: Copp Clark
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Laporte, Pierre. The True Face of Duplessis. Montreal:
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Lower, Arthur. Colony to Nation. Toronto: Longmans,
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McInnis, Edgar. Canada. New York: Rinehart & Co.,
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225

McNaught, Kenneth. The History of Canada. New York:
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Quinn, Herbert F. The_gnion Nationale. Toronto:
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Rogers, Everett M. with F. Floyd Shoemaker. Communi-
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Roi, Gabrielle. The Tin Flute. New York: Reynal &
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Wade, Mason. The French-Canadian Outlook. Toronto:
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. The French-Canadians, 1760-1967. Toronto:
MacMillan of Canada, 1968.

 

 

Walz, Jay and Audrey. Portrait of Canada. New York:
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Articles

 

Henchey, Norman. "Quebec Education: The Unfinished
Revolution." McGill Journal of Education
7 (Fall 1972).

Ryan, Claude. "French Canada." Social Education 35
(October 1971).