Observatory on education in minority language contexts

Taking into account cultural and linguistic diversity in the African school context: between discourse and implementation 

May 4, 2022 | Faculty of Social Sciences - Room FSS 10 003

Description: After more than half a century of independence, African countries have been challenged by accounting for the cultural and linguistic diversity of their students. This presentation will attempt to shed light on this issue, which is at the heart of contemporary African educational policies. First, the ambiguity of the African school model, which balances between colonial heritage and modernization tool, will be analyzed. In the second part, the obstacles to taking into account the languages and cultures of students will be addressed both at the level of the main school actors (teachers, parents, etc.) and at the level of educational policies. In the third part of the conference, conclusive experiences of school multilingualism in some regions of the continent will be presented. Finally, this lecture will propose ways to rethink school education in Africa.

Speaker: Abdeljalil Akkari is Professor of International and Comparative Dimensions of Education at the University of Geneva. He recently served as President of the Section of Educational Sciences at the University of Geneva. He previously taught at the University of Fribourg and at the University of Maryland (USA). His main research interests are intercultural education, internationalization of educational policies and international cooperation in education. He has published various books including Approches interculturelles en éducation (Presses de l'Université de Laval, 2019) and Éducation à la citoyenneté mondiale (Springer, 2020). He has also recently developed a MOOC course on Cultures and Pedagogies.

Innu is not the language of instruction in Innu schools!

May 5, 2022 | Faculty of Social Sciences - Room FSS 10 003

Description: The Innu language is losing speakers every year, its transmission within families is diminishing, schools are struggling to find people capable of teaching the language, and young people, caught up in the majority Francophone and Anglophone culture, are losing the motivation to learn and speak their language. During this presentation, Yvette Mollen will first discuss the situation of the Innu and then the state of the Innu language in the communities and in the schools.

Speaker: Yvette Mollen was born in the Innu community of Ekuanitshit (Mingan), on the North Shore. First as an elementary school teacher, then as director of the Language and Culture Department of the Tshakapesh Institute, as well as through her participation in the creation of various pedagogical tools, she has had an exemplary and coherent professional career. Her greatest ambition: to ensure the survival of Innu-aimun by promoting the development of an interest, among both young Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals, for this descriptive language with its rich and complex vocabulary. In 2021, she received the Gérard-Morisset Award.

Comparative perspectives on French-language education in minority contexts in Canada. Today's challenges and tomorrow's issues

November 10, 2022 | Alex Trebek Alumni Hall 

Description: In order to better understand today's challenges, this colloquium opts for comparative perspectives by bringing together speakers from different backgrounds who will answer the following questions in their own way and from different angles: What will education in a minority language context look like in the future? What are the anticipated developments? What are the most pressing challenges? How do socio-demographic changes in the population affect schools and the actors who embody them? Why is a percentage of teaching staff leaving the profession? What are the causes? How can we think about and respond to the recruitment and retention needs of teachers in these schools? What are the major challenges of tomorrow?

View full list of speakers.

Student experience in French-Language schools in Ontario

April 12, 2023 | Alex Trebek Alumni Hall 

Panel of researchers: 

• Kevin Naimi, Diane Farmer, Yollande Dweme Mbukuny Pitta

Panel of student representatives: 

• Jean Philippe Bisson, Addison Bond, Haïfa Zemni

Becoming a sociologist of childhood: trajectory and transition between field and subject

Institutional dynamics and the changing student population in francophone contexts

March 5, 2025

This symposium, organized by The Observatoire sur l'éducation en contexte linguistique minoritaire in collaboration with the Collège des chaires de recherche sur le monde francophone and the CIRCEM, offers an occasion to explore the issues and expand our understanding of practical solutions that involve faculty, students as well as the community, political and employment sectors. 

Data ecosystem on children eligible for minority language education

February 5, 2025

Description: Join us for an engaging roundtable discussion on the data ecosystem concerning children eligible for education in the minority official language. This event, hosted by Professor Nathalie Bélanger (Director of the OÉCLM), É. Caron-Malenfant, D. Pépin-Filion, and É. Lemyre, will explore the challenges and opportunities related to access to education in Canada's minority official languages.