The term three-speed school is neither a slogan nor an ideology, but simply a peaceful expression chosen by Quebec researchers to denounce the propensity for imbalance within the education system and its consequences.
More connoted expressions are used elsewhere in the world to mean the same thing. In Belgium, we speak of segregation, in France of social avoidance to account for the practices of early selection and separation of pupils on the basis of their school performance and, in a subtle way, their family, social and ethnocultural origins. The resulting imbalance feeds the maintenance, even the accentuation of social inequalities in education and, consequently, constitutes a real obstacle to educational justice and equity.
It is up to all citizens to remain alert to counteract this situation as much as possible and thus prevent the education system from drifting away from the principles of school democracy. In Quebec, the denunciation of this risk of remoteness is not new, since it was at the heart of the debates of the Estates General on education in 1995-96.
In addition to the intensification of selection practices by the network of private establishments which continues to grow, the representatives of civil society (associations, unions, etc.) point the finger at the shift towards the gradual splitting of the system public school into two entities: the ordinary public school, called regular, and the public programs of a selective nature, of which the international education programs occupy the apex.
Many participants in the Estates General identified this balkanization as one of the causes of the disparities in academic success and as responsible for the high dropout rates in schools in underprivileged areas. It will be remembered that successive governments have shown themselves to be comfortable with the situation, letting the private sector do its thing, encouraging public establishments to get closer to the private sector by adopting its practices. They have even gone further by funding specific projects whose core is the selection of students, the differentiation and the hierarchy of learning.
This laissez-faire selection opened the door to competition between families for a “good” school, good training and competition between schools to “attract” good students. It has generated a culture of shopping for schools by parents, clientelism, differentiation of learning and unequal training in terms of knowledge and pedagogical supervision. In short, it is what several university researchers call the school market or quasi-market, because even if there is no monetary exchange, the interplay of supply and demand is obvious.
Rather than slowing down or stabilizing, this movement has rather accelerated over the past two decades. Today, to survive competition or stand out, each school, private or public, must offer enriched programs to some of its students. All students no longer learn the same subjects, nor with the same methods, nor with the same resources. They no longer advance at the same pace, they no longer grow together!
This is what Quebecers describe, no less no more and with good reason, as a three-speed school! It’s not an ideology at all. This segmentation constitutes a real problem that a society, like ours, which adheres to the value of education as the best investment to train young people to “live together” and to constitute a more cohesive society of tomorrow, must confront. But it requires our politicians to believe in it and take appropriate action.
Nothing surprising then if today, attending public enriched programs and private schools is a privilege for the better-off and therefore for students whose parents are educated enough to better prepare them for selection – these having more resources to bear the financial costs. It is not surprising either that most of them go to CEGEP, but especially to university, even more so in courses leading to prestigious professions.
It should be remembered that, without being compulsory, higher education is a common good and that access to CEGEP and university and their diplomas should not be privileges. These findings are based on reliable statistical data from various sources (Statistics Canada, Quebec Ministry of Education, etc.) and analyzed using rigorous methods. They are far from partisanship, militancy or ideology.
On the contrary, denying or ignoring this reality of the existence of the school market, of a three-speed or even multi-speed school, and its negative effects on the democratization of education in Quebec seems to hide a certain ideology moving away the right to education enshrined in the Education Act.
*Also co-signed this text:
Marie-Odile Magnan, full professor, University of Montreal
Frédéric Deschenaux, Full Professor, University of Quebec at Rimouski
Marc-André Éthier, Professor, University of Montreal
Frédéric Yvon, Professor, University of Montreal
Françoise Armand, full professor, University of Montreal
Geneviève Carpentier, professor, University of Montreal
Rola Koubeissy, professor, University of Montreal
Claude Lessard, professor emeritus, University of Montreal.
Sivane Hirsch, Full Professor, University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières
Corina Borri-Anadon, full professor, University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières
Stéphane Moulin, full professor, University of Montreal
Chantale Jeanrie, full professor, Laval University
Martial Dembélé, full professor, University of Montreal
Claude Trottier, Emeritus Professor, Laval University
Adriana Morales-Perlaza, Associate Professor, University of Montreal
Julie Larochelle-Audet, professor, University of Montreal
Mélanie Paré, Associate Professor, University of Montreal
Catherine Maynard, Professor, Laval University
Jean Bernatchez, Full Professor, University of Quebec at Rimouski
Pierre Doray, associate professor, sociology, University of Quebec in Montreal
Benoît Laplante, Full Professor, National Institute for Scientific Research
François Bowen, full professor, University of Montreal
Francisco Loiola, full professor, University of Montreal
Marc-André Deniger, honorary professor, University of Montreal
Christian Maroy, Honorary Professor, University of Montreal