Understand | The three-speed school

Does the Quebec school system give equal opportunity to everyone? “No,” replies Isabelle Plante, professor in the didactics department at UQAM, who offers four sources to help us understand this so-called three-speed school.

What is this ?

What is the three-tier school? The expression describes the three layers of the Quebec education system: regular classes, selective programs and private schools.

This stratification is particularly pronounced at secondary schools, where private schools often attract the most gifted students or those from wealthy families, which leads to an imbalance within the public system, explains Professor Isabelle Plante.

To counter the attraction of the private sector, public schools are expanding their offering of selective special programs, paradoxically exacerbating segregation and social inequalities. A study from the University of Montreal^⁠1 shows that barely 15% of students in ordinary classes in public schools go to university, compared to 51% of young people in enriched public schools and 60% of those in private schools.

To explore these issues in greater depth, M^me Plante recommends listening to the podcast series Everyone has their own classe by Karine Dubois on the OHdio platform of Radio-Canada.

Listen to the podcast show Everyone has their own class

1. Read the study from the University of Montreal

Big fish, small pond

In one of the research she carried out, Isabelle Plante analyzed the transition of students from primary to secondary, towards the ordinary public, the enriched public or the private sector.

“There are theories in social psychology which tell us that, normally, when we compare ourselves to elites, we do not feel very, very good in our shorts,” she summarizes.

This is the “big fish, small pond” phenomenon which posits that comparing yourself to more gifted students can undermine self-esteem.

Against all odds, M^me Plante observed the opposite in his “own data”: students who enroll in private or selective public education tend to benefit from a positive assimilation effect, taking advantage of the presence of successful classmates.

In the same way, as strong students or those from wealthy families are more attracted to the private sector or to special programs, ordinary classes have fewer young achievers who would push the students to do better.

This finding highlights the importance of the school environment with regard to student motivation and success.

Read Isabelle Plante’s study on the Quebec government website

The question of inequalities

Pierre Canisius Kamanzi, professor at the faculty of education sciences at the University of Montreal, is also interested in the effect of school segmentation in Quebec.

On this subject, M^me Plante recommends reading Higher education and social inequalities. Between public policies and educational pathwaysto which he collaborated.

Available on the Presses de l’Université du Québec website, the nearly 400-page work traces the evolution of educational policies in Quebec since the 1960s, highlighting how, despite apparent democratization, access to education Higher education remains marked by socio-economic divisions. The authors advocate for educational reform that addresses these inequalities.

It allows us to understand where the Quebec school system comes from and why, in Quebec, contrary to what we see in most other provinces, private schools are largely subsidized by the state, up to 75%, which which makes them more easily accessible.

Read the book Higher education and social inequalities. Between public policies and educational pathways

Parents’ choice

What should be done to improve equality of opportunity?

On paper, the solution may seem simple. If the current system is seriously flawed, why not change it by ending or significantly reducing government funding of private schools or asking public schools to stop selecting?

“If we stopped funding the private sector, we would still give parents the choice to send their children to the private sector, but they would have to pay the real price,” says Isabelle Plante.

Such a solution would, however, have consequences: the disappearance of most private schools, which are often quality establishments, and enormous pressure on the public sector to accommodate students who could no longer pay private school fees. Studies have sought to measure the impact of these movements for various levels of subsidy.

It could also be said that these problems would not arise if parents overwhelmingly chose the public system instead of encouraging private education or special programs. And therefore that they would be partly responsible for the situation.

“Having twisted the problem in all directions, I think we cannot ask parents to make this decision,” concludes M.^me Plant.

“Because the parent, basically, has a fairly restricted mandate, which is to take care of their children. Of course we can say, it’s a shame, we should think about society and protect our school. Unfortunately, when the time comes to choose between supporting our children and supporting the education system, the choice is simple: we will do the best possible for our children. »

To explore this topic further, the professor recommends reading These teenagers who make the clichés lieby journalist and author Dominique Scali, who offers a nuanced look at the effects of school choice on the careers of young people in a context of changing social and economic pressures.