The Canadian Journal of Higher Education La revue canadienne d'enseignement supérieur Volume XXIX, No. 1,1999 pages 8 3 - 1 4 2 Some Long Term Lessons From Minority Language Education in Ontario NORMAND FRENETTE & SAEED QUAZI The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto ABSTRACT T h i s p a p e r r e p o r t s on a c o m p a r a t i v e a n d l o n g i t u d i n a l s t u d y of F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e m i n o r i t y a c c e s s to h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n in O n t a r i o . T h e p r o v i n c e of O n t a r i o p r o v i d e s h o m o g e n e o u s F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e and bilingual ' m i x e d ' s c h o o l s at the e l e m e n t a r y and s e c o n d a r y levels as well as bilingual institutions at the tertiary level. S i n c e 1990, there has b e e n a h o m o g e n e o u s F r e n c h l a n g u a g e college serving the Eastern region of the p r o v i n c e , to w h i c h w a s a d d e d t w o n e w c o l l e g e s in 1995. W h i l e F r e n c h l a n g u a g e p r o g r a m s are available t h r o u g h o u t the p r o v i n c e , it r e m a i n s that E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e p r o g r a m s and institutions are usually m o r e accessible b o t h g e o g r a p h i c a l l y and r e g a r d i n g the depth and variety of p r o g r a m s . E x p e r i e n c e h a s s h o w n that in this particular m i n o r i t y l a n g u a g e setting, it is the o f f e r of m i n o r i t y l a n g u a g e e d u c a t i o n a l services that creates t h e d e m a n d , r a t h e r t h a n t h e c o n v e r s e . T h u s , the p r o v i s i o n of F r e n c h m e d i u m p r o g r a m s is f o l l o w e d by an i n c r e a s e in m i n o r i t y e n r o l l m e n t s a n d the p r e f e r e n c e f o r F r e n c h - m e d i u m p r o g r a m s , e v e n t h o u g h E n g l i s h m e d i u m p r o g r a m s are m o r e n u m e r o u s and m o r e c o n v e n i e n t . T h e reduction of F r e n c h - m e d i u m p r o g r a m s is f o l l o w e d by the decline of minority e n r o l l m e n t s , e v e n t h o u g h F r a n c o p h o n e s a r e c l e a r l y b i l i n g u a l a n d in m a n y c a s e s e v e n m o r e at e a s e in the m a j o r i t y l a n g u a g e t h a n in their mother tongue. 84 N. F renette & S. Quazi RÉSUMÉ C e t article rend c o m p t e d ' u n e r e c h e r c h e c o m p a r a t i v e et l o n g i t u d i n a l e e f f e c t u é e en O n t a r i o . L ' O n t a r i o assure des e n s e i g n e m e n t s e n f r a n ç a i s d a n s d e s é c o l e s h o m o g è n e s et d e s é c o l e s " m i x t e s " au n i v e a u x é l é m e n t a i r e et s e c o n d a i r e , d e m ê m e q u e d a n s des é t a b l i s s e m e n t s b i l i n g u e s au n i v e a u tertiaire. D e p u i s 1990, il existe é g a l e m e n t un collège d e l a n g u e f r a n ç a i s e d e s s e r v a n t l ' E s t de la province, a u q u e l on a a j o u t é en 1995 deux n o u v e a u x collèges de langue française desservant, r e s p e c t i v e m e n t , le N o r d - E s t et le N o r d - O u e s t , puis le C e n t r e et le S u d O u e s t . S ' i l est vrai q u e les p r o g r a m m e s en l a n g u e f r a n ç a i s e sont d i s p o n i b l e s p a r t o u t sur le territoire, il n ' e n d e m e u r e pas m o i n s q u e les p r o g r a m m e s en l a n g u e a n g l a i s e sont plus accessibles et du point d e v u e g é o g r a p h i q u e et du p o i n t d e v u e d e leur a m p l e u r et leur intensité. L ' e x p é r i e n c e a d é m o n t r é q u ' e n ce qui c o n c e r n e l ' e n s e i g n e m e n t en l a n g u e minoritaire, c ' e s t l'offre des p r o g r a m m e s en f r a n ç a i s qui crée la d e m a n d e p l u t ô t q u e l ' i n v e r s e . A i n s i , la prestation des p r o g r a m m e s en f r a n ç a i s est s u i v i e p a r u n e a u g m e n t a t i o n d e l ' i n s c r i p t i o n f r a n c o p h o n e , s u r t o u t d a n s l e s p r o g r a m m e s o f f e r t s e n f r a n ç a i s , m ê m e si l e s p r o g r a m m e s en a n g l a i s s o n t en g é n é r a l p l u s n o m b r e u x et p l u s a c c e s s i b l e s . L a r é d u c t i o n des p r o g r a m m e s en f r a n ç a i s est suivie par u n e r é d u c t i o n d e l ' e f f e c t i f f r a n c o p h o n e , m ê m e si, en g é n é r a l , les f r a n c o p h o n e s d e l ' O n t a r i o sont m a n i f e s t e m e n t bilingues et s o u v e n t plus à l ' a i s e en a n g l a i s q u ' e n f r a n ç a i s . INTRODUCTION It w a s m o r e than thirty years ago that the then P r e m i e r of Ontario, J o h n R o b a r t s , d e c l a r e d b e f o r e t h e a s s e m b l e d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of t h e F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e c o m m u n i t y of the p r o v i n c e that his C o n s e r v a t i v e g o v e r n m e n t w a s p r e p a r e d to p r o v i d e legal status f o r F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e e d u c a tion, t h u s r e g u l a r i z i n g a situation that had existed at t h e p r i m a r y level s i n c e t h e 17th century. T h e g o v e r n m e n t w a s e v e n prepared to p r o v i d e f o r s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n in F r e n c h , p r o v i d e d that the n e w F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s w e r e located in the p u b l i c , rather than the s e p a r a t e s c h o o l s of t h e p r o v i n c e ( R o b a r t s , 1967). 1 T h e c h a n g e of p u b l i c policy f r o m t h o s e earlier y e a r s of the 20th century in w h i c h the p r o v i n c i a l g o v e r n m e n t h a d a c t i v e l y s o u g h t to s u p p r e s s e d u c a t i o n in F r e n c h a n d t h e p e r i o d of b e n i g n n e g l e c t b e g i n n i n g with the M e r c h a n t R e p o r t of 1927 The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Education 85 w a s n o d o u b t i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e b u r g e o n i n g s p i r i t of n a t i o n a l i s m in Q u é b e c and the resultant threat to C a n a d i a n unity. It w a s also the result of t h e s p i r i t of t h e t i m e s w h i c h s a w u n e q u a l a c c e s s to e d u c a t i o n a l r e s o u r c e s as a s c a n d a l and an e c o n o m i c liability ( M a r g i n s o n , 1997). A t the end of the 1960s the b u r n i n g issue f o r F r a n c o p h o n e leaders w a s that of the p u b l i c f u n d i n g of F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s . T h e r e had a l w a y s b e e n significant n u m b e r s of F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e e l e m e n tary s c h o o l s w h i c h , b e c a u s e of the British N o r t h A m e r i c a Act, e n j o y e d a certain m e a s u r e of constitutional protection given that the quasi-totality of F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e e l e m e n t a r y schools w e r e separate schools ( G o d b o u t , 1972; M a r t e l , 1991). A t the t i m e of the R o b a r t s a d d r e s s there w e r e s o m e 9 3 , 0 0 0 p u p i l s enrolled in 3 8 9 F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e R o m a n C a t h o l i c e l e m e n tary s c h o o l s and an additional 2 , 5 0 0 in F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e public e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l s . U n i v e r s i t y l e v e l a c c e s s a p p e a r e d to b e e n s u r e d b y t h e institutions then, and still, e n g a g e d in p r o v i d i n g p r o g r a m s in F r e n c h : the U n i v e r s i t y of O t t a w a , L a u r e n t i a n University of Sudbury, to w h i c h w a s a d d e d not long a f t e r G l e n d o n C o l l e g e at York U n i v e r s i t y in Toronto. At the time, h o w e v e r , t h e f e w private F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y schools w e r e d i s a p p e a r i n g rapidly and the s e c o n d a r y level w a s seen as the w e a k link in t h e c h a i n ( B o r d e l e a u , 1 9 8 3 a ; B o r d e l e a u , L a l l i e r , & L a l o n d e , 1980). S o m e 8 , 7 0 0 s t u d e n t s t o o k français and a f e w other s u b j e c t s in F r e n c h in s o m e 4 0 public s e c o n d a r y schools of the p r o v i n c e (Robarts, 1967). O n c e that c h a i n w e r e reestablished, it w a s felt that a c c e s s to posts e c o n d a r y studies w o u l d quite n o r m a l l y fall into place. M e a n w h i l e , t h e O n t a r i o g o v e r n m e n t w a s s e t t i n g u p a s y s t e m of C o l l e g e s of A p p l i e d A r t s and T e c h n o l o g y w h i c h w a s to t a k e place, by a n d large, o u t s i d e the p u r v i e w of F r a n c o - O n t a r i a n leaders. T h e y w e r e m o r e p r e o c c u p i e d with the issue of s e c o n d a r y schools and, in any case, the c r e a t i o n of a t e c h n o l o g i c a l f o r m of tertiary e d u c a t i o n w a s quite u n f a miliar to t h e m . F r a n c o - O n t a r i a n e d u c a t o r s w e r e thus late in u n d e r s t a n d ing the i m p o r t a n c e of the c o l l e g e p h e n o m e n o n . A s a result, six of the c o l l e g e s in various r e g i o n s of the p r o v i n c e w e r e given a bilingual m a n d a t e s o m e t i m e a f t e r t h e p e r i o d of t h e n e w s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s ( A l g o n q u i n C o l l e g e in O t t a w a w a s the only college to be f o u n d e d with a b i l i n g u a l m a n d a t e ) a n d w e r e to p r o v i d e v a r y i n g d e g r e e s of F r e n c h l a n g u a g e p r o g r a m s ( A C O R D , 1989, août; A C O R D , 1989, avril) until the f o u n d i n g in 1990 of L a Cité collégiale, a unilingual f r a n c o p h o n e institut i o n o p e r a t i n g in t h e E a s t e r n r e g i o n of t h e p r o v i n c e . A t t h a t t i m e The Canadian Journal ofHigher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 86 N. Frenette & S. Quazi Algonquin college lost its bilingual mandate and, with the creation of Le Collège Boréal serving the Northeast and the Northwestern regions and L e C o l l è g e d e s G r a n d s L a c s s e r v i n g the C e n t r a l and S o u t h w e s t e r n regions in 1995, the rest of the bilingual colleges lost their mandate to serve the F r a n c o p h o n e population in their respective regions. A s of 1 9 9 4 - 1 9 9 5 there were 69,385 students enrolled in French-language elementary schools (reflecting the rapid decline in school age popu l a t i o n a m o n g O n t a r i o f r a n c o p h o n e s ) in t h e p r o v i n c e a n d 2 8 , 5 1 0 enrolled in secondary schools, f o r a total of 97,898 students. This represented 4 . 7 % of total enrollments in publicly f u n d e d schools of Ontario. In 1993, the last year f o r which w e have reliable demo-linguistic data for most of the colleges, French-language enrollments in the colleges stood at 4,442, representing 3.7% of the total college enrollment. University enrollments stood at 6,203 in 1994, representing 3.02% of total underg r a d u a t e e n r o l l m e n t s . Both signal a significant drop in relation to the e l e m e n t a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l p r o p o r t i o n s of total e n r o l l m e n t s (Frenette & Quazi, 1996, pp. 154, 163). Unfortunately, these are not entirely comparable data. T h e Ontario Ministry of Education and Training does not collect enrollment data in e l e m e n t a r y and s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s a c c o r d i n g to m o t h e r t o n g u e , b u t rather in terms of the language of instruction. T h u s it is impossible to d e t e r m i n e what proportion of the school population is of French mother tongue and what proportion has a legal right to minority-language education u n d e r t h e p r o v i s i o n s of s e c t i o n 2 3 of t h e C a n a d i a n C h a r t e r of Rights, but is not French-speaking. 2 N o r is it possible to determine what proportion of F r a n c o p h o n e s are enrolled in English language schools. It is only when students arrive at the postsecondary level that official statistics are able to discern the mother tongue of students, and even then there are p r o b l e m s of interpretation. 3 W h i l e the i s s u e of equal o p p o r t u n i t y has not been lost u p o n the Franco-Ontarian c o m m u n i t y and lies in the background of this paper, the m a j o r issue w h i c h is addressed by this article are the lessons learned f r o m the enrollment patterns and participation rates of Francophones in relation to varying changes in the institutional offer of courses and programs in French during the period since the creation of French-language secondary schools. T h e completion of the link to postsecondary education in French during the early 1970s moved Ontario Francophones f r o m a context of no The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Education 87 c h o i c e , that is, e d u c a t i o n in English, to one of choice, that is education in E n g l i s h or F r e n c h , but it did not constrain t h e m to enroll in French-lang u a g e p r o g r a m s . G i v e n that than 9 2 . 5 % of Ontario F r a n c o p h o n e s in the a g e g r o u p 15-19 are f u n c t i o n a l l y bilingual (Dallaire & Lachapelle, s.d., p. 18), and that in m a n y cases English is their d o m i n a n t language of c o m m u n i c a t i o n , in m o s t c a s e s s c h o o l i n g in E n g l i s h can b e c o n s i d e r e d an attractive alternative, particularly in t h o s e areas of the p r o v i n c e w h e r e F r a n c o p h o n e s are a small portion of the population and F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e schools are widely dispersed and thus not nearly as accessible as the local E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e institutions. T h u s actual p r o g r a m c h o i c e s b e c o m e a p o w e r f u l indicator of m i n o r i t y - l a n g u a g e rationality. THE STUDY T h i s p a p e r r e p o r t s o n h i g h l i g h t s of a l o n g i t u d i n a l ( 1 5 - 2 5 y e a r s d e p e n d i n g u p o n level) and c o m p a r a t i v e (between Ontario F r a n c o p h o n e s a n d n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s ) study that e x a m i n e d p o s t s e c o n d a r y e n r o l l m e n t d a t a a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e s a c c o r d i n g to t y p e of i n s t i t u t i o n ( F r e n c h / E n g l i s h / m i x e d ) a t t e n d e d at the s e c o n d a r y level. D a t a are e x a m i n e d f o r f u l l - t i m e s e c o n d a r y and p o s t s e c o n d a r y students but cursory analysis only is provided f o r part-time students at the u n d e r g r a d u a t e level. S y s t e m - w i d e d a t a r e g a r d i n g p a r t - t i m e enrollments by first l a n g u a g e is not available at the college level. T h e e n r o l l m e n t data are e x a m i n e d with a view to disc e r n i n g the lessons to be learned f o r the u n d e r s t a n d i n g of minority lang u a g e rationality in relation to various institutional a r r a n g e m e n t s m a d e at the s e c o n d a r y and p o s t s e c o n d a r y levels over the past f i f t e e n to t w e n t y f i v e years. T h e v a r y i n g patterns of r e s p o n s e to s e c o n d a r y and postseco n d a r y i n s t i t u t i o n a l a r r a n g e m e n t s , d e p e n d i n g on t h e c o n t e x t , r e v e a l d i f f e r e n t aspects of minority l a n g u a g e rationality. T h e q u e s t i o n w h i c h has guided this research is not so m u c h that of d e t e r m i n i n g w h y F r a n c o p h o n e participation is l o w e r than that of m a j o r ity n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s as that of interpreting the behaviour, as revealed in p r o g r a m c h o i c e s , of t h o s e F r a n c o p h o n e s w h o d o succeed in r e a c h i n g the p o s t s e c o n d a r y level. In other w o r d s , the research q u e s t i o n p o s e d in this study is not so m u c h ' W h y d o F r a n c o p h o n e s d e m o n s t r a t e a lower participation rate than n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s ' but rather, ' W h a t d o their p r o g r a m choices reveal about the relationship between minority Francophones and e d u c a t i o n a l institutions?' The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1,1999 88 N. F renette & S. Quazi Research on equal opportunities for minority francophones S t u d i e s on e q u a l o p p o r t u n i t y to h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n f o r minority F r a n c o p h o n e s h a v e d e r i v e d f r o m t w o d o m i n a n t r e s e a r c h t r a d i t i o n s in N o r t h A m e r i c a . T h e first tradition p r o v i d e s an a n a l y s i s of e d u c a t i o n a l and p r o f e s s i o n a l aspirations in w h i c h student aspirations are d e e m e d to point to a m o t i v a t i o n to t a k e the m e a n s required to realize t h o s e aspirations and in w h i c h that s a m e m o t i v a t i o n is s h o w n to vary a c c o r d i n g to gender, S E S and ethnicity. T h e s e studies f o l l o w upon the f a m o u s W i s c o n s i n s t u d i e s in t h e 1 9 6 0 s ( S e w e l l , H a l l e r , & O h l e n d o r f , 1970; S e w e l l , Haller, & Portes, 1969) and w e r e replicated and r e f i n e d at both national a n d p r o v i n c i a l levels in C a n a d a d u r i n g the period i m m e d i a t e l y f o l l o w i n g the A m e r i c a n studies. Beginning with a major nationwide study ( B r e t o n , M c D o n a l d , & Richer, 1972) w h i c h w a s c o n d u c t e d at a time when unilingual French-language public secondary schools were n o t y e t in e x i s t e n c e , r e s e a r c h e r s n o t i c e d t h a t m i n o r i t y F r a n c o p h o n e s t h r o u g h o u t C a n a d a a p p e a r e d to h a v e i n o r d i n a t e l y " u n r e a l i s t i c " aspirations, or to b e m o r e precise, that their a s p i r a t i o n s w e r e clearly " m o r e u n r e a l i s t i c " t h a n t h o s e of their m a j o r i t y - l a n g u a g e c o m p a t r i o t s (Porter, Porter, & B l i s h e n , 1982). D u r i n g the 1970s this tradition of research g a v e rise to a n u m b e r of s u r v e y s in w h i c h student aspirations w e r e studied with regard to the pref e r r e d l a n g u a g e o f i n s t r u c t i o n of p o s t s e c o n d a r y programs ( E n g l i s h / F r e n c h / b i l i n g u a l ) a n d to the p r e f e r r e d t y p e of p o s t s e c o n d a r y institution ( E n g l i s h / b i l i n g u a l ) . T h e s e aspirations w e r e d e e m e d to represent m i n o r i t y ' n e e d s ' in regard to p o s t s e c o n d a r y p r o g r a m s and institutions and s h o w e d , not surprisingly, that s t u d e n t s ' p r e f e r e n c e s e x t e n d e d to the d o m i n a n t pattern then existing in p o s t s e c o n d a r y institutions, that is, to bilingual p r o g r a m s within the c o n t e x t of bilingual institutions. In any c a s e , s t u d e n t s indicated that the p r i m a r y criterion f o r their postseco n d a r y c h o i c e s w a s the quality of p o s t s e c o n d a r y p r o g r a m s , not the lang u a g e of instruction ( B o r d e l e a u , 1983a; B o r d e l e a u , 1983b; B o r d e l e a u & D e s j a r d i n s , 1976; B o r d e l e a u & Gervais, 1976). A n interesting insight w a s p r o v i d e d by o n e study c o n d u c t e d in the E a s t e r n region of the p r o v i n c e ( D e s j a r d i n s & Fu, 1977) w h i c h f o u n d that the t y p e of institution d e e m e d to c o r r e s p o n d to m i n o r i t y n e e d s varied a c c o r d i n g to t h e status of r e s p o n d e n t s . P a r t - t i m e c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s pref e r r e d E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e i n s t i t u t i o n s and p r o g r a m s , w h e r e a s f u l l - t i m e s t u d e n t s p r e f e r r e d bilingual institutions and p r o g r a m s . B u t a survey of The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Education 89 F r a n c o p h o n e s p o k e s p e r s o n s in t h e r e g i o n r e v e a l e d a p r e f e r e n c e f o r u n i l i n g u a l F r e n c h p r o g r a m s a n d institutions. In other w o r d s , the m o r e t e n u o u s t h e r e s p o n d e n t s ' r e l a t i o n s h i p to p o s t s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n (the c a s e of p a r t - t i m e students) the m o r e they w e r e inclined to opt f o r prog r a m s and institutions in the l a n g u a g e of the majority. T h e stronger the r e l a t i o n s h i p of r e s p o n d e n t s to p o s t s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n , ( t h e c a s e of activists in the c o m m u n i t y , m a n y of w h o m had c o m p l e t e d p o s t s e c o n d a r y studies) the m o r e they w e r e inclined to opt f o r p r o g r a m s and institutions in the l a n g u a g e of the minority. T h i s f i n d i n g is consistent with P o r t e r et al. ( 1 9 8 2 ) w h o n o t e d that l o w e r S E S F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y stud e n t s w e r e o v e r - r e p r e s e n t e d in E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s , w h e r e a s the S E S distribution in F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y schools w a s q u i t e similar to that of m a j o r i t y - l a n g u a g e schools. It s e e m s , then, that the w e a k e r the s o c i o e c o n o m i c link to p o s t s e c o n d a r y institutions, the m o r e m i n o r i t y - l a n g u a g e s t u d e n t s t e n d e d to l o o k u p o n e d u c a t i o n in t h e lang u a g e of the linguistic m a j o r i t y as the key to social mobility. R e c e n t r e s e a r c h in this tradition ( L a f l a m m e & D e n n i e , 1990) h a s returned to the t h e m e of unrealistic aspirations only to take a n o t h e r tack, n a m e l y that s t u d e n t s ' aspirations s h o u l d not be c o n s i d e r e d unrealistic; rather, it is s c h o o l s w h i c h s h o u l d b e a c c u s e d of not r e s p o n d i n g a d e q u a t e l y to t h e l e g i t i m a t e a s p i r a t i o n s of m i n o r i t y F r a n c o p h o n e s . W h i l e the c o n c l u s i o n is to be c o n s i d e r e d a valid o n e in the c o n t e x t of correlational studies, as this o n e is, it d o e s not explain h o w the schools c o u l d be s u c c e s s f u l in c r e a t i n g t h e u n r e a l i s t i c a s p i r a t i o n s a n d u n s u c c e s s f u l in r e s p o n d i n g to t h e m . In s u m m a r y , t h e r e s e a r c h on e d u c a t i o n a l a s p i r a t i o n s of m i n o r i t y F r a n c o p h o n e s has consistently f o u n d a t e n d e n c y to idealism in relation to e d u c a t i o n a l and p r o f e s s i o n a l aspirations, and a t e n d e n c y to p r a g m a t i s m in relation to the desired l a n g u a g e of p o s t s e c o n d a r y p r o g r a m s and i n s t i t u t i o n s . T h e i d e a l i s m is d e m o n s t r a t e d by m i n o r i t y F r a n c o p h o n e s ' t e n d e n c y to o v e r e s t i m a t e their ultimate career trajectory and the studies r e q u i r e d to a c h i e v e t h e m . T h e p r a g m a t i s m is highlighted by the t e n d e n c y to p r e f e r the d o m i n a n t organizational pattern of the time, that is, bilingual p r o g r a m s and institutions at the p o s t s e c o n d a r y level. At the t i m e of the earlier surveys, unilingual F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e institutions w e r e a relatively n e w p h e n o m e n o n at the s e c o n d a r y level and non-existent at the p o s t s e c o n d a r y level in Ontario. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 90 N. Frenette & S. Quazi T h e s e c o n d d o m i n a n t r e s e a r c h tradition is that of e d u c a t i o n a l and occupational attainment studies which have consistently shown a gap b e t w e e n F r a n c o p h o n e s and n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s , but a gap the characterist i c s of w h i c h a r e e v o l v i n g r a p i d l y . E a r l i e r s t u d i e s ( D ' C o s t a , 1 9 7 1 ) s h o w e d that in O n t a r i o , the e d u c a t i o n a l a t t a i n m e n t of F r a n c o p h o n e s w a s e x t r e m e l y low. T h i s w a s p a r t i c u l a r l y e v i d e n t in t h o s e r e g i o n s of t h e p r o v i n c e in w h i c h F r a n c o p h o n e s a r e c o n c e n t r a t e d , t h a t is, in t h e N o r t h e r n r e g i o n s w h i c h a r e h e a v i l y d e p e n d e n t on m i n i n g a n d f o r e s t industries a n d in the E a s t e r n region ( e x c l u d i n g the O t t a w a F e d e r a l capital r e g i o n ) w h i c h is largely a g r i c u l t u r e - b a s e d . Yet as e a r l y as 1977 the c o m p a r a t i v e study of the F é d é r a t i o n d e s F r a n c o p h o n e s H o r s - Q u é b e c ( F F H Q , 1977) revealed that a l t h o u g h t h e r e w a s a w i d e g a p in e d u c a t i o n a l a t t a i n m e n t s b e t w e e n F r a n c o p h o n e s and n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s , the d i f f e r e n c e in i n c o m e w a s m i n i m a l . T h i s w a s to a large e x t e n t attributable to the f a c t the F e d e r a l Capital in O t t a w a and the P r o v i n c i a l C a p i t a l in T o r o n t o attract l a r g e n u m b e r s of F r a n c o p h o n e s f r o m o u t s i d e the p r o v i n c e , particularly of Q u é b e c F r a n c o p h o n e s . M o r e recent studies h a v e s h o w n that a l t h o u g h there are still large regional disp a r i t i e s , t h e a v e r a g e i n c o m e of O n t a r i o F r a n c o p h o n e s is v e r y c l o s e to t h a t of O n t a r i o A n g l o p h o n e s ( m a l e s = $ 2 4 , 4 9 1 vs $ 2 5 , 4 1 7 ; f e m a l e s = $ 1 3 , 4 9 1 vs. $ 1 3 , 5 4 9 ) ( B e r n a r d , 1990, p. 277). Janet Stern has e v e n s u g g e s t e d that a c c o r d i n g to the 1986 c e n s u s O n t a r i o F r a n c o p h o n e s d e m o n s t r a t e a level of e d u c a t i o n a l a t t a i n m e n t w h i c h is roughly e q u i v a lent to that of n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s (Stern, 1990). A recent study (Savas, 1992) w h i c h a t t e m p t e d to d e m o n s t r a t e that O n t a r i o F r a n c o p h o n e s r e q u i r e d s p e c i a l t r e a t m e n t as a d e s i g n a t e d minority, s h o w e d that t h e y w e r e g e n e r a l l y as s u c c e s s f u l as the g e n e r a l population in translating their e d u c a t i o n a l i n v e s t m e n t into similar occupation and i n c o m e benefits; s o m e s y s t e m i c barriers a p p e a r e d to exist f o r the relatively less e d u c a t e d , i.e., t h e o l d e r F r a n c o p h o n e p o p u l a t i o n . T h e s a m e study w a s u n a b l e to s h o w s y s t e m i c d i s a d v a n t a g e e v e n w h e n the d a t a w e r e b r o k e n d o w n by r e g i o n . I n d e e d , in s o m e c a t e g o r i e s of o c c u p a t i o n s S a v a s ( 1 9 9 2 ) f o u n d that F r a n c o p h o n e s h a d a distinct a d v a n t a g e o v e r visible m i n o r i t i e s or native g r o u p s . F o r o u r p u r p o s e s , h o w e v e r , a t t a i n m e n t studies are s o m e w h a t unsatisf a c t o r y b e c a u s e t h e y d o not t a k e a c c o u n t of i n t e r p r o v i n c i a l m i g r a t i o n and of F r a n c o p h o n e i m m i g r a t i o n . O n t a r i o F r a n c o p h o n e s are e x t r e m e l y m o b i l e : c e n s u s e s f r o m 1971 to 1991 reveal that the c o m b i n e d arrival a n d The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Education 91 d e p a r t u r e of F r a n c o p h o n e s to and f r o m O n t a r i o r e a c h e s 13% of the total F r a n c o p h o n e p o p u l a t i o n ( B e r n a r d , 1990, p p . 28, 1 7 2 - 1 7 4 ) . A s m e n t i o n e d p r e v i o u s l y , t h e e x p a n s i o n of F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s e r v i c e s in t h e p r o v i n c i a l and f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t s has had the e f f e c t of attracting a sign i f i c a n t portion of highly trained F r a n c o p h o n e s to civil service positions in both the provincial and federal g o v e r n m e n t s , such that a v e r a g e e d u c a tional a n d r e v e n u e a t t a i n m e n t s m a s k the e f f e c t s of the provincial e d u c a tional s y s t e m on O n t a r i o F r a n c o p h o n e s . O u t - o f - p r o v i n c e F r a n c o p h o n e i m m i g r a n t s w h o are attracted by the c a r e e r possibilities in O n t a r i o can be p r e s u m e d to h a v e studied e l s e w h e r e than in Ontario. T h u s a t t a i n m e n t studies, w h i l e s h o w i n g s o m e m i n i m a l d i f f e r e n c e s in e d u c a t i o n a l a t t a i n m e n t , i n c o m e level and o c c u p a t i o n a l structure b e t w e e n F r a n c o p h o n e s and n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s d e p e n d i n g on level of analysis, are n o t n e a r l y p r e c i s e e n o u g h to e x p l a i n d i f f e r e n t i a l p a t t e r n s of a c c e s s to higher education. F o r all of t h e s e r e a s o n s w e d e c i d e d to s t u d y t h e p r o g r e s s i o n of F r a n c o p h o n e s t h r o u g h s e c o n d a r y and p o s t s e c o n d a r y levels in o r d e r to determine, if not the impact of the Ontario educational system on minority F r a n c o p h o n e s , rather, the relationship between t h e m and the educational services which w e r e m a d e available to them. T h e p u r p o s e of the study was to e x a m i n e the actual p r o g r a m p r e f e r e n c e s of minority F r a n c o p h o n e s at the secondary (since 1967), college ( f r o m 1983 to 1993) and undergraduate ( f r o m 1979 to 1995) levels. T h e varying time f r a m e s correspond to the availability of enrollment data on Ontario F r a n c o p h o n e s . T h e f o c u s on e n r o l l m e n t d a t a e n s u r e s that the f o c u s is on s t u d e n t c h o i c e s rather than to an e x p r e s s i o n of p r e f e r e n c e s in survey c o n d i t i o n s w h i c h m i g h t tend to elicit w h a t are p e r c e i v e d to b e ' c o r r e c t ' responses. In addition, e n r o l l m e n t data w o u l d f o c u s attention only on t h o s e m i n o r i t y - l a n g u a g e s t u d e n t s w h o h a v e c o m e into c o n t a c t with the educational s y s t e m in t h e p r o v i n c e , e x c l u d i n g t h o s e w h o h a d s t u d i e d e l s e w h e r e . N o n e t h e l e s s , t h e u s e of e n r o l l m e n t d a t a in t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s f o c u s e s attention on a relatively privileged p r o p o r t i o n of m i n o r i t y - l a n g u a g e stud e n t s at the p o s t s e c o n d a r y level, that is, f u l l - t i m e students in p o s t s e c ondary programs, leaving aside part-time students who are p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y m o r e n u m e r o u s a m o n g F r a n c o p h o n e s , 4 and others w h o are not enrolled in p o s t s e c o n d a r y p r o g r a m s at all. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 92 N. F renette & S. Quazi FINDINGS Progression Through Secondary School I m m e d i a t e l y u p o n t h e c r e a t i o n of F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s in 1969, the e n r o l l m e n t in F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e schools 5 and F r e n c h l a n g u a g e u n i t s of i n s t r u c t i o n in b i l i n g u a l ' m i x e d ' s c h o o l s r o s e q u i t e rapidly, such that by 1973 the p r o p o r t i o n of students r e m a i n i n g in school t h r e e y e a r s a f t e r e n t r y i n t o s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l r e a c h e d t h e l e v e l of E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e s c h o o l s of t h e p r o v i n c e . A f t e r 1 9 7 3 t h e p a t t e r n of i n c r e a s e s in b o t h E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e a n d F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s c h o o l s w e r e similar, s u g g e s t i n g that they w e r e subject to the s a m e general i n f l u e n c e s o v e r t i m e . O v e r t h e f o l l o w i n g 2 0 years the retention rate in F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s c h o o l s in s o m e c a s e s slightly e x c e e d e d that of E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e schools. T h u s it a p p e a r e d at the t i m e that F r a n c o p h o n e s w o u l d soon realize t h e goal of equal access at the s e c o n d a r y and p o s t s e c o n d a r y levels. Within a very short time, however, a certain anomaly emerged. O n t a r i o had m a i n t a i n e d g r a d e 13, an e x t r a transitional year b e t w e e n the s e c o n d a r y a n d p o s t s e c o n d a r y level. T h i s transitional year w a s an obligatory f e a t u r e in the p r o g r a m of students intending to go to university, and w a s not obligatory, but highly r e c o m m e n d e d f o r s o m e of the m o r e prestigious c o l l e g e p r o g r a m s . I m m e d i a t e l y u p o n the creation of F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s the transition rate f r o m g r a d e 9 through g r a d e 13 stabilized at a level that r a n g e d b e t w e e n 2 5 % and 3 8 % less than that of E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e schools (Frenette & Q u a z i , 1990), e v e n t h o u g h the transition rate f r o m g r a d e 9 t h r o u g h g r a d e 12 w a s in s o m e c a s e s as previously n o t e d h i g h e r than that of E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e schools. B y 1 9 9 0 the g r a d e 13 p h e n o m e n o n w a s b e i n g p h a s e d out, at least theoretically, o n l y to be replaced by O n t a r i o A c a d e m i c Credits, that is, a d v a n c e d c o u r s e s at the g r a d e 12 level w h i c h c o u l d be taken at the g r a d e 12 level or, if the student w e r e to so c h o o s e , d u r i n g an additional year of studies. T h e resulting c o n f i g u r a t i o n of e n r o l l m e n t s renders it i m p o s s i b l e to c o m p a r e the e n r o l l m e n t d a t a with p r e v i o u s e n r o l l m e n t s at the g r a d e 13 level. O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , the c o n f i g u r a t i o n allows a c o m p a r i s o n of g r a d e 12 e n r o l l m e n t s a c c o r d i n g to n u m b e r s of c o u r s e s e n r o l l e d at t h e O A C level. T h e distribution of e n r o l l m e n t s has stayed r e m a r k a b l y consistent during the 1990s. A l m o s t half of F r a n c o p h o n e enrollments in g r a d e 12 are not enrolled in any Ontario A c a d e m i c Credit courses, which effectively The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons r- o oo u < o o 00 r-" >n H o o O + NO U SJ e W 0 in 1 U o o e from O o so (N SO m ON CO CN NO OO CN NO oo r(N r- o ON oo oo" r- Minority NO ^ oo" oo N O CO O o o in rn ON" m ON in N O C O C O r- o o o co ro o o o o N O C O o 04 SO T—. O N C N C D co" — , 1 o C O CO o H in as f-" co < N NO CN NO OO OO Language ON r-" oo ON ON Education 93 O O o •sr CN oo NO co CO O 00 oo o o o m N O o C-I oo rin C N t; O O C N < N >n in ro in ON CO o o •a a > U < o + N O a js V C a > tfc U 0 in 1 O o o '— 1 N O o O N C N C O r-o •xt- oo C N C N ON OO Xt"" c > H5 a co c ^o c S o 3 -o w C3 ON ON $ CO ON 2 m ON ON C O ii o u 3 O C/3 The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 94 N. F renette & S. Quazi m e a n s that they are in n o position to begin university studies the followi n g y e a r . B y c o n t r a s t , g r a d e 12 e n r o l l m e n t s in t h e s a m e c a t e g o r y in E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e schools is s o m e w h a t less, standing at 3 8 . 3 % in 1995. O n l y 2 0 . 6 % of g r a d e 12 e n r o l l m e n t s in F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e schools c o m prise six O A C s o r more. This d o e s not m e a n that only o n e - f i f t h of g r a d e 12 students are c a p a b l e of g o i n g on to u n d e r g r a d u a t e studies, since m a n y in the m i d d l e category (1 to 6 O A C s ) are taking O A C s f o r a second year. It d o e s s u g g e s t , h o w e v e r , that F r a n c o p h o n e s are s o m e w h a t s l o w e r to position t h e m s e l v e s in the final year of s e c o n d a r y school f o r f u r t h e r studies at the u n d e r g r a d u a t e level. Transition Rates to University T h e transition rate of minority F r a n c o p h o n e s 6 f r o m the final year of s e c o n d a r y to first y e a r of u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s is consistently l o w e r t h a n that of n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s , as m e n t i o n e d p r e v i o u s l y . B u t w h a t is m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g f r o m the p e r s p e c t i v e adopted h e r e is the variable transition rates of F r a n c o p h o n e s a c c o r d i n g to t y p e of institution attended at the s e c o n d a r y level. A p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 0 % of F r a n c o p h o n e s attending g r a d e 13 of h o m o g e n e o u s F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e schools succeed in enrolling in u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s the f o l l o w i n g year. T h e transition rate varies b e t w e e n 3 8 . 5 % ( 1 9 8 7 ) a n d 4 1 . 7 % ( 1 9 8 9 ) with m i n i m a l f l u c t u a t i o n f r o m o n e year to the next. T h e transition rate of F r a n c o p h o n e s attending ' m i x e d ' s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s to u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s is s o m e w h a t l o w e r in addition to a m u c h larger d r o p o u t rate b e f o r e g r a d e 13, v a r y i n g b e t w e e n 3 1 . 0 % and 3 0 . 0 % of g r a d e 13 e n r o l l m e n t s o v e r a ten year period, but f o r o n e e x c e p t i o n a l y e a r ( 1 9 8 9 ) w h i c h w a s m a r k e d b y a o n e - t h i r d d e c r e a s e of F r a n c o p h o n e e n r o l l m e n t s in m i x e d s e c o n d a r y schools and a tripling of ' O n t a r i o s c h o l a r s , ' that is, s t u d e n t s w h o m a i n t a i n a m i n i m u m of 8 0 % a v e r a g e . T h i s a n o m a l o u s year w a s in f a c t a year m a r k e d by the reorganization of s c h o o l b o a r d s , the t r a n s f e r of s c h o o l s f r o m P u b l i c b o a r d s to S e p a r a t e ( C a t h o l i c ) b o a r d s , a n d t h e c l o s i n g of a n u m b e r of m i x e d s c h o o l s , such that t h o s e students r e m a i n i n g in the m i x e d schools w e r e clearly a ' h a p p y f e w ' w h o had m a n a g e d to survive the h i g h e r d r o p o u t rates in a d v e r s e c o n d i t i o n s . T h e overall pattern of transition rates f r o m m i x e d s c h o o l s t h u s is c o n s i s t e n t l y l o w e r t h a n that f r o m h o m o g e n e o u s F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e schools. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Education 95 The transition rates of Francophones from English-language schools cannot be calculated because there is no official record of them at the secondary level. However, an indirect manner of examining the quality of secondary school graduates from all three types of institutions is to calculate the proportion of Ontario scholars and the proportion of students admitted to the university and program of first choice (Ontario applicants have three choices in applying to undergraduate programs). A c c o r d i n g to these criteria, the s a m e gradation appears o n c e again. University applicants f r o m h o m o g e n e o u s French-language secondary schools are more successful than applicants from mixed schools, and the latter are m o r e s u c c e s s f u l than a p p l i c a n t s f r o m u n i l i n g u a l E n g l i s h schools. It would appear then that the more successful of francophones, at least in terms of making the transition to University, are those who attend homogeneous French-language schools. Type of Secondary School Attended and Type of Institution Attended at the Postsecondary Level By 1989, fully 80% of Francophone college students had enrolled in bilingual colleges although no more than 55% of them enrolled in programmes delivered in French. The proportion of Francophone university enrollments in bilingual institutions is slightly less, standing at 74% in 1989. It is important to remember that up to 1990, there were only bilingual institutions at the postsecondary level. N o doubt some of this is due to factors such as the proximity of the bilingual institutions to major concentrations of Francophone populations, the history of their relations with the Francophone community, perhaps even their bilingual character. We would argue that the propensity to enroll in bilingual institutions among young Francophones is not so much an approval of the bilingual character of postsecondary institutions per se, but an indication that young Francophones tended to attend those types of institutions in which they are more likely to encounter students of like kind. As further confirmation of this hypothesis, it should be noted that when the Ontario g o v e r n m e n t in c o n j u n c t i o n with the Federal government released funds for the creation of the first unilingual French-language postsecondary institution in 1990, la Cité collégiale, college enrollments rose within a two-year period to historic levels in 1983 even while the 18-21 age group was declining further. The Canadian ]ourml of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 96 N. Frenette & S. Quazi In summary, the opening of publicly funded French-language seco n d a r y s c h o o l s at the end of the 1960s w a s f o l l o w e d by an almost instantaneous increase of enrollments in those same schools. Within a very f e w years, the retention rate in the minority language schools was almost identical to that of English language schools. However, the transition to postsecondary studies was filtered somewhat by the lower transition rates into the final transitional year (grade 13) and later, into full O A C course selections in the (putatively) final year of secondary school. ENROLLMENT AND PARTICIPATION AT THE POSTSECONDARY LEVEL College enrollments and participation rates It should be remembered that of the 21 Ontario colleges existing up to the end of the 1980s, only six were designated as bilingual, and only two of those offered substantial programs in French, albeit in numbers which were approximately one third of the number of programs offered in E n g l i s h to n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s . T h e r e m a i n i n g b i l i n g u a l c o l l e g e s offered bilingual programs which tended to favour courses in English ( A C O R D , 1989). In addition, the bilingual colleges were tardy in offering even these limited programs in French than were the bilingual universities. The latter were bilingual from their inception, whereas only one college, Algonquin College in Ottawa, was officially bilingual from its inception in 1967. As a result Francophones were slower than the general population in enrolling in one of the community colleges, yet their participation rates (that is, enrollments expressed as a proportion of the age-group 18-21) were only slightly behind those of non-Francophones up until 1983, standing at 13.95% of the Francophone age group 18-21, whereas the non-Francophone participation rate stood at 14.11% of the s a m e age group. Participation rates had increased among Francophones and non-Francophones alike, but at a more rapid rate among Francophones, until 1983, the year following the economic downturn of 1981-1982. Following that period there was a drastic falling off of Francophone enrollments and participation rates. Whereas n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e enrollments declined by 3% f r o m peak to low point between 1983 and 1989, even though participation rates increased slightly because of a smaller age group, Francophone enrollments declined by almost 33% while the participation rate dropped from a high of 13.95% in 1983 to a low of 12.32% in 1987. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Fig. 1 - Participation rates of Ontario Francophones and non-Francophones, CAATs Education 97 1979-1994 22 20 - 18 - Fr. 16 - non-Fr. 14 - 12 10 4—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—i—I '81 '82 '83 '84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89 '90 '91 '92 '93 Year Source: M E T / U C I S I n t e r v i e w s of F r a n c o p h o n e c o l l e g e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s in the b i l i n g u a l c o l l e g e s r e v e a l e d that a f t e r the recession, the provincial g o v e r n m e n t had d e c r e a s e d its level of financial support to the C o l l e g e s of A p p l i e d Arts a n d T e c h n o l o g y , a n d as a r e s u l t , t h e c o l l e g e s a t t e m p t e d to r e a l i z e e c o n o m i e s of scale w h e r e possible. T h i s m e a n t e l i m i n a t i n g u n d e r - s u b s c r i b e d c o u r s e s a n d p r o g r a m s . In bilingual institutions, the target w a s o f t e n F r e n c h - m e d i u m p r o g r a m s and c o u r s e s s i n c e , by d e f i n i t i o n , t h e e n r o l l m e n t s w e r e l o w e r in n u m b e r . T h i s was particularly the c a s e in prog r a m s o f f e r e d in t h e f i e l d o f t e c h n o l o g y . F r a n c o p h o n e a n d n o n F r a n c o p h o n e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s alike felt that students in t e c h n o l o g y w o u l d p r o f i t f r o m c o u r s e s in E n g l i s h , since it was agreed that the universal lang u a g e of t e c h n o l o g y w a s E n g l i s h . I n d e e d , e v e n t h e F r a n c o p h o n e stud e n t s a g r e e d with the principle, and administrators based their d e c i s i o n s on n u m e r o u s c o n v e r s a t i o n s and the surveys p r e v i o u s l y m e n t i o n e d w h i c h a p p e a r e d to i n d i c a t e a F r a n c o p h o n e p r e f e r e n c e f o r bilingual p r o g r a m s The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 98 N. Frenette & S. Quazi and institutions as well as the study of mathematics, science and technology in English. Yet there followed a very significant decline of Francophone college enrollments, particularly in the field of technology, even though many o b s e r v e r s a g r e e d t h a t it w a s a r e a s o n a b l e s u g g e s t i o n t o h a v e Francophones pursue technological studies in English. Additionally, the field of technology is traditionally the one which attracts an overwhelming majority of males, such that to the decline of enrollments at the college level, t h e r e w a s a c o r r e s p o n d i n g d e c l i n e in p a r t i c i p a t i o n rates a m o n g Francophone males. T h e only fields of study to show an increase in enrollments over the ten year period f o l l o w i n g the e c o n o m i c recession of the early 1980s were those of Business and Health Sciences, fields which had attracted supplementary Ministry funding to compensate for transitional start-up costs but fields which had traditionally attracted larger proportions of female Francophones. A s a result, by the end of the decade the proportion of females had reached 58% of total Francophone enrollments. This situation changed immediately upon the opening of the first F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e college, L a Cité collégiale, in 1990. N o t only did enrollments reach their previous levels of the early 1980s, but the proportion of males and females returned to their previous levels. There was a slight decline of total Francophone enrollments in 1993 in relation to the previous year, but there is some doubt as to the quality of data provided by some of the colleges in the final year that the Ontario Ministry of Education and Training gathered demo-linguistic data. In short, the pattern of enrollments at the college level reveals an initial increase during the late 1970s and early 1980s, by which time the p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e of F r a n c o p h o n e s a l m o s t m a t c h e d t h a t of n o n Francophone students. Following the recession of 1982 and the resulting decrease in program offerings, the overall enrollments and participation rates decreased dramatically, only to find their previous levels in 1990 with the opening of the first French-language CAAT. College Programme Choices During the latter part of the 1980s, before the opening of La Cité collégiale, the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities attempted to redress the situation by funding a number of new program initiatives in French in the bilingual colleges of the province. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Education 99 D e t a i l e d e x a m i n a t i o n of F r a n c o p h o n e e n r o l l m e n t s by p r o g r a m in t h o s e bilingual institutions is revelatory of a specific e n r o l l m e n t pattern. G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g , p r o g r a m s a r e a v a i l a b l e f i r s t in E n g l i s h a n d F r a n c o p h o n e e n r o l l m e n t s in the E n g l i s h - m e d i u m p r o g r a m are u n i f o r m l y low. W h e n an e q u i v a l e n t p r o g r a m is o f f e r e d in F r e n c h , as resulted f r o m the f u n d i n g initiatives, a c u r i o u s p h e n o m e n o n o c c u r r e d . F o r the first year o r p e r h a p s t w o , F r a n c o p h o n e e n r o l l m e n t s in the F r e n c h - m e d i u m prog r a m i n c r e a s e d very slightly as if r e c o r d i n g a ' w a i t t i m e , ' a f t e r w h i c h they increased very rapidly. A f t e r a f e w years of existence, the F r e n c h m e d i u m p r o g r a m s attracted m u c h larger n u m b e r s of m i n o r i t y - l a n g u a g e e n r o l l m e n t s , a n d t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y of F r a n c o p h o n e s e n r o l l e d in t h e F r e n c h - m e d i u m p r o g r a m s . T h e proportion of F r a n c o p h o n e s enrolled in the alternative F r e n c h - m e d i u m p r o g r a m varied b e t w e e n 7 5 % and 9 3 % in the bilingual c o l l e g e s , with most of the p r o g r a m s r e c o r d i n g in the u p p e r r a n g e s ( F r e n e t t e & Q u a z i , 1990, pp. 2 2 8 - 3 7 ) . T h e ' w a i t - t i m e ' p h e n o m e n o n a p p e a r s to b e at o d d s with the f u n c t i o n i n g of p o s t s e c o n d a r y institutions and in p a r t i c u l a r with that of the c o m m u n i t y colleges. O n t a r i o C A A T s h a v e a m a n d a t e to ' r e s p o n d to the n e e d s of t h e c o m m u n i t y ' w h i c h t y p i c a l l y s i g n i f i e s that p r o g r a m s are o f f e r e d in r e s p o n s e to a specific regional need. If the need is not d e m o n s t r a t e d in t h e f o r m of e n r o l l m e n t s , p r o g r a m s a r e d r o p p e d a l m o s t instantly. Yet m i n o r i t y e n r o l l m e n t b e h a v i o u r a p p e a r s to indicate a waita n d - s e e attitude, such that e n r o l l m e n t s begin to increase only w h e n t h e r e a p p e a r s to b e a stable o f f e r of p r o g r a m s in F r e n c h . T h i s w o u l d explain the d r o p in C o l l e g e participation rates f o l l o w i n g the r e o r g a n i z a t i o n of p r o g r a m s in 1983. M i n o r i t y c o l l e g e students noticed the decline in prog r a m o f f e r i n g s in F r e n c h , and s u b s e q u e n t l y w i t h d r e w f r o m the postseco n d a r y ' m a r k e t ' . It w a s only a f t e r provincial g o v e r n m e n t intervention in t h e late 1 9 8 0 s t h a t t h e b i l i n g u a l c o l l e g e s b e g a n to i n c r e a s e p r o g r a m o f f e r i n g s in F r e n c h , and e n r o l l m e n t s b e g a n to rise again. T h u s , t h e institutional logic of p o s t s e c o n d a r y institutions r e q u i r e s that m i n o r i t y s t u d e n t s d e m o n s t r a t e a d e m a n d f o r F r e n c h - m e d i u m prog r a m s b e f o r e the s u p p l y of the s a m e be p r o v i d e d , but the logic of the m i n o r i t y s t u d e n t is quite the opposite, that is, the d e m a n d f o r F r e n c h m e d i u m p r o g r a m s (in the f o r m of e n r o l l m e n t s ) is s h o w n to be a r e s p o n s e to t h e supply of t h e s a m e . It w o u l d a p p e a r t h e n that in a minority c o n text, it is t h e supply of educational services w h i c h creates the demand rather than the contrary. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 100 N. F renette & S. Quazi Undergraduate Enrollments and Participation Rates Total e n r o l l m e n t s of F r a n c o p h o n e s at t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e level had i n d e e d i n c r e a s e d in the p e r i o d f o l l o w i n g the o p e n i n g of F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s , b u t so h a d e n r o l l m e n t s in the g e n e r a l p o p u l a t i o n , s u c h that until t h e m i d - 1 9 8 0 s , t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate of F r a n c o p h o n e s r e a c h e d 5 4 % of that of n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s , and a p p e a r e d to b e i n c r e a s i n g o n l y m a r g i n a l l y r e l a t i v e to t h a t of t h e g e n e r a l p o p u l a t i o n . T h u s it a p p e a r e d at t h e t i m e that u n d e r g r a d u a t e participation rates w e r e to be a m i r r o r i m a g e , b u t d i m i n i s h e d , of that of the general p o p u l a t i o n and that the c r e a t i o n of t h e F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y schools w a s f a r f r o m h a v ing the i n t e n d e d e f f e c t . B u t by the m i d - 1 9 8 0 s participation rates b e g a n a g r a d u a l , a l m o s t i m p e r c e p t i b l e i n c r e a s e and by 1994, the final y e a r f o r w h i c h w e h a v e data, the participation rate of F r a n c o p h o n e s stood at 71 % of that of the g e n e r a l p o p u l a t i o n . It a p p e a r s then that the relative a m e l i o ration in participation rates w a s to begin a l m o s t 2 0 years a f t e r the o p e n ing of t h e n e w F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y schools. Fig. 2 - Participation rate of Ontario Francophones and non-Francophoncs, undergraduate, 1979-1994 40 "A— 10 '79 '80 '81 '82 '83 '84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 Year Source: M E T / U C I S The Canadian Journal ofHigher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 non-Fr. Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Education 101 Participation Rates by Field of Study In the field of E d u c a t i o n , n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e participation rates c o n tinued to i n c r e a s e at a r e g u l a r pace, but F r a n c o p h o n e participation rates increased m a r k e d l y a f t e r 1987, such that by 1994 their participation rate w a s 1.4 t i m e s that of the general p o p u l a t i o n . T h i s is no d o u b t d u e to the f a c t that E d u c a t i o n , of all the m a j o r fields available at the u n d e r g r a d u a t e level, w a s t h e o n e f i e l d in w h i c h p r o g r a m s w e r e a v a i l a b l e e n t i r e l y in F r e n c h and the labour m a r k e t a p p e a r e d to p r o v i d e e m p l o y m e n t in F r e n c h t h r o u g h t h e c o n t i n u e d e x i s t e n c e of F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s c h o o l s a n d t h e g r o w i n g interest in F r e n c h i m m e r s i o n p r o g r a m s t h r o u g h o u t the p r o v i n c e . O t h e r f i e l d s of study o f f e r a m o r e variegated pattern of participation rates. In f i e l d s such as Social Sciences, H u m a n i t i e s and Health Sciences, s o m e p r o g r a m s are a v a i l a b l e entirely in French and s o m e of t h e s e lead directly to e m p l o y m e n t to bilinguals, given the positions available in the F e d e r a l civil service, and s o m e positions involving c o m m u n i c a t i o n with the F r a n c o p h o n e public in certain d e s i g n a t e d areas of the p r o v i n c e in the p r o v i n c i a l or m u n i c i p a l civil service. Still other fields of study, notably t h o s e of M a t h e m a t i c s a n d P h y s i c a l sciences, E n g i n e e r i n g and A p p l i e d S c i e n c e , o f f e r a l m o s t n o p r o g r a m s in F r e n c h and a l m o s t n o e m p l o y m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s are available in F r e n c h in the p r o v i n c e of Ontario. In t h o s e f i e l d s there w a s a small increase in e n r o l l m e n t s , n o w h e r e as significant as in other fields. T h e e n r o l l m e n t d a t a reveal that o n e cannot interpret the g a p b e t w e e n F r a n c o p h o n e s and n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s simply in t e r m s of a p r e f e r e n c e that the f o r m e r m i g h t h a v e f o r the h u m a n i t i e s and social sciences, and that the latter m i g h t h a v e f o r s c i e n c e and t e c h n o l o g y . T h e participation rate of n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s increased dramatically in the field of the H u m a n i t i e s d u r i n g the d e c a d e and r e m a i n e d stable in E n g i n e e r i n g , w h e r e a s the partici p a t i o n of F r a n c o p h o n e s i n c r e a s e d m u c h less in t h e H u m a n i t i e s a n d s o m e w h a t slightly in E n g i n e e r i n g . T h e participation of n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s increased by a l m o s t 5 0 % again in Fine and A p p l i e d arts, w h e r e a s the participation of F r a n c o p h o n e s increased only marginally. In s u m m a r y , t h e o v e r a l l p a t t e r n of e n r o l l m e n t s a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o n rates since 1979 reveals a quite d i f f e r e n t o n e that that w h i c h w a s f o u n d at the c o l l e g e level. T h e r e , the increases and declines c a m e at a rather s h o r t e r t i m e i n t e r v a l , m u c h l i k e w h a t w a s to b e f o u n d in s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l s . A t t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e level the i n c r e a s e s m i r r o r e d that of the n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e p o p u l a t i o n until well into the m i d - 1 9 8 0 s , but at a rate The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 102 N. F renette & S. Quazi a l m o s t h a l f of t h e latter, at w h i c h t i m e t h e y b e g a n to i n c r e a s e at an a l m o s t i m p e r c e p t i b l e , then m o r e p r o n o u n c e d , rate relative to that of the non-Francophone population. Combined College and Undergraduate Enrollments In O n t a r i o , u n i v e r s i t i e s a n d c o l l e g e s r e p r e s e n t a l t e r n a t e p a t h s to p o s t s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n . A l t h o u g h it is theoretically p o s s i b l e f o r college s t u d e n t s to t r a n s f e r into t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e stream, a very small p r o p o r tion of c o l l e g e students d o so in actual fact. T h u s it is the combined part i c i p a t i o n r a t e s of c o l l e g e a n d u n i v e r s i t y w h i c h r e v e a l t h e r e l a t i v e s u c c e s s of a c c e s s to p o s t s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n . It can b e a r g u e d that if F r a n c o p h o n e s d e m o n s t r a t e a l o w e r participation rate in university p r o grams, this gap between the t w o linguistic groups would represent a l a r g e r p r o p o r t i o n of F r a n c o p h o n e s a v a i l a b l e f o r s t u d y at t h e c o l l e g e level, a s s u m i n g that linguistic g r o u p s h a v e the s a m e theoretical p r o p o r tion of the p o p u l a t i o n available f o r p o s t s e c o n d a r y studies. T h u s e v e n the m a r g i n a l s u c c e s s of F r a n c o p h o n e s at the college level until 1983 should b e interpreted as a relative lack of success, given the larger p r o p o r t i o n of the F r a n c o p h o n e p o p u l a t i o n w h i c h should h a v e been available f o r study at the c o l l e g e level. A n e x a m i n a t i o n of the c o m b i n e d participation rates of F r a n c o p h o n e s a n d n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s o v e r a 10 year p e r i o d reveals that in 1983, the y e a r of h i g h e s t e n r o l l m e n t s on the part of F r a n c o p h o n e s in t h e C A A T s , t h e g a p b e t w e e n t h e t w o w a s 3 2 . 4 % a n d d e c r e a s i n g , w h e r e a s in 1989 the c o m b i n e d participation rate of F r a n c o p h o n e s stood at a l m o s t 4 0 % less t h a n that of n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s ( F r e n e t t e & Q u a z i , 1990, p. 2 4 5 ) . T h u s the g a p b e t w e e n F r a n c o p h o n e s and n o n F r a n c o p h o n e s h a d b e e n i n c r e a s i n g f r o m 1 9 8 3 to 1989, f o l l o w i n g t h e m e a s u r e s t a k e n in the interval w h i c h d e c r e a s e d C o l l e g e c o u r s e and p r o g r a m o f f e r i n g s in F r e n c h . In 1992, with the o p e n i n g of L a Cité collégiale et t h e c o n t i n u e d g r o w t h at t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e level, t h e g a p h a d o n c e again started to close, r e a c h i n g a 2 2 . 4 % differential. T h u s , overall p r o v i n c i a l d a t a reveal that students in F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e s c h o o l s h a v e t h e s a m e r a t e of p r o g r e s s as t h o s e in E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e s c h o o l s t h r o u g h the s e c o n d a r y p r o g r a m up to g r a d e 12, but that the transition rate b e t w e e n g r a d e 12 and the final transition year at the s e c o n d a r y level b e g i n s to s h o w a c o n s i d e r a b l e decline. S o m e of this a p p e a r s d u e to t h e f a c t t h a t a c e r t a i n p o r t i o n of F r a n c o p h o n e s t r a n s f e r to E n g l i s h m e d i u m p r o g r a m s in g r a d e 13, p e r h a p s in the h o p e that e n r o l l m e n t in the The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Education 103 f i n a l y e a r of an E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e s e c o n d a r y school will e n s u r e the transition to p o s t s e c o n d a r y levels. N o n e t h e l e s s , it w o u l d a p p e a r that very f e w m i n o r i t y F r a n c o p h o n e s f o l l o w this route or, if they do, very f e w succ e e d in e n t e r i n g into university. T h e t r a n s i t i o n r a t e of F r a n c o p h o n e s f r o m g r a d e 13 to u n i v e r s i t y s h o w s a f u r t h e r d e c l i n e relative to that f r o m g r a d e 12 to g r a d e 13, w h i l e the participation rate at the u n d e r g r a d u a t e level revealed a quite stable r e l a t i o n s h i p to that of the n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e participants until well into the m i d - 1 9 8 0 s , at little m o r e than half the participation rate of the latter. S i n c e the m i d - 1 9 8 0 s the participation of F r a n c o p h o n e s relative to that of n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s has b e g u n to c l i m b , standing in 1994 at o v e r 7 0 % that of the latter. T h e participation rates at the c o l l e g e level are s o m e w h a t m o r e u n s t a b l e , i n d i c a t i n g a rapid increase until 1983 and f u r t h e r d e c l i n e s a f t e r that time, t h e n rapid increases with the o p e n i n g of the first F r e n c h l a n g u a g e C A A T . B y 1992 the participation rate of O n t a r i o F r a n c o p h o n e s had a l m o s t r e a c h e d parity with n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s , r e a c h i n g 18.33% of a g e - g r o u p 18-21, w h e r e a s n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e s w e r e 19.33% of a g e - g r o u p . T h e r e w a s s o m e falling off the f o l l o w i n g year but this result m a y b e d u e to u n r e l i a b l e d a t a f o r the a c a d e m i c year 1 9 9 3 - 9 4 . SOME LONG TERM LESSONS T h e r e d u c t i o n of F r a n c o p h o n e transition rates to the final y e a r of s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l a n d f u r t h e r r e d u c t i o n s in t r a n s i t i o n r a t e s f r o m s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l to university must be interpreted not so m u c h as a locali z e d f i l t e r i n g p h e n o m e n o n at t h e g r a d e 13 l e v e l , a l t h o u g h t h a t is u n d o u b t e d l y a factor, so m u c h as an anticipatory reaction on the part of F r a n c o p h o n e s in the f a c e of r e d u c e d o p t i o n s in F r e n c h at the p o s t s e c o n d a r y level. It w o u l d a p p e a r that minority F r a n c o p h o n e s , in anticipation of t h e a b s e n c e of F r e n c h - m e d i u m p r o g r a m s at the p o s t s e c o n d a r y level, in s o m e c a s e s reinforced by the lack of e m p l o y m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s in F r e n c h , b e g i n to slide a w a y f r o m f u r t h e r studies d u r i n g the transition f r o m s e c o n d a r y school to the final transition year. F u r t h e r declines o c c u r in the transition f r o m the transition y e a r to p o s t s e c o n d a r y studies. A n h i s t o r i c a l a n a l y s i s of e n r o l l m e n t s r e v e a l s t h a t in t i m e s of d e c r e a s i n g o f f e r i n g s of p r o g r a m s in the m i n o r i t y l a n g u a g e , as w a s the c a s e in t h e C o l l e g e s of A p p l i e d A r t s a n d T e c h n o l o g y f o l l o w i n g t h e 1 9 8 1 - 8 2 r e c e s s i o n , minority e n r o l l m e n t s actually decline, e v e n t h o u g h The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume xm, No. 1, 1999 104 N. Frenette & S. Quazi m a j o r s t a k e h o l d e r s a g r e e d in this particular c a s e that p r o g r a m o f f e r i n g s in F r e n c h w e r e not essential. T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n the type of institution attended by minority F r a n c o p h o n e s at the s e c o n d a r y level and their relative success in attaining p o s t s e c o n d a r y levels can be seen as a f o r m of self selection, but a self selection in w h i c h m i n o r i t y y o u t h s seek a f o r m of cultural continuity b e t w e e n their s e c o n d a r y e x p e r i e n c e and the desired p o s t s e c o n d a r y e x p e rience. T h i s d e s p i t e the n u m e r o u s surveys indicating the lack of priority given to the l a n g u a g e of instruction at the p o s t s e c o n d a r y level. T h i s p h e n o m e n o n s h o u l d n o t b e i n t e r p r e t e d as an a c c e p t a n c e of bilingual p r o g r a m s a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s p e r se, b u t a s a b e s t - b e t s c e n a r i o g i v e n t h e a b s e n c e (at t h e t i m e of this s t u d y ) of h o m o g e n e o u s F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e p o s t s e c o n d a r y institutions. T h e p e r s p e c t i v e a d o p t e d h e r e r e m i n d s o n e that a l t h o u g h in t h e o r y F r a n c o p h o n e s a l w a y s h a v e t h e c h o i c e of a t t e n d i n g E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e institutions, in p r a c t i c e a l m o s t only t h o s e w h o h a v e attended F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e or ' m i x e d ' institutions at the s e c o n d a r y level, and the f o r m e r m o r e t h a n t h e latter, e v e n t u a l l y s u c c e e d in e n r o l l i n g at t h e p o s t s e c o n d a r y level, and that e v e n w h e n they d o succeed, they tend to enroll in those i n s t i t u t i o n s in w h i c h t h e r e are g r e a t e r c h a n c e s of e n c o u n t e r i n g o t h e r F r a n c o p h o n e s a n d greater c h a n c e s of s t u d y i n g in F r e n c h . In a d d i t i o n , t h e r e s u l t s a p p e a r to i n d i c a t e t h a t l a n g u a g e - m i n o r i t y m e m b e r s f u n c t i o n to a large e x t e n t in a reactive m o d e to the supply of e d u c a t i o n a l services, notably the supply of p r o g r a m s in F r e n c h , such that t h e r e d u c t i o n of p r o g r a m s in F r e n c h e n t a i l s t h e d e c l i n e of l a n g u a g e m i n o r i t y e n r o l l m e n t s , w h i l e t h e i n c r e a s e of e d u c a t i o n a l s e r v i c e s in F r e n c h i n c r e a s e s m i n o r i t y - l a n g u a g e participation rates. In a t i m e of b u d getary c o n s t r a i n t s , h o w e v e r , it w o u l d a p p e a r that the institutional logic of p r o v i d i n g s e r v i c e s to a need as m a n i f e s t e d in e n r o l l m e n t s clashes with the m i n o r i t y logic of w a i t i n g to see if there will b e educational services in the m i n o r i t y l a n g u a g e . T h e r e a c t i v e m o d e is rapid at the college level, the w a i t - t i m e p h e n o m e n o n n o t e d a b o v e lasting no m o r e than t w o years b e f o r e e n r o l l m e n t s b e g i n t o r i s e r a p i d l y . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e t w o - y e a r p e r i o d is o n e w h i c h , at t h e c o l l e g e level, can still lead to p r o g r a m cancellations, given the p r o p e n s i t y of c o l l e g e s to rapid cancellation of the ' o f f e r ' of p r o g r a m s w h e n t h e ' d e m a n d ' is w e a k . The Canadian Journal ofHigher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Education 105 O u r d a t a s h o w that a l t h o u g h neither c o l l e g e s nor universities s u c c e e d e d very well in a n s w e r i n g minority needs, colleges w e r e less succ e s s f u l n o t b e c a u s e they w e r e less efficient, but paradoxically, b e c a u s e t h e y w e r e m o r e e f f i c i e n t than universities. T h e y studied the data; they listened to t h e i r s t u d e n t s ; they w i t h d r e w p r o g r a m s w h i c h w e r e u n d e r s u b s c r i b e d . A n d e n r o l l m e n t s fell a l m o s t immediately. O n the other hand, universities w e r e very s l o w in setting u p p r o g r a m s in F r e n c h , and perh a p s e v e n s l o w e r t o w i t h d r a w t h e m . A n d e n r o l l m e n t s c o n t i n u e d to i n c r e a s e , albeit at a rate w h i c h did not s h o w s i g n i f i c a n t c h a n g e s until m o r e t h a n 15 y e a r s a f t e r the inception of the n e w F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e seco n d a r y schools. In this c a s e the lack of r e s p o n s e capacity w a s a positive a d v a n t a g e , at least in c o m p a r i s o n with the colleges. T h e p r e c e d i n g c o m p a r i s o n of F r a n c o p h o n e a n d n o n - F r a n c o p h o n e e n r o l l m e n t s and participation rates reveals that the finer the analysis, the m o r e o n e is obliged to c o n s i d e r m i n o r i t y - l a n g u a g e access to s e c o n d a r y and p o s t s e c o n d a r y e d u c a t i o n in its o w n right. I n d e e d , the f u r t h e r o n e dist a n c e s oneself f r o m general c o m p a r a t i v e d a t a to e x a m i n e participation r a t e s at t h e p r o g r a m l e v e l , t h e m o r e m i n o r i t y - l a n g u a g e e n r o l l m e n t s a p p e a r as an a u t o n o m o u s s u b s y s t e m r e q u i r i n g their o w n a n a l y s i s and their o w n e x p l a n a t i o n s . In general, it w o u l d a p p e a r that w h e n e v e r f i e l d s of study are availa b l e in F r e n c h and t h o s e s a m e p r o g r a m s lead to e m p l o y m e n t in F r e n c h , t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e of F r a n c o p h o n e s a c t u a l l y e x c e e d s t h a t of n o n F r a n c o p h o n e s , a f i n d i n g w h i c h could not be predicted f r o m the s u r v e y s c o n d u c t e d in the 1970s. T h e only c a s e in w h i c h this has h a p p e n e d is the field of E d u c a t i o n . W h e n e v e r fields of study represent an array of prog r a m s a v a i l a b l e partially in F r e n c h and t h o s e s a m e p r o g r a m s lead to partial e m p l o y m e n t in F r e n c h , participation rates of F r a n c o p h o n e s tend to increase, yet w i t h o u t r e a c h i n g levels obtained by the linguistic majority. W h e n e v e r p r o g r a m s are available only in English and lead to e m p l o y m e n t w h i c h c a n o n l y b e e x e r c i s e d in E n g l i s h , p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e s of m i n o r i t y F r a n c o p h o n e s are u n i f o r m l y low. Finally, w e p r e v i o u s l y a l l u d e d to t h e n u m e r o u s n e e d s a n a l y s e s of m i n o r i t y s t u d e n t s c o n d u c t e d d u r i n g the 1970s. T h e s e studies all c o n c l u d e d that the p r i m a r y consideration for minority m e m b e r s in the c h o i c e of p o s t s e c o n d a r y p r o g r a m s was not the language of instruction. It was on the basis of t h e s e studies and other informal surveys that college administrators r e a c h e d the conclusion that p r o g r a m s in F r e n c h did not c o r r e s p o n d The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 106 N. F renette & S. Quazi to an i m p o r t a n t need. A n d yet the b e h a v i o u r of minority F r a n c o p h o n e s r e v e a l s , at b o t h c o l l e g e and u n d e r g r a d u a t e level, and d e s p i t e the o v e r t c l a i m s to the contrary, that the l a n g u a g e of instruction is an e x t r e m e l y i m p o r t a n t c o n s i d e r a t i o n that a p p e a r s to h a v e a m a j o r i n f l u e n c e on their access to p o s t s e c o n d a r y studies and on their c h o i c e of programs.-^* References ACORD. (1989, août). Etude sur les services collégiaux en français dans le Nord de l'Ontario. Toronto, ON: Ministère des Collèges et Universités. ACORD. (1989, avril). Étude sur les services collégiaux en français dans les régions du Centre et du Sud-Ouest de l'Ontario. Toronto, ON: Ministère des Collèges et Universités. B e r n a r d , R . ( 1 9 9 0 ) . Le choc des nombres: Dossier statistique sur la. francophonie canadienne. Ottawa, ON: Fédération des jeunes Canadiens français. Bordeleau, G. (1983a). L'école secondaire et les Franco-Ontariens: Expression des besoins et perception des services. Revue canadienne de l'éducation, 5(4), 332-349. Bordeleau, L.-G. (1983b). Étude de l'adéquation des programmes d'étude aux besoins des Franco-Ontariens (final Report). Ottawa, ON: Université d'Ottawa, Faculté d'Éducation. Bordeleau, L.-G., & Desjardins, L. M. (1976). L'avenir des étudiants francoontariens de 12e et 13e années, 1974-1975. Toronto, ON: Conseil des affaires franco-ontariennes. Bordeleau, L.-G., & Gervais, G. (1976). Sondage sur les intentions éducatives et professionnelles des élèves franco-ontariens des écoles secondaires de l'Ontario en 12e et 13e année (1975-1976) (final Report). Toronto, ON: Conseil des affaires franco-ontariennes. Bordeleau, L.-G., Lallier, R., & Lalonde, A. (1980). Les écoles secondaires de langue française en Ontario: Dix ans après. Toronto, ON: Ministère de l'Éducation. Breton, R., McDonald, J., & Richer, S. (1972). Le rôle de l'école et de la société dans le choix d'une carrière chez la jeunesse canadienne. Ottawa, ON: Ministère de la Main-d'oeuvre et de l'Immigration. Churchill, S., Frenette, N., & Quazi, S. (1985). Éducation et besoins des Franco-Ontariens, vol. 1 : Le diagnostic d'un système d'éducation. Toronto, ON: Le Conseil de l'éducation franco-ontarienne. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Education 107 D'Costa, R.B. (1971). L'accessibilité aux études postsecondaire (sic) pour la population francophone de l'Ontario. Ottawa [Toronto], ON: Commission on Postsecondary Education in Ontario. Dallaire, L.M., & Lachapelle, R. (n.d.). Profil démolinguistique: Ontario. Ottawa, ON: Secrétariat d'État, Direction générale de la promotion des langues officielles. Desjardins, L., & Fu, L. (1977). Ambitions des francophones du Sud-Est de l'Ontario par rapport aux Collèges Algonquin et St-Laurent. Toronto, ON: Le Conseil des Affaires franco-ontariennes. F F H Q (1977). Les héritiers de Lord Durham. Ottawa, ON: Fédération des francophones hors-Québec. F r e n e t t e , N . , & G a u t h i e r , L . ( 1 9 9 0 ) . L u t t e s i d é o l o g i q u e s et c u l t u r e s institutionnelles en éducation minoritaire: Le cas de l'Ontario français. Éducation canadienne et internationale, 79(1), 16-31. Frenette, N., & Quazi, S. (1990). Ontario Francophones and postsecondary accessibility 1979-1989. (Tr. fr.: Accessibilité aux études postsecondaires pour les francophones de l'Ontario. 1979-1989). Toronto, ON: Ministère des Collèges et Universités. Frenette, N., & Quazi, S. (1996). Accessibilité et participation des francophones de l'Ontario à l'éducation postsecondaire, 1979-1994. Vol. 2: Sommaires, tableaux statistiques, figures. Sudbury, ON: Boréal. Godbout, A. (1972). L'origine des écoles françaises dans l'Ontario. Ottawa, ON: Éditions de l'Université d'Ottawa. Laflamme, S., & Dennie, D. (1990). L'ambition démesurée. Enquête sur les aspirations et les représentations des étudiants et des étudiantes francophones de l'Ontario. Sudbury, ON: Institut franco-ontarien et Prise de Parole. Marginson, S. (1997). Subjects and subjugation: The economics of education as power-knowledge. Discourse, 18(2), 215-227. Martel, A. (1991). Les droits scolaires des minorités de langue officielle au Canada: De l'instruction à la gestion. Ottawa, ON: Commissariat aux langues officielles. Porter, J., Porter, M., & Blishen, B.L. (1982). The Franco-Ontarians. In Stations and callings, Making it through the school system, (pp. 258-273). Toronto, ON: Methuen. Robarts, J. (1967, August). Address by the Honourable John Robarts, Prime Minister of Ontario, August 24, 1967. Ottawa, ON: Association canadienne des éducateurs de langue française. Savas, D. (1992, October). Employment situation of Ontario Francophones: A comparative analysis of Francophones & Non-francophones and Francophones and the four target groups designated by employment equity legislation. Toronto, ON: Employment Equity Commission of Ontario. The Canadian Journal ofHigher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 108 N. F renette & S. Quazi Sewell, W.H., Haller, A.O., & Ohlendorf, G.W. (1970). The educational and early occupational status attainment process: Replication and revision. American Sociological Review, 35, 1014-1027. Sewell, W.H., Haller, A.O., & Portes, A. (1969). The educational and early occupational attainment process. American Sociological Review, 34, 82-92. Soucie, R. (1982, décembre). L'enseignement en français en Ontario: Revue des problèmes courants. Ottawa, ON: ACFO, AEFO. Stern, J. (1990). La jeunesse franco-ontarienne aux études. In E. Legault (Ed.), A l'écoute de la jeunesse. Etude de la situation des adolescentes et des adolescents en Ontario francophone, (pp. 31-57). Toronto, ON: Office de la télécommunication éducative de l'Ontario. Notes ' At the time the separate schools were not eligible for public funding at the secondary school level, and the government was not prepared to extend funding to separate schools, thus the location of minority-language secondary schools at the public schools. The result was, for minority francophones, a curious situation in that the vast majority of students attended separate (confessional) elementary schools and then made the transfer to public (non-confessional) secondary schools. Elsewhere we have argued (Frenette & Gauthier, 1990) that what at first glance appeared to be an anomaly turned out to be a fortuitous result. It ensured that the elementary schools ensured the cultural reproduction of the community, including its Roman Catholic heritage, whereas the secondary school provided the transition into modernity and secular values without explicitly contradicting the religious values promoted by the elementary schools. 2 The Charter conferred rights to minority language education not upon the children, but upon the parents of school-age children. Those parents able to exercise their rights are identified as Canadian citizens residing in a Canadian province: a) "whose first language learned and still understood is that of the . . . minority; or b) a parent who has received primary school instruction in the minority language in Canada; or c) a parent of whom "one child in the family has received or is receiving primary or secondary instruction in the minority language." 3 The student application forms for university level studies provide for three categories of 'mother tongue' among applicants: English, French, and 'other.' The college application forms provide for four categories of 'first language': English, French, 'bilingual' and 'other.' The 'bilingual' category is intended for French/English bilinguals, but experience has shown that many others assign themselves to that category. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999 Some Long Term Lessons from Minority Language Education 109 4 One of the more interesting features of this study is that following the economic recession of 1992, the relative importance of part-time undergraduate students among Francophones declines substantially, by about 35%. NonFrancophone part-time studies declined less dramatically, with the result that part-time students now represent the same proportion of overall enrollments for both linguistic groups. Unfortunately, the study was not able to examine the reasons for that decline. ^ The 'mixed' secondary school had no status in right under the Education Act. but was a pragmatic response, in small communities, to the requirement to provide French language services for the minority population. It was (usually, but with few exceptions) an English language school with a complete gamut of programs, accompanied by a restricted program in French. Typically, the course offerings became more restricted as the students reached the senior years, such that French language students were constrained to take more and more of their courses in English. The mixed school came to be denounced by Francophone leaders as 'foyer d'assimilation' (Churchill, Frenette, & Quazi, 1985; Soucie, 1982) which filtered Francophone students out of programs in French and effectively impeded access to postsecondary education. After it was shown that Francophones enrolled in mixed schools were less likely to attend university than both their anglophone colleagues in the mixed schools and their Francophone colleagues in homogeneous French-language schools, the Ministry of Education encouraged school boards to provide autonomous French-language schools, sometimes in the same building: quite literally a school within the school. By 1994 there were fewer than 60 Francophone students enrolled in mixed secondary schools. 6 From this point on we are in a position to refer to "Francophones" as opposed to "students in French-language schools" since the postsecondary admissions data does pick up the the mother tongue of applicants. The Canadian Journal ofHigher Education Volume XXIX, No. 1, 1999