The Province of Quebec launched a province-wide reform of its schools and adult education centres in 1997 to respond to the exigencies of an increasingly multicultural population, and the requirements of a knowledge-based society. The reform aims to enhance democracy and citizenship. Based on the recent explosion in philosophical literature about varying models of democracy, and the concept of self advanced by each model, it is important to investigate what vision of democracy and concept of self is proposed for Quebec through this reform and what institutional measures are being adopted by the educational community to ensure its realization. This paper uses the principles of applied philosophy for an investigation of the reform from three perspectives: a study of theories about democracy, education, and the development of self; a critical text analysis of the reform's formative document; the creation of a study group inside a school board implementing the reform in its schools. The conclusion of the present investigation is that a model of deliberative democracy and dialogical concept of self is not the model of democracy that dominates Quebec's current reform project despite evidence that such a model is most likely to ensure that this reform will successfully address the needs of the population.

The recently reformed Quebec Education Program has been implemented since the fall of 2000 and has drawn our attention to many questions regarding the philosophical and practical elements of education in Quebec. This thesis critically examines the implementation of this reform. It investigates the philosophical underpinnings of this new program, its approaches and implementation objectives. It provides an overview of the design of this new program and outlines some of the dominant themes emerging from its approach. It critiques the implementation of this reform by presenting some of the factors that make it difficult to effectively sustain change in school. Finally, it will conclude that we need an education that encompasses the authenticity of teaching and learning and which creates an atmosphere that will actively engage students in their learning.

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This research is intended for educational policy makers. This is an exploratory study that investigates Quebec's classrooms as a new educational reform is implemented. There are two relevant pieces of legislation in the reform that elicited this study. First, teachers are required to adopt constructivist teaching practices; second, teachers must use ICT in classrooms. The questions being addressed are: (1) What are the current challenges and benefits impacting teachers with the integration of computers in the classroom environment? (2) What do classroom practices look like given (a) in the context of Quebec's constructivist-learning environment and (b) the possibility of ICT support. Case studies with teachers from elementary and high schools show changes in teacher and student role; however, lack of guidelines hinder constructivist teaching practices. Five predominant challenges were identified: lack of personal development, lack of time, technical support, accessibility, and classroom management. The study also identifies five elements as benefits: sharing of information; communication; editing; monitoring; web access.

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The following research depicts the perceptions and perspectives of thirteen teachers and two principals anticipating the implementation of the Curriculum Reform in Quebec schools. It aims to provide insight into teachers' perceptions of how the anticipation of change, induced by the Reform, is affecting them. It also seeks to provide an in-depth understanding of the world and its relations with others teaching in the context of change that is being brought on by the Reform in schools. / This qualitative research takes into consideration two specific questions: What is the lived experience of teachers during the anticipation of the implementation of the Reform? What is the perception of teachers towards the Reform? / Thirteen teachers and two administrators were interviewed, each representing at least one of the elementary, secondary, and high school vocational sectors of the English public education system of greater Montreal. These interviews took place during the Fall of 1999.

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