The objective of this study was to determine whether formal, primary education could increase the level of ethnicity in children. One hundred Jewish children completing grade 6, and their parents, were measured on a series of instruments designed to evaluate their level of ethnic identity. Half the children had received their full education in private, parochial schools, while the other half had attended public, secular schools. The two samples were further sub-divided so that each sample consisted of 25 children of Ashkenazi descent and 25 of Sephardi descent. The data were subjected to a multivariate analysis of covariance wherein the variance attributable to the parents was partialled out. The results indicated that formal, parochial education does not effect an increase in the level of ethnicity, and that parental and community factors are the primary determinants of a child's ethnic identity. The results also demonstrate that the Sephardi children, despite their affinity to the Jewish people, have a less positive image of the Jewish community when compared to the Ashkenazi majority. The Conflict Theory model, which views the school as a mirror of the forces in society at large, was seen as the best explanation of the data.

This thesis explores the meaning of the Montreal identity from the perspective of Montreal's ethnocultural and linguistic minorities. Generally speaking, it is commonplace for authors in the academic literature on Montreal to describe the city and its identity in terms of its multicultural and cosmopolitan sensibilities. While this forms part of what it means to be a Montrealer, this is not the only significance that this project accounts for. In examining the opinion sections of the Montreal Gazette from the period of September 4th, 2012 to the period of April 7th, 2014 ̶ a period that coincides with the Parti québécois' eighteen months in power under the leadership of Pauline Marois ̶ this thesis reveals that the meaning of the Montreal identity is tied to both the aforementioned multicultural and cosmopolitan sensibilities, as well as a sentiment of exclusion rooted in an ethnic interpretation of the Québec nation. Accordingly, this research also shows how these aspects of Montrealness contribute to the building of a Montreal identity that is meant to be distinct and even opposed to Québec identity.

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