No description available.

The educational habits of Italians in the city of Montreal before the 1960's is a topic that has generally been neglected in the field of social and educational history. This thesis attempts to fill the void and also to identify areas where further research may be conducted. The thesis treats the educational habits of Italian children in the Catholic schools of Montreal between the years 1895 and 1960. The thesis looks at enrolment patterns and language instruction in the Catholic elementary schools of Montreal. It was found that language played an important role in Catholic schools frequented by Italian children. Italian children were educated in the English, French and Italian languages on and off from the beginning of the twentieth century to the late 1950's. Furthermore, a discernible shift in the attendance of Italian children from French to English Catholic schools occurred after World War II. So much so, that by the 1960's nearly 80% of Italian children were attending English Catholic schools.

The Canadian language training sector is a booming industry for those interested in capitalizing on the worldwide demand for English, such as private language schools. Thus, this study analyzed the websites of two Montreal-based private language schools to elucidate how these schools use discursive and visual resources to advance their ideology. Defined as a form of social practice (Fairclough, 1992; Pare, 2002), ideology is the way in which the schools are acting discursively in order to serve their for-profit interests. Specifically, the study investigated how both schools manage the tension between their claims to educational legitimacy and their business concerns. The study used analytical strategies from Fairclough's (1992, 2003) Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Kress and van Leuuven's (2006) visual grammar. Findings revealed that the schools further their ideology by positioning and legitimating themselves as educational institutions, and commercializing non-educational services (e.g., sightseeing tours) promoted as having second language (L2) developmental value.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of the Greek day school Socrates in Montreal and its overall impact on its students vis-a-vis the variables of ethnic identity, socio-personal adjustment and academic achievement. Existing documentation, content analysis of the Greek community press, and participant observation were all used in unfolding the school's historical development. The dependent variables of Greekness, adjustment and achievement were examined via the interviewing of 549 Greek origin individuals, 118 of whom were adults, 255 Socrates students, 158 non-Socrates students, and the rest 18 were Socrates graduates. Although the results obtained did not provide conclusive evidence concerning an assumed differential impact of Socrates along the variables investigated, the ethnic identity influences of the community school were clearly delineated. At the same time, the results of the study have pointed to what has been coined here a "Socrates ethos" which is may be conducive to academic and socio-professional success. Accordingly, an overall long-term Socrates impact has tentatively been postulated.

No description available.

The present study intends to contribute to the work undertaken in Quebec and in France on religious pluralism in the public sphere. The first section examines the common approach adopted by both States which allowed students to wear religious symbols in public schools. We then highlight the divergent approaches that emerged in 2004 when the French legislature prohibited almost entirely this practice. / The second section assesses the capacity of Quebec's and France's legal and political approaches to ensure social cohesion, to protect freedom of religion, the right to equality as well as the rights of the internal minorities who are pressured and constrained by their surroundings. Some considerations related to French universalism might be used to counterbalance the negative effects of the differentialist approach. Nevertheless, this comparative study leads us to conclude that, in Quebec, differentialism remains the path to be followed.

No description available.