L’avenir du français en éducation
The future of French in education is central to achieving the Canadian Government’s 2036 demographic objectives. This vastly ambitious society-wide project aims to increase the national bilingualism rate from 17.9% to 20% by 2036. This implies a growth rate of 2% per year for the Canadian Francophonie and 3% per year for the bilingual Anglophone population.
Well aware that achieving these targets is only possible if the capacity of the education system evolves correspondingly in terms of teaching French/in French, the ACUFC and its members will work together to expedite responses to rising short, medium and long-term issues, and to improve the efficiency of efforts invested by all stakeholders.
It is from this standpoint that we are launching our major initiative called Objectif 2036 : l’enseignement du français et en français, une pièce maîtresse de la dualité linguistique au Canada.
A collaborative project
10
entities
3
activity sectors
7
action areas
6
pan-Canadian reports and sharing of best practices
31
pilot projects
27
webinars and videoconferences
Based on collaboration, this two-year (2020-2022) pan-Canadian structuring project will lead to identifying issues and challenges associated with recruiting and retaining teachers in/of French outside of Quebec, as well as proposing strategies and possible solutions under three main components:
- Attracting and selecting candidates
- Initial training in teaching French/in French
- Professional development
Paying particular attention to the following clienteles:
- High school youth who register for initial training in teaching
- Young university students (post-baccalaureate) who pursue their university studies, and graduates from college programs
- Adults who wish to reorient their career
- Foreign-trained candidates
Entities participating in the Objectif 2036 Project
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Nova Scotia
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Saskatchewan
Northwest Territories
Nunavut
Yukon
Office of Francophone and Francophile Affairs (OFFA), Simon Fraser University
Colombie-Britannique
Expected outcomes
This project will contribute to recruiting and retaining the best candidates in Canada and abroad, able to teach French/in French as a first or second language. It will bring about a strategic vision advancing the 2036 demographic objectives set out in the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023.
The logo of L’avenir du français en éducation draws on the iconic fast-forward button, transformed to depict the ramping-up speed of a plane on take-off: great speed heading toward a guaranteed future for French in education. The image of a plane can also evoke paper planes that occasionally fly in classrooms.
The combination of two colours symbolizes the complementarity of French as a first language (green) and French as a second language (blue), moving forward in the same direction.
