Special education programs, vectors of inequality or opportunities?

This text is part of the special notebook Public school

The diversification and availability of special programs is one of the goals set by the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, to increase the attractiveness of public schools. Two education experts, however, are concerned about the lack of access to these programs, arguing that they risk reinforcing social inequality.

Originally designed to make public schools more attractive and limit the transfer to private institutions, special education programs apply to 44.6% of high school students, according to the Ministry of Education, which expects increase this figure to 75% of students for the year 2026-2027. However, as they are now, there is a risk that these programs will have a permanent inequality in the education system, as well as being ‘ put pressure on teachers and students, experts are concerned.

Partial solution

Special programs offer only a “partial solution” to the problem of attractiveness of public schools, according to Pierre Canisius Kamanzi, a professor in the Department of Administration and Educational Institutions at the University of Montreal. The implementation leads to favoring students from “richer families”, the professor who points out unequal access to educational resources, especially because of early selection, believes. If there has to be an election, this should happen later in the student’s progress and not just after primary school, as it is now, he argues. “We don’t give all the students a chance to tell […] their talents. » Mr Kamanzi believes that when he goes to secondary school, the student is not yet familiar with this teaching environment. This emphasizes the transition to secondary school and maintains a kind of competition both between institutions, but also within them, which harms “living together ” and the well-being of the students, he continues. “It’s very difficult [de] see […] that, for some, the transition to high school becomes an element of competition, of pressure, when it should be a beautiful moment,” he also mourns Catherine Beauvais-St-Pierre, head -chair of the Association of Professors of Montreal (APPM).

The president of the APPM says that special programs contribute to increasing the phenomenon of three-speed schools. Private schools and selective projects have a significant impact on class composition and can be an obstacle to social diversity and group heterogeneity. This “results in the creation of groups with large concentrations of at-risk, struggling, or non-native students” within regular classrooms, which overrepresent teachers. Mixed education also has a positive effect on students who have difficulties, she says.

In addition, access to certain special programs requires presentation documents or letters of recommendation. This can lead to a kind of discrimination, because some parents are allophones or do not have the time to help their children “if they have two jobs,” explained M.^me Beauvais-St-Pierre.

In addition, for Pierre Canisius Kamanzi, special projects also put pressure on teachers, because they have to be more efficient and teach different subjects. This risks damaging the attractiveness of the profession, which is already suffering from a lack of work.

Benefits

But special projects have advantages, acknowledges Mr. Kamanzi, because they make it possible to develop “the potential of each student” to promote their talents, their tastes and their motivation. Both experts agree that changes are necessary for certain projects to achieve the goal, without discrimination.

For this, M^me Beauvais-St-Pierre believes that they must be accessible to all and he would like students not to enter or be retained in these programs based on their academic results. Therefore she denounces programs that “threaten students” with exclusion if they do not maintain a certain average, as well as admission conditions, which require a financial investment. As indicated on the website of the Ministry of Education, the right to a free service “does not extend to specific services provided as part of specific educational projects”.

The president also criticizes the admissions system that excludes some parents, due to language barriers or lack of time, thus contributing to inequality that constantly growing.

Despite the recommendations of Minister Bernard Drainville last October, Pierre Canisius Kamanzi believes that it is not desirable for parents to encourage local schools to establish special programs. It is indeed the parents who have the means and the time to do so, he believes, which would encourage the reproduction of socio-economic inequalities. On the other hand, he recommends collaboration between institutions and parents, as long as all parents are involved.

This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Dutyrelated to marketing. The writing is Duty he did not participate.

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