Through the Looking Glass: Considering Inclusive Language and Leadership in French-Language Schools in Canada

• In Event: 66.067 - Intersectionalities in Leadership and Inclusive Education Research: Comparative Perspectives From Canada

Abstract

In French, we talk about L'Enfance en difficulté (Youth having difficulty) instead of l'Éducation à l'enfance en difficulté (Education of youth having difficulty). To some, these expressions may seem to have very different meanings. This paper therefore examines the language (words, expressions, acronyms, etc.) used by French language school principals in Canada whose primary aim is to include students with special needs in their schools. The data is drawn from a national qualitative/interpretative study conducted from 2016 to 2018. The objective of the study is to explore how school principals and vice principals promote the inclusion of students with special needs, based on the theoretical framework of Yamamoto, Gardiner and Tenuto (2014) for whom "critical incidents" are considered training opportunities that develop leadership skills. The study consists of 3 phases and the results are drawn from 3 sources: (a) more than 200 questionnaires completed by principals and vice-principals from English and French language schools in Ontario, British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick and Quebec; (b) 40 semi-structured interviews conducted among these participants, and; (c) 20 semi-structured interviews with 10 full-time teachers, 5 resource teachers and 5 provincial supervisory officers mentioned above. General inductive analysis (Thomas, 2006) is used and participants member checked their transcripts for validity. The study examines the training and professional development of principals and their daily activities to support students in difficulty. The discussion sections provide an opportunity to consider how inclusive education policy and practices in French language schools in Canada are differentiated from English language schools. The conclusion section raises questions for comparative and international research on how inclusive education is differentiated in different linguistic contexts.

Author

• Melissa Villella, University of Ottawa