Factors influencing decisions at the district level regarding French programmes

Rowe, Barry William (1994) Factors influencing decisions at the district level regarding French programmes. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (12MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate some characteristics and views of Newfoundland district superintendents in order to determine what factors influence their decisions regarding French programmes and to what extent they influence these decisions, in general. -- At the basic level, French programmes are provided to school districts from the Language Programmes Section of the Department of Education. It is, therefore, within a school district's mandate to provide these same programmes to the students they serve. Following this, there are several questions that can be raised: -- 1. Why do different school districts have a variation in instructional time allocated to core French? -- 2. Why is there a wide variety of French programmes existing within our province? -- 3. Why do some school districts not have a French Programme Coordinator? -- 4. Why do some school districts have only a core French programme? -- 5. Why do only some school districts have early/late French immersion programmes? -- 6. Who (and what) influences decisions regarding French programmes at the district level? -- These are but some of the questions that can be asked concerning French programmes in Newfoundland school districts. The writer feels that the answers to these questions are influenced by the district superintendent in each school district. -- The data sources were semi-structured interviews with eight district superintendents chosen at random and a survey instrument, designed by the author, sent to all twenty-seven district superintendents. There was a 100 percent response rate to the survey instrument, but only 88 percent used. -- The survey instrument dealt with background/professional information, decision-making information and opinions concerning French programmes. Once the data was collated, cross analyses were done to see if any similarities existed or any patterns emerged. -- The results of this study show that Newfoundland district superintendents are a very homogeneous group - mostly "born and bred" Newfoundlanders. The average respondent completed a Bachelor of Arts degree as an undergraduate degree at Memorial University of Newfoundland and holds a graduate degree in educational administration from outside the province. -- In general, the district superintendent makes the first decision dealing with the priority given to French. Beyond that, decisions are made by the French programme coordinator. Of the six subject areas given to district superintendents to rank on a priority basis, French was ranked as number six. -- It appears that their lack of social and educational experiences outside Newfoundland has influenced the Newfoundland district superintendents' priority given to French. Their close ties with Newfoundland do not permit them to see the value that a knowledge of French has in Canada.

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