Shedding Light on the Outcomes of Minorities in Quebec: The Case of the Education to Employability (E2E) Study

Abstract

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to observe and analyze the educational experiences of members of the English-speaking Black community in Quebec and how those experiences may have impacted the employability outcomes of participants. More broadly, this study aimed to contribute towards the filling in of certain information gaps pertaining to not just the aforementioned community but racialized and linguistic communities more generally. Background: The article is based on a community research collaboration conducted between the Black Community Resource Centre (BCRC) and the Provincial Employment Roundtable of Quebec (PERT). It followed discussions between the two organizations centering around conducting research on employability and how education factored into employability outcomes. Eventually the decision was made to draft a collaboration agreement and create a research design more concretely. Methodology: Research was conducted by applying a mixed methods approach which incorporated qualitative and quantitative data collection. This was made up of two parts: 1) surveying and collecting educational and employment data from a sample of Quebecers and 2) interviewing participants from the English-speaking Black community in Quebec on their educational and employment experiences. Findings: Firstly, Black survey respondents, irrespective of linguistic identity, recalled receiving more negative actions from their school and school staff compared to survey respondents who did not belong to a visible minority. In particular, Black survey respondents had the highest ratings of specific incidents of discipline/punishment and public shaming/humiliation. These differences between the Black respondents and White respondents were found to be statistically significant after conducting an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Second, English-speaking survey respondents, irrespective of race, recalled higher parental involvement in their education and school experiences. Parental involvement in education was observed at a higher rate for English-speaking respondents than for French-speaking respondents. Focus groups were conducted to provide context and depth to the survey findings. In particular, participants described experiencing a lack of sense of belonging, as well as racism perpetrated by school staff and community. Focus group participants also described an evolving perception of their identity as members of Québec’s ESBC. Focus group participants described negotiating their identities as Black English speakers and as Quebecers, with some describing their Quebecer identity as secondary to their race and language. Impact on Society: The impact of this research is that it was able to generate quantitative data on the outcomes of different racialized groups within the sphere of education and show that amongst the sample of participants, there were statistically significant differences in outcomes across racialized and linguistic groups. Furthermore, it offered a space where highly detailed qualitative data could be collected directly from community members, particularly the English- speaking Black community in Quebec. The long-term impact on society will still run its course but it represents a contribution to the body of knowledge on literature pertaining to this community and in this context while also being able to generate further questions relating to race and language in Quebec and how they impact the educational and employment spheres.